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EAP511S - ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES - 1ST OPP - NOVEMBER 2023 |
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nAmlBIA
OF SCIEnCE
unlVERSITY
Ano TECHnOLOGY
FACULTYOF COMMERCE, HUMAN SCIENCESAND EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGES
COURSECODE: EAP511S
DATE:
NOVEMBER 2023
DURATION: 3 HOURS
COURSENAME: ENGLISH FORACADEMIC
PURPOSES
MODE:
FM, PM, DI
MARKS:
100
FIRSTOPPORTUNITYEXAMINATION QUESTION PAPER
EXAMINER{S}: Mr B. Kamwi
Ms T. Kanime
Mr C. Gwasira
Ms Y. Lyamine
Dr S. lthindi
MODERATOR: Prof. N. Mlambo
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Answer all questions.
2. Write clearly and neatly.
3. Number the answers clearly.
PERMISSIBLEMATERIALS
1. Examination paper
2. Examination script
THIS QUESTION PAPERCONSISTSOF 11 PAGES(Including this front page)
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SECTION A: ACADEMIC READING
[40]
Read the following research article and answer the questions that follow. The original article has
been adapted for assessment purposes.
Effects of Increase in the Cost of Building Materials on the Delivery of Affordable Housing in
South Africa
Bimpe Alabi * and Julius Fapohunda
Abstract
A
1-Adequate provision of affordable human settlements is a huge challenge in South Africa since
its independence. 2- This paper investigates the effects of the cost increase of building materials on
affordable housing (to deliver) a) ____
in South Africa. 3· With potential solutions for cost
minimisation of building materials, with the aim of achieving affordable housing delivery in South Africa
are provided. 4· This study uses a sequential mixed methods approach, wherein surveys were (to
conduct) b) _____
among the construction professionals (project managers, site managers
architects, site engineers, quantity surveyors, contractors, building materials suppliers, and government
workers) in the construction industry within Cape Town, South Africa, who were considered as the
research participants. s. The qualitative data obtained from the survey exercise were analysed using
content analysis, while the quantitative data were analysed using a descriptive statistical technique on
SPSS.6· The findings attained show fluctuation in construction cost and a rise in maintenance cost
(caused by poor workmanship) as (significant/significantly) effects in the cost increase of building
materials for affordable housing delivery. 7· Adequate application of the recommendations given in this
study will minimise the effects of high cost of building materials and enhance affordable housing
delivery. 8 Appropriate (to handle) c) _____
of the findings given in this study will reduce the
effects of the high cost of building materials and augment timely delivery of affordable housing and
stakeholders' satisfaction.
Introduction
B
Housing construction has developed in a remarkable way over the years. The desire for the
welfare of the future generations is important (1). With the purpose of easing pressure of improving
housing provision across the globe, the integration of both sustainability and affordability was therefore
considered as the potential approach towards housing provision (2). This approach is referred to as
sustainable affordable housing. Sustainable affordable housing is described as housing which satisfies
the demand and needs of the present generation without compromising future generations' ability to
meet their housing demands (3-5). Durability, accessibility, sustainability and affordability are
indispensable characters of sustainable affordable housing. Sustainable housing is a basic need to the
people. Thus, it needs to be available, affordable and durable continuously in the built environment (8).
Notwithstanding, to sustain the provision of affordable housing across South Africa, the housing
construction industry should be more concerned about the economical handling of building materials
cost.
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C
Building material or construction material is any material that can be used for the construction
housing projects. It commonly includes steel, copper, cement, bitumen, lumber, masonry bricks/blocks,
and sand among many others. The housing construction industry is one of the most important industries
that underpins the economic development of a nation [9]. The construction sector impacts socio-
economic expansion development in the developing countries by contributing substantially to their
gross domestic product (GDP) [10,11). As a result of this, it is crucial for the sector to understand the
impact of the building materials cost in completing housing projects as scheduled. Building materials
cost can actually comprise half (50%) of the total cost of all projects executed by a construction industry
[12). Moreover, building materials cost depends on supply and demand, as well being affected by
quality, quantity, time, place, buyer, and seller during a construction production [13). Other factors are
currency exchange, material specification, inflation pressure, and availability of new materials in the
country [14). Generally, total cost of executing a housing project is hugely affected by improper material
handling on the construction site, and all this impacts the quality and time scheduled for a project to be
completed [15). Durdyev and Hosseini [16) conducted a survey and systematically reviewed studies on
construction project delay; this revealed that the ten most common causes of this are climatic
conditions, ineffective communication, deficiency in coordination and conflicts between stakeholders,
improper planning, material shortages, financial problems, payment delays, equipment/plant shortage,
lack required experience among project stakeholders, labour shortages, and poor site management.
D
According to some researchers, building materials play a (a) ______
role in building as a
substantial input in the project development [17). In South Africa, the incessant rising in price of building
materials is a huge challenge towards the performance of the construction industry in delivering
projects with quality and within the time scheduled [18). The (b)______
(always changing)
market value for building materials tends to cause high project risk to all stakeholders (suppliers,
contractors, and clients) involved in the construction production [19-21). The demand for housing of all
types, coupled with inflation and tight (c)______
supply, has caused a big challenge to the cost
of building materials in the construction industry [22). Therefore, an improved sustainable housing
delivery within the budgeted time, cost, and expected quality, as well taking into consideration the
stakeholders' satisfaction and cost of building materials, is absolutely essential. Sustainability is
generally elaborated as a development that satisfies the needs of the current generation, without (d)
______
future generations [2]. Therefore, to achieve the UN Sustainable Development goal,
there is the need for a significant reduction in the cost of construction. As building materials contribute
up to 50% of the cost of construction, there is a need to consider the factors which will minimize the
excess cost of building materials Table 1 revealed variation in the construction material price index in
South Africa between 2010 to 2018. These percentage increases are in line with overall inflation, as
measured by the price index. Additionally, the survey of [18) revealed a diverse trend in the cost of
building materials over the past two decades in South Africa (2001-2011). It appeared that the cost of
building materials increased (e)______
yearly without any fail. Considering this, it is necessary to
evaluate the effects of upsurge in the price of building materials on the delivery of affordable housing in
South Africa.
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ResearchMethodology
E
To achieve the objective of this study, the sequential mixed methods approach posited by
Teddie and Tashakkori [45] and Ostlund et al. [46] were used. The cluster sampling method was used for
data collection to redistribute the target population (with a high concentration of construction companies
and experienced professionals) into smaller groups (clusters). These samples are randomly selected for
data collection and result generalization. As such, construction managers, project managers, sales
consultants, contractors, quantity surveyors, site managers, architects, and site engineers were
involved. Questionnaires for the quantitative data were self-administered to guide and obtain opinions
of the selected respondents. After distributing the questionnaires, interviews were scheduled with
construction industry professionals. The basic purpose of the interviews was to consolidate the
questionnaire in acquiring relevant data for the purpose of the study. A total of 137 questionnaires were
administered in person to construction stakeholders (architects, site engineers, project managers,
quantity surveyors, contractors, building materials suppliers, site managers, and government workers) in
the Western Cape Province. A total of 69 questionnaires were recovered and used for analysis.
Quantitative data were analysed with the use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences {SPSS).A four-
point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 4 (to a very large extent) was adopted to capture the effects
of the increase in the cost of building materials on housing delivery.
Discussion
F
The findings on the effect on housing delivery are discussed. Tables 3 and 4 provided numerical
results of respondents' perceptions on the effects of increase in the cost of building materials on
housing delivery. The findings reveal that the increase in the cost of building materials frustrates the
progress of the construction industry in South Africa due to many affected factors, such as fluctuation in
cost of construction, high maintenance cost due to poor workmanship, increase in the cost of repair due
to inferior materials used, poor workmanship, and many others, as arrayed in Table 6. From the
tabularised results, it is observed that "fluctuation in cost of construction" with a MV of 3.26 is the most
affected. The client and project contractors. have been facing serious issues to maintain steady cost
projection on construction projects [17]. Therefore, cost control during the construction process is very
important to ensure the success of a project [49]. To add, findings indicated that high maintenance cost
due to poor workmanship, increase in the cost of repair due to inferior materials used, poor workmanship,
client expectation's on quality project delivery, and building collapses due to the use of less quality
materials are all affected by increase in cost of building materials on housing delivery. lwaro and Mwasha
[36] highlighted that workmanship plays an important role in project's quality. One of the characteristics
of a developed construction industry is in the output of quality buildings and structures [SO]. However,
Oyedele and Tham [51] posited that a lack of significant consideration for design constructability may
cause building collapse during the construction process. Therefore, stakeholders' satisfaction and timely
project completion has been a yardstick for measuring project success in relation to time, quality, scope
and cost [52,53].
Conclusionsand recommendations
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G
Based on the findings from the study, it was understood that fluctuation in the
cost of construction is a huge influence caused by increase in the cost of building materials on the
delivery of affordable housing in Western Cape. The findings also revealed high maintenance cost
due to poor workmanship and an increase in the cost of repair due to inferior materials used
as other huge influences caused by the increase in the cost of building materials on housing
delivery in Western Cape Province of South Africa. With the purpose of guiding against excessive
fluctuation in the cost of construction, stakeholders should have a well-developed plan for
materials in advance to avoid the effect of the increase in building material prices in the market.
Thus, proper planning and scheduling at the initial stages of construction are very essential, which
includes the early purchase of building materials within the budgeted cost and suitable storage of
building materials is to be adopted to avoid cost overrun, disputes, and inflation. If this could be
the effect, it will enhance the timely delivery of housing at the budgeted cost specified and
meeting client expectations. Affordable housing programs should also consider the economic
sustainability of developers (e.g., the cost effectiveness of the projects) to ensure that these
programs can be developed on a continuous basis, while developers can adopt cost reduction
strategies (such as the use of regionally available materials and techniques), providing stable
financial incentives is needed for them to secure financial viability (54].
Part 1: Comprehension questions
[20 Marks]
1. Who wrote this article?
(2)
2. Why was the integration of sustainability and affordability considered as a potential
approach towards housing provision?
(2)
3. What is sustainable affordable housing?
(1)
4. Name four crucial characters of sustainable affordable housing.
(2)
5. The following questions test your ability to use inferencing as a strategy
to comprehend academic reading texts. Say whether each of the following
sentences is a Correct or Wrong conclusion based on the information provided
in paragraph D.
a) A country with a strong construction industry is likely to have GDP.
(1)
b) It is not significant for the construction industry to understand the effects of
building material costs on its ability to complete housing projects on time.
(1)
c) A building company that has employers who handle building materials with care at
the construction site has a better chance of completing high-quality projects within
the scheduled time.
(1)
6. Study the five words below. Each word belongs in a blank space in paragraph D.
Fluctuating monetary pivotal consistently compromising
Using contextual clues, fill each blank with the correct word. Just write down the letter
of the blank and the correct word.
(5)
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7. Study paragraph F and identify cohesive devices that are performing each of the follwing
functions.
a) One cohesive device that is adding extra information.
(1)
b) One cohesive device that is showing consequences.
(1)
c) One cohesive device that is contrasting previous information.
(1)
8. To what does each of the following pronouns refer?
a) it in paragraph B
(1)
b) them in paragraph G
(1)
Part 2: Language usage
[10 Marks]
The following questions are based on the article in part one. Read the abstract and respond to the
questions. The sentences are numbered for your convenience.
1. What is the meaning of the prefix in the word independence in sentence 1?
(1)
2. Analyse the word settlements in sentence 1 according to its morpheme structure.
(1)
3. Create a word opposite in meaning to each word below by adding an affix.
(2)
a) affordable (Paragraph A, sentence 1)
b) adequate (Paragraph A, sentence 1)
4. Provide the correct form of the following words in brackets.
(3)
a) to deliver (Paragraph A, sentence 2)
b) to conduct (Paragraph A, sentence 4)
c) to handle (Paragraph A, sentence 8)
5. Choose the correct option from the words in brackets in sentence 6.
(1)
6. Are the underlined affixes in the words below derivational or inflectional in the context in
which they are used?
(2)
buildl!!.g
(Paragraph A, sentence 2)
housl!!.g
(Paragraph A, sentence 3)
Part 3: Research writing
[10 Marks]
1. Read the title and do the following.
(2)
a) Formulate a research question from the title.
b) Create a research objective from the research question created for a) above.
2. Identify the a) research method and b) research design adopted in this study.
(2)
3. What is the characteristic of the research method identified in 2a) above?
(1)
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a) focuses on numerical/statistical data.
b) uses non-numeric information to explore cultures and people.
c) combines quantitative and qualitative approaches in a single study.
d) It specifies the nature of your research.
4. Where (geographical context) was the research conducted?
(2)
5. How was quantitative data collected in this study?
(1)
6. Which statistical software was used to analyse quantitative data?
(1)
7. In which section of their research proposal did the authors most probably explain
the sampling method used in the study.
(1)
SECTION B: ACADEMIC WRITING
Part 1: Report writing questions
Read the newspaper report below.
The high failure rate has devastating consequences on the economy- Analyst
[60]
[15 marks]
Eagle FM, 2023-01-10 Adapted
(https://www.eaglefm.corn.na/news/high-failure-rate-has-devastating-consequences-on-
economy-ana lyst/)
By: Justicia Shipena
Political analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah says that the high failure for the class of 2022 external
examinations has serious consequences on society and the economy. The education ministry last
month announced that out of 38 019 full-time candidates who sat for the Namibia Senior Secondary
Certificate (NSSCO)grade 11 students examinations, only 5 812 scored 25 points and above to
qualify for entry to tertiary institutions. The outcome of the results has seen many coming out to
criticise the education system while expressing their disappointment in the 2022 exam results. "It
has very serious consequences and impacts both for the individual students, their families, society,
and the economy," Kamwanyah said. He stated that this could be a setback for accessto education.
"Where you have such a high number of learners that did not qualify to universities then there is a
problem in terms of achieving the goal of access to education," the analyst opined.
Namibia recently reformed its basic education curriculum to address inclusivity in education. The
curriculum reforms were created by the Cabinet Directives based on the outcomes of the National
Conference on Education held in 2011. In the reformed curriculum, learners have the first exit point
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in Grade 11 with a Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary (NSSCO)qualification equivalent
to Cambridge's International General Certificate for Secondary Education (!GCSE).Mathematics is
compulsory since 2012 and many learners will have the opportunity for further studies in vocational
institutions. With the higher rate of failure, Kamwanyah said, this could also be a setback for
creating a productive workforce, adding that many could be left stranded in the streets and may
not gain gainful employment to contribute to the economy. "This could also further grow inequality
in Namibia, with those facing poverty unable to escape," he said. "When you have this higher
number of failures then the education is not equalising. What it is doing is creating more inequality.
The impact is mostly on the people already in a poverty situation and their chances to escape
inequality is very slim."
Meanwhile, higher education minister ltah Kandji-Murangi says that she has yet to engage
stakeholders. "Let me come back and engage the different teams at universities and higher
education institutions and for us to think how best we can address this national challenge together,"
the minister said. In an interview with The Villager, Kandji-Murangi stated that when Namibian
universities decided to shake off certificates years back, it was because there was a need for them
to focus on specific things such as developing new degree programmes that were to be focused,
expanding agricultural and medical schools. "We will have to sit and collectively look into how best
we can address the national challenge that we have. It is not only universities that we need to look
at but also our technical and vocational institutions in terms of diversification of trades that they
offer," she said.
As a NUST intern at the Ministry of Basic Education, you have to write a recommendation report to
brief your supervisor on the effects of high failure rate of matriculants, because the Ministry is
concerned about the failure rate. The Ministry was requested to devise measures to remedy the
situation, and your report will aid in this endeavor. You have decided to focus your report content on
1. How, in general, the high failure rate affects the country, 2. The current state of affairs regarding
the matriculants' high failure rate, and 3. Solutions suggested and required to address the situation.
Write your report Title and Conclusion section ONLY, paying attention to correct format, paragraph
structure, and the content required for the Conclusion section of a report.
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Part 2: Academic writing
Observe the following paragraph to answer the questions that follow.
[20 marks]
1The finding on the effect on housing delivery are discussed. 2Tables 3 and 4 provided numerical results
of respondents' perceptions on the effects of increase in the cost of building materials on housing
delivery. 3The findings reveal that the increase in the cost of building materials frustrates the progress
of the construction industry in South Africa due to many affected factors, such as fluctuasion in cost
of construction, high maintenance cost due to poor workmanship, increase in the cost of repair due
to inferior materials used, poor workmanship, and many others, as arrayed in Table 6. 4From the
tabularised results, it is observed that "fluctuation in cost of construction" with a MV of 3.26 is the
most affected. 5The client and project contractors has been facing serious issues to mantan steady
cost projection on construction projects (Akanni, et al., 2014). 6Therefore, "cost control during the
construction process is very important to ensure the success of a project" (Nega, 2008, p.12). 7To add,
findings indicated that high maintenance cost due to poor workmanship, increase in the cost of repair
due to inferior materials used, poor workmanship, client expectation's on quality project delivery, and
building collapses due to the use of less quality materials are all affected by increase in cost of building
materials on housing delivery. 81waro and Mwasha (2012) highlighted that workmanship plays an
important role in project's quality. 9One of the characteristics of a developed construction industry
are in the output of quality buildings and structures (Lam et al., 2007). 10However, Oyedele and Tham
(2006) posited that a lack of significant consideration for design constructability may cause building
collapse during the construction process. 11Therefore, stakeholders' satisfaction and timely project
completion has been a yardstick for measuring proyec success in relation to time, quality, scope and
cost (Takim, 2009; Aggor, 2017).
1. Identify three spelling errors in the paragraph. Write the misspelt word and the correct one
next to it. Do not rewrite the whole sentence.
(6)
2. Three sentences in the paragraph have wrong subject-verb agreement. Correct them so that
they can be grammatically correct. Underline the correct part you corrected.
(6)
3. Write three methods used in the paragraph for incorporating the ideas of other scholars into
one's own scholarly work. Write the sentence number and the method used.
(6)
4. Name the type of method of incorporating the scholars' ideas used in the following
sentences.
(2)
(a) Sentence 5
(b) Sentence 8
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Part 3: Text structure
Use the notes below to construct a paragraph of not more than eight sentences.
Dogs
Cats
[10 marks]
require more
hands-on care
loyal
c-.·1p1m1 vid<"
secui-ity
t."Omp:111ionship
<.anbe t.1ught
amusine tricks
independent
can be aloof
smaller size - more
po1t1ble and behcr
for sm:111clwellin&-'i
Your paragraph should consist of the following.
1) Topic sentence
(1)
2) Supporting sentences
(4)
3) At least four text structure-specific cohesive devices/signal words (4)
4) Closing sentence
(1)
Part 4: Citation and reference
[15 marks]
1. State whether each of the following statements is True or False.
The following are the elements of in-text citation:
1.1 Always use the author's surname only, first names and initials are omitted.
(1)
1.2 When two authors' surnames are cited in brackets, the word 'and' must be written to
separate them.
(1)
1.3 When presenting three or more authors, cite the surname of the first named author only,
followed by 'et al'.
(1)
1.4 If the word 'Anonymous' is used in place of the author's name in an article, present in-text-
citation by leaving a blank space in brackets.
(1)
1.5 Add the year of publication to an in-text citation.
(1)
2. Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow.
2.1 Recent studies on social media (Thurlow, 2003; Ling, 2005; Elvis, 2009; Deumert, 2008)
agree that SMS has been researched upon broadly and scholars have documented the trends in
language use and other characteristics.
Question: Which technique has been used to incorporate an external source in the extract
above? Choose one:
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A. Quoting B. Paraphrasing C. Summarising D. Synthesising.
(2)
2.2 In the definition of mother tongue, the writer presents the following statement from
UNESCO(2003,15)
Definitions of the term 'mother tongue' often include the following two elements: the language
that one has learnt first and the language one identifies with as a native speaker.
Question: Which technique has been used to incorporate an external source in the extract
above? Choose one:
A. Quoting B. Paraphrasing C. Summarising D. Synthesising.
(2)
3. Each of the following Reference List entries has one error. Identify the error and explain how
it can be corrected. Do not copy the entry itself.
3.1 Book with three editors:
Peters, M., Swartz, L., & Richards, P. (2010). Research in applied linguistics. HSRCPress.
(2)
3.2 Journal item:
Kooper, G. Perspectives on English education. Annual Review of Education in Africa, IV, 27 -
54.
(2)
3.3 Newspaper item:
Dhlamini, M. 2023, September 21 Tourism sector bounces back to pre-pandemic level. The
Namibian, p.11.
(2)
11