General Education

The Reading & Writing Lab is there to help individuals / small groups to read the assigned readings and improve their written assignments.

• Useful links and support materials are uploaded on the ILC website for enhancing self-learning.
• Books and assigned reading texts are kept at ILC user area for easy reference.
• Students can call 2609-8733 to make appointments to see the language counselor.

Independent learning in support of General Education

1. Critical Reading / Discussion on various texts is run by English/Chinese team. The texts will be discussed in relation to particular questions based on assignments. Participants are expected to have a good general idea about the text. Participants with language-related questions may bring them up at the discussions.
2. Writing consultations in a one-to-one or small group environment are offered specifically to General education students. Participants are encouraged to bring their outline plan, first draft, and in some cases their second draft to the consultations for language feedback. Resources for self-study to improve academic writing will be given.  The special General Education writing consultations will be limited to no more than 5 consultations per student.
3. General Education students are also encouraged to attend academic reading and writing workshops offered by the ILC throughout the year.

The ILC website also helps students by providing a range of resources for them to use in their own time to further develop their academic study skills.

Classics for Today - In search of good life and good society

Academic Essay-Term Paper :

Academic Writing Checklist

Writing Academic Essays

ILC Links for Academic Language and Common Errors:

Avoiding Common Grammar Errors in Writing

Science in the Classics:

The following links are recommended for students studying Science in the Classics (UGB2412)

Plato (The Allegory of the Cave)

1. http://faculty.washington.edu/smcohen/320/cave.htm This website at Washington shares lecture notes, review notes and refers the readers on to other related lectures that might be very useful.
2. http://videos.howstuffworks.com/hsw/16960-platos-republic-the-allegory-of-the-cave-video.htm The video link gives a short clip that is easy to understand and makes a great introduction. There are further video clips on the same page that may be useful too.
3. http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~loxias/oldindex.htm Useful reading guide to The republic and other classic works of the Greeks/ Romans-includes games and quizzes!

Galileo: Dialogues Concerning Two Sciences

1. http://galileo.rice.edu/lib/projects.html introduces Galileo’s world and includes projects by students at Rice University.
2. http://galileoandeinstein.physics.virginia.edu/lectures/lecturelist.html links to several lectures on Galileo that may be useful.
3. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/galileo/ Very useful detailed site from Stanford with further links to online material

Isaac Newton: Principia

1. http://www.archive.org/details/newtonspmathema00newtrich This is a free download of Newton’s work in English.
2. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/newton-principia/ More help from Stanford. A detailed introduction and review of Newton’s key ideas.
3. http://www.newtonproject.sussex.ac.uk/prism.php?id=100 this link from the Stanford page includes further links to ‘everything you need to know’ about Newton and to essays written about him and his work.
4. http://www.ehow.com/about_5329474_newtons-laws-motion-made-easy.html For non-scientists, this ‘made-easy’ page serves as a simple introduction.

Books kept at ILC's Special Collection for the General Education Foundation Program