Read the following text.

 

Vitamins

The discovery and isolation of many of the vitamins were originally achieved through work on rats which had been given diets of purified proteins, fats, carbohydrates and inorganic salts. Using this technique, Hopkins in 1912 showed that a synthetic diet of this type was inadequate for the normal growth of rats, but that when a small quantity of milk was added to the diet the animals developed normally. This proved that there was some essential factor, or factors, lacking in the pure diet.

About this time the term 'vitamines' derived from 'vital amines', was coined by Funk to describe these accessory food factors, which he thought contained amino-nitrogen. It is now known that only a few of these substances contain amino-nitrogen and the word has been shortened to vitamins, a term whfch has been generally accepted as a group name.

Although the discovery of the vitamins dates from the beginning of the twentieth century, the association of certain diseases with dietary deficiencies had been recognised much earlier. In 1753 Lind, a British naval physician, published a treatise on scurvy proving that this disease could be prevented in human beings by including salads and summer fruits in their diet. The action of lemon juice in curing and preventing scurvy had been known, however, since the beginning of the seventeenth century. The use of cod-liver oil in preventing rickets has long been appreciated, and Eijkmann knew at the end of the last century that beri-beri, a disease common in the Far East, could be cured by giving the patients brown rice grain rather than polished rice.

Vitamins are frequently defined as organic compounds which are required in small amounts for normal growth and maintenance of animal life. But this definition ignores the important part that these chemical substances play in plants, and their importance generally in the metabolism of all living organisms.

(P. McDonald et al, Animal Nutrition, London: Clowes, 1981.)

 

 

Look at the ways in which parts of the text have been incorporated into the writing of eight pieces of work by students. Decide which of these extracts would not be acceptable in wriring in an English-speaking academic environment, and why.

(Note: One of the extracts has some grammatical errors.)

 

Extract 1

Although the discovery of vitamins dates from the beginning of the rwentieth century, the association of certain diseases with dietary deficiencies had been recognised much earlier. In 1753 Lind, a British naval physician, published a treatise on scurvy proving that this disease could be prevented in human beings by including salads and summer fruits in their diet. The action of lemon juice in curing and preventing scurvy had been known, however, since the beginning of the century.

 

Extract 2

Vitamins were discovered in the early part of the twentieth century, the term 'vitamines' having been invented by Funk and later shortened to its present form. However, it had been known, in some cases for more than a century, that certain deficiencies in diet could lead to disease. For example, it was known that cod-liver oil could prevent ricketts, while lemon juice was used against scurvy. In the latter case, further evidence was provided in 1753 by the publication of a treatise by a British naval physician named Lind, who proved that a diet including salads and summer fruits was effective in preventing scurvy.

 

Extract 3

The term vitamines was invented by Funk to describe food factors that he thought contained amino-nitrogen. It is now known that only a few of these substances contain amino-nitrogen and the word has been shortened to vitamins. Although their discovery dates from the beginning of the twentieth century, the association of certain diseases with dietary deficiencies had been recognised a long time before.

 

Extract 4

Some background to the discovery of vitamins is provided by McDonald et al, in Animal Nutrition (1981). Many vitamins were discovered and isolated through work on rats which had been given diets of purified proteins, fats, carbohydrates and inorganic salts. Using this technique, Hopkins in 1912 showed that a synthetic diet of this type was inadequate for the normal growth of rats, but that when a small quantity of milk was added to the diet the animals developed normally. This proved that there was some essential factor, or factors, lacking in the pure diet.

 

Extract 5

It is not uncommon to take for granted a definition of vitamins which is essentially incomplete. 'Vitamins are frequently defined as organic compounds which are required in small amounts for normal growth and maintenance of animal life. But this definition ignores the important part that these chemical substances play in plants and their importance generally in the metabolism of all living organisms' (McDonald, 1981).

 

Extract 6

Despite the discovery of vitamins date from the beginning of twentieth century, it had been recognised much earlier the association of certain diseases with dietary deficiencies. In 1753 Lind, a British naval physician, published a treatise on scurvy proving that this disease could be prevented in human beings by including salads and summer fruits in their diet. The action of lemon juice in curing and preventing scurvy had been known, however, since the beginning of the seventeenth century.

 

Extract 7

As noted by McDonald (1981), certain diseases were associated with dietary deficiencies long before vitamins were discovered (at the beginning of the twentieth century). At the end of the nineteenth century, Eijkmann knew that beri-beri, which was common in the Far East, could be cured by feeding people with brown rice instead of polished rice. As far back as 1753, Lind, a physician working in the British Navy, observed that inclusion of summer fruit and salad in a diet could prevent scurvy.

 

Extract 8

In the early part of this century, it was shown by Hopkins that rats that were given a synthetic diet of purified proteins, fats, carbohydrates and inorganic salts would not grow normally. However, if a small amount of milk was added, growth would be normal, indicating that some important ingredient was missing in the pure diet (McDonald, 1981).