Academic Writing 2104-UPIR-D2ACWR
During the course students work on key aspects of academic writing, such as the use of sources, avoiding plagiarism, appropriate style, structure and organisation, cohesion and coherence, as well as referencing and using referencing management software. Students are expected to apply the knowledge gained in the first part of the course in their written assignments which are produced towards the end of the course. Essay questions and some sources are provided.
List of topics:
1. Course and assessment overview. Introduction to the Academic Vocabulary Project.
2. Introduction to avoiding plagiarism. Types of plagiarism, antiplagiarism software, academic integrity.
3. Using Zotero – referencing management software.
4. Introduction to referencing styles: APA 7th ed. Practice in paraphrasing and summarising.
5. Introduction to referencing styles: Chicago Manual of Style 17th ed. Practice in paraphrasing and summarising.
6. Key features of the academic style. Analysis of well-written academic texts.
7. Structure and organisation in academic writing. Focus on introductions and conclusions, and paragraph structure.
8. Introduction to formulating research questions and constructing arguments.
9. Common language structures for academic writing: reporting verbs, noun phrases and hedging.
10. Transferrable writing skills and their application in different genres: reports, proposals, research articles, dissertations.
11. The skill of giving and receiving valuable peer feedback. Peer review of essay drafts.
12. Essay submission and evaluation of writing.
13. Feedforward and action plan: how to continue working on academic writing skills after the course.
Type of course
optional courses
Mode
Prerequisites (description)
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, students will:
- have a better understanding of criticality and argumentation.
- be able to identify and use appropriate style and register in academic writing.
- be able to write a well-structured academic essay showing a clear position supported with evidence from sources.
- have practised ways of avoiding plagiarism (summarising, paraphrasing and referencing).
- have expanded their range of academic vocabulary and structures.
Assessment criteria
The teaching approach focuses on the students and their active participation in class (action-oriented approach). Students often work in pairs and groups. The course is partly based on the flipped classroom method where students read materials before classes. This method allows for more efficient interaction during classes.
All students are expected to use laptops in class and to produce written assignments. Reviewing essay drafts on smartphones will not be acceptable. Class and supplementary materials will be available on Google Classroom.
Building general academic vocabulary and discipline-specific vocabulary is a significant element of the course and each student will complete an individual project which will help them expand the range of useful language for reading and writing in the academic context.
Formative assessment plays a significant role in the development of writing skills therefore, each student will receive feedback on their written work at various stages of the process of writing and will be asked to act upon it. Live feedback on essay drafts will be given in class in the second half of the course.
All students are urged to keep the set deadlines for submission of assignments. Failure to meet the assigned deadlines will result in a lower grade and no feedback.
Any form of plagiarism will result in failing the course.
There are four components of the final grade:
1. Essay – 45%
2. Individual Academic Vocabulary Project – 25%
3. Test covering terminology and some theoretical aspects of academic writing – 20%
4. Active participation in class – 10%.
Grades scale:
93%-100% - 5 (bardzo dobry)
87%-92% - 4.5 (dobry plus)
77%-86% - 4 (dobry)
71%-76% - 3.5 (dostateczny plus)
60%-70% - 3 (dostateczny)
0%-59% - 2 (niedostateczny)
Practical placement
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Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: