Academic Writing - elective 2600-SD-ANG-AW
Session 1. Introductions
1.1. Course introduction; requirements and student assessment; student expectations.
1.2. Introduction to Academic Writing
• What is academic writing
• Types of academic texts
• Purpose and features and style of academic writing
• Publishing
In-class exercise: Students are handed out a short academic text to be summarized in 200-250 words.
Session 2. Writing Abstracts (traditional and structured) for academic papers
2.1. Role and content of traditional and structured abstracts
2.2. Benefits of structured abstracts
2.2. Principles of writing abstracts
Workshop: Students are asked to critically evaluate an abstract for a paper provided by the Instructor. While working in pairs, they draft an improved version of the abstract.
Session 3: Writing Introductions and Conclusions
3.1. The role of the introduction
3.2. Guidelines for writing introductions
3.3. The role and structure of the conclusions section
3.4. Guidelines for writing conclusions
Workshop: Students are asked to critically review the Introduction and Conclusions sections of an article provided by the Instructor. While working in pairs, they revise the two sections to improve them.
Session 4: Writing Literature Review
4.1. Importance and purpose of the literature review
4.2. Hints on how to conduct literature reviews
4.3. APA’s citation rules
4.3. Integrating the ideas of Publisher authors – citing and referencing, paraphrasing, quoting, summarizing
In-clas exercisse: 1. Students are handed out a fragment of an academic text and are asked to paraphrase it. 2. Students are handed out a paragraph of an academic paper and asked to summarize it according to the rules discussed in class.
Session 5: Writing Peer Reviews
5.1. The need and benefits of peer reviews
5.2. Peer review process
5.3. Rules and techniques of proper reviewing
5.4. Providing positive and negative feedback - examples
Workshop: Students are handed out a review of a paper sent to them beforehand. While working in pairs, students critically evaluate the review and suggest improvements.
Learning outcomes
On the completion of this course students should know how to:
1. Define academic writing
2. Name and briefly characterize the different types of academic texts
3. Describe the purpose, features and style of academic writing
4. Summarize a short academic text
5. Explain the role of the abstract of an academic paper
6. Name the issues to be covered by the abstract
7. Draft a traditional abstract
8. Explain the difference between a traditional and a structured abstract.
9. Explain the reason why structured abstracts are increasingly required by publishers
10. Name the typical sections of a structured abstract
11. Draft a structured abstract for a paper
12. Explain the role of the introduction of a paper
13. Describe the rules of writing introductions and delineated the issues covered in the introduction
14. Draft an introduction section for an academic paper according to the rules
15. Explain the role of the conclusions section
16. Describe the rules of writing conclusions and delineated the issues covered in the conclusions section
17. Critically evaluate the introduction and conclusions sections and improve them
18. Explain the role of literature review in academic writing
19. Apply appropriate techniques used in writing the literature review section – citing and referencing, quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing
20. Conduct literature review and draft the section of a paper presenting the review
21. Explain the significance of peer review in academic writing
22. Name the benefits of peer review for editors/Publisher, authors and reviewers
23. Describe the review process
24. Apply the rules of good reviewing
25. Use reviewer forms
26. Critically evaluate a review prepared by others
27. Write a review of an article from the chosen field
28. Critically analyze academic texts
29. Effectively collaborate with other students in class and demonstrate understanding and respect for differing backgrounds, including ethnic backgrounds, of the classmates
Assessment criteria
Student assessment in this course is based on several elements, including:
• Active class participation – 20%
• Continuous assignments (drafting/re-drafting abstracts, introductions, conclusions) – 15%
• Term papewr on literature review – 30%
• Term paper on peer review – 35%
No examinations will be used in this course.
Bibliography
Literatura wymagana:
• Bowker, N. (ed.), Academic Writing: A Guide to Tertiary Level Writing. Massey University, 2007, pp. 1-30.
• EASE Guidelines for Authors and Translators of Scientific Articles to Be Published in English. European Association of Science Editors, 2016
• Emerald, Writing a Structured Abstract: Guidance and Examples, n.d.
• Jones, L., Reviewer guidelines and best practice . Taylor & Francis, August 6, 2014.
• Rowland, D.R., Reviewing the Literature: A Short Guide for Research Students. The University of Queensland, n.d.
• Soule, D., Whitley, L. and McIntosh, S., Writing for Scholarly Journals. eSharp, 2007, Chapter 3 (by John Corbett).
Literatura zalecana:
• Academic Writing, University of Technology Sydney, February 2013.
• A Guide to the APA 6th ed. Referencing Style. UCOL, January 2015.
• Belt, P., Mottonen, M. and Harkonen, J., Practical Tips for Doctoral Students. University of Oulu, 2010.
• Lynch, T. and Anderson, K., Grammar for Academic Writing. University of Edinburgh, 2013.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: