Academic Writing and Editing in Portuguese III 3305-RTNP3-2U

The course is the third part of the sequence devoted to academic writing and editing in Portuguese. It is practical and workshop-based. It aims to prepare students to independently plan, write, edit, revise, and present academic texts in accordance with the standards of scholarly work.
The course focuses on texts related to the preparation of a master’s thesis, academic article, academic review, research report, research project, abstract, and bibliography. Particular attention is paid to the relation between the research problem, method, material, argumentative structure, and linguistic form of the text.

The course covers:
- the structure of academic and scientific texts,
- formulation of a research problem and research questions,
- construction of an analytical model,
- selection and description of research methods,
- organization of argumentation in academic writing,
- strategies of summarizing, paraphrasing, quoting, and commenting on literature,
- editing the introduction, theoretical section, analytical section and conclusion,
- preparation of an abstract in Portuguese,
- bibliographic standards, footnotes, citations and source management,
- academic ethics, copyright, plagiarism and research integrity,
- linguistic, stylistic and substantive revision of texts,
use of digital tools in writing, editing and bibliography management,
- preparation of a text for public presentation or academic consultation,
- individual and collaborative editing of academic texts.

Use of artificial intelligence tools: AI tools may be used only as support for organizing notes, preparing an outline, arranging bibliography, preliminary language checking, checking textual coherence, and generating auxiliary questions for independent analysis. Students remain fully responsible for the content of their work, selection of sources, interpretation of material, accuracy of citations, and final version of the text. It is not acceptable to present AI-generated text as one’s own work. If AI tools are used in preparing the final assignment, the scope of their use must be briefly indicated.

Content note: the course does not systematically include materials containing violence, vulgar language, or explicit erotic content. If the topic chosen by a student requires the analysis of potentially sensitive content, it should be discussed with the instructor in accordance with the principles of academic ethics.

Course coordinators

Term 2026Z:

Samuel Figueira Cardoso

Term 2025Z:

Paulina Junko

Type of course

obligatory courses

Mode

Classroom

Prerequisites (description)

Students are expected to know Portuguese at a level that allows them to read academic texts, participate in discussion and prepare a scholarly text. Recommended level: at least B2+, preferably C1. Basic knowledge of word processors is required, as well as readiness to work with digital tools supporting editing, proofreading and bibliography management.

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, the student:
Knowledge
- characterizes the structure of academic and scientific texts in Portuguese, including the functions of the introduction, theoretical section, analytical section, conclusion, abstract and bibliography (K_W01, K_W05).
explains the principles of formulating a research problem, research questions, an analytical model and a description of research methods in academic work (K_W03).
- knows and applies basic principles of academic ethics, copyright, research integrity and proper use of sources (K_W10).

Skills
- searches for, selects, evaluates and organizes academic sources needed to prepare an academic text in Portuguese (K_U01).
- prepares an outline of an academic text by defining the research problem, aim, material, method and argumentative structure (K_U03, K_U04).
- edits and revises a fragment of an academic text in Portuguese, maintaining coherence, linguistic accuracy, appropriate style and proper terminology (K_U07, K_U08).
- prepares an abstract, bibliography and footnotes in accordance with accepted editorial and bibliographic standards (K_U01, K_U08).
- presents the results of their work on a text, justifying editorial, methodological and argumentative decisions (K_U06, K_U07).

Social competences
- critically evaluates their own academic text, identifies its strengths and weaknesses and plans further editorial work (K_K01, K_K02).
- cooperates with the group in consulting and editing texts, providing substantive feedback while respecting the principles of academic ethics (K_K04, K_K05).

Assessment criteria

The course uses the following teaching methods:
- seminar with elements of a writing workshop,
- analysis of examples of academic texts,
- editing and proofreading exercises,
- individual work on a fragment of one’s own text,
- pair work and small-group work,
- text consultation and peer feedback,
- use of digital tools supporting editing, proofreading and bibliography management.

Graded pass. The final grade consists of:
- Active participation in class and preparation for workshop activities: 20% of the final grade.
- Assessment includes preparation for class, participation in text analysis, participation in discussion, completion of editing exercises and provision of substantive feedback to other students.
- Partial assignments in academic text editing: 30% of the final grade.
- Assignments include, among others: formulating a research problem, preparing a text outline, compiling a bibliography, writing an abstract, revising a text fragment and commenting on the editorial choices made.
- Final assignment: 50% of the final grade.
The final assignment consists in preparing and editing a fragment of an academic text in Portuguese, together with a bibliography, an abstract and a short commentary on the research problem, method and argumentative structure.

The final assignment is assessed according to the following criteria:
- formulation of the research problem and aim of the text: 10 points,
- selection and use of literature: 10 points,
- text structure and coherence of argumentation: 15 points,
- linguistic and stylistic accuracy in Portuguese: 10 points,
- correctness of bibliography, footnotes and abstract: 5 points.

The maximum score is 100 points. To pass the course, the student must obtain at least 60 points and submit the final assignment.

Grading scale:
60-67 points: 3.0
68-75 points: 3.5
76-83 points: 4.0
84-91 points: 4.5
92-100 points: 5.0

Maximum number of unexcused absences: 2 meetings. If this limit is exceeded, the student must complete an additional editing assignment indicated by the instructor and covering the material from the missed classes. Failure to compensate for absences above the limit may result in a lower grade or failure to pass the course if the instructor cannot verify the achievement of the learning outcomes. Absence from more than half of the meetings makes it impossible to pass the course in the regular mode.

Practical placement

Bibliography

Required reading
Graff, Gerald; Birkenstein, Cathy. 2017. They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. 4th ed. New York: W. W. Norton.
Marcuschi, Luiz Antônio. 2008. Produção textual, análise de gêneros e compreensão. São Paulo: Parábola Editorial.
Vieira, Francisco Eduardo; Faraco, Carlos Alberto. 2019. Escrever na universidade: fundamentos. São Paulo: Parábola Editorial.
Testa, Martin; Figueira-Cardoso, Samuel, red. 2025. Academic Writing in Additional Languages (Lx): Teaching, Research and Emerging Technologies. Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.

Additional reading
Ballance, Oliver J.; Coxhead, Averil. 2025. “Large Language Model AI and Lx Academic Writing: Challenges and Opportunities”. W: Martin Testa; Samuel Figueira-Cardoso, red. Academic Writing in Additional Languages (Lx): Teaching, Research and Emerging Technologies. Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, s. 170-201.
Bozkurt, Aras. 2024. “GenAI et al.: Cocreation, Authorship, Ownership, Academic Ethics and Integrity in a Time of Generative AI”. Open Praxis 16(1).
COPE. 2023. “Authorship and AI Tools”. Committee on Publication Ethics.
UNESCO. 2023. Guidance for Generative AI in Education and Research. Paris: UNESCO.