Academic Writing Advanced

Classroom

The aim of the course is to improve academic writing skills and provide students with tools for their future academic careers, including writing dissertations. This course also emphasizes the ethical use of AI in academic writing and the development of critical thinking. Students learn to write well-structured academic essays based on sources while critically evaluating and ethically utilizing AI tools.

The main topics include:

1. Course and assessment overview. The process of writing and its stages. Introduction to AI in Academic Writing: Roles, Benefits, and Ethical Concerns.

2. Reading academic texts, synthesising information, and taking notes.

3. Class Debate on the use of AI in academic writing.

4. Structure and organisation. The importance of outlines in the process of writing.

5. Reflective practice: Evaluating personal use of AI in academic writing.

6. Critical evaluation and comparison of AI-generated content and texts written by humans.

7. Building academic vocabulary.

8. Features of academic writing: The dos and don’ts of academic writing.

9. Noun phrases in academic writing.

10. Formulating research questions and doing library research. Evaluating academic sources – the CRAAP test.

11. Using Zotero – referencing management software. Referencing styles: APA 7th ed. and Chicago Manual of Style 17th ed. Practice in paraphrasing and summarising.

12. Criticality and argumentation in the process of reading and writing.

13. Achieving better cohesion and coherence in academic texts.

14. Proofreading your own work – checklist. Peer reviews and the skill of giving feedback.

15. Feedforward and action plan: how to continue working on academic writing skills after the course.

The list of topics may be adapted after consultations with the students, taking into account their writing needs.

All materials are provided by the teacher via Google Classroom and/or in class. The materials include sample essays, academic articles, and worksheets. Additional readings on AI and ethics in academic writing will be included.

Supplementary materials:

Booth, W.C., Colomb, G., Williams, J., Bizup, J., Fitzgerald, W. The Craft of Research (4th ed.). The University of Chicago Press.

Caplan, N. (2019). Grammar Choices for Graduate and Professional Writers (2nd ed.). The University of Michigan Press.

Cottrell, S. (2011). Critical thinking skills (2nd ed.). Palgrave.

Jegede, J., Hargreaves, C., Smith, K., Hodgson, P., Todd, M. & Waldman, J., (2020). Writing successful undergraduate dissertations in social sciences. 2nd ed. Routledge.

Paterson, K., & Wedge, R. (2014). Oxford grammar for EAP. Oxford University Press.

Read, S. (2019). Academic Writing Skills for International Students (1st ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.

Roselle, L., Spray, S., & Shelton, J.T. (2019). Research and Writing in International Relations (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Swales, J. & Feak, C. (2012). Academic Writing for Graduate Students. The University of Michigan Press.

By the end of the course, students will:

- Be able to write a well-structured academic paper showing a clear position supported with evidence from reliable academic sources.

- Be able to identify and use appropriate style and register in academic writing.

- Have practised ways of avoiding plagiarism (summarizing, paraphrasing, and referencing).

- Have a better understanding of critical thinking and argumentation in the academic context.

- Have demonstrated an understanding of the responsible use of AI in academic writing.

- Have expanded their range of academic vocabulary and structures.

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 substantial element of the course and each student will complete an individual AI-assisted 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.

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.

Attendance is obligatory during the course. Missing more than 2 classes will result in a lower grade and the possibility of failing the course.

Please feel free to speak to me if there are any special circumstances affecting your academic work which I should be aware of.

There are 3 main components of the final grade:

1. Outline, essay and reflective component (1) – 35%

2. Outline, essay and reflective component (2) – 50%

3. Attendance and active participation in class – 15%