Academic Writing

elective seminars
optional courses

The students should have the minimum of B2 level on the CEFR scale.

Classroom

The aim of the course is to gradually improve academic writing skills and equip students with tools which can be used in their future academic careers, including writing dissertations. During the course students learn how to write a well-structured academic essay based on sources, but the writing skills are not limited to essays only and can be easily transferred to other types of academic writing. The course provides a solid basis for further and more confident practice in academic writing necessary in the university context.

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.

All materials are provided by the teacher via Google Classroom. The materials include sample essays, academic articles and worksheets.

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

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

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

Smith, S. (2019). Academic Writing Genres: Essays, Reports & Other Genres. Evident Press.

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

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.

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)

-