Basic Academic Writing (5 cr)

Evaluation scale

H-5

Content scheduling

January- March 2024
Theme 1: Reading Skills, Writing Process & Academic Writing
Theme 2: Reading Strategies & Sentence structure
Theme 3: Note-taking & Paragraph structure
Theme 4: Summarizing & Essay Structure
Theme 5: Citing & Referencing, Evaluating sources
Theme 6: Text polishing and editing

Objective

The aim of this course is to activate and develop the students’ writing for academic purposes, namely, thesis-writing. The students will also learn about and practise using and citing sources. Additional course objectives are to demonstrate understanding of and apply effective paragraph structure, employ academic and professional language, evaluate sources for relevance and reliability.

Content

Writing academic texts:
• the process of writing
• principles of academic writing
• sentence structure, sentence clarity and sentence problems
• paragraph structure paragraph unity, paragraph coherence
• essay structure and maturity test
• evaluating sources
• avoiding plagiarism
• using and citing sources
• abstract-writing and evaluation

Materials

teacher’s own and web-based material

Teaching methods

teacher-directed classroom activities, independent work, pair work, group work, project work activities (quizzes, meetings)

Exam schedules

No exam. There is continuous assessment.

International connections

The contents and the assessed outputs of the course are designed to provide the students with English language written communication skills they need in writing their thesis as well as spoken communications skills they will need to present their thesis. . In addition, the students have to complete tasks individually, in pairs and as a group which enhances their communication and interpersonal skills. The assessment is continuous and teacher and peer assessments are provided after the completion of each task.
The course deals with the theme of sustainable development in discussing, reading articles and writing about general concepts ( e.g. green IT, energy efficiency), technologies & strategies (such as cloud computing, virtualization); social & ethical issues ( e.g. data privacy, digital divide, inclusive access)

Completion alternatives

A: The student can complete the Basic Academic Writing (5ECTS) and complete Accreditation of Prior Learning based on Competence (not a transfer of credits):
Within two weeks of the course start, the student submits a written report showcasing competence in academic writing and demonstrating the skills this course aims to achieve. If the submission fulfills the assessment criteria (i.e.: no plagiarism, demonstration of well-composed paragraphs, use of references, appropriate register etc.-see evaluation criteria below), the student can attain the credits. If the submission does not meet the criteria, the student joins the course.
B: The student can complete the Basic Academic Writing (5ECTS) and complete Transfer of Credits within the first two weeks of the course if the student has completed a course with the same credits and similar content at a same level (higher education) educational institution within the last 5 years. The student will also need to provide an official transcript and course content description.

Student workload

classroom activities: 24 h
individual work: 76 h
pairwork work: 25 h

Qualifications

English Professional Skills, B2 or level B2 according to European Framework of Reference for Languages

Further information

Course Requirement: The students need to have completed the English Professional course.

We will be using Itslearning for this course.

Compulsory physical attendance