Academic Writing Advanced

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 well-structured academic essays (2000 words) 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.

The main topics include:

1. Overview of the course.

2. The process of writing and its stages.

3. Building academic vocabulary.

4. Features of academic writing. The dos and don’ts of academic writing (good and bad examples).

5. Doing research and formulating research questions.

6. Evaluating academic sources – the CRAAP test.

7. Criticality in the process of reading and writing.

8. Organisation and structure in academic writing.

9. Avoiding plagiarism: referencing styles.

10. Avoiding plagiarism: paraphrasing and summarising.

11. Avoiding plagiarism: how does the software work and what you can learn from it.

12. Respecting the word limit: being concise vs expanding on ideas.

13. Achieving better cohesion and coherence in academic texts.

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

15. Expanding the range of structures (focus on chosen grammar aspects, including sentence structure).

The list of topics will 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 materials

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.

Hartley, J. (2010). Academic Writing and Publishing. Routledge.

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

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. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429446733

Wallwork, A. (2013). English for Academic Research: Writing Exercises. Springer US

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)

- 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 in the 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 and will be asked to act upon it.

There are four components of the final grade:

1. Essay 1 – 20%

2. Essay 2 – 30%

3. Individual Academic Vocabulary Project – 25%

4. Test covering some theoretical aspects of academic writing – 25%

Classes will take place on campus while all materials will be available on Google Classroom.

Students will receive an invitation to join Google Classroom before the start of the course.

Missing more than two classes will affect the final grade. Please make sure you attend all classes.