Part One
Course Outline
Objectives of the Course
To help students
1. develop a critical understanding of genres and conventions of academic writing, and raise awareness of and practice skills in critical reading, skill in searching and assessing various research materials and sources;
2. acquire the ability to use the discourse patterns of academic English and develop competence in structuring papers effectively, including skills in formulating an effective thesis, writing an effective introduction and conclusion, developing arguments and producing effectively-focused and coherent paragraphs;
3. improve competence in conveying a professional tone, and learn to use techniques for incorporating quotations and sources, including using the first person appropriately and in using parallel structure, active voice, and other techniques to write with clarity, precision and concision;
4. become familiar with and practice discipline-specific academic papers, including summaries, abstracts, proposals, applications and recommendations, reports and research papers;
5. develop competence in using formats of in-text documentation and final bibliography, including APA (American Psychological Association) format and MLT ( Modern Language Association) format.
Textbooks and Readings
Course materials include in-class handouts and additional on-line course support readings students will be able to access and print off by visiting:
__________________ (website)___________ .
Course Topics and Assignments
- Introduction to Academic Writing
Nature of Academic Writing: Three types of writing --- arguments, narratives, and descriptive writing; differences in rhetoric and academic writings
Genre analysis: Title; Author’s name; Abstract; Key words; Body; (or) Acknowledgements; References; (or) Appendix; (or) Biodata
Body: Introduction; Background (Literature Review); Materials and Experiments (Data); Results; Discussion; Conclusions; (or) Implications
Argumentation and Search of Secondary Sources: documenting sources and critique of other writers, Critical reading skills and skills in using search engine such as Google, Baidu and other academic search engines;
Topic assignments:
1. Find out and print one typical sample of your discipline-specific paper
2. Make a genre analysis
- Common Patterns of Development:
Patterns of academic English sentence structure: cause and effect; comparison and contrast; classification, definition and exemplification
Paragraphing: topic sentence and thesis; transitions; coherence and meta-discourse
Topic assignments:
1. Outline and practice the patterns of sentence structure
2. Practice the development of a topic sentence and thesis
3. Outline the natures of meta-discourse
Acknowledging and incorporating sources: conventions and techniques for documenting and quotations, avoiding plagiarism
Audience and professional tone: active and passive expressions, the first person expressions, identifying the audience and tone in the introductions, the conclusions, the discussions and the implications
Topic assignments:
1. Practice documenting and quotations in one discipline-specific paper
2. Sample analysis of the audience and tone in one typical research paper
- Argumentative Development and Practice
How to write an abstract and a summary: differences and requirements; organizations and practice
How to develop a proposal: identifying the thesis, the arguments, the literature review and the research questions; analysis and practice
How to write an introduction, make a discussion and draw a conclusion: becoming familiar with the requirements of English academic practice
Topic assignments:
1. Practice writing: introduction, conclusion, discussion, and implication in your discipline-related papers
2. Write a research proposal in your own discipline
- Discipline-Specific Academic Writing
Report writing: types of reports ---proposal report, feasibility report, investigation report, and laboratory report; organizations and quality criteria of report writing; analysis and practice
Applications and recommendations: features of letter writing; structures and sample analysis of application letters; C V and resume; and recommendation letters
Research papers: types of research papers; format of a research paper; sample analysis and writing process
Topic assignments:
1. Write one proposal report
2. Practice CV and resume
3. Sample analysis of one research paper
Formats of the publications in English academy: APA (American Psychological Association) and MLT (Modern Language Association)
Compiling a bibliography: sample analysis, practice the format of references
Assessing strength and weakness: revising and editing your own writing assignments to eliminate common writing errors
Topic assignments:
1. Identify the format errors in one sample bibliography
2. Write and organize one of your own bibliography
Course Evaluation
Criteria: students enrolled are required to finish in-class assignments, pre-reading assignments and after-class readings, Students will be graded according to class attendance and the accomplishing of the assignments both in-class and after-class.students’ assignments will be evaluated by Honor, Pass or Fail
Course Schedule
Course Code:
Time of the lecture:
Class of the lecture:
Lecturer
Name of the Lecturers:
Contact Information:
