!!! PLEASE NOTE:

During the period of registration, students will be registered on a first come, first served basis.

If there are still places left after the end of the period of registration, the following will apply: any such places will be filled with those students on the waiting list who have not been registered to any other course of this 'Studienplanpunkt'. Eligible students will be given places in accordance with their study progress and in cooperation with the Vizerektorat für Lehre und Studierende.

However, should you not be able to attend the course after all, we kindly ask you – in the interest of students still looking for a place – that you cancel your registration on LPIS during the period of registration. Thank you very much for your cooperation.

!!!! Please note that attendance at the introductory meeting on 26 January 2027 is essential. If you fail to turn up, your place will be given to a student on the waiting list.

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This course introduces students to the fundamentals of academic writing on three interdependent levels. On the macro level, we’ll be looking at the structure of different research genres, and how one tells a compelling ‘research story’; on the meso level, we’ll focus on the conventions for building good paragraphs; and on the micro level, we’ll talk about writing clear and rhetorically effective sentences. In addition, we’ll examine the rationale behind academic citation practices. Why is it so important to reference all your sources? And how can you avoid inadvertent plagiarism?

On successfully completing the course, students should be able to:

• Identify different research genres, and distinguish them from non-academic prose.
• Name the most important parts of a thesis and outline their respective functions.
• Properly structure individual paragraphs and provide appropriate links between them.
• Write English sentences that are clear, effective and appealing.
• Master a range of techniques for linking sentences.
• Use ‘signposts’ to guide readers.
• Appreciate the importance of punctuation.
• Integrate different sources into their texts and reference them according to established conventions.
• Distinguish between direct and indirect quotations.
• Avoid plagiarism.
• Carefully edit and proofread their academic texts.

You may be absent for a maximum of 2.5 hours in total. However, the second and third units will begin with a written test that covers the previous day's material. If you miss these tests because you're absent in the first hour (i.e., between 10-11), you'll lose the points awarded for completion of the test.

Up-front input coupled with in-class discussions.

Grading

20% In-class participation

40% Test A (on Day 2, 10-11)

40% Test B (on Day 3, 10-11)

Use of AI Tools

In this course, the use of AI tools is not permitted at all, not even for checking grammar and vocabulary.

None.

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