The course will be delivered in distance mode, i.e. via online live sessions on MS TEAMS.

The AG Introduction to Academic Writing will focus on academic writing in various disciplines and therefore serve as preparation for students who will write their bachelors’ thesis in the current or following semester. Students will be encouraged to critically engage with original research and recognize quality criteria for academic texts. They will also be introduced to the importance of good academic practice and the consequences of academic fraud within and outside of WU.

In the course of five interactive sessions, the following subjects will be covered:

• Literature search and reference management
• Academic texts and academic writing
• Types of academic writing
• Good Academic Practice and Plagiarism
• Knowledge Management and successful thesis writing

Adopting a broad perspective, we will look at texts, writing and good academic practice in different disciplines.

After the course students will be able to

• select relevant sources for the use in their academic text.
• apply different reading strategies (scanning, extracting relevant information, goal-directed reading, etc.).
• summarize and synthesize research outcomes using their own words.
• choose and integrate citations appropriately.
• know different reference systems and apply them appropriately.
• write critical comments, relying on substantive arguments, sound argumentation and relevant examples.
• recognize plagiarism and know how to avoid it in their own work.

Regular attendance is expected and required. The attendance requirements are met if students are present for at least 80 % of the scheduled sessions.

The course will be delivered in online format, with synchronous (i.e. live sessions via MS TEAMS) and asynchronous elements. This means that self-study and preparatory work for the online sessions will be required. 

Online sessions will provide inputs in order to support the self-study process. During the online sessions you will also work in groups, which will allow us to discuss the material you prepared in more detail.

The requirement of attendance is 80 % .

The course will be graded on a pass/fail basis (“Mit Erfolg teilgenommen/Ohne Erfolg teilgenommen”). In order to pass, students need to participate actively in the classroom.

Contributions, which will be discussed in class, are:

• quizzes on the self-study content
• 3 homeworks (annotated bibliography; summary based on several sources; critical response to a self-chosen paper)