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.

Up-front input coupled with in-class discussions and critical reflection in small groups.

Grading

50% Test under exam conditions

30% Homework assignment

20% in-class participation

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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