Academic Writing in English2017HT
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Course plan
Name
Academic Writing in English
Goal
The course will give doctoral students the opportunity to practise a variety of
the skills and techniques required for writing academic texts of different
kinds in English. The focus will be on
how to make a positive impression on the potential reader.
Emphasis will be placed on the structuring of texts and grammar and
language problems will be identified and addressed as they arise. Students wil
receive individual feedback from both the teacher and from peers. Class
discussion and peer feedback will provude useful oppotunities for presenting,
talking about and explaining individual research to people with different
levels of understanding of the field.
Content
The course is based on Academic Writing for Graduate Students by John F. Swales
and Christine B. Feak.
Among the aspects of writing that we will work with are: Writing Reviews,
Writing and Refining
Abstracts, Writing Summaries and Conclusions, Revising a Research Paper. In
addition, we shall
discuss and practise formal letter writing, such as responses to reviewers and
applications for
scholarships. Presentation skills will also be addressed.
Prerequisites
You should have been a PhD student for at least one year.
Target group
"Senior" PhD students, who will be able to present a paper ready for publication as examination.
Pre-course introductory assignment
Write a brief presentation of yourself and of your research area and your own
analysis of the problem areas that you have encountered with English
(approximately 800 Words). Unit 1 in Swales Feak is a useful starting point
for this and you are recommended to read this before the first session.
After receiving feedback from this assignment, you should formulate a personal
goal for the course. By the end of the course, you are expected to have made
good progress towards this goal and to have developed a personal agenda for
further improvement.
The assignment should be sent to Pamela.vang@liu.se beforehand. The exact date
will be announced later.
Literature
Academic Writing for Graduate Students, John M. Swales and Christine B. Feak,
Third edition
Course participants are expected to have prepared the relevant chapters Before
each session.
A choice of ONE of the following:
Galileo's Finger by Peter Atkins (2003)
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood (2009)
A week in December by Sebastian Faulks (2009)
Death comes to Pemberley by P.D. James (2011)
Mara and Dan by Doris Lessing (1999)
Solar by Ian McEwan (2010)
The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld (2006)
Fermat's Last Theorem by Simon Singh (1997)
Recommended reading and reference literature:
Writing a college handbook by James A.W. Heffernan and John E. Lincoln, Norton
& Company
Practical English Usage by Michael Swan, Oxford University Press
Academic Writing A University Writing Course by Lennart Björk and Christine
Räisänen, Studentlitteratur
The Little Brown Handbook by H. Ramsey Fowler and Jane E. Aaron, Pearson
Educational
A grammar reference and work book: (strongly recommended)
MyGrammarLab Advanced (with Key) by Mark Foley and Diane Hall, Pearson
Examination
The course is organised in half-day seminars, prior to which students are
expected to have read and prepared a number of exercises
and completed a variety of individual assignments. Students will receive
individual feedback from
both the teacher and from peers. One part of each seminar will be devoted to
peer feedback and
discussion of course assignments. Class discussion and peer feedback will
provide useful
opportunities for presenting, talking about and explaining individual research
to people with
different levels of understanding of the field.
Attendance and active participation in the sessions is required. The final
examination consists
of writing and presenting a paper which is ready for publication and peer
reviewing the work of two other students.
Course leaders: Pamela Vang / Christian Berggren
Examiner: Pamela Vang
Credits
7,5 credits (högskolepoäng, hp) require that you participate in the seminars and fullfil all assignments.
Other
Please find the preliminary lesson plan beyound the button "Schedule".
Page responsible: Karin Fredriksson
