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Introduction to academic writing

Semester 1 路 27218 路 Bachelor in Economics, Politics and Ethics 路 3CP 路 EN


The course is designed to enable students to acquire academic writing skills. The specific educational objectives are:
- to introduce students to the 鈥渨hat, when, where鈥 of academic writing
- to introduce students to the essential elements of academic writing (argument and discussion, cause and effect, comparison, visual information鈥)
- to introduce students to the basic structure of different types of academic writings (report, thesis, dissertation, academic paper etc.)
- to apply these skills to report and critique conflicting arguments, to present convincing arguments with supporting reasons and exemplification, and to present key information given in a text in a coherent summary;
- to provide students with the ability to progress to a wider range of written academic assignments.

Lecturers: Andrea Molinari, Stefania Baroncelli, Ralf L眉fter, Roberto Farneti, Jan Ditzen
Teaching assistants: Yasser Basstawy El Sayed

Teaching Hours: 36 (28 lecture hours Prof. Molinari - 2 lecture hours Prof. Baroncelli - 2 lecture hours Prof. Farneti - 2 lecture hours Dr. L眉fter - 2 lecture hours Dr. Ditzen)
Lab Hours: -
Mandatory Attendance: Due to applicability of the contents to various academic contexts and needs for students (essay, thesis, papers, Master application, etc.), the attendance is strongly suggested.

Course Topics
- Characteristics of Academic Writing - The purpose of Academic Writing - Academic Writing: 鈥渨here鈥 - The main sections of an academic paper - The Title - The Abstract section - Different types of Abstract - The 鈥淚ntroduction鈥 section - Defining the scope - The CARS models - Middle sections: 鈥渕ethods鈥, 鈥渞esults鈥 and 鈥渄iscussion鈥 - The use of headings in middle sections - The 鈥淢ethods鈥 section: writing details - The 鈥淩esults鈥 section: writing details - The 鈥淒iscussion鈥 section: writing details - How to use illustrations, tables and attachments - The endings sections - The 鈥淐onclusions鈥 - Conclusions鈥 structure - The 鈥淩eferences鈥 section: the different citation styles - In-text citations and respective formatting styles - Documenting the various academic references - The academic writing process - Challenges of writing in British vs American English - Punctuation - Components of academic writing: clause, phrase, sentence - Organising paragrahps - Synonyms and verbs in academic writing - Adverbs in academic writing - Plagiarism: what is and how to avoid it - Degrees of plagiarism - Plagiarism: summarizing vs paraphrasing - Making and organizing notes - Rewriting and proofreading

Propaedeutic courses
None

Teaching format
frontal teaching, in-class exercises and writing simulations

Educational objectives
ILO (Intended Learning Outcomes) ILO 1 Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: ILO 1.1 Ability to produce texts on topics of scientific interest; ILO 2 Communication skills: ILO 2.1 Proficiency (oral and written) in Italian, German and English, including translation between these languages. Intercultural competence. Conceptual awareness, synthesis and written expression, in particular in the drafting of scientific or science-based documents

Additional educational objectives and learning outcomes
- preparation for Bachelor's thesis writing

Assessment
A written examination designed to simulate the drafting of sections of an academic paper based on one or more assigned texts, with exercises in rephrasing and summarizing. This will verify ILO 1.1 - Ability to produce texts on topics of scientific interest and ILO 2.1 - Proficiency in English

Evaluation criteria
Written: the individual student鈥檚 paper or written exam will be evaluated according to the correspondence to the contents explained during the course. Therefore, marking criteria will be: a) appropriateness of the content, b) structure鈥檚 coherence and coordination of the different parts of the paper, c) grammar accuracy, d) vocabulary accuracy (including specialized language and register), e) correct referencing, f) appropriate format respect to the chosen template

Required readings
  • materials available on platform OLE


Supplementary readings

-      S. Bailey, Academic Writing. A Handbook for International Students, 5th edition (Routledge, 2018)

-      M. Alley, The Craft of Scientific Writing, Third Edition, Springer-Verlag, 1996 (http://writing.eng.vt.edu)



Further information
- none


Sustainable Development Goals
This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the following Sustainable Development Goals.



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