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The course was created for master's students interested in improving their English academic
writing skills. It focuses on two areas: 1 Writing persuasive, well-structured, evidence-based academic texts in English 2 Structure, language use and style of seminar papers and theses Students should have a B2 level of English. Through written assignments on the topic they are researching for their thesis, students will develop their writing skills in their field of academic interest. Last update: Cotte Pamela Danielle, M.A. (04.02.2025)
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The course focuses on two areas of skills development: 1 Writing persuasive, well-structured, evidence-based academic texts in English Specific competences to be developed will include: o Argumentation, critical thinking, differentiating facts and opinions, evaluating evidence, supporting claims effectively with evidence, paraphrase versus quotation, presenting data o Use of effective structure and signposting language conventions in academic English writing o Correct use of academic English, including academic style, language for argumentative writing, reporting verbs, distinguishing facts and opinions, grammar conventions o Generic phrases, structure, vocabulary and conventions for writing each part of a seminar paper or thesis, applying these to the students' chosen topics Students will be encouraged to use a topic related to their thesis topic to develop their writing skills, Last update: Cotte Pamela Danielle, M.A. (04.02.2025)
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According to the Dean's provision, the teacher evaluates the student's performance in the percentages assigned to grades A to F (https://fsv.cuni.cz/opatreni-dekanky-c-20/2019):
Last update: Lochmanová Sára, Mgr. (05.02.2024)
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Sources: Cambridge Academic English Upper intermediate and Advanced; British Council English for Academics course; lecturer's previous KJP Academic English courses; IMS thesis information (e.g. “manual” for MA thesis seminars; Methodological Seminar syllabus); IMS Seminar Paper Guidelines; various academic texts Last update: Cotte Pamela Danielle, M.A. (03.02.2025)
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Lessons will be conducted in person. Pairwork, group work, and individual work will be used. Students are expected to do the assigned homework to prepare for lessons and to participate actively in classroom activities and discussions. The course is structured according to the parts of a thesis which are very similar to a seminar paper. A brief summary of the structure and content of each part of the thesis will be given to students. Students will be encouraged to make a notebook or an electronic "notebook" organized by these parts of a thesis that they can use as a practical resource while writing. WRITTEN WORK Students should do their written work on the topic they are exploring for their thesis within their academic area of interest. This will engage them in preliminary research, enable them to begin to focus their thesis topic and familiarize them with the academic vocabulary and norms in their specific field of study.
Writing assignments will consist of a short seminar paper on a topic of the student's choice, to be written piece by piece with guidance and feedback throughout the course (see Pozadavky ke zkousce/ Requirements for the exam). This will enable students to progressively put the skills they are learning into practice. LESSON STRUCTURE - Part 1 of lessons will often be working with students’ texts from the previous lesson, e.g. peer review in pairs, editing practice, analysis of structure, analysis of argumentation and use of evidence, academic style. Emphasis will be placed on students’ own texts in order to improve their individual writing skills. - Part 2 will be writing skills development using various approaches such as analysis of text structure, comparing academic English with non-academic English, formulating arguments, selecting convincing evidence, discussion etc. Last update: Cotte Pamela Danielle, M.A. (04.02.2025)
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Assessment will be based on the following:
I ATTENDANCE AND CLASS PARTICIPATION -If a student is absent, it is his or her responsibility to check the syllabus and do the exercises to prepare for the next lesson, including submitting any written assignments due. Materials for each lesson will be put on SIS. II SHORT SEMINAR PAPER AND OTHER HOMEWORK - The writing assignments will consist of a short seminar paper on a topic of the student's choice to be written section by section with guidance and feedback throughout the course. - The objective of the seminar paper is to write an effective argument supported with persuasive evidence and examples. - A topic the student is researching for his or her thesis should be used for the seminar paper. - Detailed instructions will be provided. The emphasis will be on quality, not quantity. -Writing assignments. i.e. sections of the seminar paper, must be completed on time as they will be used for in-class text analysis and exercises. III MIDTERM TEST - The content will come from lessons 1-5: (lessons 1-5: academic style, use of articles, qualifying and hedging, passive voice, nominalisation, conjunctions and sentence connectors, paraphrasing, reporting words) - The test will consist of fill-ins, grammar exercises (e.g. Add an article if needed.), editing exercises (e.g. Find and correct the mistake in the sentence) and paraphrasing.
IV PRESENTATION -This will consist of 5-minute individual presentations in which students will present their seminar paper as a “spoken abstract“ (see the syllabus). - Presentation skills training will be given in class and all materials will be posted on SIS. - All students will be expected to give feedback on their classmates’ presentations as part of their presentation skills training. -Assessment criteria will be discussed in class and put on SIS.
Details on evaluation are in the Podmínky zakončení předmětu/Course completion requirements section. There is no final exam.
Last update: Cotte Pamela Danielle, M.A. (03.02.2025)
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Lesson 1 Course information; Academic English style and grammar conventions Course overview, requirements and policies What is academic English? Writing in an academic style: qualifying and hedging, use of passive voice, nominalisation Use of articles Lesson 2 Thesis structure; Supporting arguments with evidence Thesis structure and signposting language Critical thinking: writing logical arguments Structuring paragraphs: topic and supporting sentences; developing and supporting claims with evidence WRITING HOMEWORK: seminar paper proposal Lesson 3 Seminar paper proposals; Editing your work; Key academic writing resources; Summarizing, paraphrasing or quoting; Avoiding plagiarism; Conjunctions Writing: peer review of seminar paper proposals (pairwork recognizing academic style; editing content) Editing your work Key academic writing resources Summarizing, paraphrasing or quoting; Avoiding plagiarism Conjunctions and sentence connectors, e.g. to express cause and effect (homework) Lesson 4 The literature review Evaluating evidence and selecting strong evidence The literature review: structure, organization, content and language Synthesizing from source material Reporting verbs Evaluating evidence and selecting strong evidence WRITING ASSIGNMENT 1: draft position paper introduction (to be finalized at the end) and the literature review Lesson 5 The methodology section Building an argument Writing assignment 1: draft position paper introduction and the literature review (pairwork on argumentation and evidence; text analysis; editing content) Explaining methodology and rationale Midterm test review Building an argument WRITING ASSIGNMENT 2: the methodology section Lesson 6 Midterm test; The results section (the findings) MIDTERM TEST on lessons 1-5: academic style, use of articles, qualifying and hedging, passive voice, nominalisation, conjunctions and sentence connectors, paraphrasing, reporting words The results section: structure, content and language Discussing and interpreting data in figures, graphs and tables Lesson 7 The discussion section (evaluation and discussion) Discussing and interpreting research and data WRITING ASSIGNMENT 3: the results and discussion sections Lesson 8 The thesis conclusion Writing assignment 3: the results and discussion sections (pairwork on argumentation and evidence; text analysis; editing content) The thesis conclusion: structure, content and language Lesson 9 The thesis introduction The thesis introduction: structure, content and language WRITING ASSIGNMENT 4: the conclusion and final introduction Lesson 10 Academic presentation skills; Punctuation Writing assignment 4: the conclusion and final introduction (pairwork on argumentation and evidence; text analysis; editing content) Punctuation (colons, semicolons and commas) Academic presentation skills: presenting a seminar paper or thesis in 5 minutes – “a spoken abstract” Presentation signpost language Bullet points: effective use (spoken versus written English) and correct format Lesson 11 The abstract Abstracts: purpose, structure, content and language Homework: student seminar paper presentations and defence (5 minute “spoken abstracts”) Lesson 12 Presentations; Review Student seminar paper presentations and defence (5 minute “spoken abstracts”) Review of key points Last update: Cotte Pamela Danielle, M.A. (07.03.2025)
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The required level is at least B2. Last update: Lochmanová Sára, Mgr. (31.01.2024)
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