The aim of the course is to improve students’ formal written English for academic purposes (i.e. essay writing, examinations, abstracts, etc.). Particular attention is paid to style, academic vocabulary (useful collocations and idiomatic expressions), sentence structures that can help avoid monotonous sentence patterns (e.g. inversion and non-finite participial clauses), and text structure (different genres tend to follow certain established and expected structures). Among other topics, the classes cover academic style, textual cohesion, punctuation, ways of referring to legal provisions, outline writing, AI and plagiarism, quotations and paraphrasing, problem questions, abstracts, argumentative essays, and common terminological errors.
Poslední úprava: Šicnerová Barbora, Mgr. (14.09.2026)
The aim of the course is to improve students’ formal written English for academic purposes (i.e. essay writing, examinations, abstracts, etc.). Particular attention is paid to style, academic vocabulary (useful collocations and idiomatic expressions), sentence structures that can help avoid monotonous sentence patterns (e.g. inversion and non-finite participial clauses), and text structure (different genres tend to follow certain established and expected structures). Among other topics, the classes cover academic style, textual cohesion, punctuation, ways of referring to legal provisions, outline writing, AI and plagiarism, quotations and paraphrasing, problem questions, abstracts, argumentative essays, and common terminological errors.
Poslední úprava: Šicnerová Barbora, Mgr. (14.09.2026)
Metody výuky
V případě mimořádných opatření budou studenti informování o změnách ve výuce 14 dní předem.
Docházka je povinná - je nutno splnit 8 z 11 seminářů. Absenci nad limit nelze nahradit náhradní prací.
Poslední úprava: Dvořáková Eva, Mgr., Ph.D. (26.01.2024)
Kontroly studia předmětu a podmínky pro jejich úspěšné vykonání, způsob hodnocení -
1.The assessment takes one of the following forms:
a.a group review of the material covered during the final class of the semester; or
b.a written assignment (600–800 words).
Students may choose their preferred form of assessment.
2.To pass the course, students must have at least 70% attendance and complete the ongoing assignments.
3.Given the nature of the course, legislation and other sources are not used.
Poslední úprava: Šicnerová Barbora, Mgr. (14.09.2026)
1.The assessment takes one of the following forms:
a.a group review of the material covered during the final class of the semester; or
b.a written assignment (600–800 words).
Students may choose their preferred form of assessment.
2.To pass the course, students must have at least 70% attendance and complete the ongoing assignments.
3.Given the nature of the course, legislation and other sources are not used.
Poslední úprava: Šicnerová Barbora, Mgr. (14.09.2026)
Sylabus -
The Academic Writing course covers the following topics:
Academic style
Cohesion
The writing process (outline)
Plagiarism and artificial intelligence
How to refer to legislation in English
Argumentative essay
Abstract
Problem question (IRAC)
Poslední úprava: Šicnerová Barbora, Mgr. (14.09.2026)
The Academic Writing course covers the following topics:
Academic style
Cohesion
The writing process (outline)
Plagiarism and artificial intelligence
How to refer to legislation in English
Argumentative essay
Abstract
Problem question (IRAC)
Poslední úprava: Šicnerová Barbora, Mgr. (14.09.2026)
Studijní opory -
Required literature:
Students will receive study materials via Moodle.
Recommended literature:
1.TURABIAN, Kate L.; A manual for writers of term papers, theses, and dissertations. 9th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018
2.FANG, Zhihui. Academic Writing in the Age of AI: Potentials, Problems, and Praxis. Online. Journal of adolescent & adult literacy. 2026, roč. 70, č. 1.
3.WALLWORK, Adrian. English for Academic Research: Grammar, Usage and Style. New York, NY: Springer US, 2013.
4.WALLWORK, Adrian. English for academic research: vocabulary exercises. New York: Springer, 2013.
5.WALLWORK, Adrian. English for writing research papers. Second edition. Cham: Springer, 2016.
Poslední úprava: Šicnerová Barbora, Mgr. (14.09.2026)
Required literature:
Students will receive study materials via Moodle.
Recommended literature:
1.TURABIAN, Kate L.; A manual for writers of term papers, theses, and dissertations. 9th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018
2.FANG, Zhihui. Academic Writing in the Age of AI: Potentials, Problems, and Praxis. Online. Journal of adolescent & adult literacy. 2026, roč. 70, č. 1.
3.WALLWORK, Adrian. English for Academic Research: Grammar, Usage and Style. New York, NY: Springer US, 2013.
4.WALLWORK, Adrian. English for academic research: vocabulary exercises. New York: Springer, 2013.
5.WALLWORK, Adrian. English for writing research papers. Second edition. Cham: Springer, 2016.
Poslední úprava: Šicnerová Barbora, Mgr. (14.09.2026)
Výsledky učení -
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
Identify the key features of academic writing (including formality, objectivity, and precision) and distinguish it from other types of writing, with a focus on legal and scholarly genres.
Analyse academic genres by identifying and explaining their structural organisation, rhetorical purpose, and key linguistic features, in relation to conventions of argumentative essays, abstracts, and legal problem responses, within scholarly and legal contexts.
Use an appropriate academic tone, avoiding emotive language and unnecessary wordiness, and demonstrating awareness of gender-neutral and inclusive language conventions.
Recognize and revise instances of legalese by applying plain language principles to improve clarity, conciseness, and accessibility in legal and academic texts.
Employ hedging strategies to express appropriate degrees of certainty in legal and academic writing, and recognize the contrast with boosting, including the rhetorical effects, advantages of hedging, and risks of overstatement or exaggeration.
Structure coherent paragraphs, using effective topic sentences, transitions, and cohesive devices to guide the reader through a well-organized argument.
Utilize common academic phrases and expressions (e.g., from the Manchester Academic Phrasebank) appropriately to strengthen clarity and fluency in academic texts.
Apply punctuation conventions accurately and consistently to enhance the clarity of complex legal and academic sentences.
Demonstrate control of advanced grammatical features relevant to legal and academic writing, including plural forms (e.g. “analyses”, “phenomena”), countability, and complex sentence structures (e.g. non-finite clauses, inversion).
Adjust English word order appropriately in contrast to Czech, particularly in relation to emphasis, clarity, information packaging, and end-weight principles.
Use active and passive voice appropriately, demonstrating a preference for the active voice to ensure clarity and agency, while recognizing contexts in legal and academic writing where the passive voice is more appropriate or conventional.
Demonstrate understanding of academic integrity, including the ability to distinguish scholarly from popular sources, and to paraphrase, quote, and attribute appropriately.
Correctly reference legal sources, with particular attention to conventions in Czech legislation and the basics of major English citation styles (e.g. OSCOLA, Bluebook).
Identify and avoid common mistakes in legal English, including lexical, syntactic, and stylistic issues common among Czech-speaking law students.
Apply the IRAC method to structure clear and persuasive responses to legal problem questions.
Write a clear, well-structured argumentative essay, with a strong thesis statement, logical development, and well-supported claims, while avoiding logical fallacies.
Produce a concise and accurate abstract that reflects the structure and content of a longer legal or academic text.
Poslední úprava: Šicnerová Barbora, Mgr. (14.09.2026)
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
Identify the key features of academic writing (including formality, objectivity, and precision) and distinguish it from other types of writing, with a focus on legal and scholarly genres.
Analyse academic genres by identifying and explaining their structural organisation, rhetorical purpose, and key linguistic features, in relation to conventions of argumentative essays, abstracts, and legal problem responses, within scholarly and legal contexts.
Use an appropriate academic tone, avoiding emotive language and unnecessary wordiness, and demonstrating awareness of gender-neutral and inclusive language conventions.
Recognize and revise instances of legalese by applying plain language principles to improve clarity, conciseness, and accessibility in legal and academic texts.
Employ hedging strategies to express appropriate degrees of certainty in legal and academic writing, and recognize the contrast with boosting, including the rhetorical effects, advantages of hedging, and risks of overstatement or exaggeration.
Structure coherent paragraphs, using effective topic sentences, transitions, and cohesive devices to guide the reader through a well-organized argument.
Utilize common academic phrases and expressions (e.g., from the Manchester Academic Phrasebank) appropriately to strengthen clarity and fluency in academic texts.
Apply punctuation conventions accurately and consistently to enhance the clarity of complex legal and academic sentences.
Demonstrate control of advanced grammatical features relevant to legal and academic writing, including plural forms (e.g. “analyses”, “phenomena”), countability, and complex sentence structures (e.g. non-finite clauses, inversion).
Adjust English word order appropriately in contrast to Czech, particularly in relation to emphasis, clarity, information packaging, and end-weight principles.
Use active and passive voice appropriately, demonstrating a preference for the active voice to ensure clarity and agency, while recognizing contexts in legal and academic writing where the passive voice is more appropriate or conventional.
Demonstrate understanding of academic integrity, including the ability to distinguish scholarly from popular sources, and to paraphrase, quote, and attribute appropriately.
Correctly reference legal sources, with particular attention to conventions in Czech legislation and the basics of major English citation styles (e.g. OSCOLA, Bluebook).
Identify and avoid common mistakes in legal English, including lexical, syntactic, and stylistic issues common among Czech-speaking law students.
Apply the IRAC method to structure clear and persuasive responses to legal problem questions.
Write a clear, well-structured argumentative essay, with a strong thesis statement, logical development, and well-supported claims, while avoiding logical fallacies.
Produce a concise and accurate abstract that reflects the structure and content of a longer legal or academic text.
Poslední úprava: Šicnerová Barbora, Mgr. (14.09.2026)
