Academic Writing

General Objectives:

The aim of this course is to assist students in developing their skills as researchers, and as readers and writers of scholarly prose.

Specific Objectives:

1. Reading Objectives:  Successful students should learn to 

• read source material actively and critically;
• distinguish main from supporting points;
• distinguish among statements that require evidence, statements that require explanation, and statements of fact requiring documentation;
• identify and assess thesis claims, particularly from scholarly sources;
• understand the development of a piece of writing;
• recognize and understand the function of discipline-specific writing strategies and conventions;
• paraphrase and summarize readings accurately and appropriately.

• make specific written observations on and provide critical responses to assigned readings;
• use pre-writing techniques such as brainstorming and outlining;
• recognize and use writing strategies, including discipline-specific means of framing research questions, introducing source materials, or citing evidence, as appropriate to writing occasion;
• summarize, paraphrase and quote effectively;
• revise drafts effectively:
• read thoughtfully and respond effectively to their own written work;
• read thoughtfully and respond effectively to peer responses to their written work;
• read thoughtfully and respond effectively and constructively to the written work of other students.                                                  

• Content: Successful students should learn to
• write a thesis that is significant and appropriate to the audience and purpose of the written work;
• develop the thesis effectively, providing evidence that is relevant, accurate, specific, and sufficient;
• provide appropriate introductions to and contexts for the evidence.
• Organization: Successful students should learn to
• employ effectively introductions and conclusions that are appropriate to the audience and purpose;
• write unified, coherent paragraphs, the development of which is governed by appropriate topic sentences.
• Style: Successful students should learn to
• employ diction and tone suitable to written academic discourse;
• employ grammar and syntax suitable to written academic discourse;
• document sources according to a current documentation system, such as presented in the MLA Handbook;
• format their written assignments in a recognized style, such as presented in the MLA Handbook.