Academic Writing Course
This course is currently being assessed for credit-bearing status by HiO
Objectives
- Improved ability to produce clear and correctly written academic texts
- Practice in writing academic English
- Overcoming English language errors common in academic writing
- Increased confidence in an English-speaking academic context
- Enabling contact between researchers across faculty lines in college
- Developing ‘Internationalisation at home’, a central part of the strategic plan at OUC/HiO.
Target group
Researchers amongst the academic staff at HiO who are reasonably fluent in written and oral English and familiar with academic requirements.
Content of Course
- Academic writing as a genre
- Variations in academic style
- The writing process
- Writing principles:
- Generalisation, qualification, caution
-The KISS (keep it short and simple) principle
- What makes a good argument
- Academic language
o Vocabulary, grammar, sentence, paragraph and text
o Coherence and cohesion
o Directness and formality/tone
- Working with academic texts
o analysing
o discussing
o responding to
o proofreading
- Common problem areas
- Text analysis
- Journal analysis
- Discussing in an academic context
Preparation
Together with their registration, participants submit
i) A self-written, unedited 2-3 page manuscript from their research, eg an excerpt from an article under preparation.
ii) A filled out needs analysis form
These manuscripts serve as working papers for the writing teaching, with input from the group and from the teacher. In this way one is continually assured of relevance in that participants’ current written language needs are met.
iii) Participants should be prepared to work on their academic English between sessions and attend all sessions.
Organisation
- One course is held each semester with maximum 10 people per course.
- The course language is English throughout.
- The course is task-based.
- Participants are active throughout the course and will be given feed-back as and when appropriate.
- Five fortnightly sessions lasting five hours each will be held on Fridays, (except 13.03, Thursday) at fortnightly intervals
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Dates: |
11.01., 25.01., 08.02., 22.02., and 13.03. 2008 |
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Application: |
Ongoing, on first come, first served basis |
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Place: |
All days at Pilestredet 46, 2nd floor, OUC's Course- and Conference center. Room PA 314. |
- Lunch in English at the personnel canteen during each session, on 2nd floor, P46 from 12 noon will ensure some practice in spoken English for General Purposes, which is useful in academic contexts.
- The first hour of each session will be task-based teaching, focusing on problems typical for Norwegian writers of academic English.
- The rest of each session apart from lunch is spent working in the group on manuscripts sent in by the participants. One hour will be spent on each paper submitted, although needs may vary somewhat.
- For continuity and optimal learning outcome full attendance is required.
Timetable for each session: (slight changes may be necessary)
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9 am until 9.45 |
Task-based teaching, common rules for academic writing |
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10 am until 11.30 |
Paper 1, group discussion and rewriting using big screen/computer |
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11.45 – 12.30 |
Lunch in English |
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12.30 pm - until 14.00 |
Paper 2, same procedure as paper 1 |
Teaching materials, amongst others
Required reading:
- Swales, John M. and Feak, Christine, Academic Writing for Graduate Students:essential tasks and skills, 2nd edn., (Ann Arbor: Univ, Michigan, 2004)
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Swales, John M. and Feak, Christine, Commentary for Academic Writing for
Graduate Students:essential tasks and skills, 2nd edn., (Ann Arbor:
Univ, Michigan, 2004)
Useful references:
- Diana Hacker, A Writer's Reference 6th edn. (Boston: Bedford St. Martin’s 2007)
- Using English for Academic Purposes http://www.uefap.com/
There are several good websites dealing with academic writing, some of these will be accessed and recommended on the course.
Course Leader
Dr. Art. Ann Torday Gulden, Department of Health Sciences OUC. She is a native English speaker, has a health sciences training /radiography/, a doctorate in English literature, international research and conference experience, experience in teaching academic English at OUC and UiO at several faculties (Humanities, Science, Medical) and long experience of living in Norway. Ann Gulden currently teaches English for a variety of academic purposes as part of OUC’s internationalisation strategy.
More information is available from Ann Torday Gulden, tel. 22452447, or e-mail: AnnTorday.Gulden@hf.hio.no .
Registration
Please send application form, needs analysis and preparatory papers by e-mail to Hege.Skahjem@hio.no , Organisasjons- og personalseksjonen, Kontoret for rekruttering og utvikling (RU). Application deadline : See application form
NB! Academic writing courses are taught in small groups. Late cancellations will therefore affect course quality and may even necessitate courses having to be cancelled. Latest deadline for cancellation is therefore 3 weeks before the first course day, so we can offer vacancies to people on the waiting lists.