Academic Writing

Course Description:

The primary objective of this course is to develop English academic writing skills. Participants will be acquainted with basic, as well as more advanced, elements of the Anglo-Saxon writing style. The latter style is the standard, accepted model in the majority of current academic circles. This includes recognized examinations (eg. TOEFL, IELTS, GMAT) and examination boards (eg. Cambridge Examinations Syndicate). Topics reviewed include:

Structure (eg. sentence structure, paragraph structure, essay structure);

Grammar (eg. run-on sentences, fragments, parts of speech, punctuation);

Content. Initially the focus will be on descriptive academic essays. At a later stage the focus will be on compare/contrast and argumentative essays, requiring high order thinking skills.
Additionally emphasis will be placed on the specific linguistic challenges that emerge from participants; critical thinking; critical reading; self correction and group correction; developing an English “ego” and voice; building vocabulary systematically.

A second objective of the course is to grant participants the opportunity to develop fluency and accuracy in oral discourse through group discussions and presentations. This intends to complement the critical thinking component – intrinsically embedded in the writing process.