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EL00714: Academic writing for undergraduates

[Page last updated: 15 October 2020]

Follow this link for further information on academic years Academic Year: 2020/1
Further information on owning departmentsOwning Department/School: Skills Centre
Further information on credits Credits: 0      [equivalent to 0 CATS credits]
Further information on notional study hours Notional Study Hours: See Director of Studies for further information
Further information on unit levels Level: Non-credit (FHEQ level n/a)
Further information on teaching periods Period:
Semester 2
Further information on unit assessment Assessment Summary: Not applicable
Further information on unit assessment Assessment Detail:
  • Not Applicable
Further information on supplementary assessment Supplementary Assessment:
Not applicable
Further information on requisites Requisites:
Description: Aims:
The aim of this course is to improve students' academic writing skills in English in order to help raise the standard of their degree course work and examination answers.

Learning Outcomes:
Having completed this unit students will be better able to:
* Analyse assignment titles and identify what is required
* Plan and write an outline for an essay, report or dissertation
* Understand how to structure an essay, report or dissertation
* Take notes from and summarise texts
* Critically evaluate texts
* Adopt a position in relation to others' research and opinions
* Incorporate ideas from source material, including direct quotations, without plagiarising
* Refer to sources appropriately within the text and in the references section of a paper
* Link ideas within and between paragraphs
* Write objectively in an academic style appropriate to their level and discipline
* Identify and correct errors in grammar, punctuation and style
* Plan and write examination answers.

Skills:
Having completed this unit students will be better able to:
* Analyse the requirements of a task
* Plan a task
* Think critically about the research or opinions of others
* Communicate ideas through writing.

Content:

* Analysing assignment titles
* Planning and writing an outline for an essay, report or dissertation
* Note-taking and summarising skills
* Incorporating reading material and avoiding plagiarism
* Referring to sources
* Comparison of the structure of essays and reports
* Dissertation structure
* Addressing other types of tasks required at Masters level, such as abstracts, literature reviews, research papers, briefing papers
* Writing introductions and conclusions
* Paragraph structure
* Cohesion within and between paragraphs
* Academic style - showing and avoiding personal commitment
* Grammatical accuracy and punctuation
* Proofreading and editing
* Planning for and writing in examinations.
Further information on programme availabilityProgramme availability:

EL00714 is a Generally Available Unit which is available to all students of the University (subject to the usual constraints) to take as an 'extra' unit which does not count towards a final award.

Academic Skills Centre

Notes:

  • This unit catalogue is applicable for the 2020/21 academic year only. Students continuing their studies into 2021/22 and beyond should not assume that this unit will be available in future years in the format displayed here for 2020/21.
  • Programmes and units are subject to change in accordance with normal University procedures.
  • Availability of units will be subject to constraints such as staff availability, minimum and maximum group sizes, and timetabling factors as well as a student's ability to meet any pre-requisite rules.
  • Find out more about these and other important University terms and conditions here.