• ACADEMIC WRITING III – COURSE OUTLINE

Objectives: Academic Writing III

Course Objectives -This course aims at taking you a step further in familiarizing you with the various rules governing academic writing including punctuation, summaries, critical reviews, opinion editorial(s) (Op-Ed), citing sources, short and long papers, research papers, etc. As you have learned, writing is necessary for all students in higher education. It is a process. It starts from understanding your task. It then goes on to doing the research and reading. The next stage is planning and writing various drafts.

This is followed by proof-reading and editing. All this should lead to the final text. Academic writing in English is linear. It starts at the beginning and finishes at the end, with every part contributing to the main line of argument, without digression or repetition. This line of argument must be made clear whatever kind of writing you are producing and you, the writer, are responsible for making this line of argument clear and presenting it in an orderly fashion so that the reader can follow.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

Apply the skills learned in the previous Academic Writing courses. We will review skills from Academic Writing II (see previous syllabus* attached). In Academic Writing III students will first learn to apply logic and reasoning skills in developing arguments, thesis’, position papers and abstracts.

Class Breakdown

Part One: Applied logic; the importance of logic in analyzing information

– Logical syllogisms

– Advanced analogies

– Inductive / deductive reasoning

– Fallacies

– Structuring logical arguments

Part Two: Advanced Word Work

– Grammar / punctuation

– Precise / concise language

– Syntax / Active and Passive voice application

– Developing writing style

Part Three: Advanced Analysis/Summary

– Identifying and analyzing sound Thesis’

– Identifying audience; purpose: to inform, to explain, to persuade, to convince, etc.

– Critical thinking questions

– Refuting arguments (analysis /structured argument)

– Precis (Concise Summary)

Part Four: Beyond simply supporting a thesis

– Writing about controversial issues

– Developing logical arguments for both pro and con

– Hegelian dialectic; how to identify and how to apply