AJ13001 Academic Writing

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2009
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s) (plus 2 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Matthew Nicholls, B.Sc. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Timetable of Seminar Groups
AJ13001/A: Tue 13:20–14:55 G22, M. Nicholls
AJ13001/B: Wed 13:20–14:55 G22, M. Nicholls
AJ13001/C: Thu 16:40–18:15 G22, M. Nicholls
AJ13001/D: Thu 18:20–19:55 G22, M. Nicholls
Prerequisites (in Czech)
AJ09999 Qualifying Examination && !NOW( AJ11501 Spoken Fluency Practice )
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 72 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/72, only registered: 0/72, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/72
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 10 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to help students produce well-structured and coherent texts which should fulfil the purpose for which they are written. The course will be more practical than theoretical. Students will work on a number of written assignments, focusing on the importance of planning and redrafting, and in the process, analyse both their own and their colleagues’ work. They will also complete a large number of practical exercises in class designed to increase their understanding of how paragraphs (and sentences) should (and should not) be constructed, and how transitions (where necessary) should be used between them. In addition, students will study punctuation in detail, and the use of various editorial conventions and styles (especially with respect to capitalization, italicization, quotation, and the writing of bibliographies). To pass the course, each student must submit five acceptable assignments (graded on a pass/fail basis) and achieve a good level of attendance.
Syllabus
  • The Writing Process–purpose, plan, draft, redraft, edit; The students experience of writing; Differences between English and Czech academic texts; The issue of coherence; Paragraph structure-single theme and topic sentence; Punctuation-commas, semicolons and colons; Writing a project statement; Paragraph Structure-topic sentences and links; Paragraph Coherence–using transitions; Paragraph Coherence–Order of Ideas; Paragraph Unity–Digression; Paragraph ‘smoothing’; Writing essays; Paragraph Unity–Unrelated Information; Thesis statements; Parallelism: a) Using parallelism to increase coherence, b) Non-parallel sentence elements; Writing a formal letter of application; Using Generalisations; Editorial issues-italicization; Dangling Modifiers; Punctuation-question marks, quotation marks, and apostrophes;
Literature
  • AARON, Jane E. The little, brown essential handbook for writers. 3rd ed. New York: Longman, 1999, viii, 247. ISBN 0-321-04970-5. info
  • ALEXANDER, L. G. Sixty Steps to Précis. 9. vyd. London: Longmans, 1965, 135 s. info
  • COOPER, Charles R. and Rise B. AXELROD. The St. Martins guide to writing. 2nd ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988, xxvi, 726. ISBN 0-312-00283-1. info
  • ČMEJRKOVÁ, Světla, František DANEŠ and Jindra SVĚTLÁ. Jak napsat odborný text. Vydání první. Praha: Leda, 1999, 255 stran. ISBN 8085927691. info
  • FOWLER, Henry Ramsey. The little, brown handbook. Edited by Jane E. Aaron - Daniel Anderson. 8th ed. New York: Longman, 2000, xxviii, 96. ISBN 0-321-07507-2. info
  • LAAKEN, M. van der, R. E. LANKAMP and M. Sharwood SMITH. Writing better English :a multi-purpose model for advanced speakers. 3., herziene druk. Bussum: Uitgeverij Coutinho, 2001, 82 s. ISBN 90-6283-276-8. info
  • ŠESTÁK, Zdeněk. Jak psát a přednášet o vědě. Illustrated by Hana Kymrová. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 1999, 204 s. ISBN 8020007555. info
Assessment methods
To pass the course, each student must submit five acceptable assignments (graded on a pass/fail basis) and achieve a good level of attendance.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
Teacher's information
http://elf.phil.muni.cz/elf/course/view.php?id=1972
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 1999, Spring 2000, Autumn 2000, Spring 2001, Autumn 2001, Spring 2002, Spring 2003, Autumn 2003, Spring 2004, Autumn 2004, Spring 2005, Autumn 2005, Spring 2006, Autumn 2006, Autumn 2007, Spring 2008, Autumn 2008, Autumn 2009, Spring 2010, Autumn 2010, Spring 2011, Autumn 2011, Spring 2012, Autumn 2012, Spring 2013, Autumn 2013, Spring 2014, Autumn 2014, Spring 2015, Autumn 2015, Spring 2016, Autumn 2016, Spring 2017, Autumn 2017, Spring 2018, Autumn 2018, Spring 2019, Autumn 2019, Spring 2020, Autumn 2020, Spring 2021.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2009, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2009/AJ13001