It can feel a little intimidating when we first encounter the demands of producing assessed work at continental European Universities. “Academic Writing in English for Undergraduate Students” therefore aims to equip incoming students with practical and transferable skills needed to excel in this challenging but rewarding aspect of University life. The course is organized into three parts that cover core aspects of producing academic work: 1) developing a viable project, 2) executing the project with scholarly rigor, and 3) presenting it according to academic protocols. In order to facilitate their competency in these areas, students will device, research, and submit a short research paper on a topic of their choosing relevant to their degree program. In so doing, it is hoped that this course will help students develop core competencies that will empower them to produce top-draw academic work across their University careers.
This course provides students with the core competencies needed to produce high-quality academic work based on the protocols and expectations of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Continental European Universities. Such an approach is intended to promote a combination of critical and structured thinking, and pragmatic approaches, to assessments. By the end of the course, students are expected to show growing competencies in these areas by way of an original research paper built around the qualities introduced on this course;. These qualities are intended to be transferable to other assessment formats students will encounter in their studies, such as responses to written prompts and delivering presentations. Students will therefore be equipped with the skills needed to produce work that is:
• academically and practically viable
• derived from engagement with primary and secondary courses;
• analytical, argument-driven, and well organized
• clearly expressed and suitably referenced.
This course is built around 12 weekly seminars to be held in-person (unless COVID restrictions dictate otherwise). The sessions centralize seminar discussions and practical exercises, and are supported by concise instructor-delivered content (framing, summarizing, and contextual “lecturettes”). Each session is intended to equip students with a skill needed to develop or research or execute an original paper, thereby laying a firm foundation for their degree courses as a whole. Preparation is kept to a minimum to allow students to focus on their research projects.
Tutorials
Students may arrange one-on-one tutorials to discuss any issues arising from the course, including its assessment. Meetings can be arranged by email and will take place either in-person or online and at a time of mutual convenience.
Feedback
In addition to receiving ongoing feedback across the course by way of two “Work-in-Progress” Seminars, students also receive detailed personal feedback on their paper upon final submission. All feedback is designed to be constructive, so will spotlight strengths, shortcomings, and suggestions on how the project might have been elevated.
Plagiarism Information
It is the duty of every student to ensure that they have familiarized themselves with the following details pertaining to plagiarism.
(A) Any use of quoted texts in seminar papers and theses must be acknowledged. Such use must meet the following conditions: (1) the beginning and end of the quoted passage must be shown with quotation marks; (2) when quoting from periodicals or books, the name(s) of author(s), book or article titles, the year of publication, and page from which the passage is quoted must all be stated in footnotes or endnotes; (3) internet sourcing must include a full web address where the text can be found as well as the date the web page was visited by the author.
(B) In case the use of any texts other than those written by the author is established without proper acknowledgement as defined in (A), the paper or thesis will be deemed plagiarized and handed over to the Head of School.
At the end of the course, students are to submit an original research paper that they have developed across the course
Value: 100% of Final Grade
Due Date: Midnight CET Sunday 14 January 2023.
Length: 6-8 pages of 12-font double-spaced, using a standard font like Times New Roman.
Areas of Assessment
1. A topic of appropriate breadth to showcase original analysis within the advised length.
2. Evidence of a suitable number of well-chosen primary sources for the advised length.
3. Evidence of a suitable number of well-chosen secondary (i.e. scholarly) sources for the advised length.
4. Evidence of original thinking and critical analysis.
5. Evidence of a clear argumentation.
6. Evidence of argument/evidence based organization of the paper.
7. Evidence of reader-friendly writing.
8. Evidence of thorough and accurate referencing.
All Essays are to be submitted in PDF or word format to MS TEAMS and to gmiterkova@phil.muni.cz and 516779@mail.muni.cz.
Please include your name and the course title in the name of the file.
NB: Extensions can be arranged in advance, based on health, humanitarian, and other grounds. Please reach out as soon as it is possible to discuss any potential extensions.
About the teachers:
Dr. Richard Nowell gained his PhD at the University of East Anglia. In his research he focuses on the generative mechanisms underwriting the development of film cycles and textual/thematic trends; the mechanics, motivations, and algorithms of repackaging American genre cinema and the appropriation of popular generic discourse in the assembly and marketing of American cinema. He is a widely published film theorist and historian, author of the book Blood Money: A History of the First Teen Slasher Film Cycle and editor of the collection Merchants of Menace: The Business of Horror Cinema.
Email 516779@mail.muni.cz or richard_nowell@hotmail.com
Dr. Šárka Jelínek Gmiterková is an assistant professor at the Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture at Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. In her research she focuses both on contemporary and historical forms of stardom in cinemas of small nations, film acting and costuming. Her PhD thesis was turned into and published as a monograph, analysing the career of a celebrated Czech actor and performer Oldřich Nový. Her work was published internationally as well – in NECSUS magazine, Journal of Celebrity Studies or in the edited volume Popular Cinemas in East Central Europe