Module LANG0181: EXTENDED ACADEMIC ESSAY

Department: English Language Centre

LANG0181: EXTENDED ACADEMIC ESSAY

Prerequisites

• IELTS score of 5.0+ (or equivalent)

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• to enable non-native English speaking students to develop their ability to undertake university research of the type required on academic and undergraduate programmes, and present that research in written form or through presentation at a standard acceptable on academic programmes
• to enable non-native English speaking students to develop their study skills relevant to performance on academic programmes
• to enable non-native English speaking students to develop their IT skills relevant to performance on academic programmes

Content

• activities will aim to develop research skills by involving the students in tasks including the following: project planning, drafting and revising projects, selecting appropriate information from a library catalogue, writing notes from sources, surveying book contents, indentifying sources of reference information, determining a suitable project topic area, setting, defining and limiting research goals, writing reference lists, citing sources in text, editing text, evaluating sources, identifying bias, designing and evaluating questionnaires, data collection and analysis, producing and interpreting graphs, reporting data, using statistical measures
• activities will aim to develop student awareness of: research methods and processes, the necessity to frame research and reports within students' own frames of thought and language, the need for and importance of citation and the concepts of plagiarism and copying
• students will be provided with IT sessions to support content: presenting documents in MS Word, using PowerPoint for presentations, analysing data through Microsoft Excel, using Endnote
• presentation Skills are mainly taught in the accompanying Spoken Discourse module

Learning Outcomes

• On completion of the course students should have developed knowledge of:
• the characteristics of effective university presentation
• the nature and processes of academic research
• strategies and process in literature research
• language for framing of information resources
• standards for layout and presentation of academic documents
• academic and linguistic conventions in research project writing
• basic techniques for data collection and analysis
• the need for planning and reflection to enhance training

• On completion of the course students should be able to:
• give a presentation on a topic of academic relevance
• organise and structure their own study
• organise, plan and structure a research project
• conduct literature and quantitative research
• present research in a manner consistent with academic standards and convention

• Students will develop:
• research skills
• oral presentation skills
• academic and writing skills

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• teaching: Skills and language will be introduced in seminar sessions and practised through library-based research.
• independent learning will be facilitated through tutorials
• assessment: Research skills and language ability with respect to research will be assessed through an extended research project
• presentation skills will be demonstrated through an assessed presentation
• IT skills will be demonstrated through an assessed presentation
• study skills will be assessed through out of class assignments and ongoing monitoring

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Students will receive ongoing feedback in seminar sessions on writing and presentation skills. Students will also receive feedback through twice termly tutorials focusing on information organisation, planning, project drafts and revision. Students will receive ongoing feedback on IT skills during seminar sessions and through tutorial feedback.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University