WeCWI Enterprise: Be an Academic Writer

  Image credit to the balance

Course Details:

• 14 sessions
• 2 hours per session
• Blended learning mode
• Task-based assessments

Course Structure:

Session 1

• Course orientation
• e-Portfolio
• Personalised Learning Profile
• Regulations (attendance, class representative(s) & Whatsapp group)
• Course briefing
• Course entrance form (i-Learn portal)
• Paraphrasing strategies
• Synonyms (dictionary & thesaurus)
• Active & passive forms
• Varied sentence patterns
• Paraphrasing strategies (nouns to verbs, adjectives to adverbs, adverbs to adjectives, order of ideas, retelling & chunking methods, making abstract ideas more concrete)
• Paraphrasing (WATCH)
• Task: Answer exercises 1 and 2.

Session 2

• Document sources using APA format (in-text citation & references)
• Referencing (WATCH)
• Document sources using APA format
• APA formatting & style guide (READ)
• APA 6th edition resources: simplified & comprehensive (READ)
• Learners' Diagnostic Tests Results
• Task: Answer exercises 1, 2 and 3.

Session 3

• Write annotated bibliographies
• Analysing and evaluating arguments in academic texts
• Analysing the argument: 1 & 2 (WATCH)
• Identifying main ideas, supporting details & organisational patterns in academic texts
• Main idea & supporting details (WATCH)
• Organisational patterns: 1 (WATCH) & 2 (READ)
• Identifying author’s purpose, tone, intended audience & reasoning
• Determining author’s purpose, intended audience, tone & bias (READ)
• Task: Answer exercises 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Session 4 (blended learning mode)

• Writing annotated bibliographies:
• paraphrasing
• summarising
• types of support
• validity, objectivity, completeness & credibility of texts
• strengths & weaknesses of arguments
• wide range of sentence structures & vocabulary
• Evaluating arguments: 1 & 2
• Annotating: 1, 2, 3 & 4 (WATCH)
• Annotating in APA style (WATCH)
• Task: 
• Write an annotated bibliography using all strategies taught in class by answering the sample test.
• Answer key
• Sample answers A, B & C

Session 5

• Employing annotation strategies:
• analysing and evaluating arguments
• main ideas, supporting details & organisational patterns
• author’s purpose, tone, intended audience & reasoning
• paraphrasing
• summarising
• types of support
• validity, objectivity, completeness & credibility of texts
• strengths & weaknesses of arguments
• wide range of sentence structures & vocabulary
• Preparation for annotated bibliography: 1, 2 & 3 (READ)
• Task:
• Answer the past year papers: 1, 2 & 3.
• Answer keys: 1, 2 & 3

Session 6

• Assessment:
• Write an annotated bibliography about 250–300 words.
• Print English-English dictionary is permitted.

Session 7

• Prepare and present analysis of academic texts
• Researching topics
• Collecting relevant materials from a variety of sources
• Writing thesis statements, main ideas, and supporting details
• Identifying author’s tone, purpose, and intended audience in academic texts
• Tasks:
• Form into groups of 4 students.
• Choose 4 articles under the 1 similar topic from different sources such as journals, books, online research papers, newspapers, and magazines.
• Sample articles
• Prepare a draft of an outline for analysis consisting as follows:
• 2 main ideas from each article
• a minimum of 4 supporting details for each main idea
• 1 conclusion based on ideas presented
• Sample outline
• Article analysis outline rubrics
• Acknowledge sources of information using in-text citations and references (APA style)

Session 8 (blended learning mode)

• Preparation & presentation of academic text analysis
• Writing outlines based on texts
• Delivering oral presentations focusing on fluency, grammatical accuracy & non-verbal aspects
• Presentation in English (WATCH)
• Sample group presentation (WATCH)
• Preparing suitable visual aids for presentation (poster/infographic)
• Sample poster/infograhic (READ)
• Task:
• Write an outline for oral presentation including thesis statement, eight main points, supporting details with in-text citations and conclusion.

Sessions 9-10

• Assessments:
• Submit article analysis outline (15% of course assessment).
• Article analysis outline marking scheme
• Submit poster/infographic (5% of course assessment).
• Poster presentation evaluation form
• Present the articles analysis based on poster/infographic (15% of course assessment):
• 4 students per group
• 20 minutes per group
• Oral presentation scoring guide

 Session 11

• Synthesising & integrating information from academic articles
• Synthesis: 1 (WATCH) & 2 (READ)
• Identifying and paraphrasing relevant supporting details with correct in-text citations
• Synthesising information from a variety of academic articles and formulating main ideas based on the topic assigned
• Drafting term papers based on synthesised information from articles
• Task:
• Prepare an outline for a written synthesis in group.

Session 12 (blended learning mode)

• Writing a well organised and coherent term paper using correct in-text citations and references based on APA format
• Synthesis
• Draft of term paper
• Term paper scoring guide
• Tasks:
• Complete exercises 1 and 2.

Session 13

• Task: Personalised learning performance
• Assessments:
• Submit the draft of term paper (essay format) by synthesising information from the 4 articles (10% of course assessment).
• Submit the portfolio (5% of course assessment) including:
• Outline of article analysis
• Poster/infographic
• 4 articles
• Draft of term paper

Session 14

• Assessment:
• Submit a term paper of about 700-800 words by synthesising information from the 4 articles (25% of course assessment)