The course is included in these curricula and study modules

Level/category

General studies

Teaching language

English

Type of course

Compulsory

Recommended year of study

3

Total number of ECTS

5 cr

Competency aims

The primary aim of the course is to develop professional writing skills, especially academic writing, and provide students with the necessary support to successfully complete the thesis project. The course also aims to develop English communication skills required in the professional context.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student is expected to be able to ...

  • successfully engage in the research process for the thesis project.
  • demonstrate the correct use of writing techniques and write appropriate, coherent and cohesive academic text in correct English.
  • apply the principles of academic writing in structuring the thesis.
  • correctly integrate source material into research writing and refer to such sources according to academic/scientific conventions.
  • demonstrate the ability to write effective key professional documents.

Course contents

P1 individual meetings for supervision and support.
P2 Academic/scientific writing:

  • The research writing process
  • Writing techniques
  • Writing mechanics
  • Structure, fluency and style
  • Integrating and referencing sources (Harvard system)
  • Technical presentation of the thesis/Thesis Guide.

Professional writing - conventions, structure, style e.g. (work-related/professional documents, business correspondence, work applications & CVs, reports).

Prerequisites and co-requisites

Entrance exam in English

Previous course names

Additional information

Course for Hagel 2009

Recommended or required reading

COURSE BOOKS:

  1. Study Writing - a course in writing skills for academic purposes. Hamp-Lyons & Heasley (Cambridge 2006 ISBN 0-521-53496-8)
  2. Academic Writing for Graduate Students - Essential Tasks and Skills. A Course for Nonnative Speakers of English. John M. Swales & Christine B. Feak (The University of Michigan Press)
  3. Arcada's Guidelines for writing the degree thesis. (downloadable pdf file from the Arcada Library web page)

Other literature:
The Good Grammar Guide. Richard Palmer (Routledge Study Guides - Routledge)
Effective Business Communications. Murphy, Hidebrandt & Thomas (McGraw-Hill)
Guide to Managerial Communication - Effective Business Writing and Speaking. Mary Munter (Prentice Hall)
Mastering Communication. Nicky Stanton (Macmillan Master Series)
Oxford Guide to Writing & Speaking - The Key to Effective Communication. John Seely (Oxford University Press)
Schaum's Guide to Great Presentation Skills. Melody Templeton, Suzanne Sparks FitzGerald (McGraw-Hill)
Schaum?s Guide to Writing great Research Papers. Laurie Rozakis (McGraw-Hill)
Collins Cobuild English Dictionary. (HarperCollins)
A Practical English Grammar. Thomson & Martinet (Oxford University Press)

Internet:

Michael Harvey's The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing: http://www.nutsandboltsguide.com/

Study activities

  • Lectures - 60 hours
  • Individual- and group instruction - 20 hours
  • Small-group work - 0 hours
  • Individual studies - 53 hours
  • - 0 hours

Workload

  • Total workload of the course: 133 hours
  • Of which autonomous studies: 133 hours
  • Of which scheduled studies: 0 hours

Mode of Delivery

Participation in tuition

Assessment methods

  • Exams (written-, oral-, home-)
  • Essays, reports, productions and portfolio

Assessment requirements

To pass the course the student should participate in all classes and complete all coursework and written assignments on which the final grade is based.

Teacher

Kimberley Nigel

Examiner

Kimberley Nigel

Home page of the course

Group size

No limit

Assignments valid until

Until date 2013-01-15

Assessment methods

  • Date of examination will be announced later - Exams
  • Date will be announced later - Reports and productions

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