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2021/2022

Use of English: advanced written skills

Code: 100232 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500245 English Studies OB 3 1
2501902 English and Catalan OT 3 0
2501902 English and Catalan OT 4 0
2501907 English and Classics OT 3 0
2501907 English and Classics OT 4 0
2501910 English and Spanish OT 3 0
2501910 English and Spanish OT 4 0
2501913 English and French OT 3 0
2501913 English and French OT 4 0
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Sonia Oliver del Olmo
Email:
Sonia.Oliver@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
english (eng)
Some groups entirely in English:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
No
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

External teachers

Jennifer Ament

Prerequisites

The students' level of English should be between C1 (advanced) and C2 (proficiency) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. With a C1 level the student can understand a vast amount of long and complex texts, and can infer the implicit meaning; s/he can communicate fluently and spontaneously and use language in an efficient and flexible way for social, academic and professional purposes; s/he can also generate clear, well-structured and detailed texts about complex topics and show a control of structures, connectors and cohesive devices. With a C2 level, the student can understand with little effort everything s/he reads o listens to; S/he can summarise information from different sources, reconstruct facts and arguments and present them  in a coherent way; s/he can communicate fluently and with precision, being aware of subtle nuances even in complex situations.

 

Objectives and Contextualisation

The main objectives of this course are the following:

-Broaden the linguistic and discourse knowledge acquired in the subjects "Ús de la Llengua Anglesa I" "Ús de la Llengua Anglesa II" and implement them to the production of academic texts, in particular, to the writing of a TFG.

-Give students the necessary tools to critically analyze and evaluate academic texts, both by the student and other authors, through peer-revision and discussion groups.

-Teach students how to recognise and apply the structure and argumentative style that characterises a research article.

-Deepen on writing, referencing, quoting and editing techniques of articles of an advanced level.

-Focus on the grammatical and linguistic structures that characterise formal and academic registers in English.

-Improve the use of the English language to reach a level of C2.

 

Competences

    English Studies
  • Demonstrate they know a wide variety of texts in English language of any mean (oral, written, audiovisual) and recognising implicit meanings.
  • Executing in oral and written form a flexible and effective use of the English language with academic, professional and social purposes.
  • Produce clear and well structured and detailed texts in English about complex topics, displaying a correct use of the organisation, connection and cohesion of the text.
  • Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
    English and Catalan
  • Demonstrate they know a wide variety of texts in English language of any mean (oral, written, audiovisual) and recognising implicit meanings.
  • Executing in oral and written form a flexible and effective use of the English language with academic, professional and social purposes.
  • Produce clear and well structured and detailed texts in English about complex topics, displaying a correct use of the organisation, connection and cohesion of the text.
  • Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
    English and Classics
  • Demonstrate they know a wide variety of texts in English language of any mean (oral, written, audiovisual) and recognising implicit meanings.
  • Executing in oral and written form a flexible and effective use of the English language with academic, professional and social purposes.
  • Produce clear and well structured and detailed texts in English about complex topics, displaying a correct use of the organisation, connection and cohesion of the text.
  • Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
    English and Spanish
  • Demonstrate they know a wide variety of texts in English language of any mean (oral, written, audiovisual) and recognising implicit meanings.
  • Executing in oral and written form a flexible and effective use of the English language with academic, professional and social purposes.
  • Produce clear and well structured and detailed texts in English about complex topics, displaying a correct use of the organisation, connection and cohesion of the text.
  • Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
    English and French
  • Demonstrate they know a wide variety of texts in English language of any mean (oral, written, audiovisual) and recognising implicit meanings.
  • Executing in oral and written form a flexible and effective use of the English language with academic, professional and social purposes.
  • Produce clear and well structured and detailed texts in English about complex topics, displaying a correct use of the organisation, connection and cohesion of the text.
  • Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Communicating in the studied language in oral and written form, properly using vocabulary and grammar.
  2. Demonstrate sound knowledge of the topics within the study of Linguistics.
  3. Demonstrate they know English specialised and non-specialised texts of high difficulty level.
  4. Demonstrating they know English specialised and non-specialised texts of high difficulty level, and interpreting them in a critical manner.
  5. Draw up brief argumentative essays in English about non-specialised topics of average difficulty.
  6. Drawing up brief argumentative essays in English about non-specialised topics of average difficulty.
  7. Effectively communicating and applying the argumentative and textual processes to formal and scientific texts.
  8. Issue appropriate critical assessments based on the comprehension of relevant information about social, scientific or ethical issues related to linguistics.
  9. Issuing appropriate critical assessments based on the comprehension of relevant information about social, scientific or ethical issues related to linguistics.
  10. Summarising in written form the main content of an oral discourse about specialised and non-specialised topics of high level difficulty.
  11. Summarize in written form the main content of an english oral discourse about non-specialised topics of average level difficulty.
  12. Use the English language with the appropriate expression (correctness, fluency, pronunciation, communicative strategies) in formal (presentations, debates, formal interactions) and informal contexts (conversation) with a C2 level.
  13. Using the English language with the appropriate expression (correctness, fluency, pronunciation, communicative strategies) in formal (presentations, debates, formal interactions) and informal contexts (conversation) with a C2 level.
  14. Using the English language with the appropriate expression (correctness, fluency, pronunciation, communicative strategies) in formal (presentations, debates, formal interactions) and informal contexts (conversation), with a C2 level.

Content

UNIT 1: Academic writing: Upgrading your English skills

  • Main features of academic writing
  • Increasing grammar awareness in academic English

UNIT 2: Paragraph writing consolidation

  • Thesis statements
  • Topic sentences, subtopic sentences and supporting statements
  • The use of linkers, connectors and sequencers

UNIT 3: Literature review

  • Summarizing, rephrasing and citing:Reporting other's words
  • Dealing with plagiarism
  • Referencing and bibliography

UNIT 4: TFG structure

  • Describing TFG sections
  • Writing the abstract
  • Introduction to Genre theory (rhetorical moves)

UNIT 5: Objectivity and Subjectivity in academic writing

  • Hedges and Boosters, Clarifying and giving examples, Argumentation
  • Authorial voice in academic writing

 

Methodology

The teaching methodology and the evaluation proposed in the guide may undergo some modification subject to the onsite teaching restrictions imposed by health authorities.

The methodology is based on:

50h autonomous work

50h directerd work

25h supervised work

 

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lectures 25 1 4, 3, 8, 9, 1, 6, 11, 10, 14, 13
Seminars 25 1 3, 8, 9, 7, 1, 5, 11, 14
Type: Supervised      
Academic writing exercises 25 1 3, 8, 9, 7, 1, 6, 5, 11, 10, 13, 12
Type: Autonomous      
Doing exercises 30 1.2 3, 8, 5, 11, 10, 12, 13
Studying 20 0.8 4, 3, 8, 9, 7, 1, 6, 11, 10, 14, 13, 12

Assessment

 

On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.

- In order to pass the course, the final project should be passed and tasks 1 and 2 should form an average of a 5 or more.

- Handing in /Realising 40% of the tasks excludes the possibility of obtaining a No avaluable in the course.

- Deadlines should be strictly met and tasks should be typed.

On carrying out each assessment activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.

-VERY IMPORTANT: Partial or total plagiarising will immediately result in a FAIL (0) for the plagiarised exercise or the WHOLE SUBJECT (if plagiarism is repeated). PLAGIARISING consists of copying text from unacknowledged sources –whether this is part of a sentence or a whole text– with the intention of passing it off as the student’s own production. It includes cutting and pasting from internet sources, presented unmodified in the student’s own text. Plagiarising is a SERIOUS OFFENCE. Students must respect authors’ intellectual property, always identifying the sources they may use; they must also be responsible for the originality and authenticity of their own texts.

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for thissubject.

 -Students are required to employ non-sexist language in their written and oral productions.For guidelines on how to do this, they are advised to check the website of the Linguistic Society of America.

PROCEDURE FOR REVIEWING GRADES AWARDED

On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.

EVALUATION ACTIVITIES EXCLUDED FROM REASSESSMENT

The following activities are not eligible for reassessment: Final project and Writing exercises.

Students are eligible for reassesment when they have passed 60% of their continuous assessment and have 3,5 or above as an average course mark.

The maximum final mark obtained after reassessment will be a 6.

Tentative calendar:

Final project (40%): January 2022

Writing exercises (20%): All throughout the semester.

Task 1 (30%): November 2021

Task 2 (10%): December 2021

In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.

 15 minutes of a session will be devoted to fill in student's questionnaire.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Task 1: Literature Review 30% 11 0.44 4, 3, 2, 8, 9, 7, 5, 11, 10, 14, 13, 12
Final Project 40% 2 0.08 4, 3, 8, 9, 14, 13, 12
Task 2: Abstract 10% 5 0.2 4, 6, 10, 14
Writing exercises 20% 7 0.28 4, 9, 7, 1, 6, 10, 14

Bibliography

References:

Dröschel, Yvonne (2011) Lingua Franca English.The role of Simplification and Transfer. Linguistic Insights. Studies in Language and Communication. Volume 119. Peter Lang, Bern, Switzerland.

Pecorari, Diane. (2008) Academic Writing and Plagiarism. A Linguistic Analysis. Continuum, London/New York.

Cultural Studies. Editor: Peter Rolf Lutzeier, volume 26. Peter Lang, Bern, Switzerland.

Swales, John. (1990) Genre Analysis. Michigan University Press (Ann Arbor), USA.

https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/

https://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/

https://dornsife.usc.edu/writingcenter/

 

Software

I do not use any programari.