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Writing and Reading for Academic Purposes II

Code: 106289 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
English Studies OB 2
English and Catalan Studies OB 2
English and Spanish Studies OB 2
English and French Studies OB 2
English and Classics Studies OB 2

Contact

Name:
Sonia Mas Alcolea
Email:
sonia.mas.alcolea@uab.cat

Teachers

Laura Jane Styles
Gayle Marie Dalton

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

Students enrolling in this subject are expected to have passed the subject Writing and Reading for Academic Purposes I.

The entry level for the subject is the C1.2 level (Advanced) in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment.

At the C1.2 level, the student can (i) understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning; (ii) express themselves fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions; (iii) use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes; (iv) produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

It is also expected that students have consolidated knowledge of academic register and conventions. 

 


Objectives and Contextualisation

"Writing and Reading for Academic Purposes II" is part of the subject "Academic Skills in English", along with "Speaking and Listening for Academic Purposes I", "Speaking and Listening for Academic Purposes II", "Writing and Reading for Academic Purposes I" and "Seminar on Advanced oral and written expression in English"

This course is primarily aimed at introducing students to the practices of academic reading and writing in English, with a focus on texts and topics relevant to the field of English Studies—particularly sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and literature—approached from an academic, critical, and gender perspective.

Objectives:

  • To improve the instrumental and academic use of the English language up to a C2.1 level of linguistic competence, and to prepare students for the core subject “Use of English”.

  • To read and write academic texts in English in a structured, cohesive, and grammatically accurate manner, using sophisticated vocabulary and adhering to the conventions of various academic genres.

  • To analyse authentic texts (scientific articles and/or book chapters) to become familiar with academic writing genres and conventions, focusing on topics in sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and literature, from a critical and gender perspective.

  • To develop strategies for critical reading and textual comprehension by identifying the structure and argumentative content (main and supporting ideas, evidence, counterarguments).

  • To understand and apply academic referencing mechanisms and the responsible use of sources, integrating them into one’s own discourse with rigour and respect for authorship, following established bibliographic standards.

  • To write a clearly structured and well-supported academic argumentative essay that takes a position on a topic discussed in class, incorporating evidence from course readings.

  • To improve the ability to communicate information, ideas, problems, and solutions effectively, appropriately, and respectfully in academic contexts, both in writing and orally when required.

  • To make use of digital tools and academic documentary sources to search for, select, and organise relevant information, fostering a critical, autonomous, and ethical approach to learning.

 


Competences

    English Studies
  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values. 
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Understand and produce written and spoken academic texts in English at advanced higher-proficient-user level (C2).
  • Use digital tools and specific documentary sources for the collection and organisation of information.
  • Use written and spoken English for academic and professional purposes, related to the study of linguistics, the philosophy of language, history, English culture and literature.
    English and Catalan Studies
  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Make correct use of written and spoken English for academic or professional purposes, related to the study of language, history, culture and literature.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Understand and produce oral and written academic texts with appropriateness and fluency in distinct communicative contexts.
  • Use digital tools and specific documentary sources to gather and organise information.
    English and Spanish Studies
  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Correctly use written and oral English and Spanish for academic and professional purposes, related to the study of linguistics, history, culture and literature.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Understand and produce oral and written academic texts with appropriateness and fluency in distinct communicative contexts.
  • Use digital tools and specific documentary sources to gather and organise information.
    English and French Studies
  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Understand and produce oral and written academic texts with appropriateness and fluency in distinct communicative contexts.
  • Use digital tools and specific documentary sources to gather and organise information.
  • Use spoken English and French correctly for academic and professional purposes related to the study of linguistics, history, culture and literature.
    English and Classics Studies
  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values. 
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Understand and produce oral and written academic texts with appropriateness and fluency in distinct communicative contexts.
  • Use digital tools and specific documentary sources to gather and organise information.
  • Use written and spoken English correctly for academic and professional purposes related to the study of English linguistics, history, culture, and literature.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Express oneself fluently, correctly, appropriately and effectively, both orally and in writing, in an academic environment.
  2. Express oneself in English orally and in writing in a formal register and using the appropriate terminology in relation to the characterisation of academic discourse.
  3. Locate specialised and academic information and select this according to its relevance.
  4. Modulate written and oral discourse in order to express oneself respectfully and ethically in a context of academic interaction.
  5. Produce academic written and oral speeches at advanced higher-proficient-user level (C2) and adapting them to the conventions of the different genders.
  6. Produce academic written and oral speeches at higher-proficient-user level (C2) and adapting them to the conventions of the different genders.
  7. Produce written and oral academic discourse with a fluency and accuracy appropriate to a higher-proficient-user level (C2) and adapting them to the conventions of the different genders.
  8. Understand written and oral academic discourse in the field of human and social sciences at higher-proficient-user level (C2).
  9. Understand written and oral academic discourse in the field of humanities and social sciences at higher-proficient-user level (C2).

Content

Grammar and vocabulary:

  • Advanced grammatical structures in English.
  • Advanced (academic) vocabulary exercises.
  • Error correction exercises.
  • Development of awareness of academic stye and register. 

 Reading comprehension: 

  • Comprehension exercises and summaries based on real texts related to sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and literature.
  • Note-taking and and synthesis of key ideas and arguments.
  • Comparing author perspectives and argumentative strategies.

  Written production:

  • Academic text planning, paragraph organisation, and coherence.
  • Rewriting, editing, and self-correction activities aimed at improving writing accuracy.
  • Exercises on the use of cohesion and argumentation elements.
  • Argumentative essays (500 words) and summaries (250 words).

 


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
In-class practice 15 0.6 8, 9, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 6
Theory and practical classes 30 1.2 8, 9, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 6
Type: Supervised      
Tutorial sessions 22 0.88
Type: Autonomous      
Reading and Studying - Exercises and essays - Using ICT tools 76.5 3.06 8, 9, 3

The teaching methodology is based on:

  • Teacher-led activities (30%, 1.8 cr)
  • Supervised activities (15%, 0.9 cr)
  • Self-study and student-led activities (50%, 3 cr)
  • Assessment tasks (5%, 0.3 cr)

Teacher-led activities (Theoretical and practical classes)

  • Lectures using ICTs.
  • Class debates and discussions.
  • Practical activities in groups or pairs.
  • In-class receptive and productive skills practice.

Self-study and student-led activities

  • Language practice with the course books and other reference books.
  • Writing argumentative essays and summaries.
  • Practice with ICTs and Moodle.

Assessment tasks

  • In-class précis (i.e. written summaries based on a written academic text)
  • In-class argumentative essays related to the academic readings covered during the course
  • A (written) midterm
  • A final (written) exam
  • Completing a course portfolio.

Note: Students will be given 15 minutes of class time within the course calendar to fill in the teaching and subject evaluation form. 

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.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Continuous Assessment 30% 1.5 0.06 8, 9, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7
Final written exam 50% 4 0.16 8, 9, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 6
Midterm 20% 1 0.04 8, 9, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6

  • Continuous assessment (30%)
  • Midterm (20%) 
  • Final written exam (50%)  

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE ASSESSMENT

  • The exact dates of assessment activities will be announced at the start of the course on Moodle.

  • Any assigned work not submitted will be graded as 0.

  • A student will receive the grade "No avaluable" if they have submitted less than 30% of the assessment activities.

     

     

  • Access to the final exam is only permitted if the student has submitted at least 30% of the continuous assessment activities.

  • In order to calculate the final average, students must obtain a minimum grade of 4.5 in each part of the final exam.

  • If the student does not pass the final exam, the continuous assessment will not be taken into account. The final average (which includes continuous assessment marks) will only be calculated if the student passes the final exam.

  • Due to the practical nature of this course, students must attend and participate in at least 80% of all learning activities (commentaries, tests, presentations and oral debates, classroom participation, etc.) in order to be assessed for the 30% of the final grade related to these in-class practical activities.

To pass the course, students must:

  • Pass the final exam.

  • Obtain an overall average grade (once all assessment activities have been considered) equal to or greater than 50%.

Assessment dates

Dates of assessment activities are fixed and cannot be changed, except in exceptional, well-justified cases. Erasmus students requesting to take an exam early must submit an official document from their home university explaining the reason.

 
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. 

Reassessment

  • Only the final exam can be reassessed, and only if the student obtains a grade ≥ 35% and < 50%.

  • If the student scores below 35% in the final exam, they will not be eligible for reassessment and will fail the course.

  • If more than one part of the final exam is failed, students will only be able to resit ONE part.

  • The maximum grade that can be awarded in the reassessment is a pass (5).

     

     

     

     

  • Continuous assessment activities cannot be reassessed.

No avaluable

Only available for those who have submitted less than a 30% of the course tasks/exams.

Single Assessment

This subject/module does not incorporate the single-assessment option. 

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IMPORTANT:

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 finalgrade for this subject.

Irregularities refer, for instance, to copying in an exam, copying from sources without indiacting authorship, or a misuse of AI such as presenting work as original that has been generated byan AI tool or programme. These evaluation activities will not be re-assessed.

In this subject, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is not permitted at any stage of any task. Any assignment that includes content generated or modified by AI will be considered an act of academic dishonesty. The assignment will be graded with a zero (0) and will not be eligible for reassessment. More serious cases may result in additional disciplinary sanctions.

 


Bibliography

Required Bilbiography

  • Malcolm Mann & Steve Taylore-Knowles. Destination C1 & C2. Grammar and Vocabulary. Macmillan. 2007. 

 Recommended reference books:

  • Canales, G. S., & Cortés, J. A. N. (2025). English academic writing for Spanish speakers: A practical guide. Taylor & Francis.

  • Collins COBUILD English language dictionary
  • Collins. (2013). Work on your vocabulary: Hundreds of words to learn and remember. Advanced. HarperCollins Publishers.
  • McCarthy, M., & O'Dell, F. (2012). English vocabulary in use: Advanced (3rd ed., with answers and CD). Cambridge University Press.
  • Swan, M. (2005). Practical English usage (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Recommended links:

  • General practice

https://www.eltconcourse.com/learners/exercises/indexpages/grammarc1c2.html

https://agendaweb.org/

  • Reading practice

https://www.flo-joe.co.uk/cpe/students/tests/

  • Writing practice

https://writeandimprove.com/

https://www.grammarly.com/

  • Reference materials

http://www.macmillandictionary.com/ (includes pronunciation files, British English)

http://www.ozdic.com/ (collocations)

https://www.english-corpora.org/bnc/ (corpus)

https://www.sketchengine.eu/skell/ (learner corpus)


Software

No specific software will be used.


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 English first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 2 English first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 3 English first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 4 English first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 5 English first semester morning-mixed