Academic Literacy (Coursera)

Course 1 of 4 in the English for Research Publication Purposes Specialization

Syllabus

WEEK 1

The Reading-Research-Writing Continuum

This module will help you acquire critical reading skills so that you will develop as a self-critical writer. The module covers issues related to reading discipline-specific literature, which is indispensable from developing professional expertise in writing academic texts. The focus is on fundamental concepts of scientific writing, such as logical organization and argumentation.

WEEKk 2

Developing Academic Vocabulary

This module covers issues related to building academic vocabulary. The module clarifies word-formation processes, i.e., affixation, conversion, and compounding. The focus is on strategic language re-use and ways of dealing with new words. The module provides software tools for extracting frequently occurring vocabulary specific to an area of research.

WEEK 3

Fundamentals od Academic Grammar

This module covers issues related to the pragmatics of academic English. The module presents an overview of the English verb system, including the most frequent tenses, three aspects, and two voices. The module highlights the use of correct punctuality, which is of immense help in meeting the goal of the writing process: to ensure clear communication of ideas. The module also explains the role of modality and register in academic writing. Another important issue discussed in the module is the use of parallel constructions for words, phrases, clauses, sentences, and paragraphs of an academic text.

WEEK 4

Academic Discourse

The final module looks beyond the sentence to the ways that grammar structures paragraphs and longer texts. The module covers issues related to the textuality of academic texts, i.e. cohesion, coherence, intentionality, acceptability, informativity, situationality, and intertextuality. In particular, the module focuses on lexical and grammatical cohesion. The module also discusses the concept of paragraphing and what the topic sentence and the statement of purpose mean for effective academic writing.