94248 - Academic Writing Laboratory (A)

Academic Year 2021/2022

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Forli
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in International relations and diplomatic affairs (cod. 8048)

Learning outcomes

Skills to be achieved

At the end of the course, students shall acquire the basic knowledge on bibliographic sources, on the University databases, and on the main Internet portals of international organizations, as well as on the methods of identifying, researching and using the information available therein.


Course contents

The seminar consists of online lectures on MS TEAMS (30 hours). It aims to provide students with academic-level writing skills, and to foster their self-evaluation in elaborating a scientific argumentative text from the starting plan to the final revision. This requires students to improve the ability to both carry out a bibliographic search and to find bibliographic sources in the University databases and portals.

Lectures and related exercises will develop the following topics:

1) Bibliographic search on the University portal and ICCU. The main international databases. Exercises

2) Written texts types. The informative text. The “Five W’s”: What ?, When ?, Where ?, Who ?, Why ?. Exercises

3) Regulative, informative, descriptive, interpretative-evaluative, expressive, narrative texts. Exercises

4) The structure of the argumentative text. Critical essays in journals, papers and short essays, academic thesis, scientific articles. Exercises

5) How to analyse an argumentative text. Some basic rules and criteria. Exercises

6) Again on the structure of the argumentative text. What does it mean to "argue". Persuasive and logical-rational definition.

7) Title, introduction, thesis, arguments, tests/proofs, conclusions. Methods and argumentative styles. Exercises

8) The thesis of an argumentative text as "propulsive and dynamic core of the text". Without thesis there is no text, because there is no argument.

9) Stages in writing an argumentative text: ideation (Brainstorming technique), formulation of starting questions

10) Documentation, planning

11) Drafting and revision

12) Quotes, paraphrases, notes. Exercises

13) Improving text synthesis skills. Concision, functionality, objectivity. Five things to do in a summary. Examples.

14) The conclusions in an argumentative text. Circular and progressive argumentative texts. The keywords.

15) Bibliographic research exercises on the topic that will be chosen for the final paper

At the end of the seminar, with the presentation of the final paper that may also take place subsequently, students shall demonstrate that they have acquired and improved the ability to carry out bibliographic researches and to draft an argumentative text on an agreed topic.


Readings/Bibliography

Bibliography

-Paola Italia, Scrivere all'Università. Manuale pratico con esercizi e antologia di testi, Le Monnier Università, 2014

-Further readings


Teaching methods

Teaching methods

The course consists of traditional lectures and exercises.


Assessment methods

Assessment methods

Learning levels will be tested through classroom exercises and the final paper.

Teaching tools

Slides and further readings that will be assigned before each lecture.


Teaching tools

Teaching tools

Slides and further readings that will be assigned before each lecture


Office hours

See the website of Leonardo Allodi