95416 - English Language Exercises (Lm) - Lmcp

Course contents

In this course, students will acquire the necessary skills to write academic texts in English.

The topics of the course will be in line with those of the English Language (“lezioni frontali”/ lectures) part. The first few lessons will provide the theoretical framework necessary to approach academic writing in English (with a focus on advanced grammar and vocabulary), whereas the following lessons will be primarily workshop-based. Students will work on expressing their thoughts and reporting other writers’ ideas clearly and effectively in English. They will also practice revising their own writing and that of their peers through collaborative exercises to be completed in class or as homework.

Readings/Bibliography

Students will use Virtuale to access links for the classroom slides, which will come available just prior to or shortly after class, and for the recommended readings (in PDF). We will not be using a traditional textbook. Therefore, students need to come to class with a computer or tablet to be able to participate effectively. Students are also encouraged to regularly consult advanced-level texts on English language usage (e.g., Practical English Usage by Michael Swan, latest edition) and a good dictionary of collocations.

The following text (either in print or in digital format) is recommended for students unfamiliar with academic writing in English: Turabian, Kate L. Student's Guide to Writing College Papers. 5^th ed., University of Chicago Press, 2019.

Teaching methods

Students will be encouraged to discuss and work on their writing skills, individually or with a partner/in small groups, under the teacher’s supervision. The teacher will occasionally assign homework and provide collective or individual feedback.

Lessons build upon each other, and it is imperative that students study the class slides that they missed before attending the following class.

Assessment methods

The assessment methods are the same for attending and non-attending students.

There are two stages in the examination:

1. A written test relating to the "Lezioni frontali" part (translation theory and practice)

2. A written test relating to the "Esercitazioni" part.

The written test relating to the "Lezioni frontali" part consists of a) a test aimed at verifying the theoretical knowledge acquired during the course and b) the translation from English into Italian of a passage of approximately 250 words accompanied by a commentary. Students will have 120 minutes.

For the “Esercitazioni” part, students will write a short academic essay (approximately 500 words) in English on one of the topics covered in “Lezioni frontali”. Students will have 90 minutes to complete the essay.

The "Lezioni frontali" component of the course counts towards 2/3 of the overall assessment for the Lingua Inglese LM exam; the "Esercitazioni" component counts towards the remaining 1/3.

It is strictly forbidden to use AI during the exam. Any violation of this rule will be considered a serious breach of academic ethics.

Students with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) or with disabilities that can affect their ability to attend courses are invited to contact the University service for students with disabilities and SLD at the earliest opportunity -- ideally before the start of the course: [https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students] . The University service will suggest possible adjustments to the course work and/or exam, which must then be submitted to the course leader so they can assess their feasibility, in line with the learning objectives of the course. Please note that adjustments to the exam must be requested at least two weeks in advance.

Teaching tools

E-learning virtual environment (Virtuale), PowerPoint presentations.

Office hours

See the website of Annalisa Crea