88021 - Academic Writing Laboratory (A)

Learning outcomes

The aim of the laboratory is to perfect the ability to draft papers of different types and degrees of specialisation with particular attention to the formal and structural aspects of the paper, as well as its communicative effectiveness and critical grounding. At the end of the laboratory the student has acquired the skills to draft executive summaries of research reports, reviews, scientific dissemination texts, essays for specialised journals.

Course contents

In the Laboratory of Writing, students learn the techniques of designing and writing a paper through the analysis of various text types, representative of themes and styles typical of academic writing, with practical exercises on texts under the guidance of the lecturer.

The workshop, divided into stages, aims to introduce students to critical and scientific writing through: a) a theoretical part, dedicated to illustrating the constituent and formal elements of the academic argumentative text; b) the reading of essays in the various argumentative genres and styles, with written exercises aimed at grasping their structural peculiarities; c) autonomous creation of a short essay from texts agreed with the lecturer.

At the end of the workshop the student will be more familiar with the techniques of academic text processing, will be able to analyse and expound the logical and expressive structure of significant examples, and will possess the necessary tools for composing an argumentative text of a scientific nature.

Readings/Bibliography

- Dell'Aversano, C. e Grilli, A., La scrittura argomentativa. Dal saggio breve alla tesi di dottorato, Le Monnier, Firenze, 2005.

- A. Iacona, L'argomentazione, Einaudi, Torino, 2010.

- Eco, U., Come si fa una tesi di laurea: le materie umanistiche, Bompiani, 2013.

- Santambrogio, M., Manuale di scrittura (non creativa), Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2006.

The essays on which the exercises will be carried out will be provided during the course.

The texts on which students will have to produce a written paper for the examination will be agreed with the lecturer during the course.

Teaching methods

The first part of the course - (a) - will consist of several lectures given by the lecturer. The second part - (b) - will consist of classroom exercises, during which students will analyse scientific essays under the guidance of the lecturer. In the third part of the course - scan (c) - students will write a short written paper, which will then be discussed in the exam (the paper must be handed in to the lecturer at least two weeks before the exam).

Assessment methods

The examination consists of the production of a written paper, on a topic agreed upon with the lecturer during the course, which will be discussed during the examination (the paper must be handed in at least two weeks before the call).

The examination will be designed to assess the achievement of the training objectives. The aim of the examination will therefore be to verify that the student has acquired the ability to produce an argumentative text of a scientific nature, mastering the fundamental tools of academic writing.

The student will be assessed as suitable and the test will be considered passed if the written text presents the typical characteristics of a scientific argumentative text, as well as being grammatically, syntactically and formally correct.

The student will be assessed as failing and the test will be considered failed if the text produced has serious conceptual, grammatical, syntactical or formal errors and if it does not have the characteristics of an argumentative text of an academic nature.

 

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders have the right to special accommodations according to their condition, following an assessment by the Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact the teacher but get in touch with the Service directly to schedule an appointment. It will be the responsibility of the Service to determine the appropriate adaptations. For more information, visit the page:

https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students

Teaching tools

During the course, the lecturer will make use of Powerpoint slides, as well as photocopies and computer tools for exercises.

Office hours

See the website of Matteo Cavalleri