English: Written Proficiency and Academic Writing

English is the most important language in our part of the world for communication between people with different language backgrounds. This is especially true of the academic world, where papers and articles are commonly written in English. English is also the dominant language on the Internet and in movies, TV, music and computer games.

Those who master the rules of written, academic English generally have great advantages in their professional lives, as well as in their academic studies and in various other situations. If you choose to take this course, you already have considerable experience of academic studies and have perhaps already started writing in English within your area of expertise.

Course description (Written proficiency and academic writing)

In this course you practise your ability to express yourself in academic English within various genres. In particular, we practice how to reflect on different writing scenarios within the academy – both in terms of disciplinary conventions and academic genres. The main focus of the course is on the academic essay or paper, but you will also be discussing academic writing in general and other academic genres more specifically.

Generally speaking, you have the opportunity to influence what you do and write about in this course to a certain degree. We take your individual needs into consideration, since we want this course to be beneficial to anyone who takes it.

One component of the course consists of grammar workshops and practical grammar exercises. The grammar part is examined through a written take-home exam. The rest of the course focuses more explicitly on academic writing and what you need to pay attention to and learn in order to produce better academic texts.

For the main part of the course, you will be working on short assignments where you reflect on, and produce, academic text. You will receive feedback from your instructor or your fellow students before you hand in all assignments in a portfolio at the end of the course. Your portfolio will be graded by the teacher.

The language of instruction is English.

After the course

After this course you will be ready for the challenges involved in writing academic essays, papers, and theses in English. You will also be better prepared for all other situations in which correct written English is expected.