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Academic Writing and Research Skills

BM401

Course CodeBM401
ECTS

Course Description

Engaging in academic research and writing will help students to interpret and evaluate sources of information and evidence before becoming involved in the production of evidence based, logical, arguments. The aim of this unit is, therefore, to support the exploration of key topics which form part of the academic research and writing process so that learners will be able to achieve greater success and recognition in their studies.

Course Outline

WeekTopics
1What academic research and writing is: seeking the truth and adding to knowledge
2Academic writing conventions: academic language, paragraphs and how an argument flows
3Paraphrasing, summarising and writing to a word count
4Types of research (descriptive, associational, intervention) and how to make research valid and reliable
5Sources of information and evidence: journals, textbooks, conferences, government data, and how to judge them
6The research process: primary and secondary research
7What critical thinking is: a systematic way to evaluate arguments
8Midterm evaluation
9Critical thinking skills: critical reading, analysis, interpretation and open-mindedness
10Why critical thinking matters in research: creativity, language and presentation
11Evaluating an argument: coherence, testing the evidence and using sources fairly
12What makes a reliable academic argument: evidence, premise and conclusion
13Inductive and deductive reasoning
14Building a logical argument structure for a given topic
15Review and coursework completion
16Final evaluation and project assessment

Learning Outcomes

  1. LO1 Understand the concept and purpose of academic research and writing.
  2. LO2 Understand how to conduct academic research.
  3. LO3 Be able to demonstrate critical thinking skills.
  4. LO4 Understand how to construct a reliable and valid academic argument.
Learning Resources

Bailey, S. (2017) Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Learners. 5th ed. London: Routledge. Cottrell, S. (2019) The Study Skills Handbook. 5th ed. London: Macmillan. Journal of Academic Research Journal of Academic Writing An Intermediate Guide to Writing in English for University Study

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