Advanced Academic English Writing (IFLS157)
Fall Semester 2014 Syllabus
Professor Gil Coombe
GOALS
The goal of this course is simply to improve the structure and style of your writing in an academic context.
In particular, we will be focusing on improving the following aspects:
(a) sentence structure and variety
(b) paragraph structure and cohesion (how well the sentences fit together)
(c) essay/report structure
(d) use of academic vocabulary
(e) paraphrasing from other sources
(f) making reference lists and using in-text citations correctly
(g) recognizing and avoiding common grammar errors
(h) reducing repetition and wordiness in your writing
The course is designed to be completely practical, so a significant amount of time will be spent in class
working on the assignments for the course.
ASSESSMENT
There will be five writing assignments during the semester. They are:
1. Statement of Purpose (15%)
You will describe your background in order to sell your main attributes, or outline your career goals, to the
person reading. In the process of writing this, the following skills will be introduced:

using inductive and deductive paragraph structure
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writing topic sentences
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improving paragraph cohesion
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learning sentence structure
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fixing the 8 common grammar errors
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learning useful ways to start a sentence
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formatting your writing for submission
2. Literature Review (15%)
In this assessment, you will ask a research question related to your major and then conduct a search of
sources to answer the question. In addition to reinforcing the skills introduced in the previous assessment,
the following skills will be covered for the first time:

the structure of a literature review

reading academic articles for main points

paraphrasing

using reporting verbs correctly
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APA and MLA referencing

making definitions
3. Reaction Paper (15%)
Similar to an Article Summary, but this time you will add your own opinion about the main points of the
article. In addition to reinforcing the skills introduced in the previous assessment, the following skills will
be covered for the first time:

giving personal opinions in writing

using a reference list

using in-text citations

writing a thesis statement
4. Argumentative Academic Essay (20%)
In this assessment, you will write either an Opinion Essay, a Compare and Contrast Essay or a ProblemSolution Essay. All types will be taught in class, and you can then choose the style that best suits your major and/or interests. In either case, I will give you a list of possible essay topics for you to choose from, rather than allow you to choose your own topic. This is to prevent recycling writing from other classes of
choosing over-used topics. In addition to learning the structure of the essay and using logical thinking, the
skills from previous assessments will be reinforced.
5. Research Report (25%)
In this assessment, you will be asked to write up a simplified research report consisting of an abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion and reference list. We will devise the topic as a class and collect
data for each other to make the results as meaningful as possible. In addition to learning the structure of the
essay and using logical thinking, the skills from previous assessments will be reinforced.
In addition to these five assessments, Attendance and Participation (10%) will also be part of the final
grade. This is simply the reflects the effort and attitude shown in class, in particular time spent in discussion and peer editing with classmates.
CLASSROOM GUIDELINES
Attendance Policy
Students are expected to attend all classes. If you are absent because of hospitalization, death in the family,
or military duty, your absence is justified according to Korea University policy and not count against your
final grade. If you are absent more than twice with no valid justification, your grade will be reduced by
1.5% for each absence. If you are absent 10 or more times with no valid justification, you will fail the
class. If you miss class for any reason, catching up is your responsibility.
Being late to class three times counts as one absence. Being more than 20 minutes late to class counts as
one absence.
Late Submissions
Assessments that are handed in late lose a letter grade (e.g., A+ —> A) for every day overdue. This will
be waived if case of sudden hospitalization or death in the family, but in the case of military service, job
interviews, or other unexpected events, arrangements must be made beforehand.
Required Text
The professor will compile a textbook of relevant materials that can be purchased at a local print shop. In
addition, the presentation slides shown in class will be posted on EKU as a PDF for downloading and review.
Plagiarism
Plagiarizing is the copying of other writing without acknowledgement. If you are caught plagiarising, the
first time will result in a score of 0 for the assessment in question. The second time will result in an F for
the course.
MY ROLE



show a genuine interest in your writing and progress in the class
return your work quickly and provide feedback on your writing for every assessment
set aside time for at least two one-on-one interviews during the semester to discuss your
writing
YOUR ROLE
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
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be prepared to write, write, write!
give constructive feedback to other members of the class about their writing
use my feedback to improve your writing
bring paper, a pen, a pencil, an eraser and the textbook to all classes
turn off cell phones unless expressly given permission to use them for research or as a dictionary
PROFESSOR DETAILS
Email:
Office:
Contact Phone:
Office Hours:
[email protected]
Room 718, IFLS Building
3290-2455
12:00-1:30pm, Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri; other times by appointment
A weekly outline will available on Google Drive from the start of the course.
Any changes to the weekly outline will be updated automatically here.
Last updated: 11/07/2014