Modules

These are the four modules for Winter/Spring 2017. We hope to add new modules in the future. You may take the modules in any order. Please note that some of the modules have required textbooks, which can be purchased at the UD Bookstore (in the English Language Institute section) or online. Please bring the book to your first meeting.

Grammar for Graduate Writers:

This module comprises a review of grammar structures specifically needed for graduate and professional writing, focusing in particular on differences between everyday and academic language (e.g. nominalization, embedding, complex noun phrases, hedging) and difficulties typically encountered by second-language writers (e.g., verbs, agreement, articles). Students work on exercises as well as their own writing to develop their use of academic grammar and improve their accuracy.

Textbook: Nigel A. Caplan, Grammar Choices for Graduate and Professional Writers (Michigan, 2012). Available from the UD Bookstore.

The 3Cs of Good Graduate Writing:

This module provides an overview of features common to US graduate writing that are especially challenging for second-language writers: Cohesion (information structure and rhetorical patterns expected in English writing); Claims (hedging and boosting claims using appropriate grammar and vocabulary); and Clarity (developing academic and field-specific vocabulary; using dictionaries and corpora effectively). Students should bring a short piece of writing or a longer course assignment or thesis/dissertation chapter for discussion (with instructor/advisor’s consent). No textbook. Please note that the 3rd class will be held online. No required textbook; Grammar Choices is recommended (available from the UD Bookstore).

Reading and Summarizing Research:

This module is offered in two versions, one for Social Sciences/Business/Education and the other for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) fields. The focus is on using the typical organization of U.S. research writing to understand and take notes. We will also focus on common concerns for second-language writers: paraphrasing, quotation, and appropriate source-use practices; use of reporting verbs and noun clause structure; and controlling the strength of claims. Students work with readings they have selected from their course/dissertation research. No textbook.

Writing a Literature Review:

This module explores the different types of literature review (narrative, systematic/integrative, focused) and strategies for managing the information. Particular attention is paid to grammar needed for synthesizing and comparing sources as well as metadiscourse (organizing language). The need for accurate paraphrasing and citation is discussed. Students are encouraged to take this module while they are working on a literature review for a class, proposal, Master’s thesis, or doctoral dissertation.

Textbook: Christine Feak & John Swales, Telling a Research Story: Writing a Literature Review (Michigan, 2009). Available from the UD Bookstore.

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