Academic Writing II

Paul W.L.LAI Associate Professor

Department: Institute of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Course Overview

Course Overview

The two-semester graduate course has been developed since 2008 based on a new teaching method that integrates the training of logical thinking skills into the training of academic writing. Its primary goal is to help graduate students, through a step-by-step training in logical thinking, develop the skills needed to write a clear and convincing academic paper for publication at a high international level.

In the spring semester students will mainly learn how to develop a preliminary thesis statement (main research idea) for their respective research, and a logical argument for the thesis statement.In the autumn semester students will mainly learn how to incorporate the thesis statement and logical argument into an abstract, introduction, and learn how to develop a counterargument or advanced argument. After successfully completing the entire course, the students should be in a good position to complete and send their papers for publication. Those who succeed in having at least one English abstract accepted for publication during the course might be employed as a teaching assistant of Mei-Writing.

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Syllabus

Course Requirements

1. Graduate students who are able to take classes, and communicate, in English.
2. Preference will be given to those who are planning to submit abstracts to international conferences or journals.

Textbooks

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p>The course instructor has developed a series of course materials, including

1. step-by-step guide on how to build a thesis statement
2. step-by-step guide on how to build a logical argument
3. template on how to write a high quality abstract
4. template on how to write a high quality introduction

etc.

All these materials are free, and will be available for download at the course web site.

Course Schedule

2nd semester

The specific goals in the 2nd semester are to help the students

1. write a high quality abstract and introduction for their research
2. strengthen the logical argument developed in the 1st semester by developing acounter-argument.

The semester will cover the following lessons:

Session	Contents
1	Reviews on thesis statement and logical argument.
2	How to write a high-quality abstract.
3	Student presentation on abstract.
4	Student presentation on abstract.
5	Student presentation on abstract.
6	How to write a high-quality introduction.
7	Student presentation on introduction.
8	Student presentation on introduction.
9	Student presentation on introduction.
10	Advanced topics on logical argument and counter argument – part 1.
11	Advanced topics on logical argument and counter argument – part 2.
12	Advanced topics on logical argument and counter argument – part 3.
13	Advanced topics on logical argument and counter argument – part 4.
14	Advanced topics on logical argument and counter argument – part 5.
15	Review, reflection, and course evaluation.

Grading

Students who need the course credits are required to meet the following conditions:

1. Attendance must be over 80%
2. Two oral presentations ((i) abstract, (ii) introduction)

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Class Materials

Lecture Notes

• What is an abstract and how to build one (PDF, 95KB)
• How to build an informative abstract (PDF, 75KB)
• What is an introduction and how to build one (PDF, 138KB)
• How to write an attractive introduction (PDF, 78KB)

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