Ho Chi Minh Open University

Postgraduate Department

Academic Writing

Course Outline

April, 2018
 Ho Chi Minh Open University
Postgraduate Department

Course Outline 2018

Course Information

Title: Academic Writing

Code: N/A
Prerequisite: None
Corequisite: None
Points Value: 45
Year: 2018
Dates: 13 Oct 2018 to 29 Dec 2018

Prescription

This course enables graduate students to develop the skills they need to become successful
writers in their academic and post-academic careers. Course topics include writing a
summary, critique, literature review, and research paper. Also discussed is plagiarism and
citation of sources. Strategies for organizing and developing thoughts, writing concisely in an
academic style, and proofreading are also covered, as is following a citation style. Whenever
possible, students work on assignments they have for discipline-related courses, and
individualized attention is given.
.
Staff
Instructor
Nguyen Vu Phuong, PhD Office: Quarter 3, Linh Xuan Ward, Thu Duc, HCMC
Hours: By appointment
Phone: 093 303 8549
Email: [email protected]

Administrator
Trần Văn Tuấn Office: 97 Vo Van Tan, District 3, HCM City
Hours: 8:00 am – 5: 00 pm
Phone: N/A
Email: [email protected]

Academic Writing, 2018 1

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course participants should be able to:

1. write appropriately for an academic audience in terms of style.

2. appropriately organize their academic writing, including summaries, critiques,

literature review, and research/final papers.

3. develop their editing and proofreading skills.

4. effectively paraphrase, summarize, and use direct quotations according to a citation

style guide (APA).

Course Content

Week Date In class Due

1 13 Course Introduction Not applicable
Oct Review of paragraph, essay
2 20 Ch.5 Writing summaries Ch.1-3. For reference
Oct Plagiarism Ch. 5 Writing summaries
How to read a research article
(http://www.sagepub.com/bjohnsonstudy/how
toarticle.htm)

Note:
Students are required to read the article/a
piece of writing and summarise it during class
time.

Assignment 1: Writing a summary (1) of an

article.
3 27 Paraphrasing and Quoting
Oct Proofreading
Students are required to read the article/a
Peer review of Summary 1 piece of writing and paraphrase it during
class time.
Each student is required to read
and edit his/her classmate’s
summary. Three or four
summaries will be corrected
during class time. At the end of
the class, they will submit all
edited summaries.

4 03 Academic Language: Summary 1 (bring a printed copy to class and

Nov Flow & Linking email to [email protected] ) for
evaluation

Ch. 6 Writing Critiques Ch. 6. Writing Critiques

Bring an article you might critique.

5 10 Peer Review: Critique Draft 1 Critique Draft (bring a printed copy to class).
Nov
Conference over Critique Draft 1. Bring another article for Critique 2.
Each student is required to read
and edit his/her classmate’s

Academic Writing, 2018 2

 critique. Three or four critiques
will be corrected during class
time. At the end of the class, they
will submit all edited critiques.

6 17 Peer Review: Critique Draft 2 Critique 1 (bring a printed copy to class and
Nov email to [email protected] ) for
Conference over Critique Draft 2 correction
Each student is required to read
and edit his/her classmate’s
critique. Three or four critiques
will be corrected during class Critique Draft 2 (bring a printed copy to
time. At the end of the class, they class).
will submit all edited critiques.

7 24 APA APA
Nov
Exercises on APA Ch. 4: Mechanics of Style
Ch. 7: Reference Examples
Ch. 5: Displaying Results

8 01 Critique 2 (bring a printed copy to class and

Dec Reviewing the Literature & email to [email protected] ) for
Developing Research Questions evaluation

Materials will be distributed on the previous

week or sent to class email.

9 8 Peer Review: Literature Review Lit. Review Draft (bring a printed copy to
Dec class).
Each student is required to read
and edit his/her classmate’s Lit Note: this activities can be done in groups.
Review. One or two Lit. Reviews
will be corrected during class
time.
10 15 Ch. 7 and 8. Constructing a Ch. 7 and 8. Constructing a research paper
Dec research paper
Read S&F Ch. 7, pp. 278-279; 284-288. Ch.
8, pp. 327-331.
Class presentation • Bring a research article to class to analyse.
• Collect, read, organize sources.

11 22 Ch. 7 and 8. Constructing a Literature review (bring a printed copy to

Dec research paper class and email to [email protected] )
Ch. 4. Data commentary for evaluation

Class presentation Ch. 7 and 8. Constructing a research paper

Primary Research Papers • Bring a research article to class to analyze.

• Primary Research Papers
• Combining Sources • Collect, read, organize sources.
• Outlining
The Final Paper will be submitted two weeks
after the end of the course.
.

Academic Writing, 2018 3

Class and Tutorial Details

Class will meet on Sundays, 13.00–16.40 am at Room HHH.704, 35-37 Hồ Hảo Hớn, District
1, Ho Chi Minh City. There will be no separate tutorials, but students are recommended to
email or contact the instructor if they have any questions related to the course.

Course Delivery

The course will be delivered in lectures/groupwork/class discussions/peer reviews.

Assessment Requirements

Overview
Academic Writing is 100% internally assessed. The internal assessment includes:
Paraphrasing and Summarising 20%
Critique 10%
Data commentary 10%
Final Paper (Literature Review) 60%

Assessment Learning Weighting Word length Due Date

Objectives
Summary 1, 2, 3, 4 10% 500 27 Oct
(approx.)
Critique 1, 2, 3, 4 10% 1,000 24 Nov
(approx.)
Midterm: 1, 2, 3, 4 20% N/A 08 Dec
paraphrasing,
summarising,
styles, developing
arguments
Literature Review 1, 2, 3, 4 60% 5,000 06 Jan 2019
(approx.)

Paraphrasing and Summarising

Purpose:
To learn how to concisely summarize the main points of an article through paraphrasing and
without plagiarizing.
Task:
1. Follow guidelines in Swales & Feak, Ch.5
2. Summarize a scholarly article in your field from a scholarly journal, not a website. Make
sure it is an article that you might be able to use in your Final Paper. The summary should be
no more than one page in length, shorter for shorter articles.
3. Include the source of the original at the foot of your paper, formatted according to a
citation style (e.g., APA).
4. Make sure you do not plagiarize—write the summary in your own words and without
looking at the original.

Academic Writing, 2018 4

5. Submit a copy of the article (including complete citation information) along with your
summary.
6. Bring a hard copy to class and email to the instructor.

Critique
Purpose: To demonstrate that you can summarize and evaluate information you read and
then present that evaluation clearly in writing.
Task:
1. Follow the guidelines in Swales & Feak, Ch.6
2. Write a 2-3 pages critique of a scholarly article on your research topic (use articles that
can be used for your Final Paper if possible). Make sure you start your critique with a
summary of the article and clearly signal to the reader when you move to your critique. Make
sure that each body paragraph has one main point, which is clearly stated in the first
sentence of the paragraph. Also include a conclusion (e.g., summarize critique and discuss
implications, future action needed, further research needed, suggestions for other
authors/articles to read, etc.)
3. Include the source of the original at the foot of your paper, formatted according to a
citation style (e.g., APA).
4. Submit copy of article (including complete citation information) with critique.
6. Bring a hard copy to class and email to the instructor.
Data commentary
Purpose: to learn how to write commentaries for data presentation in research.
Task:
1. Follow the guidelines in Swales & Feak, Unit 4
2. Write a paragraph in accordance with the guidelines on data commentaries
3. Bring a hard copy to class and email to the instructor.
Literature review (Final Paper)
Purpose: students will use the knowledge of summarising, developing arguments, APA
styles, critique, and commentary to write a literature review on a research scope of their
choice.
Task:
1. Follow guidelines on how to write a literature review.
2. Use relevant academic writing skills such as summarising, developing arguments, APA
styles, critique, and commentary
3. Develop arguments in relation to the research scope and identify the research gap
Notes: All papers should be typed, double-spaced, in 13-pt font, and with 1-inch margins. If
you plan on turning a paper in for another course, be sure you receive permission from your
other professor/instructor to work on the paper in this class. All papers must be original for
this class—they cannot be ones you have written for a different course in the past.

Academic Writing, 2018 5

Relationship between Objectives and Assessment

Criterion-referenced grading is used in this course.

Penalties

If you submit work late, your end mark on that piece of work will we lowered by two grades.
For example, an “A-” would drop to a “B”.

Under some circumstances, the course instructor may grant an extension to the assignment
due date. Extensions must be applied for PRIOR to the due date. Requests for extensions
should be accompanied with appropriate evidence such as a medical certificate and be made
on the Extension Request Form available from the relevant Postgraduate Administration
Office. An assignment that is submitted with an extension form will be graded as normal.
Extensions will normally be for five days. However, a course instructor or a programme
director may allow a longer extension if necessary.

If a student receives an extension, but the new date results in the work being handed in after
assignments have been returned to students, the student may be required to write on a
different topic so that s/he does not get the advantage of seeing the feedback given to other
students.

Mandatory Course Requirements

Students must be at class, participate in the in-class activities, complete the assigned
readings, and complete the written assignments. If you do these activities effectively, you will
learn and you will likely do well in the course.

Expected Workload

Postgraduate students will be expected to spend about 12 hours per week including contact
hours (130 hours total), for a 45-point, postgraduate level course.
Text, Student Notes and Resources
Textbook:
1. Swales, J.M. & Feak, C.B. (2012). Academic Writing for Graduate Students: Essential
Tasks and Skills (3rd ed.). Michigan: University of Michigan Press.
2. American Psychological Association (2009). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, D.C.: APA.

The textbooks are required reading for the course. It is expected that you will have
completed the assigned reading before class. This will make the lectures more
understandable.

Academic Writing, 2018 6

  A style guide specific to the student’s discipline.
 An array of articles from research journals published in the student’s discipline.
 An array of sample texts written in the student’s discipline, by classmates, by the
student, and/or by the instructor.
 Selected online and/or library reserve readings provided by the instructor

Communication and Additional Information

Additional information or information on changes will be conveyed to students via email to all
class members, and/or during lectures.

Organisation

Submitting assignments

Assignments should include your name on each page.

Deadlines:
Assignments must be completed and submitted directly to the instructor of the course on the
due date, and for the final paper, it should be submitted to the Postgraduate Office by
4.00pm on the due date.

Cover Sheet:
A completed cover sheet MUST be attached to the front of each assignment.

Missing assignments

A copy of each assignment submitted must be retained by the student concerned.

Regrettably, from time to time assignments go missing. If the School has no record of an
assignment having been received it will be assumed that the work has not been done unless
evidence to the contrary is provided.

Academic Writing, 2018 7

Late work and extensions

In reasonable circumstances, an extension to the assignment due date may be granted by

the instructor. Extensions must be applied for PRIOR to the due date. Requests for
extensions should be accompanied with appropriate evidence such as a medical certificate
and be made on the Extension Request Form available from the relevant office. An
assignment that is submitted with an extension form will be graded as normal. Extensions will
be for up to five working days. However, the course instructor may allow a longer extension if
necessary.

If a student receives an extension, but the new date results in the work being handed in after
assignments have been returned to students, the student may be required to write on a
different topic so that s/he does not unfairly benefit from the feedback given to other
students.

It is important to note:

 late work will be accepted for a maximum of five working days from the due date
 assignments that are submitted late without an extension will have a 2-grade penalty
deducted from the final grade
 assignments that are submitted more than five working days late will not be marked.

Reconsideration of marks

Any student queries about the assessment or results of internally assessed work or the
results of course requirements are to be directed to the Course instructor immediately. They
will not be considered more than two weeks after the assessments/results are made
available to students (except in documented medical or similar circumstances).

Academic Writing, 2018 8