BA_EC English Composition

University of Finance and Administration
Winter 2016
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Irena Shanahanová (lecturer)
Mgr. Dagmar Prosková (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Irena Shanahanová
Subdepartment of Languages – Department of Social Sciences – Departments – University of Finance and Administration
Contact Person: Ivana Plačková
Timetable of Seminar Groups
BA_EC/cBMPH: Mon 14:00–14:44 E304, Mon 14:45–15:30 E304, except Wed 26. 10., except Wed 9. 11., except Wed 16. 11., except Mon 21. 11. ; and Mon 5. 12. 15:45–17:15 E304, Mon 12. 12. 15:45–17:15 E304, D. Prosková
BA_EC/cMCPH: Wed 14:00–14:44 E024, Wed 14:45–15:30 E024, except Wed 26. 10., except Wed 9. 11., except Wed 16. 11., except Wed 23. 11. ; and Wed 7. 12. 12:15–13:45 E305, Wed 14. 12. 12:15–13:45 E305, D. Prosková
Prerequisites
Mastering English as the target language (both general and professional) at the level of B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Readiness to actively participate in seminars with an accent on writing techniques and analyzing business profesional texts. Home preparation and writing assignments are and integral part of the course.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
Course objectives
This course is designed to teach students skills necessary for effective academic, professional and business writing. Students are guided to develop proper reading and text analysis habits and encouraged to think critically to isolate crucial issues, reason logically and analyze problems effectively. An integral part of the course is developing a set of efficient readingm research and writing strategies. Upon the successful completion of this course, students will be able to: 1. Apply effective reading strategies to understand, analyze and exploit resources. 2. To implement effective note taking, information organizing and text analyzing techniques. 3. To adapt individual and cooperative techniques promoting argumentation and discussion skills. 4. Recognize, reflect on and adapt various types of academic and professional text writing formats. 5. Analyze, synthetize and summarize academic and professional resources from the field of business to formulate a strong argumentation. 6. Evaluate and integrate sources of information using appropriate documentation and following academic, professional and business standards. 7. Develop an effective thesis statement for generating a proper situational writing format. 8. Construct interesting, informative, well structured and persuasive texts based on a thesis and supported by evidence. 9. Formulate thoughtful and stylistically correct sentences, paragraphs, introductions, and conclusions by using appropriate vocabulary, language strategies and syntactical elements of academic, professional and business writing. 10. Collect, sort out, and organize data for outlining a final research project. 11. Complete a well structured research project, organize individual sections, proof-read, and edit effectively.
Syllabus
  • W 1: Introduction to academic writing, writing process, academic paragraph structure, topic sentence statement, reading strategies. Academic Vocabulary. SS-word order. Preparation: Bailey: pp 1-10, 179-183; Oshima, Hogue: Ch. 1 and Appendix A. W 2: Four bases for academic writing, writing workshop. Academic Vocabulary. SS- S/V, pronoun, tense agreement. Preparation: Oshima, Hogue: Ch. 2; select a topic for AP, think of supports. W 3: Purpose, audience, genre, style. Academic Vocabulary. SS-past tenses, fragments. Preparation: Allyn & Bacon: Ch. 3, Oshima, Hogue: pp 183-5; Bailey: Ch. 2.10. W 4: Summary. Abstract/annotation Academic Vocabulary. SS- present tenses, run-ons. Preparation: Oshima, Hogue: pp 136-141; 188-190, Bailey: Ch. 1.7. W 5: Paraphrase. Academic Vocabulary. SS- future tenses, faulty parallelism. Preparation: Bailey: Ch. 1.6; Oshima, Hogue: pp 127-136; 179-181. W 6: Mid-term; quotations; plagiarism. Academic Vocabulary. Preparation: Oshima, Hogue: Ch. 3; Bailey: Ch. 1.3, 1.8 & 1.9. W 7: From paragraph to essay, Thesis statement; source citations, plagiarism review. Academic Vocabulary. SS-articles. Preparation: Oshima, Hogue: Ch. 4, Appendix E; Bailey: Ch. 3.3. W 8: Using sources effectively, evaluating sources, source citations-practice, writing workshop. Academic Vocabulary. SS – conditionals, punctuation. Preparation: Oshima, Hogue: Ch. 3, Appendix B; Bailey: Ch. 1.2A & B. W 9: Essay types – focus on AE, source citations-practice, essay peer-review. Academic Vocabulary. SS – modals, dangling & misplaced modifiers. Preparation: Oshima, Hogue: Ch. 9; Bailey Ch. 2.1. W 10: Writing workshop & peer reviews. Academic Vocabulary. Preparation: select topic for AE, think of pro and con arguments, select your position. W 11: Professional & Business writing, general review, revising, editing, proofreading. Academic Vocabulary. Preparation: Bailey: Ch. 1.12, 4.1-4.4; Oshima, Hogue: pp 272-280. W 12: Final exam
Literature
    recommended literature
  • Bailey, S. (2006). Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students. London, New York: Routlege Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN10: 0-415-38420-6 (pbk) http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/ling/download/BATextbook.pdf
  • Oshima, A. & Hogue, A. (2006). Writing Academic English. Level 4. (4th ed.) New York: Pearson Longman. ISBN-13: 978-0-13-152359-3
  • Ramage, J. D., Bean, J. C., & Johnson, J. (2006). The Allyn & Bacon guide to writing: Concise edition.(4th ed.). New York: Longman Publishers.
  • Michael McCarthy, Felicity O'Dell. (2008). Academic Vocabulary in Use: 50 Units of Academic Vocabulary Reference and Practice; Self-study and Classroom Use. Cambridge University Press.
Teaching methods
Seminars in both types of study (full-time students and part-time students). The explanation of new concepts will be immediately followed by practical exercises - individual work, cooperative learning (work in pairs or groups). Home preparation (reading and writing assignments and evaluation) are an integral part of the course. Special focus will be given to the evaluation of students' progress.
Assessment methods
1. Final Exam 25% 2. Mid-term Exam 15% 3. Academic Vocabulary: 20% 4. Writing Workshops & Peer Reviews: 20% 5. Course Readings: 10% 6. Active Participation: 10% Attendance: min 75%
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: 6 hodin KS/semestr.
The course is also listed under the following terms Winter 2014, Winter 2015, Winter 2017, Winter 2018, Winter 2019, Winter 2020, Winter 2021.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Winter 2016, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.vsfs.cz/course/vsfs/winter2016/BA_EC