This course is intended for PhD students in their first year who are currently working on their First Year Report. Course Content and Unit Aims Week 1: Academic discourse To understand and identify the key elements of academic discourse. To explore and discuss the genre and conventions of first-year PhD reports. To read and analyse a lay summary and produce your own. Week 2: Writing introductions To explore the functional elements and organisation of report introductions using Swales' CARS model. To analyse sample introductions, discuss variations, and introduce useful language features. To begin drafting parts of your introduction. Week 3: Reviewing literature To explore the key purposes and complexity of literature reviews. To understand various organisational patterns for structuring literature reviews. To draft a section of your literature review. Week 4: Proposing research To understand the components of a well-structured methods section, including research questions and timeline. To participate in an informal practice session simulating your first-year review board meeting. To draft a section outlining your research methodology. Week 5: Individual Tutorials To clarify issues arising from the course materials. To discuss tutor feedback in more detail. To suggest further English language and academic literacies development. Course Days and Times In-person – Fridays, 10:00 – 12:00 Online – Mondays, 10:00 – 12:00 The in-person course will be offered at the Holyrood Campus; the online course will use Microsoft Teams. Teaching Methods and Learning Outcomes This course is designed to support University of Edinburgh research students in their first year who are currently working on their First-Year Report, focusing on enhancing essential academic literacies for scholarly writing. You will explore typical structures and language features of these documents through lectures, analysis of authentic reports, and weekly tasks. Classes are dedicated to presentations and discussions of materials, allowing you to engage deeply with the content. Course materials will be available on Learn Ultra. Each week, you can submit a short piece of writing for your tutor to review and provide written feedback on, focusing on effective and meaningful academic discourse. Plan to dedicate approximately 3 hours per week to the course, including assignments and pre-reading. In the final week (week 5), you'll have a one-to-one tutorial to address any remaining questions. By the end of the course students should have a better understanding of: ways of structuring the content of the report ways of organising the different sections of the report appropriate language for the different sections of the report and how to use that language accurately any specific language areas that will need further work Eligibility This course is intended for PhD students in their first year who are currently working on their First-Year Report. The course will be repeated in Semester 2. Apply Apply Now This article was published on 2023-11-23
