Academic Writing for In-sessional Study (AWIS) | English Language Education

Explore key general aspects of academic writing and gain a better understanding of writing within your own discipline.

Course Content and Unit Aims

Unit 1

Style and register

To recognise appropriate academic writing style in your discipline.
To recognise variations in disciplinary writing approaches
To become more aware of expectations in academic writing
To practise features of academic writing style

Unit 2

Coherence and cohesion

To recognise cohesive devices and their contribution to coherent texts
To practise using cohesive devices
To meet readers’ expectations in large and small scale organisation
To analyse different ways to package information
To recognise and practise text organisation patterns

Unit 3

Working with sources

To integrate sources effectively
To summarise, paraphrase and quote directly
To use referencing systems accurately
To be aware of tools and resources for referencing
To understand ways of avoiding plagiarism

Unit 4

Argument and voice

To develop a strong overall argument
To identify the key elements in a balanced argument
To understand the concept of critical voice
To make your own critical voice clearly distinct
To recognise and use language for critical

Course Days/times (all courses 4 weeks)

Monday 14:10-16:00 (Central Campus)
Monday 15:10-17:00 (Online)
Tuesday 11:10-13:00 (Holyrood Campus)
Tuesday 14:10-16:00 (Holyrood Campus)
Tuesday15:10-17:00 (King’s Buildings)
Wednesday 09:10-11:00 (Online)
Thursday 09:10-11:00 (Online)
Thursday 10:10-12:00 (Online)
Thursday 11:10-13:00 (Central)
Thursday 14:10-16:00 (Central)
Thursday 15:10-17:00 (Online)
Friday 10:10-12:00 (Central Campus)

Teaching Methods and Learning Outcomes

Both the in-person and online versions of the course will involve a combination of self-study and attendance at weekly classes (2 hours). Before each class, you will need to watch a recorded lecture on Learn and complete any pre-lecture tasks. Lecture times vary but they can be around 40 minutes long.

In class, you will have the opportunity to ask the teacher questions about the content of the lecture, discuss academic writing with other students, and practise language and literacy skills through independent and peer tasks.

You will also have the opportunity each week to complete and receive feedback on a short writing assignment (usually about 250 words) on a topic related to your field of study.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this course, you will be able to:

Recognise appropriate academic writing style in your discipline.
Organise your writing more effectively.
Integrate sources effectively.
Recognise how to express criticality and distinguish your own voice.
Engage with feedback to develop autonomous writing skills.

Eligibility

All Undergraduate and Postgraduate students currently studying at the University of Edinburgh.

Please note that priority will be given to online/distance students in applications to the online AWIS classes.

Applying

Please note that applications will close on Sunday 28 September 2025.

Apply for this course

This article was published on 2023-11-23