Academic writing. Lesson plan.

Date:

Teacher name: Sovetova G.A.

Grade: SH-

Number present:

absent:

Theme of the lesson:

Study and academic work.

Learning objectives(s)

Students should identify differences between:

composition

essay

assignment

project

portfolio

dissertation

thesis

Lesson objectives

Students will know about academic writing

Students will write academic writing

Success criteria

Ss will be able to

about academic writing

write academic writing

identify differences between ac.wr

Value links

Groupwork, individual work

Cross curricular links

Lesson is connected with practical English

ICT skills

The use of whiteboard

Previous learning

Plan

Planned timings

Planned activities

Resources

Beginning

5 mins

Middle

Teacher will present topic

A broad definition of academic writing is any writing done to fulfill a requirement of a college or university. Academic writing is also used for publications that are read by teacher and researchers or presented at conferences.

Point A

Study and exams

Before an exam, some students cram1 for it. Even if you’re a genius2, you’ll

have to do some revision. If the exam happens every year, you can revise by

looking at past papers3. Some things can be memorised or learnt (of ) by

heart. But rote-learning4 is not suf icient for most subjects. It is also possible to

use mnemonics5. However, all things considered, the best idea is to bury

yourself in your books6 and to study intensively7 until you know the subject

inside out8.

1 study in a very concentrated way for a short time

2 an exceptionally clever person

3 exam papers from previous years

4 learning purely by repetition

5 /niˈmɒnɪks/ tricks that help you remember something, for example: ‘i’ before ‘e’ except at er ‘c’ is a mnemonic for English

spelling (e.g. friend, but receive)

6 spend the maximum time studying

7 in a very focused way

8 know it completely

Point B

Academic writing

composition could be just 50–100 words, ot en used for school work

essay longer than a composition, more serious, hundreds or thousands of words

assignment a long essay, ot en part of a course, usually thousands of words

project like an assignment, but emphasis on student’s own material and topic

portfolio a collection of individual pieces of work; may include drawings and other examples of

creative work as well as writing

dissertation a long, research-based work, perhaps 10–15,000 words, for a degree or diploma

thesis a very long, original, research-based work, perhaps 80–100,000 words, for a higher degree (e.g. PhD)

It’s a good idea to start with a mind map1 when preparing an essay. Always write a first drat 2

before writing up the final version. Your essay should be all your own work; plagiarism3 is a very

serious of ence in colleges and universities. It is an increasing problem because it is so easy to cut

and paste from materials available on the internet, and students have to sign a plagiarism form

to say that the work they are handing in is all their own and that they acknowledge4 any sources

they have used. There is usually a deadline5. At er the essay is submitted6, it will be assessed7

and usually you can get feedback8.

1 diagram that lays out ideas for a topic and how they are connected to one another 2 first, rough version

3 /_pledȢərzəm/ using other people’s work as if it was yours 4 give details of 5 date by which you must hand

in the work 6 handed in; formal 7 evaluated and given a grade 8 comments from the teacher/tutor

Point C

Aspects of higher academic study

University academics carry out research1 and are expected to read academic

journals2, which publish papers/articles on specialised subjects. If a library

does not have a copy of a book or journal, you may be able to access it online3

or you can usually get it through an inter-library loan4. Open educational

resources5 are particularly convenient for many students. Academic study can

be very demanding, and some students drop out6, but the majority survive till

finals7 and become well-qualified8 members of their future professions.A

B

1 less formal is do research

2 magazines with academic articles (we do not use the word magazine to talk

about this kind of academic publication)

3 get hold of (it) on the internet

4 system where libraries exchange books/journals with one another

5 online materials that can be freely used by teachers and students anywhere

6 leave the course before the end

7 last exams before the end of a college or university course

8 with the right formal qualificationsC

Exercises

English Vocabulary in Use Advanced

1.1 Correct the wrong usage of words to do with written work in these sentences.

1 His PhD assignment was 90,000 words long and was on the history of US place names.

2 Little Martha did her first dissertation in school today. It was called ‘My family’.

3 We have to hand in an essay at the end of the course. It can consist of up to five diferent pieces of work.

4 The teacher gave us the title of this week’s project today. We have to write 1,000 words on the topic of ‘If I ruled the world’ and hand it in next Monday.

5 At the end of this course, you have to do a 5,000-word thesis which will be assessed, and the grade will contribute to your final degree.

6 I think I’ll do a study of people’s personal banking habits for my MSc composition. It has to be about 12,000 words.

7 I’ve chosen to do the portfolio instead of the two exams, because I like to do one single piece of work where I can research something that interests me personally.

1.2 Rewrite this text using words and phrases from the opposite page instead of the underlined words.

When I’m studying in a very focused way because I’m preparing

hard for an exam, I don’t see any point in looking up exam papers

from previous years, nor is there any point in just learning things by

memory. I know some people develop very clever memory tricks

to help them remember the material, but there’s no real substitute

for rereading and going over the term’s work. It’s a good idea to

have some sort of diagram showing different ideas to organise your

thoughts, and memory-learning is useful, but in a limited way. At the

end of the day, you just have to read a huge amount until you feel

you know the subject 100%.

1.3 Answer these questions.

1 What do we call the first attempt at writing something, e.g. an essay?

2 What word means ‘the date by which you must do something’?

3 What word means ‘using someone else’s ideas as if they were yours’?

4 What are more formal words for ‘to hand in’ and for ‘to mark’?

5 What phrasal verb do we use when someone doesn’t complete their course?

6 What is another word for an academic article? Where can you read them?

7 What is the name of the system for getting books from other libraries?

8 What word means ‘the comments you get back from the teacher about your work’?

9 What word can you use for a person who is extraordinarily intelligent?

10 What is a more formal way of saying ‘do research’?

1.4 Choose the best word from the opposite page to complete these sentences.

1 If you quote an article in an essay, you must your source, giving details of author

and title.

2 Open educational can be particularly useful for students who do not have easy

access to a university library.

3 How much have you done for tomorrow’s maths exam?

4 Don’t forget to sign the form and hand it in with your dissertation.

5 Some people take a long time to find suitable work even though they are very .

6 Orla has had a published in the British Medical Journal.

7 All students need a username and password to be able to journals online.

8 Caspar is bound to do well in his mechanics exam – he knows the subject out.

on the board

worksheets

worksheets

White board, markers

groupwork

Worksheet

worksheets

Additional information

Differentiation – how do you plan to give more support? How do you plan to challenge the more able learners?

Support for weaker students: working in pairs, phrases

Challenges for more able students: Encouraged to do more writing; assist weaker students.

Assessment – how are you planning to check learners’ learning?

Checking the task

Feedback on the work

Health and safety check
ICT links
PPT

Differentiation can be by task, by outcome, by individual support, by selection of teaching materials and resources taking into account individual abilities of learners (Theory of Multiple Intelligences by Gardner).

Differentiation can be used at any stage of the lesson keeping time management in mind

Pair work, group work

Use this section to record the methods you will use to assess what students have learned during the lesson

Health promoting techniques

Breaks and physical activities used.

Points from Safety rules used at this lesson.

Reflection

Were the lesson objectives/learning objectives realistic? Did all learners achieve the LO?

If not, why?

Did my planned differentiation work well?

Did I stick to timings?

What changes did I make from my plan and why?

Use the space below to reflect on your lesson. Answer the most relevant questions from the box on the left about your lesson.

Summary evaluation

What two things went really well (consider both teaching and learning)?

1:

2:

What two things would have improved the lesson (consider both teaching and learning)?

1:

2:

What have I learned from this lesson about the class or achievements/difficulties of individuals that will inform my next lesson?