Elena Velikaya, National Research University Higher School of Economics

1. Elena Velikaya, National Research University Higher School of Economics How To Be Successful In Writing Extended Essays

2. Aim of the English course • Revise, expand and develop the academic skills outlined in the 1st year syllabus • Equip students with the skills necessary for conducting research and producing a piece of extended writing in their own subject-specific area

3. Course objectives • To enable students to produce an extended piece of writing in their own subject area within the academic western conventions of higher education • To develop students’ discursive skills • To develop students’ critical thinking • To develop learner autonomy

4. Methods and grade determination • The general input – 2 hours per fortnight in each group (12 hours in the 1st semester) • The system of testing: end of 1st sem. – an extended essay to show the mastery of the syllabus and students’ ability to write an extended essay and to use resources in their work

5. Essay title (1) ‘To what extent and in what ways do you think your parents influenced your character?’ (1 step)

6. Essay title (2) ‘Evaluate the effect of essay writing on the expansion of your knowledge’

7. Introduction • Introduction: • Context (why the question is important) • Thesis (your opinion) • Argument • Scope of answer (2 step)

8. Essay title (3) ‘Promoting the use of English (or any other national language) as an international language can easily turn into a form of colonialism. The United Nations should choose an artificial language (such as Esperanto) and promote it as the universal second language’

9. Main part - Evidence - Context - Comment (3 step)

10. Conclusion • Summary • Summary of argument • Thesis restatement • Limitations, further research (4 step)

11. Marking criteria • 10-an excellent answer, very good logic of thinking, references, extended bibliography • 9 – a clear and sophisticated answer, good logic of thinking, references, extended bibliography • 8 – fully developed content, each paragraph has a topic, appropriate text structure, references, bibliography • 7 – not fully developed content though each paragraph has a topic, some references, bibliography • 6 – answers the question but not enough support, evidence, some paragraphs have a topic, few references, limited bibliography • 5 – tries to answer the question but has not answered all aspect, paragraphing is wrong, no references, no bibliography • 4 – an attempt to address the question but is only partially relevant • 3-1– answers a different question • 0 - plagiarised