Academic Writing and Composition

1. Academic Writing and Composition Generic Elective offered by Department of English

2. Course Content • Introduction to the Writing Process • Introductions to the Conventions of academic Writing • Writing in one’s own words: Summarizing and Paraphrasing • Critical Thinking: Synthesis, Analysis and Evaluation • Structuring an argument: Introduction, Interjection and Conclusion • Citing Resources: Editing, Book and Media Review

3. What Does this Mean? • How many times have you found yourself stuck on a seemingly ordinary topic without even producing an introductory line? • How many times have you got mixed up with sms language, slangs, conversational style, technical and business jargon in writing an essay/ answer producing an uneven tone and effect? • How many times have you not been able to distinguish between a statement of purpose (SOP), research proposal, abstract, synopsis, citation, plagiarism and many such terms commonly used in academic contexts? • How many times you have drawn a comment like “organize your answer better” or “irrelevant, not required” or “write more critically and analytically”? • How many times have you found yourself wondering whether to underline the name of a text (or italicize while typing) or put it in inverted commas (single or double?), indent the first line of a paragraph or not, how long a quotation goes in continuation and when does one start it from next line, when, where, and how to cite the source of the quotation, should there be a gap between word and comma/ full stop or bracket and word etc. etc. Since the answer to all or most of the questions for undergraduate students is likely to be “yes”, the Generic Elective course in Academic Writing and Composition is meant to provide specialized training to sort out these practices of academic writing beginning from reading and researching, distilling those ideas into a relevant and appropriate format and style of writing, in a structured and presentable manner, with globally recognized conventions of written communication firmly in place.

4. Who Needs it? • Every one reading, expressing, responding, thinking and writing. • Students writing answers, assignments, proposals, projects, reports, notices, posters, letters or communiqués of any kind where favorable impression and competitive edge is created largely through error free writing. • Students appearing in exams where evaluation is based as much on structure, presentation and techniques of written communication as much as it is based on content (all exams, that is) • Students appearing in specialized exams like GRE, GMAT, IELTS, CAT, IAS etc. where familiarity with skills, styles, and techniques of lucid writing are mandatory. • Students applying to institutions of higher education, foreign universities, internships, and jobs where impeccable writing is considered a pre-requisite and an essential quality of a well-groomed and a high-skilled candidate.

5. Some Learning Objectives • Effective writing: spellings, vocabulary, format • Expository, Persuasive, and Academic Writing • Pre-writing: reading, brainstorming, drafting • Academic writing: arguments, facts, evidence, tone, format, patterns, practices • Thesis statement/ proposal, academic paper, bibliography, citation, non-sexist and non-racial writing, peer-review

6. Academic Writing and Composition: Give Yourself A Semester of training in Writing Skills.Science, Commerce or Humanities: Before Choosing the Subject, Prepare Yourself in Writing.All that you study and articulate will make for more sense and satisfaction with adequate writing skills.