Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics
FOUN 1106 Academic English for Research Purposes
Pre-requisite: Students must have the following prerequisite to register for FOUN 1106:
- CAPE Communication Studies - Grade I or II
N.B. These students MUST NOT read FOUN 1001
Course Description:
Academic English for Research Purposes is designed to provide students with the fundamental skills that undergird successful research at the undergraduate level. The areas of emphasis include the different types of reading necessary in research, the academic language necessary to write up research findings and the critical evaluation of academic research. Within this course, students will be asked to identify a problem area within their specific discipline and work through the various stages of conducting research to investigate it. Teaching will consist of lectures, discussions and web-enabled blended learning. Critical reviews of research articles, generating research questions and an individual research paper will form assessment strategies within the course.
This course is designed to introduce first year students to the foundational requirements of research at the tertiary level. Many students enter the tertiary level environment ill-equipped to meet the demands of academic research with regard to the different types of research required, and the systematic way in which research must be conducted. Students also may lack competence in utilizing the various reading skills necessary to successfully peruse large amounts of information. Academic writing involve more than providing information but also conducting research and identifying what is relevant to the audience’ needs. This course aims to enhance students’ critical thinking skills and encourage them to pursue their own area of research from posed question to finished response.
This course is designed to enable students to:
- Work collaboratively
- Explore facets of research writing
- Develop competence in research writing
At the end of this course students will be able to:
- Define research
- Explain different approaches to research
- Utilize different reading strategies critical to the research paper
- Distinguish between main points and major support in research articles
- Distinguish between different registers for writing up research
- Document work using an approved documentation style
- Produce an annotated bibliography
- Critically evaluate research writing
- Produce a formal, academic research paper
