The goal for the Academic Writing for Undergraduate Students is to introduce students in China to basic procedures as practiced in the United States in preparing an academic paper. It is hoped that this short course will help improve participants’ academic writing skills. This writing project is part of American Cultural Center program entitled "English Writing for College and Communication" between Appalachian State University and Northeastern University sponsored by a grant from the U.S. Department of State.
The original instructional materials are no longer available, but topic summaries are listed below and you may still download slides and supplemental materials.
Video 01: General overview and introduction -- An overview of academic writing and the layout of the video lectures.
Video 02: The many kinds of academic writing – A look at the various different kinds of academic writing.
The applied fields
Video 03: Gathering your ideas – Strategies for gathering your ideas as an academic writer: mindmaps and freewriting.
Video 04: Questions--Finding research questions
Video 05: Finding information – Finding quality information for an academic paper
Video 06: Evaluating information – Evaluate the sources you find
Video 07: Introductions – How to create effective introductions that highlight your contributions to a topic.
Video 08: Thesis statements – Guidelines for settling on an effective and descriptive thesis for your writing.
Video 09: Organization – A look at how to use outlines to structure and organize your papers.
Video 10: Paragraphs – An overview of the basic unit of text in academic writing. How to construct effective paragraphs.
Video 11: Dos and don'ts – Style dos and don'ts for academic writing
Video 12: Conclusions and final advice
Video 13: Citations – Quoting, paraphrasing, and APA style citations.
Length: Write a 4–6 page academic paper to enter the writing contest and compete for monetary awards ranging from $50 to $200.
Topic: The topic for your paper needs to be related to sustainable development and/or environmental issues:
Choose a topic in sustainability or the environment that interests you. The topic you select should be quite narrow in scope (for example, air pollution in Beijing rather than air, water, and land pollution in China).
Citation and format: Cite at least five sources in your paper: one book from either the American Cultural Center’s sustainability books collection or your university libraries; two scholarly/academic articles; one magazine or newspaper article; and one website.
Criteria for a good academic paper: Write clearly; have an interesting and arguable thesis; and have coherent paragraphs. Overall, the paper needs to be well organized and supported with appropriate examples, factual information and findings from scholarly publications.
Check the Grading Rubric for Writing Contest Papers (PDF) here.
You need to watch all videos and do all assignments before you may start working on your final paper for the writing contest.
Articles and reports related to sustainability and environmental issues:
Dr. Bret Zawilski is an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric & Composition in the English Department at Appalachian State University. He specializes in modern rhetorical theory, the rhetoric of science, digital composing, and writing pedagogy. He regularly teaches a range of writing classes designed to help undergraduate students negotiate the kinds of written texts they will encounter in both their academic careers and professional lives. His research focuses on how students transfer their writing practices and knowledge across different contexts and the role of digital writing technologies in creating public discourse. Dr. Zawilski is an Associate Editor for the online open-access journal Kairos and also serves as the Coordinator for the Graduate Certificate in Rhetoric & Composition at Appalachian State University.
Dr. Xiaorong Shao is a Professor and Information Literacy Librarian at Appalachian State University. Dr. Shao is a co-director of the American Cultural Center between Appalachian State University and Northeastern University, Shenyang, China. She has been involved in many international activities and research projects on campus and beyond. Dr. Shao was a reviewer for three international journals. She has published more than 20 articles in several major academic journals during recent years. Dr. Shao earned four degrees from three countries in the fields of soil science, chemistry, curriculum and instruction, information and library science.
Prof. Allan Scherlen is a Professor and Social Sciences Librarian at Appalachian State University. He has co-managed the American Cultural Center grants with Dr. Shao for the last four years and has been active in other international exchange programs. He currently serves as an editorial board member for the journals, Library Collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services and North Carolina Libraries. For five years he was the co-editor of the Balance Point section of the international journal Serials Review. Allan has published over thirty articles in major academic journals on topics related to libraries, scholarly publishing, and international issues.
