Digital English Writing Center: Academic Writing for Graduate Students 2016

The goal for the Academic Writing Project (created February 2016) is to introduce graduate students in China to basic procedures as practiced in the United States in preparing a research paper. It is hoped that this short course will help improve participants’ academic writing skills. The project is part of the American Cultural Center program between Appalachian State University and Northeastern University sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

• Nine video recorded lectures by Dr. Matthew Robinson focus on the definitions, types, structures, and process of academic writing.
• One video by Professor Allan Scherlen addresses the importance of the literature review for writing a research paper.
• Two videos by Dr. Xiaorong Shao cover evaluating internet sources and challenges facing Chinese students in writing academic papers.
• The American Cultural Center at your university has a collection of books related to academic writing and topics related to sustainability and the environment.
• Articles and Internet resources are also provided through this site.
• Watch all videos, complete all assignments, and write a research paper following the Guidelines for the Final Paper Assignment below to receive a Certificate of Completion and to enter the Writing Contest. Ten scholarships (ranging from $50 to $200) will be awarded to the winning papers.
• Two Appalachian professors, Dr. Shao (shaox@appstate.edu) and Professor Scherlen (scherlnag@appstate.edu), will travel to China and discuss academic writing between May 15–24 at your university. During the visit we hope to address your writing needs and any specific questions you may have after you study this short course. If you have any questions about the videos or assignments please contact any of the professors.

About

The original instructional materials are no longer available, but topic summaries are listed below and you may still download the slides and supplemental materials.

Topics covered

Video 01: Introduction

• Introduction
• Descriptions

Video 02: Characteristics and Purposes of Academic Writing

Video 03: Academic vs. Non-Academic Writing

• Who wrote it and where was it published?
• "Blind" peer review process
• Example types of academic writing
• Examples on non-academic writing

Video 04: Major Types of Academic Writing

• Books & articles
• Book reviews & article reviews
• Annotated bibliography
• Government reports
• Reports by non-governmental agencies
• Student papers
• Assignment #1: Book review
• Assignment #2: Article review
• Assignment #3: Annotated bibliography

Video 05: How to Write Like an Academic

• Choose a topic
• Research the topic
• Read materials found
• Take notes
• Use "reverse outlining" writing in the margins
• Introduction to building an outline
• Assignment #4: Reverse outlining

Video 06: The Outline

• Organizing your information logically
• Outlining sections of your paper
• Logic between and within each section
• Parts of an outline
• Example of an outline
• Assignment #5: Outlining

Video 07: Writing a Paper: How to Begin

• Locate an article & review it
• Locate a book & review it
• Locate more sources
• Reverse outline each source
• Write an annotated bibliography
• Write an outline
• Use the outline to write the paper

Video 08: Writing a Paper: Helpful Strategies

• Set goals and a timeline
• Prewriting strategies
• Write a thesis statement
• Examples of thesis statements
• Making claims in an argument
• Example of claims
• Assignment #6: Prewriting
• Assignment #7: Practicing thesis statements and claims

Video 09: Parts of Your Paper

• Part 1 – Introduction
• Part 2 – The body of the paper
• Part 3 – Conclusions
• Part 4 – References
• PPT Slides & PDF Slides

Video 10: The Importance of a Literature Review in Writing a Research Paper

• Scholarly writing builds on a literature review
• Why we do a literature review
• Literature review in a formal research study
• Types of sources for a literature review
• The literature review process
• Selecting databases for the literature review
• Searching the library database
• Evaluating library sources found
• Examples

Video 11: Evaluating Internet Resources

• Why to evaluate websites
• Criteria for evaluation (CRAAP Test)
• Currency
• Relevance
• Authority
• Accuracy
• Purpose
• Further resources to study CRAAP test

Video 12: Challenges and Issues in Writing Academic Papers in English

• Definition of academic writing
• Problems for second language writers
• Problems for Chinese students
• Chinese writing style differences
• English academic writing style
• English writing standards
• Chinese writing conventions
• Colloquial habits in writing
• Telling vs showing in writing

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Dr. Robinson also gave a presentation on May 19, 2016 at Northeastern University in Shenyang, China called "The Process and Steps of Writing a Research Paper."