FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS SOCIALES

DEPARTAMENTO DE LENGUAS Y CULTURA

Course: English 9B: Writing for Humanities and Social Sciences
Course Code - Section: LENG 1160-04
Course Level: Undergraduate
Credits: 2
Year - Semester: 2018-10
Class Schedule: 11-12.20 SD_306 Monday, Wednesday, Friday (in class) + 1.5 hours online
Instructor: Heini Karpuk
E-mail Address: h.karpuk@uniandes.edu.co
Office and Office Hours: G 401 Tuesdays and Thursdays 11-12.30

Program Description
The Academic English Support Program provides undergraduate students at Los Andes with the English instruction they need
to complete academic tasks in English within the university, as well as to use English effectively in academic and professional
situations outside the university. It is also designed to help students acquire the strategies they need to continue learning English
independently beyond the classroom. The Academic English Support Program has eleven levels and two cycles: basic and
intermediate/advanced. The purpose of the basic cycle is to prepare students for an English-language academic environment
and to be able to read academic texts, which are required in their university classes. Successful completion of the basic cycle
fulfills the university’s English reading requirement, and prepares students to take cursos I. The purpose of the
intermediate/advanced cycle is to provide students with specific focused instruction in oral and written communication,
including aspects of both fluency and accuracy. Successful completion of the intermediate/advanced cycle fulfills the
university’s second language requirement.

Basic English Fundamentals LENG 1150

English 1 LENG 1151
English 2 LENG 1152
English 3 LENG 1153 Integrated Academic Skills
English 4 LENG 1154
English 5 LENG 1155
English 6 LENG 1156
Intermediate English 7 LENG 1157 Intermediate Academic Speaking
English 8 LENG 1158 The Basics of Writing Academic English
Advanced English 9A Students LENG 1159 Writing for Science and Engineering
Choose
English 9B One LENG 1160 Writing for Humanities and Social Sciences
English 10A Students LENG 1161 Speaking for Academic Purposes
Choose
English 10B One LENG 1162 Speaking for Professional Purposes
Course Description
This English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course allows students to engage with, analyze and produce different texts
commonly found in academic writing, namely definitions, problem/solution, summaries and paraphrasing, process analysis
and data commentary. The writing process will be approached first through the concept of genre analysis so students can
better understand the global features and rhetorical conventions within their fields of writing. Then students will focus on the
organization, clarity, cohesion, linguistic aspects, and presentation of their ideas. The aim of this course is to equip students
with writing and language learning skills and resources which can be directly applied to their field and aid them in their
future English writing.

Methodology
The methodology of this course is eclectic and is mainly based on (but not limited to) the methods below:

Process Writing
Students are encouraged to focus on the process of writing by learning how to plan, outline, write and then edit a piece of work.
In and out of the classroom, students are encouraged to participate in different activities that will help them improve their
writing skills as well as increase their vocabulary and grammatical knowledge. Students take part in both controlled and free
writing tasks. The controlled tasks are meant to address the micro skills of writing (grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure,
punctuation, etc...) while the freer tasks are meant to address more macro skills (content, organization, and coherence).

Genre and Rhetorical Analysis

Academic writing is strongly connected to being able to identify and reproduce the most salient features of the texts in a
particular field and genre. These features range from visual formatting, number of sections, and paragraph length to sentence
structure, verb tense, and vocabulary choice. The genre analysis approach to academic writing begins by looking at the global
features of a text (organization and cohesion) before looking at language (grammar and vocabulary). This is to encourage
students to see academic writing as firmly situated within a broader field and not simply defined by the lexical-grammatical
features.

Task-Based Learning
In order to build process writing skills, research skills and autonomy, students will undertake several tasks which emulate tasks
they might have to do when writing in their field. These tasks will also require students to revisit and revise smaller pieces of
writing they do during the course. These tasks will require both independent and group work.

Independence and Autonomy

This course uses an inductive learning and error analysis approach throughout the writing process. Therefore, students will
improve their autonomy and ability to self-correct their written work as they work both individually and collaboratively. This
student-centered course facilitates pair and group work by calling on traditional and flipped teaching approaches. During
students’ independent work time, they are expected to apply what they learn in class to specific tasks or complete any unfinished
work. Students are also required to study and prepare material independently and then present and apply it in the classroom.

Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL):

As this course is blended (both in class and online) students are also required to perform technology-enhanced tasks both inside
and outside the classroom. Students will also be introduced to and encouraged to use online resources that will assist them in
their language learning process.

Blended Courses
This is a blended course. This means that you will complete coursework both in class and online (Sicua), and your instructor
will take attendance for both. Each week, you will have 4.5 hours in class, and 1.5 hours online. Online work is important to
successful completion of the course, and classroom activities will often depend on doing online tasks first. Your instructor may
set deadlines and assign grades for this work. Note that this is NOT 'homework'. It is classwork that you complete in your own
time, separate from any homework that may be assigned.

Content/Objectives
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
● demonstrate awareness of rhetorical genre by analyzing and discussing different genres within their field
● analyze and deconstruct academic articles as shown through ability to identify and discuss the following: Context,
Audience, Purpose, Register, Tone, Style, Format (visual design/template), Structure (a set of topics that are
expected), Organization, Cohesion.
● apply the above features to their own texts
● produce several clear, detailed texts specific to their field of study and academic writing in general
● produce a longer research text based on original research and data collection
● understand and produce a short annotated bibliography
● obtain information, ideas and opinions from sources within their fields
● communicate their written ideas with clarity and cohesion
● use correct formatting in an academic essay/article
● describe visual and numerical data logically and coherently in a paragraph or longer text
● describe conclusions they have drawn from graphs and charts
● write a detailed description of a simple process in the form of a methods section of a text
● write a concise summary of the main ideas of a longer structured text
● summarize simple research findings in an academic text
● signal cause and effect relationships when writing an academic text by using discourse markers
● write a chronological paragraph on an academic topic
● revise and review their work in order to improve it
● maintain good grammatical control
● maintain high lexical accuracy
● effectively participate in a classroom discussion on an academic topic.

Week/Focus Assessments

Week 1: Introduction/Genre Analysis/Definitions

Weeks 2-3: Problem/Solution ● Text Analysis 1 (Problem/Solution)

● Language Quiz 1 (Logical Connectors)
● Language Quiz 2 (Relative Clauses)
● Written Assessment Task 1 (Problem/Solution
text)

Weeks 4-5: Summaries and Paraphrasing
● Text Analysis 2 (Summaries and Paraphrasing)
● Language Quiz 3 (Gerunds vs. Infinitives)
● Written Assessment Task 2.1 (Annotated
Bibliography)
● Written Assessment Task 2.2 (Paraphrase Task)

Weeks 6-7: Working with Data ● Text Analysis 3 (Data Commentary)

● Text Analysis 4 (Process Analysis)
● Language Quiz 4 (Language of movement and
change)
● Language Quiz 5 (Passive Voice)
● Written Assessment Task 3 Part 1 (Data
Commentary Discussion/Presentation)
 Week 8: Examinations ● Written Assessment Task 3 Part 2 (Final
Research Paper)

Course Materials
There is no book for this course. All materials will be provided online and by your professor. You may be required to print
some materials.

Assessment
Students’ work is marked on a scale of 0 to 5. 5.00 is the highest possible grade, and 3.00 is the lowest passing grade. The final
official grade is reported as either A (aprobrado/pass) for grades of 3.00 and above or R (reprobado/fail) for grades below 3.00.
Exams and coursework have the following values:

Online Work
4 Text Analyses (TA) 10%
5 Language Quizzes 10%

Written Assessment Tasks (WAT)

WAT 1 Problem/Solution Text: 25%
WAT 2.1 Annotated Bibliography (10%)
WAT 2.2 Paraphrase Task (10%)
WAT 3 Data Commentary and Final Research Paper: 35%

NOTE: Please keep in mind that THERE IS NO LOS ANDES POLICY FOR AUTOMATICALLY ROUNDING COURSE
GRADES. The lowest passing grade is 3.00; any grade lower than 3.00 WILL NOT BE a passing grade.

In the event that you wish to dispute a grade, please refer to the procedure explained in articles 62 and 63 of the undergraduate
student handbook (reglamento de estudiantes de pregrado).

Attendance
From the undergraduate student handbook (reglamento de estudiantes de pregrado):

Artículo 42: La Universidad considera que la inasistencia a clase impide un rendimiento académico adecuado. Es
facultativo de cada profesor controlar la asistencia de sus alumnos y determinar las consecuencias de la inasistencia,
si esta es superior al 20%.

Artículo 43: Los parámetros para controlar la asistencia les serán informados a los estudiantes el primer día de
clases, junto con el programa del curso, con el fin de que se comprometan a respetarlos desde ese momento.

All courses in the program will follow these regulations. Students who miss more than 20% of classes, including required
online class sessions in blended courses, will fail the course and will receive a grade of R (reprobado/fail). Instructors will
inform students of the procedure for checking attendance on the first day of class.

Bibliography
Complete and excerpts of academic articles will be used throughout the course. These will be referenced as they are used by
individual professors.
The follow is a list of main sources used in this course.

● Bailey, Stephen. 2011. Academic Writing for International Students 3rd Edition. Routledge
● Strunk & White. 2000. The Elements of Style 4th. Edition.
● Swales, J. & Feak, C. 2012. Academic Writing for Graduate Students. 3rd Edition. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of
Michigan Press
Websites
● Purdue OWL https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
● Styles guides in the Arts & Humanities https://library.mcmaster.ca/guides/stylegui.htm
● Styles guides in Sciences:
● http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/writing/writing-resources/science
● http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/sciences/
● https://cgi.duke.edu/web/sciwriting/index.php