2024 Faculty Courses School of Science Department of Chemistry Graduate major in Energy Science and Informatics
Academic Writing A
- Academic unit or major
- Graduate major in Energy Science and Informatics
- Instructor(s)
- Jeffrey Scott Cross
- Class Format
- Lecture (Others)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 3-4 Fri
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- ESI.E610
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2024
- Offered quarter
- 3Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 17, 2025
- Language
- English
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This online course uses a task-based learning approach to teach scientific writing skills to science and engineering graduate students. The course lectures will be taught in Ookayama class and also available using ZOOM. The video lectures will be recorded and available for viewing via ZOOM and Youtube. Students will participate in groupwork activity online with other students. The tasks covered in the course consist of writing e-mail messages, conference abstracts, business letters, editing, procedure for writing papers for peer-reviewed journal publication, AI supported writing tools, copyrights and writing ethics.
Course description and aims
The learning outcomes of this course is primarily geared for non-native English language speaking energy course & informatics and GEDES doctoral students to learn technical English writing skills for academic communications.
Student learning outcomes
実務経験と講義内容との関連 (又は実践的教育内容)
The instructor worked in industry in Japan for 14 years as a researchers and developed his technical communication ability based on his work experience developing materials, processing, intellectual property (patents) and reliability technology for semiconductor memories.
Keywords
Academic writing, scientific publishing, technical commmunications
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
This class will be taught in an OOkayama classroom and offered also via ZOOM video lecture on academic writing topics. Students will do homework and participate in group work activity via ZOOM or in the classroom to demonstrate their knowledge regarding academic writing.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Course introduction, self-introduction, syllabus, course questionnaire and T2Scholar homework assignment submission | course outline, communication |
| Class 2 | Academic strategic publishing, impact factors, conference presentations, literature search | publishing in academia, impact factors, how to search literature |
| Class 3 | Academic publishing and communication, peer review, rubrics, assessment, AI writing tools | academic publishing models, peer-review, |
| Class 4 | Written personal communications: letters and email messages | writing letters and emails |
| Class 5 | Journal paper guide to authors, academic blogging, self-publishing, predatory publishing, online tools, | journal guide to authors, academic blogging, digital resources, predatory publishing, online tools |
| Class 6 | Plagiarism, publishing ethics, retractions, and case studies of academic misconduct and copyrights (thesis) | academic publishing ethics and what is misconduct |
| Class 7 | Writing a resume (online-linkedin), biosketch or CV and cover letter for internship, abstract writing (peer-review) | workshop and symposium oral and poster abstract writing, peer-review |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class. They should do so by referring by refering to the course material.
Textbook(s)
Materials for this course and access to the lecture videos will be provided by the instructor and available via T2Schola.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
1. "Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students", Stephen Bailey, Routledge, 3rd ed. 2011.
2. "Writing Science: How to Write Papers That Get Cited and Proposals That Get Funded", Joshua Schimel, Oxford University Press, 2011.
3. "Science Research Writing: A Guide for Non-Native Speakers of English", Hilary Glasman-Deal, Imperial College Press, 2009.
4. "The Craft of Research (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)"
Booth, Wayne C., University of Chicago Press, 3rd ed., 2008.
5. "A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers", Kate L. Turabian, 8th Ed., University of Chicago Press, 2013.
6. Academic and Business Writing, edX MOOC from UC Berkeley,
https://www.edx.org/course/academic-business-writing-uc-berkeleyx-colwri2-3x#.VRSvXVr6lRo
Evaluation methods and criteria
Course Grade Assessment: participation in group work, written assignments, and quizzes. Late homework will be accepted after the submission deadline but assessed after taking into account a 30% point reduction or late submission penalty.
Related courses
- XEN.E301 ： Advanced English Communication for Engineers
Prerequisites
Touch typing (typing without looking at your fingers on the keyboard) is an important skill that is needed for this class and for your career as researcher/academic, since all assignments are submitted online. English conversation ability and writing are essential for this course.
Other
This class is taught for Energy Science and Informatics and GEDES Doctoral Students primarily. The course will offer classroom lectures in Ookayama and the lectures will also be available via ZOOM, online materials including videos will accessible via T2Schola and for homework submission. Students who are preparing to submit a paper to a journal for publication or present their results at an international conference will benefit the most from enrolling in this class.