2025 (Current Year) Faculty Courses School of Life Science and Technology Department of Life Science and Technology Graduate major in Life Science and Technology
LST Academic Writing 2 B
- Academic unit or major
- Graduate major in Life Science and Technology
- Instructor(s)
- Craig Takeuchi
- Class Format
- Lecture (Livestream)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 5-6 Wed
- Class
- B
- Course Code
- LST.A505
- Number of credits
- 200
- Course offered
- 2025
- Offered quarter
- 1-2Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 24, 2025
- Language
- English
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
Expository writing or academic writing is a type of writing that is used to convey information correctly and effectively to those who do not have prior knowledge of the topic. Knowledge and skills for expository writing are essential for students' future career, as professional members in society are asked to write a number of documents and reports. In this course, the instructor will help students learn how to write grammatically correct and coherent, logical texts on a given topic in English in a small class setting. The instructor is a native English speaker with a lot of experience in research and writing papers and patents at academic institutions and in the pharmaceutical industry.
The aim of this course is to help students learn how to write grammatically correct and coherent, logical texts on research topics or any other topics of interest.
Course description and aims
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
1. give descriptions of people, machinery and objects in English.
2. give explanations for observations made in experiments in English.
3. compare and contrast objects of interest in English.
4. write grammatically correct and coherent, logical paragraphs in English.
Keywords
Academic writing, Expository writing
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
The flow of each class is basically as follows: (1) Introduction to each topic, (2) class or group discussion to unpack ideas and expand ideas on a specific topic, (3) session of technical vocabulary and definitions, (4) impromptu writing, and (5) homework writing assignment.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Level Check/ Orientation/ Rules | Students should understand the outline and class rules for the course. |
| Class 2 | Introduction to Academic Writing | Students should be able to identify differences between academic and non-academic writing. |
| Class 3 | How to Write an Introduction | Students should be able to write an introduction to describe a new topic or concept. |
| Class 4 | How to Write Body Paragraphs and Conclusions | Students should be able to write body paragraphs and a conclusion on a new topic or concept. |
| Class 5 | How to Write About a Technical Process | Students should be able to write a description of a technical process. |
| Class 6 | How to Write an Argumentative Essay | Students should be able to write an argumentative essay on a controversial topic. |
| Class 7 | How to Write a Counterargument in an Argumentative Essay | Students should be able to write a counterargument in an argumentative essay. |
| Class 8 | How to use online resources and Corpora and Identifying Common Errors | Students should be able to use online resources and corpora and identify common errors in academic writing. |
| Class 9 | How to Describe a Device and Peer Review Student Essays | Students should be able to describe a technical device and evaluate essays in a peer review. |
| Class 10 | How to Write a Data Commentary and Identify Academic Writing Errors | Students should be able to write a data commentary on experimental results and identify errors in an academic text. |
| Class 11 | Abstracts and Reviews | Students should be able to write an abstract for a research paper. |
| Class 12 | Introduction to Research Presentations | Students should be able to prepare a research presentation based on experimental results. |
| Class 13 | Presentation Workshop and Submission | Students should be able to prepare for a research presentation. |
| Class 14 | Final class/ Review/ Short Test | Short comprehensive test based on writing exercises in the class. |
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 to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
No textbook. Handouts and materials are provided by the instructor.
Reference Text: Great Writing 5: From Great Essays to Research, 3rd ed. (Keith Folse & Tison Pugh), Cengage, ISBN: 978-1285194967
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Specified by the instructor as necessary.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Assignments 55%
Participation 15%
Presentation/Exam 30%
Related courses
- LST.A416 ： LST Academic Writing 1
Prerequisites
English learners at any level are welcome.
Other
Classes in this course will be conducted in a live format using Zoom.