ESL 503: Advanced
Academic Writing II
Credit: 0 hours
Contact Hours: 3 hr/week
Pre-requisite: Successful completion of ESL 502 AND consent of the instructor. You must be currently and actively working on a major academic paper (master’s thesis, doctoral dissertation, or article for professional publication). Please email Ann Spear, annspear@uiuc.edu to apply for the course.
Relation to other courses: This is an elective course, the final in our sequence of academic writing instruction.
Audience: Students who have fulfilled their ESL university writing requirements and ESL 502, and who wish the opportunity for intensive peer feedback to improve the quality of their major academic papers and oral presentations.
Course Description: This is a workshop in which students share drafts of their work with peers for the purpose of obtaining valuable feedback on correctness of form and clarity of expression in their writing. Class discussions will seek to solve persistent grammatical problems. Considerable emphasis will also be placed on speaking and presenting research in academic settings. Students will practice orally explaining their research, asking questions and giving feedback with the aim of creating and delivering compelling, professional presentations. Everyone will learn about their colleagues’ fields of study, and will have the opportunity to “sell” their own. In addition, regular individual conferences with the instructor will supplement peer feedback.
Type of work: Students will practice orally presenting their research and giving feedback to their peers. They will share and discuss their writing-in-progress and work together to address common problems.
Grading Basis: Letter grades are decided collaboratively by instructor and student.