MPhil General Research Methodology Oct 2010

Academic Writing

Course Instructor: Anil Pinto, Dept of Media Studies

1. Introduction to Academic Writing (Sessions 1 and 2)

a. Research and writing - Issues
b. Difference between Academic writing and other forms of writing
c. Kinds of academic writings, abstract, research paper, thesis,
dissertation, book review, synopsis, proposal, reader, book, book
chapter,

2. Structure of Academic Writing (Sessions 3 and 4)

a. Thesis statement, Introduction, body, conclusion, paragraphs, topic
sentence
b. Literature Review, summary, paraphrasing
c. Visual structuring of the report: Page layout, font, line space,
highlighting
d. Structures of a research paper and dissertation
e. Collaborative writing

3. Reading for Research (Session 4)

a. Identifying the thesis statement, argument and evidence building,
counter argument, finding gaps, conclusion

4. Academic Styles (Session 5)

a. MLA & APA
b. In text citation
c. Citing works used: single author, multiple authors, journal, book,
online, digital, audio, video, lectures, painting, photograph,
performance, and interview
d. Footnote/endnotes

5. Plagiarism (Session 6)
a. Issues, consequences, types
b. How to avoid plagiarism

6. Publication (Sessions 6)
a. Print: refereed, non-refereed
b. Digital: digital repositories
c. Copyright issues, open access
d. Impact factor
e. Self-publication
f. Peer review

7. Online Resources (Sessions 6)

a. Writing labs, websites
b. Citation tools

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