Academic Writing - teacher club

Welcome to : 

Welcome to TEACHER’S CLUB

Academic Writing : 

Academic Writing in the Western Style

Today’s Goals : 

Today’s Goals Identify why Western style Academic Writing is important for our students Discuss 2 Features of Western Academic Writing ... and remember these features Distinguish between Western writing style, traditional Arabic style and traditional Japanese style

Why Important? : 

Why Important? Understand Western articles and essays (research) Publish articles and essays in Western journals; write thesis Application essays for Western Programs (work and travel, scholarships/grants, study abroad) Listening and Speaking skills TOEFL and IELTS Scores

Harvard Essay Questions : 

Harvard Essay Questions What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? (600-word limit) What have you learned from a mistake? (400-word limit) Please respond to two of the following (400-word limit each): What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience? What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you? Tell us about a time in your professional experience when you were frustrated or disappointed. When you join the HBS Class of 2013, how will you introduce yourself to your new classmates?

For You : 

For You Please describe your short- and long-term professional goals (in order of priority). In what ways do you anticipate that your experience in the U.S. will help you achieve these goals? a. If applicable: If the faculty where you work has designated certain goals for you to accomplish during the JFDP, please describe those goals in detail as well.

For You cont... : 

For You cont... Please list and describe the primary and secondary academic field area(s) that you want to explore in the U.S. Please be as specific as possible and list them in order of importance. This information will be used to place you at an appropriate U.S. host university. a. If applicable: If you are applying to a field other than the field in which you teach, please address the reason for applying to a field other than your own. It is important to understand that adequate justification and proof of your preparedness to undertake academic training in a related subject area is required in order to be eligible for applying to a different academic field. Otherwise, your application will be considered ineligible.

Still cont... : 

Still cont... What opportunities do you have in your current position to be an educational leader? Describe any leadership experiences you have had in your field. Have you had any experiences in implementing change at your institution? Please describe.

Last cont... : 

Last cont... Respond to one of the following: a. Describe an experience you had in trying a new teaching method or curricular component in your classroom, your successes (or failures) in implementing it, and the students’ reaction to it. b. Please describe the characteristics or traits that comprise an effective teacher.

Optional : 

Optional Optional: If you are interested in sharing additional information with the Selection Committee about your work and your professional background, you are welcome to submit a supplement to this application. The supplement should represent your best professional work (article, website, artistic work, course outline, etc.). The supplement can be in the form of additional text, an additional document or file, or multimedia (CD disks only please). This supplement will not be returned to you, therefore please do not submit originals.

2 Features : 

2 Features Content Organization /meaning/what it actually says/message/ideas

Content : 

Content Answer the question; be DIRECT! stay focused/relevant No using other people’s work Clear and concise elaboration (if it’s not important, don’t keep it) Give details! Examples, quotes, statistics, (show what you know). Support your idea

Direct : 

Direct

Content : 

Content Answer the question; be DIRECT! stay focused/relevant No using other people’s work Clear and concise elaboration (if it’s not important, don’t keep it) Give details! Examples, quotes, statistics, (show what you know). Support your idea

Focused : 

Focused

Content : 

Content Answer the question; be DIRECT! stay focused/relevant No using other people’s work Clear and concise elaboration (if it’s not important, don’t keep it) Give details! Examples, quotes, statistics, (show what you know). Support your idea

No Copying : 

No Copying

Content : 

Content Answer the question; be DIRECT! stay focused/relevant No using other people’s work Clear and concise elaboration (if it’s not important, don’t keep it) Give details! Examples, quotes, statistics, (show what you know). Support your idea

Take It Out : 

Take It Out

Content : 

Content Answer the question; be DIRECT! stay focused/relevant No using other people’s work Clear and concise elaboration (if it’s not important, don’t keep it) Give details! Examples, quotes, statistics, (show what you know). Support your idea

Quotes, Numbers, Examples : 

Quotes, Numbers, Examples

All Together Now! : 

All Together Now! DIRECT! focused/relevant! No copying! Clear and concise! Details! This needs music...

Example of Content : 

Example of Content I’m in Kazakhstan because I want to learn about the local people’s lifestyles and goals. Learning about others’ culture is important to me; Gandhi said it best. He said, “No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive.” I’ve already learned about how the driving here is crazy and that when you’re in the bus, you need to hang on! I like cheese! I’ve also already learned that students at this university are serious about learning English and willing to work hard to achieve that goal. But, I want to learn more about your culture and what other goals you have. Once I learn about people’s goals, I’d like to help people achieve their goals.

Organization : 

Organization Keep different ideas separate from each other- put them in different places Delete all irrelevant/inappropriate/not focused content - all ideas should be connected in some way Elaborate/discuss each idea by giving reasons, examples, quotes, statistics Introduction and Conclusion

Example of Organization : 

Example of Organization I want to make helping people achieve their goals my career. At my University I studied sociology, psychology and teaching English and hope that I can use my knowledge to help people. For example, if an English student has a goal of getting a good score on the TOEFL, I want to use my training to help him or her achieve that goal. Because I want to learn about people and help them reach their goals, I ask a lot of questions. Asking questions is like my hobby because I enjoy asking questions and do it a lot. I like asking questions because it seems like a good way to get to know people and to learn a lot about other things too! I usually ask questions about other people’s hobbies, about their families, about their opinion and why they have those opinions. What kind of questions do you usually ask other people?

Western Rubrics : 

Western Rubrics CONTENT 30-27 EXCELLENT TO VERY GOOD: knowledgeable, substantive, thorough development of thesis, illustrates ideas, relevant to assigned topic. 26-22 GOOD TO AVERAGE: some knowledge of subject, adequate range, limited development of thesis, mostly relevant to topic, but lacks detail. 21-17 FAIR TO POOR: limited knowledge of subject, little substance, inadequate development of topic. 16-13 VERY POOR: does not show knowledge of subject, non-substantive, not pertinent OR not enough to evaluate. ORGANIZATION 20-18 EXCELLENT TO VERY GOOD: clear main ideas, all information supports the main ideas, fluent expression, ideas clearly stated/supported, succinct, well-organized, logical sequencing, cohesive, good use of transitions, clear introduction and conclusion. 17-14 GOOD TO AVERAGE: somewhat choppy, loosely organized but main ideas stand out, limited support, logical but incomplete sequencing. 13-10 FAIR TO POOR: no examples or details, non-fluent, ideas confused or disconnected, lacks logical sequencing and development. 9-7 VERY POOR: does not communicate, no organization, OR not enough to evaluate. LANGUAGE USE; VOCABULARY; MECHANICS

Different Places, Different Ways : 

Different Places, Different Ways Western Academic Writing Traditional Arabic Writing Traditional Japanese Writing

Which is Which? : 

Which is Which? 1. I missed breakfast. I haven’t eaten anything since dinner last night. I usually eat a big breakfast every morning but I missed it today. I know that eating breakfast is healthy and everyone should do it. Especially so that you don’t go hungry. It’s been maybe 8 hours since I last ate. There is no food in my stomach. I’m hungry. 2. I had a really good halal kabob the other day but I can’t eat that now because I ate all of it. I should get some tomorrow. I’m hungry. I don’t want to cook; I’m not very good at it and I don’t enjoy cooking. I’m hungry, what should I eat? Well, vegetables are healthy and I haven’t been eating very many vegetables lately because I’ve been eating candy and chocolate. I need to eat more vegetables, I think everyone should eat more vegetables to get the proper nutritious diet. I’m hungry. 3. I have three reasons why I’m hungry. The first reason why I’m hungry is that I missed my usual big breakfast this morning. The second reason I’m hungry is that the last thing I ate was candy and chocolate. The third and final reason I’m hungry is that it’s been 8 hours since I last ate. Tomorrow morning I will most definitely eat a healthy breakfast before class.

Next Time : 

Next Time Open Discussion: Pop Phrases and Slang. Bring: Your favorite slang words and phrases.

Thank you : 

Thank you TEACHERS!