This module comprises the following subjects. All the different parts will be covered on eFundi by lessons you have to do by yourself. In addition to that there are a few white board sessions scheduled for extra support and explanations where necessary.
PART 1 – Integrating into the academic community
Unit 1 Transition integrating into the academic community
As you may have already noticed, the academic environment and general expectations at university level differs significantly from what is obtainable at high school level. Therefore, to efficiently integrate into the university academic community (or the academia), you are expected to garner certain skills and knowledge regarding not just the effective use of the English language is specialised contexts, but also critical and analytical skills to equip you through your studies and make you literate in every sense of the word.
Part 2 – Searching for information
Unit 2 Task analysis.
Academic literacy comprises of three broad interrelated parts namely the process of finding (or the accessing of) information, the processing of information and the production of information. But before we get into the intricacies of these parts, it is important for you to be able to read, comprehend, and approach your academic tasks such as assignments efficiently in order to execute them effectively.
Unit 3 Types of information.
After mastering the idea and process of task analysis, the next step in your acquisition of efficient academic writing skills involves searching for vital information to enable you accomplish your writing task and produce a meaningful academic text. It is important to note that there are different types of information and information sources (or simply sources) utilised in academia. More importantly, it is pertinent to be able to distinguish between various information sources, and to decipher whether or not they conform to academic standards and are appropriate for academic research.
Unit 4 Using information at university.
Throughout the duration of your studies, you will engage in diverse forms of academic writing and research. Each writing task involves gathering information from a variety of types of sources including books, newspaper articles, magazine articles, specialised databases, and websites. As you gather the relevant pieces of information to complete your tasks it is crucial to evaluate each source to determine the quality of the information provided therein against the set principles or criteria for academic information evaluation. This is necessary if you intend to produce written texts that conform with academic writing standards.
Part 3 – Searching for information
Unit 5 Academic language.
Unlike informal writing such as the writing on blogs, soft-sell magazines and social media, the language of academic writing is more formal and complex in nature. This means that you are bound to encounter more challenging vocabulary and difficult concepts while reading academic texts. The formal language of academic texts broadly consists general academic words and subject-specific terminology.
General academic words distinguish academic writing from popular or informal writing, while subject-specific terminology or technical vocabulary refer to the academic words specific to a particular field of study. Difficult or unfamiliar words could hinder readers from grasping the meaning of a text. However, this should not mar your reading experience, as various resources are available to help build your vocabulary.
It is particularly important that you understand a text and all the terminologies used in it if you have use it for an academic writing task, otherwise it would be difficult to process , paraphrase or summarise the information correctly.
Unit 6 Text functions.
Every piece of academic writing serves a specific purpose—for example, its aim may be to explain how something works or to persuade people to agree with the writer’s point of view. Although a specific text may be written with more than one purpose in the writer's mind, there are six general purposes that academic texts strive to fulfil. While reading and processing information, it is important to familiarise yourself with the functions of different academic texts, as this helps you to better comprehend the texts and also equips you for the production of your own writing.
Unit 7 Reading strategies.
To be able to function successfully in an academic context, it is vital for you to know how to read strategically. Academic texts typically contain a wide range of complex vocabulary including general academic vocabulary and/or subject-specific terms, as well as complex sentence structures. This unit introduces you to the various reading techniques (namely scanning, skimming, comprehension reading and critical reading) and to the art of note-taking (which is a crucial part of the process of academic reading). The aim is to develop your strategic reading skills and enable you determine which of these techniques is best suited to your specific reading purposes.
Unit 8 Art of argumentation.
Academic writing forms the nucleus of tertiary learning, and writing at this level involves the art of argumentation. To get your voice across through your writing, you have to engage critically with the topic by building an effective and persuasive argument. An academic argument involves taking a stance, presenting evidence and using sound logic to convince a specific audience to accept or at least engage with your position. In fact, making an argument—expressing a point of view on a subject and supporting it with evidence—is often the aim of academic writing. Therefore, improving your skills in this aspect would enable you think critically and reason more efficiently.
Unit 9 Types of arguments.
Now that you understand the concept of logical argumentation, it is important to note that there are three basic methods of argumentation in academic writing. Each method of argumentation serves a different purpose, and deciding which one to use depends on the rhetorical context of your writing. Since the most noticeable difference among the diverse types of arguments is the arrangement of their components, it is pertinent to master the technicalities of each argument type to enable you apply them appropriately to your own writing.
Unit 10 Academic arguments.
In academia, written texts are often extended argument, which sometimes consist of counterarguments. To ensure the logical organisation of ideas, academic arguments usually follow a reasonably fixed pattern. The key to effective academic writing is to master the basic structure and arrangement of the different elements of the academic argument. This would enable you to understand and analyse other writers’ argument better, more importantly, it would significantly improve the quality of your writing.
Unit 11 Graphical information.
In academic writing, vital information and data are sometimes presented or summarised using visual elements (or graphics) such as graphs, charts, tables, maps, illustrations and diagrams. These graphical elements are visually stimulating, but more importantly, they are an effective way of condensing and representing complex and abstract data in a clear way, making it easier for readers to digest. Therefore, the ability to read, and effectively interpret graphical information is an indispensable academic skill.
Part 4 – Producing and presenting information
Unit 12 Academic writing.
Thus far, you have been introduced to the academic processes of searching for, accessing, and processing information. You have also learnt the basics of argumentation and text construction. The purpose of the foregoing units have been to equip you to be able to effectively present and produce academic information or texts on your own (under the guidance of your lecturer). However, to efficiently engage in academic writing, you have to be conversant with the peculiarities of academic language and style.
Unit 13 Plagiarism.
One essential ethical aspect of academia concerns the issue of academic integrity. Academic integrity emphasises the respect for knowledge and the respect for others’ ideas. Essentially, academic integrity strives to ensure that writers and producers of academic knowledge receive well-deserved merit and proper recognition for their work. Tertiary institutions such as the North-West University work hard to maintain a culture of academic honesty in all aspects of teaching, learning and research. Plagiarism contravenes the principles of academic integrity and constitutes the most common and often misunderstood form of academic misconduct in tertiary institutions. Since the standards and reputation of institutions of learning hinge on their academic integrity status, plagiarism is abhorred in the academia and holds dire consequences for offenders.
Unit 14 Integrating information.
Besides the ethical issues involved in the utilisation of textual material from other writers discussed in the previous unit, it is pertinent to learn how to effectively integrate sources into your own writing. The regurgitation of information without adequate comprehension and analysing is definitely disallowed. The three basic methods of source integration in academic writing are quoting (citing), paraphrasing, and summarising. These processes are not as simple as they seem. This is because they require you not only to read the material intensively, but to also analyse and synthesise the information appropriately before you can integrate them into your writing. In addition, there are diverse ways of introducing sources which you should be familiar with before you engage in the production of texts.
Unit 15 Writing a text.
The information dispensed in the foregoing units have been designed to equip you with the relevant knowledge and skills required to think critically, reason logically, write effective academic texts, and more importantly to excel in academia. The previous lessons regarding the accessing and processing of information culminate in this unit to the actual production of your own academic texts. To make academic texts easily comprehensible, they usually follow a predetermined structure. Although this structure may differ slightly depending on the subject, the objective remains the same: it serves as a framework on which all the different components of the text hare hinged to maintain cohesiveness. So, regardless of the length and complexity of your text, its various parts must relate to each other so that the reader can seamlessly follow your line of thought. Therefore, you must be able to construct academic texts that are properly structured, technically accurate, grammatically pristine, and logically coherent.