MA Scheme : Academic Support Programme

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For full-time & part-time students joining in the academic year 2009/10.

Key points

  • The programme is free of charge and is open to both part-time and full-time MA Scheme students admitted at the beginning of the academic year 09/10;
  • The programme is non-credit-bearing;
  • Teaching is on Saturday mornings only and if you have programme subjects timetabled on Saturday morning you must attend those subjects;
  • There is no formal assessment but you will be expected to prepare for the sessions;
  • Teaching and learning will be interactive with practice and feedback provided in the sessions;
  • Modules 1 and 2 are run early in Semester 1 to maximize their helpfulness to your studies but Module 3 is delayed to the beginning of Semester 2, when many of you begin your research project work;
  • Student numbers are not limited for the modules, but modules will not run if fewer than 15 students register for them;
  • A certificate will be awarded to students who have registered on-line and achieve 100% attendance.

Aims

The programme aims to improve your
  • skills in getting and using information from academic sources;
  • ability to express in your own words and with acknowledgement the information you get from sources;
  • understanding of the overall structure of academic texts and the patterns of argumentation found within the structure;
  • ability to produce academic writing that is coherent and cohesive;
  • skills in achieving appropriate tone and style in academic writing;
  • ability to plan and structure oral presentations in English;
  • skills in using verbal and non-verbal communication to deliver oral presentations;
  • understanding of the overall structure of a research project report;
  • ability to write effective sections of research reports: introduction, literature review, method, results, discussion and conclusion.
Through participating in the programme, you will also
  • enhance your critical and analytical skills;
  • develop a sense of belonging to the academic discourse community;
  • improve your ability to learn independently.

Module outlines

You may choose to register for one, two or all three modules but you will be expected to commit yourself to completing all study hours assigned for a module once you have registered for it. A roll call will be taken in every class.

Module 1: Enhancing Academic Writing and Reading Skills

Semester 1 : Weeks 1-4: Saturday, September 5, 12, 19 (Room HJ303), 26 (Room N115)
Time : 9.30am-12.00pm
Teacher : Dr. Stephen Evans

Week 1
  • The purposes of academic writing
  • Accessing sources of information: academic reading strategies
  • The structure of academic text
Week 2
  • Writing the body of an academic text
  • Patterns of argumentation: cause and effect, discussion-evaluation, problem-solution etc.
Week 3
  • Coherence in academic text
  • Cohesion in academic writing
  • Grammar and lexis in academic text
Week 4
  • Using sources: summarizing and synthesizing information
  • Citation of sources
  • Achieving appropriate academic tone and style

Module 2: Planning and Delivering Effective Oral Presentations

Semester 1 : Weeks 6-9: Saturday, October 10, 17 (Room HJ303), 24, 31 (Room BC415, BC417, BC419)
Time : 9.30am-12.00pm
Teacher : Dr. Chris Green

Week 6
  • The purposes of and audiences for academic oral presentations
  • Spoken versus written communication
  • The structure of an academic presentation
Week 7
  • Verbal qualities in academic oral presentations
  • The importance of non-verbal qualities
  • Critiquing videoed presentations
Week 8
  • Practice session 1: first half of class presents
Week 9
  • Practice session 2: second half of class presents

Module 3: Writing Effective Project Reports

Semester 2 : Weeks 1-4: Saturday, January 16, 23, 30 and February 6 (Room FJ303)
Time : 9.30am-12.00pm
Teacher : Dr. Chris Green

Week 1
  • The purposes of a project report: the roles of primary and secondary data in research
  • The macro-structure of a project report
  • Writing the Introduction, Conclusion and Abstract
Week 2
  • Writing the Literature Review
Week 3
  • Writing the Methodology section
Week 4
  • Writing the Findings and Discussion section

For further information, please contact Dr. Chris Green at egchrisg@inet.polyu.edu.hk

Please note that the on-line registration period for Module 3 is Dec.2,2009 to Jan.8,2010. Please go to http://www.engl.polyu.edu.hk/AcademicSupportProgram/index.asp for on-line registration.