James Cook University Subject Handbook - 2021

CU1000 - English for Academic Purposes

Available to Diploma of Higher Education - Business Studies & Information Technology Majors offered at JCU Singapore students only.

Subject Description

This subject will inculcate effective habits and patterns of academic study and successfully engage students in a comprehensive overview of faculty expectations in terms of academic work and in-class participation. The focus of the subject, therefore, is on developing English language and study skills required for developing the critical reading and thinking strategies that academic writing requires in university study. The students will be given guided practice structuring their essays to be reader-centric rather than for self expression. The need for citation and referencing will also be taught so as to acknowledge the work of others. Reading skills will be developed for the purpose of extracting relevant information from resources in order to produce informed essays of substance. Five skills will be built upon namely: essay writing; report writing; oral presentations; listening and note-taking; academic reading.

Learning Outcomes

• examine and practise the language skills and strategies necessary to write university essays, focussing on aspects such as style and tone of academic writing, analysing essay topics
• plan and apply strategies of structuring an essay such as paraphrasing, in-text citations, referencing and thus avoid plagiarism
• analyse and integrate data into a written report; practise and apply reading strategies and skills enabling students to read academic texts resourcefully
• plan and deliver effective group oral presentations in an academic setting; demonstrate effective written communication skills in a professional business context
• develop the strategies and listening skills to take down effective notes in university lectures which include the ability to recognise main points, subordinate ideas and common signposts in lectures

Subject Assessment

• Written > Examination - In class - (30%) - Individual
• Oral > Presentation 1 - (30%) - Individual
• Written > Essay (including multi-draft) 1 - (40%) - Individual

Note that minor variations might occur due to the continuous subject quality improvement process, and in case of minor variation(s) in assessment details, the Subject Outline represents the latest official information.

Availabilities