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Academic Skills Workshop

General data

Course ID: CES-AcadSkillsWork
Erasmus code / ISCED: (unknown) / (unknown)
Course title: Academic Skills Workshop
Name in Polish: Academic Skills Workshop
Organizational unit: Institute of European Studies
Course groups:
ECTS credit allocation (and other scores): 5.00 Basic information on ECTS credits allocation principles:
  • the annual hourly workload of the student’s work required to achieve the expected learning outcomes for a given stage is 1500-1800h, corresponding to 60 ECTS;
  • the student’s weekly hourly workload is 45 h;
  • 1 ECTS point corresponds to 25-30 hours of student work needed to achieve the assumed learning outcomes;
  • weekly student workload necessary to achieve the assumed learning outcomes allows to obtain 1.5 ECTS;
  • work required to pass the course, which has been assigned 3 ECTS, constitutes 10% of the semester student load.
view allocation of credits
Language: English

Classes in period "2023/2024 winter semester" (past)

Time span: 2023-10-01 - 2024-01-28
Selected timetable range:
Navigate to timetable
Type of class:
Seminar, 30 hours, 15 places more information
Coordinators: Scott Simpson
Group instructors: Scott Simpson
Students list: (inaccessible to you)
Examination: Course - Grading
Goals of education:

This seminar course is designed to give an introduction to two important study skills at the MA level: academic writing and speaking/presentations. Mastery of an academic subject includes not only the ability to gather knowledge but also the ability to express it.

The writing section is designed to improve the participants’ written communication skills, especially those skills most directly relevant to their current academic programme and their future career paths. Furthermore, the workshop will give students a head start on completing their Masters Thesis. In the speaking part students will practice giving academic presentations themselves as well as critically assess the performance of others and discuss how to give effective presentations.
Learning outcomes of a component:

The student has the ability to engage in academic discussion and debate, including the ability to offer constructive criticism to their peers. (K_U06 )

The student is able to construct and perform informational oral presentations, with and without the use audio-visual support. (K_U10 )

The student has the ability prepare written and oral presentations which meet international academic standards, including proper use, attribution, and citation of sources. (K_U12 )

The student is prepared to start writing an original and independent MA Thesis in English on a topic germane to European Studies based on their own research. (K_U09 )

The student practices the early stages of proper research design, including the selection of topics and methodologies. (K_U19 )

The student develops their teamwork and leadership skills in a variety of communication tasks. (K_U13 )



Requirements:

This workshop is part of the Masters degree programme at European Studies.


All students are assumed to have completed at least a first-cycle university degree and to be competent in undergraduate academic writing. (A level of C1 or higher in English.) Students should have at least some experience in giving academic presentations.


This class is designed to prepare students to participate in the Masters seminar and write a Masters Thesis at the Jagiellonian University.
Conditions of gaining credit:

- Academic Speaking:

• Each student must prepare and perform oral presentations

• When not presenting, students must participate actively and offer constructive criticism to other students.

- Academic Writing:

• There are several short, written assignments to be submitted to the workshop leader.

• Students are encouraged to discuss their written assignments with the workshop leader.


Assessment methods and criteria for this course:

EK1 (K_U06 ): Oral and written assignments

EK2 (K_U08 ): Oral and written assignments

EK3 (K_U09 ): Written assignments

EK4 (K_U10): Oral and written assignments

EK5 (K_U12): Oral and written assignments

EK6 (K_U13): Oral and written assignments

EK7 (K_U17): Oral assignments

EK8 (K_U19): Written assignments
Learning activities and teaching methods:

Exercises and simulations

Teacher-led seminar

Group discussion

Hands-on practice
ECTS estimate:

4
Syllabus of the course for students commencing study programme from 19/20 academic year or later:

(in Polish) European Studies, rok 1
Full description:

1. The means of persuasion - 3 October 2023

Purpose & overview of workshop.

Exercise: Introduce yourself

Theory: Aristotle’s ‘three means of persuasion’

Speech: John F. Kennedy at Berlin

Suggested Further Reading: Aristotle: Rhetoric, Book 1

2. Visual Aids - 10 October 2023

Theory: PowerPoint presentation about PowerPoint presentation

Suggested Further Reading: Chapter 11: “Using Visual Media” in German, K (2017). Principles of Public Speaking, pp.175-190

3. Student Power Point presentations (group projects) - 17 October 2023

Suggested Further Reading: Burke, K. (1969). “The Range of Rhetoric” especially pp.19-29 & 35-46

4. Ethos - 24 October 2023

Theory: Ethos & Cialdini’s ‘six weapons of influence’ (heuristics)

Exercise: Clash

Speech: Bhutto at Beijing

Speech: General Marius at Rome

Suggested Further Reading: Gibson, S. (2011). “Milgram’s obedience experiments: A rhetorical analysis”

5. Logos - 31 October 2023

Theory: Logos, logic, induction, syllogism, enthymeme, sorites

Exercise: Duelling opinions

Speech: The Schuman Declaration

Speech: Thatcher’s “Bruges Speech”

Suggested Further Reading: Goldman, A. (1994). “Argumentation and Social Epistemology”

6. Pathos - 7 November 2023

Theory: Pathos, apologies, hate speech

Exercise: Intellectual Outlaw

Speech: Juan Carlos in Madrid

Speech: Wiesel at the White House

Suggested Further Reading: Bickford, S. (2011). “Emotion Talk and Political Judgment”

7. Structure in speaking - 14 November 2023

Theory: Finding structure and building structure

Exercise: Debate

Suggested Further Reading: Chapter7: “Organizing and Outlining Your Speech” in German, K (2017). Principles of Public Speaking, pp.105-123

8. Impact in academic writing: Something interesting and important to say - 21 November 2023

Discovering a topic, research question, and hypothesis. Overview of academic writing. Overview of the thesis process. Research questions and hypotheses.

Suggested Further Reading: Seashore, C. (1932). “Printer’s Copy for Master’s Thesis” pp.146-147

Lei, S. (2009). “Strategies For Finding and Selecting an Ideal Thesis or Dissertation Topic: A Review of Literature”

9. The “so what?” of your work: Why theory? Why the literature review? - 28 November 2023

The source: where to find what in Krakow. Critical reading as a writing skill. Writing critical response/critique/evaluation ("How does who do what and why?").

Suggested Further Reading: Caulley, D. (n.d.) “The Critical Review of the Literature”

10. Moving from hypothesis to analysis - 5 December 2023

Evidence: anecdote, illustration, statistics, analogy, signs, and images. Logic and fallacies (analysis vs. argument). What evidence (questionnaires, tables, etc.) do I include? How? Types of analysis.

Suggested Further Reading: Miller, J. (2007). “Organizing Data in Tables and Charts: Different Criteria for Different Tasks” pp.98-101

11. Research Ethics - 12 December 2023

Principles of academic ethics, research ethics board, open access, plagiarism, falsification.

Suggested Further Reading: Bos, J (2020). Research Ethics for Students in the Social Sciences.

12. Structure and formatting of your thesis - 19 December 2023

The stereotype Thesis structure. The reality of Thesis structure. How to write a title and an abstract. Introductions and conclusions. Basic formatting/printing issues.

Suggested Further Reading: Lester, J. (1999). Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide. New York: Longman. pp. 133-137, 142-145

13. Citation, sources and style - 9 January 2024

Paraphrasing, summarising & direct quotation. Styleguides: APA, MLA, Turabian, Chicago. Verbs, mood and style. Jargon, wordiness, biased language. Plagiarism, fabrication, self-copying. Reference management software: Endnote, Zotero, etc.

Suggested Further Reading: Purdue “OWL” website (Chicago, MLA, APA)

www.plagiarism.org

14. Submitting and defending your Thesis - 16 January 2024

Writing proposals. Submitting the Thesis. The roles your adviser plays. Student strategies for dealing with advisers. The defence.

Suggested Further Reading: CES Student Handbook, Jagiellonian University APD instructions

15. Letters and CVs - 23 January 2024

Basic business letter. Application letters. UK CV, US résumé, Europass. Interviews. LinkedIn, Academia.edu.

Suggested Further Reading: Handout materials, Utz, S. (2015). “Is LinkedIn making you more successful? The informational benefits derived from public social media”
Notes:

1. The means of persuasion - 3 October 2023 - in-class

2. Visual Aids - 10 October 2023 - in-class

3. Student Power Point presentations - 17 October 2023 - in-class

4. Ethos - 24 October 2023 - in-class

5. Logos - 31 October 2023 - in-class

6. Pathos - 7 November 2023 - in-class

7. Structure in speaking - 14 November 2023 - in-class

8. Impact in academic writing - 21 November 2023 - in-class

9. The “so what?” of your work: Why theory? Why the literature review? - 28 November 2023 - in-class

10. Moving from hypothesis to analysis - 5 December 2023 - in-class

11. Research Ethics - 12 December 2023 - in class

12. Structure and formatting of your thesis - 19 December 2023 - in class

13. Citation, sources and style - 9 January 2024 - in-class

14. Submitting and defending your Thesis - 16 January 2024 - in-class

15. Letters and CVs - 23 January 2024 - in-class
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