Course Introduction(Week 1)

W R I T I N G I V(HE285)

Prof. Dr. Ron Martinez

drronmartinez@gmail.com

Goals for the week

• Reflect on and question current beliefs aboutacademic writing

• Gain a fresh understanding of the nature of(academic writing)

Today’s agenda

• Introductions

• Course overview

• Introduction to course website

• Details on daily/weekly schedule

• Class survey

About me

• From San Francisco• Grounded in the classroom• Before UFPR, was at SF State University• On editorial board of TESOL Quarterly and ELT

Journal; also regularly review for a number offlagship journals

• Research interests revolve around vocabulary andformulaic language (especially corpus-informedresearch)

• Most recently, interested in ERPP

About you

• Do you know each other?

• Name game

• Talk about writing in English: easy orchallenging? Why?

• You will have a chance to say much more later.

About this course

Sample comment from student:

“I hope to be able to write good essays and develop something that will help me in my professional life in case I intend to take a master’s abroad.”

About this course (details on“ementa”)

• What is the ultimate objective of the course?

• What will I learn?

• How will I learn? (What is the approach?)

• How will I know I know I’ve learned?

• How will I be assessed?

• How will I be able to apply what I learn (in “the real world”)?

• + Research Group, Online Journal

Other important information

• Website: www.drronmartinez.com

• You will need a UFPR email. Please obtain oneASAP.

• WhatsApp (??)

• Please refrain from FB, etc.

• Office hours: Wednesday 4-6PM, or by appt.

• There are two “turmas”: one is morning(“AM”), one is evening (“PM”).

AM Schedule

• MONDAY • 9:30-10:30 (1.1 – form/lang. focus) • [typical HW: Research new topic + “Reading Engagement Logs”, due

Sunday]

• WEDNESDAY • 9:30-10:20 (1.2- guided practice) + 10m break + 10:30-11:30 (1.3 – focus

on revision) + 11:30-12:20 (1.4 – drafting)• [typical HW: Continue draft already started in class, turn in by Sunday

evening with LexTutor score]

• SUNDAY• Weekly writing assignments and Reading logs due by 3 PM.• NB: Feedback will be given by Wednesday, but students will not receive

a a grade until after revisions are made.

PM Schedule

• MONDAY • 20:30-21:20 (1.1 – form/lang. focus) + 20m break + 21:40-22:30 (1.2

– guided practice)• [typical HW: Research new topic + “Reading Engagement” logs –

due Sunday]• WEDNESDAY • 18:30-19:30 (1.3 – focus on revision) + 20m break + 19:50-20:30

(1.4- drafting) • [typical HW: Continue draft begun in class, turn in by Sunday

evening with LexTutor score]• SUNDAY• Weekly writing assignments and Reading logs due by 8 PM.• NB: Feedback will be given by Wednesday, but students will not

receive a grade until after revisions are made.

Grammar and Vocabulary as a matterof “choice” (not “correct”)

“ABOUT YOU” survey

N=20

Statement Weight

“My writing in English is terrible.” 3.39

“I can write academic essays in Portuguese well.” 3.39

“During my course, I already have had to read many academic articles.”

3.33

“I get nervous before I have to write in English.” 3.28

“I know how to access online academic journal articles.” 2.89

“I can write a good introduction in an academic essay.” 2.89

“I know how to use sources to support my arguments in an essay.”

2.56

“I know how to write a literature review .” 2.39

“I already have a lot of experience writing academic essays.” 1.44

“I don’t need this class – my writing is already good.” 1.28

How do you feel about these activities?

Rank Activity

1 Grammar correction on essays

2 Academic vocabulary development

3 Reading of academic articles

4 Take-home essays

5 Reading magazine and newspaper articles

6 Reading during class

7 Group discussion

8 Grammar exercises

9 In-class essays

10 Pair work

11 Students reviewing and correcting each other’s writing

It

Quiz: What is “academic writing”?

Examples of journal article structure

Examples of journal article structure

Examples of journal article structure

“Subtext” video

Discuss in pairs:

• Can you relate?

• What insights does it provide (if any) into thenature of the writing process itself?

• Bonus: How was he able to choose his words?

User comments on “Subtext” video

User comments on “Subtext” video

Some “Subtext” insights

• Lev (the writer) has a specific “agenda” in mind before he begins writing.

• The whole process of writing involves him trying to maximize the effect of his discourse to achieve that agenda.

• The writing process is “dialogic”: in dialogue with himself, in dialogue with the intended reader.

• Lev is (painfully) aware that word choice is of paramount importance; the right choice of words can mean the difference between his “goal” and flat-out rejection.

Lexical Priming (Hoey, 2005)

“As a word is acquired through encounters with it in speech and writing, it becomes cumulatively loaded with the contexts and co-texts in which it is encountered, and our knowledge of it includes the fact that it co-occurs with other words in certain kinds of context.” (p. 8)

Key words about academic writing

• ENGAGEMENT

• CRITICALITY

• POSITION

• PROBLEMATIZE

• ARGUMENT

• SUPPORT

HOMEWORK FOR NEXT CLASS (WED.

MARCH 4)

AM Turma Homework

• TODAY: Complete personal survey on www.drronmartinez.com (“Writing IV: About YOU”)

• Watch “Subtext” video, and answer questions. Bring notes to Wednesday class.

PM Turma Homework

• TODAY: Complete quiz on Academic Writing at www.drronmartinez.com (“What are your beliefs about academic writing?”)

• Watch “Subtext” video, and answer questions. Bring notes to next class.

WEEKEND HOMEWORK

Summary for Week 1

• In the context of genre, language is about choice, notnecessarily “right” and “wrong”.

• Academic writing is laden with a number ofinstitutionalized conventions (e.g., journal articlestructure, academic abbrevations, referencing), andthese conventions can actually be of help to non-native(of English) writers.

• Especially in argumentative-type essays (the mostcommon academic genre), it is the author’s “position” that drives the discourse. Before anything else, this is the sine qua non of the writing process.

Homework!

HOMEWORK FOR NEXT CLASS (WED.

MARCH 4)

AM Turma Homework

• TODAY: Complete online survey “About YOU” (on website)

• Watch “Subtext” video (on website)

• Get UFPR email ASAP

PM Turma Homework

• TODAY: Complete quiz about “Academic Beliefs” (on website)

• Watch “Subtext” video (on website)

• Get UFPR email ASAP

WEEKEND HOMEWORK

This weekend…

• “High or low scores?” Look at the two columns of language samples. Do you see any patterns? (On website.)

• Read (at least) the first two pages of Miller and Parker (2012), answer questions (On website.)

• “Academic English?” (Optional) Read the article and determine the extent to which it sounds academic.

• (If you haven’t already….) Get your UFPR email!