| CODE | FST0121 | ||||||||||||||||
| TITLE | Technical and Academic English Writing | ||||||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 00 - Mod Pre-Tert, Foundation, Proficiency & DegreePlus | ||||||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Engineering and ICT | ||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit focuses on developing the skills necessary for effective written communication in the fields of science, engineering and architecture. The study-unit is designed to enable students to develop the academic writing skills that will enable them to successfully function in an English speaking academic context in the study of the sciences, engineering, architecture and related fields. They will study writing at word, sentence, paragraph and whole text level and also work on the planning process. The syllabus is divided into three different levels. To a large extent the skills dealt with are repeated across the three levels. However, there are some important differences. At the lower levels there will be an increased focus on the assimilation of appropriate syntactical structures and lexis as well as the importance of correct spelling and presentation. The lower level syllabi include target structures that should be covered during the study-unit. At the advanced level students should not need grammatical input and so will be working on the development of their writing style in English with the attendant focus on complex sentence structures and wider lexis. Study-unit Aims: For students to: At word level: - Extend their vocabulary giving them more effective means of expression in their written work; - Determine word class and form new lexis from the existing root; - Focus on accuracy in spelling though spelling tests and consciousness raising of letter/sounds combinations in English; - Produce and hand in neat and legible written work. At sentence level: - Recognise the form and function and use appropriately the following structures: the tense system (active and passive), verb/noun agreements, modal verbs, phrasal verbs, gerunds and infinitives, articles, comparative and superlative adjectives, quantifiers, reported speech and indirect questions; - Use the following in their written work cleft sentences, adverbial clauses, concessive clauses, conditional sentences, conditional/modal combinations, inversion, non-finite clauses, verb patterns, relative clauses and noun phrases, contrastive structures. At paragraph level: - Identify and write a topic sentence, write supporting and concluding sentences, logically order their paragraphs, use appropriate linking words inside the paragraph, vary their vocabulary appropriately, keep information relevant, reference their sources correctly. At text level: - Organise their text correctly according to the text type produced; - Produce a number of different genres; - Learn to organise their ideas and so will be encouraged to brainstorm, gather, edit their ideas and write an essay outline; - Use the appropriate inking devices at text level; - Proof read their own and other students work and make appropriate changes; - Interpret essay questions and techniques for writing essays under timed conditions. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to produce the following text types in clear and concise English: - Description of a figure (Line Graph, Bar Chart, Pie Chart, Table etc...); - Description of a process; - Definition paragraphs; - Short answer questions; - Summary; - Lab report; - Write about problems and solutions; - Make notes from reading and listening texts. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Communicate ideas and opinions clearly, coherently and precisely in writing, for a number of different text types as above; - Describe graphs and scientific processes in writing. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Technical and Academic English Workbook (University of Malta), 2014. (Will be provided to each student) |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | This study-unit is offered only to the Certificate in Foundation Studies students. Please note that a pass in the Examination component is obligatory for an overall pass mark to be awarded. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | ||||||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Ruth Bellizzi James Bugeja |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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