Discipline-specific writing courses (HEC, LAW, SPS)
The discipline-specific courses in HEC, LAW and SPS are organised according to the particular academic field you are studying in. The first-year courses are designed to support the writing you need to do for your department in the first year, e.g. December outline, February paper, response papers etc, culminating in the work leading up to your April Prospectus (SPS), May Paper (Law), June Paper (HEC).
Working together with researchers, the teacher will focus on key issues related to academic writing in your discipline, with particular emphasis on developing your academic literacy skills. You will work on your own research writing, using models and examples drawn from existing academic texts to help you develop your writing ability.
All the first-year courses are 18 weeks long: 8 weeks from October to December, and 10 weeks from January to March.
The ECO courses are offered in the second year, designed to support the writing of your Forum Paper.
In later years, further discipline-specific courses are offered, focusing on aspects of writing or genres in your field
English 513
Discipline-specific writing courses: HEC
Length of course
18 weeks, 27 hours across 2 terms:
| First term: |
16 October
08 December 2023
|
8 weeks
12 hours
|
| Second term: |
15 January
22 March 2024
|
10 weeks
15 hours
|
Time
Second term starts on 15 January 2024
Monday
09.00 - 10.30
Developing your research writing: HEC
The aim of this course is to build on your existing experience and, with guidance and through practice and feedback, build your confidence in academic writing. The work you do during the course is prepared to support your departmental programme throughout the year. This course is on Monday mornings and runs from October to March.
By the end of the course, researchers will
- have a clear understanding of relevant discipline-specific aspects of academic writing within their chosen field of study
- gain awareness of any style issues in academic writing that are associated with their subject
- have enhanced their knowledge of academic terminology and grammar for writing academic prose and feel able to apply this satisfactorily in their writing
Course contents
Course materials are provided by the EUI English Unit
The sessions will address rhetorical and stylistic issues related to drafting and revising your work such as:
- Defining terms and concepts
- Organizing notes
- Openings and conclusions
- The narrative
- Using corpora
They will also address practical matters such as:
- Grammatical accuracy
- Research Paper structure & organization across paragraphs and longer structures
- Syntax in academic writing in History
- How to achieve “style” in academic writing
You will be invited to specify areas of interest and topics to work on throughout the course.
Learning methods and activities
The teacher will provide targeted materials and activities to help you complete your writing within this timeframe.
Each session includes both input and peer discussion. You will get feedback on your writing from the teacher and from your peers, which will equip you to work in writers’ groups from your second year.
Ben Carver teaches English research writing and communication at the EUI Centre for Academic Literacies and Languages (CALL). His PhD in literary history was awarded in 2012 (University of Exeter) and appeared as a monograph in 2017 (Palgrave). Since then he has published research articles, edited a volume of essays on literature and conspiracy culture (Routledge), and published pieces for a broad readership on television programmes, science fiction, and music. He is interested in supporting early-career academics’ ability to write and publish in a range of formats, for audiences within and beyond the academy.
English 514
Discipline-specific writing courses: LAW
Length of course
18 weeks, 27 hours across 2 terms:
| First term: |
16 October
08 December 2023
|
8 weeks
12 hours
|
| Second term: |
15 January
22 March 2024
|
10 weeks
15 hours
|
Time
Second term starts on 15 January 2024
Monday
09.00 - 10.30
Developing your research writing: LAW
The aim of this course is to build on your existing experience and, through input and practice, build your confidence in academic writing. The work you do during the course is conceived to dovetail with expectations from the LAW department regarding written work, thus your December outline deadline in the first term and your February paper in the second. This course runs on Monday mornings from October to March.
By the end of the course, researchers will
- have a clear understanding of relevant discipline-specific aspects of academic writing within their chosen field of study
- gain awareness of any style issues in academic writing that are associated with their subject
- have enhanced their knowledge of academic grammar and feel able to apply this satisfactorily in their writing
Course contents
Course materials are provided by the EUI English Unit
The sessions will address rhetorical and stylistic issues related to drafting and revising your work such as:
- Defining terms & concepts
- Writing about caselaw
- Clear writing
- Evaluative writing
- Openings and conclusions
- Using corpora
They will also address practical concerns such as:
- Grammatical accuracy
- Research Paper structure & organisational features, e.g. paragraphs
- Syntax in academic writing in Law
- Defining 'Style' in academic writing
You will be asked for your input and feedback on the syllabus in the first session.
Learning methods and activities
The teacher will provide targeted materials and activities to help you complete your writing within this timeframe.
Each session includes both input and peer discussion. You will get feedback on your writing from the teacher, from your peers and from yourselves.
English 515
Discipline-specific writing courses: SPS
Length of course
18 weeks, 27 hours across 2 terms:
| First term: |
16 October
08 December 2023
|
8 weeks
12 hours
|
| Second term: |
15 January
22 March 2023
|
10 weeks
15 hours
|
Time
Second term starts on 17 January 2024
Wednesday
09.00 - 10.30
Developing your research writing: SPS
The aim of this course is to build on your existing experience and, through input and practice, build your confidence in academic writing. The work you do during the course is conceived to dovetail with your work in the SPS department, specifically to help you work towards the January and April Prospectus. This course runs on Wednesday mornings from October to March.
By the end of the course, researchers will
- have a clear understanding of relevant discipline-specific aspects of academic writing within their chosen field of study
- gain awareness of any style issues in academic writing that are associated with their subject
- have enhanced their knowledge of academic grammar and feel able to apply this satisfactorily in their writing
Course contents
Course materials are provided by the EUI English Unit
The sessions will address rhetorical and stylistic issues related to drafting and revising your work such as:
- Defining terms and concepts
- Evaluative writing
- Data presentation and commentary
- Openings and conclusions
- Advancing your argument
They will also address practical matters such as:
- Grammatical accuracy
- Research Paper structure & organization of paragraphs and sections
- Syntax in academic writing in the Social and Political Sciences
- Managing “style” in academic writing
You will be invited to specify areas of interest and topics to work on throughout the course.
Learning methods and activities
The teacher will provide targeted materials and activities to help you complete your writing within this timeframe.
Each session includes both input and peer discussion. You will get feedback on your writing from the teacher and from your peers, which will equip you to work in writers’ groups from your second year.
Lewis Driver specialises in academic writing and English for academic purposes. He is a trained historian, but also works across the fields of SPS, law and policy writing. He studied History and Spanish at the University of Glasgow, before completing a Masters in International Development at the University of Salamanca. He is currently finishing a PhD at the EUI in the department of History and Civilisations.
Page last updated on 05 December 2023