Course detail
Introduction to Academic Skills
FaVU-1PAPTAcad. year: 2023/2024
The course focuses on the acquisition of basic academic skills in working with text – sourcing, reading and writing. Students learn to conduct research and assess the relevance of sources in relation to their subject of interest. They gain an orientation to a variety of academic genres. They learn practical techniques and strategies for reading scholarly texts, ways of processing the information they have gathered, and the creation of quotations and paraphrases. They practise creating their own output that meets academic parameters – asking a question, structuring an interpretation, making an argument, taking into account existing knowledge, citations and bibliography. Last but not least, attention is paid to the ethical aspects of academic work – correct citation and referencing of sources, avoiding plagiarism and misinterpretation, cultivating expression. Proseminar is taught in several small groups. The teaching takes the form of a series of specifically focused assignments, the mastery of which is verified by students in the form of group feedback.
Language of instruction
Number of ECTS credits
Mode of study
Guarantor
Entry knowledge
None.
Rules for evaluation and completion of the course
Lectures and seminars take place at the premises of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Brno University of Technology at designated times. Two absences are tolerated.
Aims
Students demonstrate the ability to critically read and understand a scholarly text. They can summarise its ideas and take their own position on them. They are able to express themselves in a sophisticated written manner. They are able to write a term paper that meets the professional criteria and formal parameters of an academic text.
Study aids
Prerequisites and corequisites
Basic literature
ZBÍRAL, R. Příručka psaní seminárních a jiných vysokoškolských odborných prací. Praha: Linde, 2009. ISBN 978-80-7201-779-9.
Recommended reading
ECO, U. Jak napsat diplomovou práci. Praha: Votobia, 1997. ISBN: 80-7198-173-7.
BAILEY, S. Academic writing: a handbook for international students. London, New York: Routledge, 2015. 978-1-138-77849-8.
Institut úzkosti. 2021. Kvíření jazyka českého: O užívání genderově inkluzivního jazyka v institucích a organizacích. http://www.institutuzkosti.cz/events/kvireni-jazyka-ceskeho-videozaznam-online-diskuse?src=cz
Classification of course in study plans
- Programme VUM_B Bachelor's 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory
- Programme DES_B Bachelor's 3 year of study, summer semester, elective
2 year of study, summer semester, elective - Programme VUB Bachelor's
branch VU-IDT , 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory
branch VU-IDT , 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory
branch VU-IDT , 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory
branch VU-IDT , 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory
branch VU-VT , 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory
branch VU-VT , 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory
branch VU-VT , 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory
branch VU-VT , 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory
branch VU-VT , 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory
branch VU-IDT , 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory
branch VU-VT , 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory
branch VU-IDT , 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory
Type of course unit
Seminar
Teacher / Lecturer
Syllabus
1. Searches. Determining the topic and searching for sources. Information databases, assessing the relevance of sources.
2. What is an academic text? Introduction to genres and approaches in theory. Structure of an academic text. Publication ethics.
3. Reading a scholarly text. Hermeneutic circle, critical reading and comprehension.
4. Practicing techniques of processing a professional text: outline, summary, quotation, paraphrase.
5. Practicing techniques of processing a professional text: interpretation, polemic.
6. Practicing the actual writing process: formulating a research question, identifying sources, creating an outline, argumentative strategies, language, working with word processors, citation standards.
7. Group discussion of sample essays.