URL study guide
https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2024-2025/L_AABAALGAV9Course Objective
Upon successful completion of this course, you will acquire the following knowledge & skills: Information retrieval from the VU Library (knowledge)• You have insight into the role of scientific information in academic settings, and you know how to identify and find that information through the VU library, e-sources and various databases.
• You know the conventions of academic referencing and sourcing in at least one style (e.g., APA / MLA / Chicago style) in your program and you know why they are relevant.
• You know the criteria that you can apply to assess the reliability of information retrieved from websites and databases.
• You know how illustrations such as charts, pictures, graphs, tables, etc. in the text can affect the interpretation.
• You will be familiar with the concept of plagiarism and how to avoid it. Information retrieval from the VU Library (skills)
• You can search literature by title, author, subject, or keyword in the main catalogs and e-resources.
• You can apply different filters when searching for specific information.
• You can apply the relevant rules for academic referencing.
• You can assess whether web documents and websites are of scientific value, based on criteria within your field. Close and critical reading (knowledge)
• You know how to identify the main ideas and points of an academic paper.
• You learn how to use the text structure (e.g., abstract, introduction, discussion, conclusion, body paragraphs) to follow the argumentation presented in the paper.
• You learn about the tone, figurative language, and rhetorical devices employed in academic papers. Close and critical reading (skill)
• You are able to apply your knowledge to know the intention or purpose of the author.
• You learn to discover how the ideas expressed in an article are related to each other.
• You learn how the argumentation presented in the paper is related to other scholars' ideas? Writing an academic paper (knowledge)
• You know the basics of academic writing and the organization of a scientific paper.
• You know the most important features of an academic text.
• You know the basic types of genre used in academic writing.
• You know writing as a process rather than a product.
• You also know what is the best approach to write a scientific paper. Writing an academic paper (skills)
• You are able to use writing strategies that help to efficiently deal with a writing task.
• You can apply a number of important principles of text structuring and formatting.
• You learn how to write a critical summary paper. Listening & oral presentation (knowledge)
• You learn about the differences between spoken and written modes of presentation.
• You know about the essential aspects of an effective presentation.
• You learn about the main challenges in academic presentations.
• You know about the relationship between listening and speaking.
• You learn how to be an active listener. Listening & oral presentation (skills)
• You are able to design an effective oral presentation for academic purposes.
• You will give oral presentation on a scientific topic in class.
• You will take notes from people’s presentations.
• You will listen to presentations and provide/receive evaluative comments/feedback.
Course Content
In the academic world you are dealing with all sorts of information. In the information retrieval part of this course you become acquainted with different sources of information and you learn about the role of the VU Library in unlocking all kinds of (digital) sources and scientific literature. You also learn how to search effectively for information on a specific topic. This also includes evaluating the information to see how it is suitable for use in an academic context. Next, you will learn how to do close and critical reading. Critical reading brings you the skills needed to evaluate the strength of an argument presented in a paper. In this part, you will also learn about the devices professional writers use in their text to persuade their readers. In the writing section, you will learn about the organization of an academic paper and the processes involved in developing an academic article. Moreover, you will be familiar with different types of academic genre. Argumentative genre is the type which receives the highest degree of attention in this course. You will write a critical summary by the end of this section. Moreover, you will learn how to present academic research to an academic audience and how to be an active listener.Teaching Methods
Lectures (i.e., theoretical aspects) will be recorded in advance and you should follow them online before coming to our seminar sessions which are mainly practical and hands-on. Watching video lectures in advance is mandatory and at least 80% attendance for seminars is required.Method of Assessment
Assignments, all of which must be graded as “pass” or “complete”.Literature
There will be no specific textbook used for this course. However, some readings will be assigned which will be available via Canvas.Target Audience
First year students in the Bachelor's program in Communication and Information Studies (CIS).Custom Course Registration
An exception to the standard sign-up procedure applies to this module. For this module the division of groups is made by the course coordinator after which the registration for seminar groups is made by the education office; students can therefore register for the module itself, but not for a specific seminar group.Additional Information
This is a mandatory course in the first year. Attendance is mandatory for at least 80% of the classes. For a positive Binding Recommendation on Continuation of Studies (Dutch: Bindend Studie Advies), all parts of this course must be completed with sufficient results. In addition, this course counts as an entry requirement for the 2nd year courses. For this module, you must take the Language Test in order to receive the credits earned for the course; the Dutch language test (L_Taaltoets) for the track in Media & Journalistiek; and the English Language Test (L_ELT) for the tracks in English Language & Communication Studies, Language Learning & Language Teaching and Language & Media.Explanation Canvas
Assignments and some readings will be uploaded into Canvas.Language of Tuition
- English
Study type
- Bachelor