https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2024-2025/AM_1160On successful completion of this course you will be a more confident writer in English in terms of producing an academic text which is coherent and linguistically correct. You will have insight into the most important stylistic aspects of academic texts in your discipline. You will also have insight into how specific linguistic structures contribute to text coherence, and will have the ability to identify and improve aspects of coherence in your own academic texts. Finally, you will have clear insight into your strengths and weaknesses of your academic English writing skills, and knowledge of how to further develop your strengths and reduce your weaknesses.The course will start off by ensuring that you are up to speed in terms of the macrostructural and discursive features of academic texts in general and the specific kind of text you are writing in the content of the MPA programme. Centre stage is then given to aspects of coherent text and to linguistic devices that English uses to express complex ideas: we introduce basic principles, give you practice in analysing and reformulating defective text segments, and give you a checklist that you can use when editing your own text. The idea underlying this approach is that writing essentially involves rewriting and rewriting. The treatment of linguistic accuracy (lexical, grammatical and punctuational features) takes a less central place in the group sessions of the course, but the detailed feedback given on your texts allows you to work on any individual problems you may have using the ELS-Online feedback site.Three lectures and three seminars in three weeks. Attendance is obligatory.The final product comprises a research report relating in principle to your internship. A number of weeks into the course you submit the draft introduction of your text, and you will receive feedback through a marking programme called Markin, which is linked to our feedback website ELS-Online. After the course, you submit another version of this text for assessment. Your text will receive a pass/fail assessment. If you fail, you will be given the opportunity to submit a reworked version.There is no obligatory reading for this course outside the course materials, but for language support you are advised to study the feedback categories in ELS-Online.This course is only open to students doing the MSc in MPA.1. The course has two starting times, one at the beginning of February and one at the beginning of March. Your starting time will be agreed in consultation with the programme coordinator 2. The materials for the course will be made available on the course’s Canvas site. You will also be asked to submit the first and final versions of your writing assignment via Canvas. Please organize your Canvas account so that you receive course announcements additionally via your e-mail.