2024/25 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

ELU0301 Academic English for Postgraduate Studies (AEPS) Level 3

Module manager: Helen Butt
Email: H.Butt@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2024/25

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

On this module, you will be developing your ability to think about an issue from a range of perspectives and come to your own conclusions. You will continue to work on developing your understanding of, and ability to use academic English in both written and spoken communication. You will focus on synthesising secondary evidence in order to write a thematic paper. You will learn about the differences between spoken and written academic discourse and take part in both a seminar and a conference.

Objectives

This module provides students with the opportunity to:
1. Meet the language requirements of their future academic programme.
2. Display linguistic and literacy skills to a level that will enable them to communicate competently within the UK academic context at postgraduate level.
3. Develop an awareness and understanding of the culture, context and discourse of postgraduate academic study in UK Higher Education.
4. Develop into autonomous, reflective learners, with a cultural understanding of ethical academic practices.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, students should have developed:
1. the use of written and spoken academic language to suit a clear communicative purpose through a coherent, accurate and fluent range of appropriate lexical and grammatical structures;
2. an awareness of relevant academic genre, discourse and function; making appropriate language choices in relation to audience and purpose at whole text, paragraph and sentence level; 
3. the ability to follow appropriate academic conventions in both spoken and written tasks, such as referencing, synthesising sources and their own argument, meeting task requirements and building collaborative understanding;
4. a critical approach to their own work and the work of others through use of a range of appropriate sources to develop an argument with a clear position; 
5. the ability to critically reflect on their own learning and demonstrate awareness of resources and techniques they could employ to continue their own development; 
6. the ability to communicate an awareness of the cultural and ethical issues of academic study within postgraduate academic study in UK Higher Education.
7. an awareness of the specificity of their own disciplines, such as how knowledge is constructed and shared through language.

Syllabus

The overall theme of the module is interdisciplinarity and you will develop a full understanding of this concept over the semester. Each semester, there will also be a secondary theme; you will explore the role of this secondary theme in your discipline. Past secondary themes have included growth, boundaries and connections.

Through your exploration of interdisciplinarity and the secondary theme, you will study a wide range of other areas, including using the work of others, working effectively in groups and across cultures, structuring academic assignments, being an independent and reflective learner, developing an argument, expressing your own voice and demonstrating criticality.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Consultation	2	0.70	1.30
Consultation	9	0.30	3.00
Lecture	10	1.00	10.00
Seminar	11	3.00	33.00
Seminar	66	2.00	132.00
Independent online learning hours			13.50
Private study hours			247.20
Total Contact hours			179.30
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			440.00

Private study

This is a full-time course. Students will have 15 hours of tuition and a 20-minute individual consultation or 40-minute group consultation per week, and will be expected to do approximately 22.5 hours of additional private study each week. This will include reading and preparing for seminars, lectures and assessments using both online digital and print resources, and completing learning tasks. The number of hours for each activity will vary over the course. For example, later in the course, students will have less reading to do and will be expected to be spending more time on their reading/writing assessment.

Approximate breakdown:
- 6 hours per week of reading and preparing for seminars (66 hours)
- 4 hours per week to prepare for and review lectures (44 hours).
- 6 hours per week to work on the thematic essay (reading/writing assessment) (66 hours)
- 2 hours per week to prepare for the conference presentation (22 hours)
- 1 hour per week to prepare for the assessed seminar (11 hours)
- 3.2 hours per week to complete other assigned independent study tasks (38.2 hours)
Total = approximately 247.2 hours

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Students receive regular written feedback on writing tasks submitted through TurnItIn. This allows them to improve their writing and language skills before they submit their summative assessments. Students submit a rationale, plan and draft before they submit their final thematic essay. This ensures that they are supported through every stage of the essay-writing process. As well as regular class activities in groups, students work in groups to prepare and deliver their conference presentation, which forms part of their summative assessment.

Formative tasks include:
- Diagnostic writing task.
- 2 x summaries of academic articles.
- Proposal for thematic essay.
- 2 x synthesis of academic texts)
- Formative presentations.
- Plan for thematic essay.
- Poster presentations.
- Draft academic profile and conference proposal.
- Draft thematic essay.
- Practice assessed seminar.
- Practice conference presentation.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	Thematic Essay (2000 words)	50.00
Oral Presentation	Conference presentation (10-15 mins: pair / 15-20 mins: three students)	25.00
Group Discussion	Assessed seminar (20 mins: three students / 25 mins : four students)	25.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally, further attempts are offered for students who do not meet the expected level of attainment on any assessment component.

Reading list

There is no reading list for this module

Last updated: 13/11/2024

Disclaimer

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• Undergraduate module catalogue
• Taught Postgraduate module catalogue
• Undergraduate programme catalogue
• Taught Postgraduate programme catalogue

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