XDOC1005 Developing a voice and constructing arguments (2 cr)

Course description

The course provides support to communicate ideas and research results clearly, purposefully, and with integrity. The main aim is to help participants make informed choices about the structure, form, genre, language, and modality of their written texts, and find a balance between writing with agency and authenticity, while also considering the specific requirements of the textual environment, including the readers and the genre-specific norms and conventions in the discipline(s) they operate in. Participants will get hands-on tips on seamlessly integrating relevant information, evidence, or perspectives from external sources to build effective arguments and enhance authority and credibility. The course also promotes awareness of the power dynamics in global academia, as well as the ideological and ethical dimensions of selecting and attributing sources.

Main content

• Writing and identity; voice, stance, language, and style; interaction in academic discourse; what makes writing academic, subjectivity vs. objectivity.
• Disciplinary differences in argumentation; building meaningful arguments, including claims for significance.
• Discussing and problematizing English academic discourse, norms and conventions, as well as disciplinary differences.
• Plagiarism and academic identity, ethical considerations, avoiding plagiarism.
• Selecting and integrating sources purposefully and responsibly; types and clarity of in-text citations; using direct quotations and short/long paraphrases; in-text citations, with special attention to differences between Finnish and English; challenging situations related to citing and referencing; language and style; bias-free language.
• Practical challenges faced by multilingual researchers writing in English: using and integrating sources and research data in languages other than English.

On completion of the course, participants are expected to…

• understand the benefits of approaching academic writing as interaction between writer agency and textual environments.
• be familiar with a range of strategies for positioning themselves as authors and engaging the readers when writing academic texts.
• understand the responsibility to make conscious and ethical choices when selecting and incorporating material from external sources into their writing.
• be able to effectively integrate relevant material to strengthen their position and further their argument. 

For any questions concerning this course, please contact the course-specific responsible teacher and not the curriculum-level responsible teacher whose contact information you see on this page. You can find the course teachers and their contact information by going to Completion methods -> Teaching -> Basic Information.