Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Pre-masters Programme
The aim of this module is to improve your communicative English ability in an academic setting. You will
practise and develop your listening, speaking, reading and writing skills as well as improving your grammar,
vocabulary knowledge and pronunciation. This module will concentrate on the following specific areas:
Essay writing & critical thinking
Reading academic texts effectively
Academic discourse, syntax and lexis
Discussion & presentation skills
Examination techniques
Listening & note-taking skills.
Research methods
Educational Aims
To provide you with the necessary skills in reading and writing to be able to interpret and produce
recognisable academic discourse.
To provide you with skills and strategies required to identify and source reading and research texts
appropriately
To provide you with the necessary listening skills to follow lectures, seminars and small-group
teaching.
To develop your spoken English so that you can communicate effectively in a range of academic
contexts.
To develop your grammar and vocabulary, allowing you to express yourself with accuracy and
complexity in a range of contexts and on a range of topics.
To train you in approaching topics, issues and texts in a critical manner
To provide you with suitable skills for successful study, both in class and independently.
To provide you with the fundamental tools required for effective postgraduate research.
Learning outcomes
Be better able to read and produce a range of academic genres on a range of appropriate topics;
Be aware of a range of reading strategies which will help you approach academic texts more
effectively;
Be more aware of typical conventions in academic reading and writing;
Know where to find suitable sources for your writing and know how to reference them suitably.
Be able to use grammar and vocabulary typical of academic discourse in a more accurate and more
complex manner;
Be able to read, think and write in a critical manner;
Be able to listen more effectively in English, in a range of situations and contexts, such as lectures,
seminars and small classes;
Be able to communicate better in a range of situations and contexts, such as seminars, tutorials and
informal communication with staff and peers;
Be more conversant with a range of study skills which will allow you to continue to study effectively,
both in-class and independently, after the end of the programme;
Have an awareness of key research methods and be able to carry out basic research project.
Term One
2 In-text referencing conventions (guide); Incorporating sources: introduction to quoting, paraphrasing and
summarising and using thesauri effectively
4` Analysing (actual) assignment questions / brainstorming; Library skills (using titles, contents page etc. to
select relevant material) Feedback on plagiarism awareness task
5 Planning / writing an outline; Reading around the topic / note-taking skills / expanding the outline
Paraphrase and parallelism when taking notes and writing outlines
6 Assignment format / essay structure (1); (discursive assignments and reports; Reading skills:
understanding text organisation (time / relationships between ideas)
READING WEEK
7 Paragraph structure (1): supporting main ideas (exemplification, detail etc.); Reading skills: identifying and
understanding main and supporting ideas.
8 Writing introductions; Writing bibliographies (guide); Writing thesis statements / topic sentences
10 Writing conclusions; Editing, proofreading and reviewing assignments; In-class progress checks
11 TBA
Term Two
13 Feedback on Term 1 formative assignments general areas for advice; Structure and elements of a
critique; Reading skills (using example critiques): recognising connotations, inference, cultural difference,
objectivity/subjectivity / critical analysis
14 Synthesising sources within a text; Distinguishing between relevant and irrelevant information in a text /
being concise and sticking to the point; Expressing caution (qualification)
Page 2
15 Editing, proofreading and reviewing assignments; Reading skills: scanning for detail / guessing unknown
vocabulary.
16 Writing discursive texts (distinguishing between fact and opinion); Reading comprehension under timed
conditions: time management;
17 Writing answers in reading tasks (expectations); Reading coursework task practice; Generic work on
critiques
READING WEEK
18 Writing comparison and contrast / cause and effect texts; Reading skills overview / practice
21 Mock exams
Term Three
Week Indicative content
23 Generic feedback on reading and writing mock exams
24 Writing descriptive / process texts; Reading skills (using descriptive / process texts)
Grammar / vocabulary structures review
26 Overview of writing skills Overview of reading skills Grammar / vocabulary structures revision
27 & 28
FINAL EXAMINATIONS
Texts will predominantly follow the topics covered in the Culture, Theory and Society module.
The timing of these classes is intended to support the requirements of assessment, although not all topics will necessarily
be covered in the classes allocated here.
Page 3
Listening and speaking indicative syllabus
Term One
2 Listening and note-taking skills (1): lecture structure, sequencing and styles
4 Listening and note-taking skills (2): listening for main points and details / note-taking styles and skills
5 Participating in discussion (2): giving explanations / making suggestions / pronunciation / strategies for
skills development
6 Listening and note-taking / summarising skills (3): recognising forward and backward reference /
recognising sequence markers / identifying relevance / summary writing
READING WEEK
7 Presentation skills (1): features of effective presentations / distinguishing between good and bad
presentations (students work towards group PowerPoint presentations for next week)
8 Presentation skills (2): structuring and introducing presentations / moving between sections / language
/ pronunciation
10 TBA
Term Two
14 Group presentations (video-ed) (2): applying acquired presentation skills and giving and receiving
peer/teacher feedback on presentations*
15 Presentation skills (3): managing timing / giving the right amount of support and detail / effective visual
aids & handouts*
16 Presentation skills (4): delivery (emphasis and phrasing) / making it interesting / body language /
referring to visual aids*
17 Listening coursework task practice (question / answer format etc.) / Listening and writing responses
under timed conditions: applying skills for effective listening (identifying main ideas and relevant
information / listening for markers, emphasis etc.)*
READING WEEK
Page 4
18 TBA
21 Mock exams
22 TBA
Term Three
Week Indicative content
23 Listening and note-taking / summarising skills (5): identifying recycling of information through
reformulation, repetition and summary / summary writing*
24 Presentation skills (5): concluding / dealing effectively with questions / language / pronunciation and
intonation*
27 & 28
FINAL EXAMINATIONS
Texts will predominantly follow the topics covered in the Culture, Theory and Society module.
The timing of these classes is intended to support the requirements of assessment, although not all topics will necessarily
be covered in the classes allocated here.
Page 5
Discourse, syntax and lexis indicative syllabus
Term One
2 Developing cohesion and coherence in an essay (1): anaphoric, cataphoric and exophoric referencing
3 Formality and style in academic writing (1): nominalisation & noun clauses
READING WEEK
Page 6
Research methods indicative syllabus
Term Two
16
17 Application (2) using semi-structured interviews. Running tools and writing up findings
READING WEEK
18
19
20
21
22
Term Three
Week Indicative content
23
24
26
27 & 28
FINAL EXAMINATIONS
Page 7