IAM 301 Academic Writing
Academic writing, a formal style used in universities and scholarly publications, is clear, concise, focused, structured and backed up by evidence. Its purpose is to aid the reader’s understanding. While each subject discipline has certain writing conventions, vocabulary and types of discourse, students in this course explore some general characteristics of academic writing that are relevant across all disciplines, but more specifically applicable to disciplines in Islamic studies. Through research, mapping ideas, planning, and writing essays, students acquire and reinforce their academic writing skills in terms of use of methods of research, note-taking, use of appropriate diction, building coherent structure, use of evidence, formulation of theses, referencing, use of citation, tone and style of writing, positioning and other macro- and micro-level academic writing skills. Students who wish to engage in academic research in the humanities, specifically Islamic studies, benefit from this course.
Learning Outcomes
Perform university-level critical analysis of primary and secondary sources and texts by identifying, evaluating, analyzing, interpreting and debating authors’ controlling and supporting ideas, dominant rhetorical patterns, tone, context, and features of style.
Apply a university-level writing process involving prewriting, planning, drafting, conferring, revising, editing, and proofreading.
Develop and defend a robust thesis using appropriate language, rhetorical patterns, and evidence.
Properly use various styles of documentation and citation (e.g., Chicago style, APA style, etc.) in their essays.
Communicate ideas effectively in writing and orally to various academic audiences and communities.
Provide constructive feedback on the goals, central arguments, language (mechanics, punctuations, syntax, etc.), use of evidence and theories, clarity and coherence, and argumentation of their own and their peers’ written assignments.
Use grammar and discourse analysis conventions when creating paragraphs and essays.
Identify basic tenets of academic writing, the different genres and the expectations of each to overcome writer’s block.
Structure their ideas cohesively to write reader-friendly sentences and use appropriate tone to gain credibility.
Evaluate, compare and contrast the philosophy of writing according to Islamic and non-Islamic perspectives (e.g., discussing the issues of good intent, honesty, responsibility, integrity, etc.) and apply the standards to their academic research methodology and writing.