ACADEMIC WRITING FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (IRES 5000)

Teachers: Robin Bellers, Réka Futász, John Harbord (3 groups)

Course Objectives
The aim of this course is to help you develop as a writer within the English
speaking academic community by raising awareness of, practising, and reflecting
upon the conventions of written texts. The course will also address other language
skills needed for graduate level work in English.
During the course, you will:
• Become familiar with features of various genres of research and policy
writing
• Become aware of and able to use the discourse patterns and conventions of
academic English effectively, taking into consideration the expectations of
your readership
• Improve your critical reading skills, so you can think and write more clearly
and incisively
• Develop your writing process through generating ideas, drafting, peer
evaluation and individual writing consultations
• Learn to incorporate the work of other authors into your own writing within
the requirements of English academic practice
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
• Identify the typical components and features of various academic and policy
genres
• Structure an academic paper and a policy brief at the macro and micro level
• Think and write more clearly and incisively
• Employ effective skills and approaches when writing papers
• Write for various audiences, adapting your writing to the expectations of
these audiences
• Properly incorporate the work of other authors into your own writing, and
understand the CEU policy on plagiarism
• Edit and refine your own written work

Course Requirements
The course is for Pass/Fail. To pass the course you must attend the class sessions
(three absences are permitted), submit a written assignment (see below) and come
for at least one consultation on this assignment.

Course Syllabus

Section A — The Position Paper

This section will introduce you to the process of evaluating the context and
purpose of written texts, as a preparation for the process of writing a
position paper as a response to two published texts.
Written assignment: Position paper
Word limit 1100 words +/- 10%
1. Introduction to Academic Writing
Aims: To introduce you to some of the underlying issues of academic writing,
including the writing process, contrastive rhetoric and genre theory
2. Identifying main and supporting arguments
Aims: To teach strategies for identifying key arguments, summarizing those
arguments and contextualizing texts within a wider debate
3. Evaluating claims and comparing ideas
Aims: To teach criteria and techniques for evaluating claims and supporting
evidence
4. Writing the position paper – Genre analysis
Aims: To familiarize you with some of the features and structure of the position
paper as a genre in preparation for writing your own position paper
5. Peer Evaluation
Aims: To introduce you to and give you the opportunity to practice giving and
receiving structured peer feedback on a first draft of your position paper
6. Giving Seminar Presentations
Aims: To familiarize you with and give you the chance to practice techniques for
giving effective and engaging oral seminar presentations
7. Presentation Practice
Aims: A further session to provide individual practice in presentation skills.

Section B — Policy Writing

This section will introduce you to policy writing, and prepare you to write policy
briefs, which may be set for some of your courses as well as being an important
professional genre.
8. Introduction to Policy Writing
Aims: To provide you with an awareness of the nature, audience and purpose of
policy papers and to help you to recognize the structural features of the
policy brief as a genre
9. Audience, Purpose and Style
Aims: To give you opportunity to explore issues related to individual academic style
and the choices open to you in writing research and policy papers

Section B — Research Based Writing

In this part of the course you will develop an awareness of features of the genre of
research-based academic writing. You will also become familiar with the
conventions of using the work of other authors in English academic discourse, and
reflect on how these influence the development of your own voice.

10. The Nature of Research Writing

Aims: To introduce you to the process and nature of research writing and to help
you to begin to plan and manage your time towards the effective completion
of you written work for the semester
11. Introductions to Research Papers
Aims: To familiarize you with the conventions of academic writing as regards the
structure of introductions to research papers
12. Developing Argument in Research Papers
Aims: To familiarize you with strategies and techniques for developing written
argument in academic texts, both at the macro and micro level
13. Using Sources I: Supporting your Argument – Using Sources
Aims: To help you to understand the role of sources in academic writing, how they
underpin argument and how they can be used
14. Using Sources II: Using the Work of Other Writers Effectively/Using Chicago Citation Style
Aims: To equip you with strategies to enable you to use summary, paraphrase, and
quotation effectively when referring to sources, and to familiarize you with
the style guide approved by your department
15. Using Sources III: Reviewing the Literature
Aims: To introduce the concept of the literature review as an element of many
academic papers, its purpose and structure and techniques for making a
literature review effective.
16. Conclusions to Research Papers
Aims: To familiarize you with the conventions of academic writing as regards the
structure of conclusions to research papers