Developing and Teaching Academic Writing Courses – US Embassy

About This Course 

This course is provided by Iowa State University, as part of the Online Professional English Network (OPEN) Program. This program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding from the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

• Welcome to Developing and Teaching Academic Writing Courses. This course is provided by Iowa State University, as part of the Online Professional English Network (OPEN). This program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
• This course is for international educators of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). As a participant in this course, you will learn what academic writing is and how to develop courses that suit the writing needs of your students. During this course, you will develop an understanding of different approaches, types, and key components of academic writing courses. You will also learn important strategies for teaching academic writing skills in a student-centered classroom. Specifically, you will learn to teach students how to consider the context and the audience, how to go through the writing process, how to develop arguments, how to integrate sources, and how to assess writing and give feedback. Different tools for designing course materials and tasks will be available to you as models to support your learning, and different optional opportunities for experiential learning will allow you to apply your new knowledge. Throughout the course, the topics and tasks will lead you to complete an Academic Writing Course (AWC) Materials Packet for your own context and students.

Modules

Module 1: Academic Writing Courses

This module covers materials, activities and vocabulary about the following key concepts:

• what is academic writing?
• approaches to teaching academic writing courses
• genres of writing

Module 2: Teaching Process Writing

This module covers materials, activities and vocabulary about the following key concepts:

• strategies for planning and implementing the writing process in a writing course
• grammar and document formatting for academic writing
• creating prompts for writing assignments

Module 3: Teaching Essay Writing and Argumentation

This module covers materials, activities and vocabulary about the following key concepts:

• exploring strategies for developing writing topics and content
• describing the structure and types of argumentative texts
• creating an argument activity model

Module 4: Teaching Source Citation

This module covers materials, activities and vocabulary about the following key concepts:

• teaching strategies for paraphrasing, summarizing and quoting
• techniques for integrating sources into writing
• creating writing prompts for source integration and references

Module 5: Effective Feedback and Assessment in Academic Writing

This module covers materials, activities and vocabulary about the following key concepts:

• developing strategies for giving written feedback on global and local aspects of writing
• create rubrics for writing assessment and feedback

Full Course Module Packet

These downloadable materials contain all five modules of the Developing and Teaching Academic Writing Courses MOOC.

The Online Professional English Network

The Online Professional English Network (OPEN)

Who

The OPEN program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State., Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, with funding from the U.S. government, and is administered by FHI 360.

The professional development opportunities offered through the program are designed and taught by a variety of partners, including universities, non-profit companies, private sector partners, and consultants. Together, the U.S. Department of State, FHI 360, and our partners offer online professional development opportunities to English educators and learners in over 100 countries.

. offers professional development courses for English language teachers and educators, as well as other professionals around the world. The goal of the program is to increase the capacity of participants to use English effectively in their professional contexts, increase access to openly licensed learning materials, increase understanding of U.S. society, culture and values, provide opportunities for mutual exchange, and build the capacity of participants to apply what they have learned within their educational and professional communities.

What

OPEN offers online courses on a variety of topics, including teacher training topics such as Critical Thinking, Educational Technology, Assessment, and Teaching English to Young Learners, among others, as well as English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses such as English for Media Literacy, English for Journalism, and English Communications for Health Professionals, among others. The program also produces webinars and free materials that participants can adapt for personal or professional use.