ABOUT THE COURSE:English is the language of the academic community for Scientific and professional communication. Keeping in view the special requirements of non-native speakers writing their thesis (and research articles) in English, this course aims to unlock the secret formulas of writing a strong Thesis, step by step, including guidance regarding the grammar, usage, and style of Academic English. The Course begins with the very basics of English Grammar (using samples of student writing to give you tips on what to avoid while simultaneously explaining why). The Course moves on to sentence and paragraph breakdown for every chapter of your thesis; to sentence starters (academic words and / scientific phrases); to avoiding common pitfalls that can negatively affect your credibility; finally giving you that kick start to direct your thoughts. Apart from guiding you on how to improve your writing, the Course considers various components that will make your Academic Writing stand out for all the right reasons, including paragraphing, style, tone, paraphrasing, and punctuation.This Course should also prove beneficial to those who edit or proofread research papersGiven the wide range of variations in Academic Writing between the Arts, Sciences, and the Engineering faculties, the Course will be enriched by Guest Lecturers who will dwell further on their area specific domains, while adding value to the Course.INTENDED AUDIENCE: PhD Research Scholars, MPhil students, UG & PG students required to submit BTech / MTech Projects, Academic writers, as well as professionals, can enroll for the proposed NPTEL CoursePREREQUISITES: A Bachelor’s Degree in any disciplineINDUSTRY SUPPORT: The proposed Course is essential to Academia, which well recognizes and acknowledges the importance of English for communicating Research and or allied information.

Syllabus

Week 1:
1. Course Introduction
2. Thesis Writing in English as a Second Language
3. Vocabulary for Academic Scientific Writing
4. Basic Grammar Rules for Academic Writing
5. Sample Passages for Study - I
Week 2:
1.Basic Methodology I: Process writing
2.Basic Methodology II: Passive vs. Active Voice
3.Basic Methodology III: The end-focus technique
4.Spelling: rules, US versus GB, typical typos
5.Guest Lecture - I
Week 3:
1.Reference Words and Phrases
2.Substitution and Ellipsis
3.Conjunctions / Sentence Connectors
4.Lexical Cohesion
5.Sample Passages for Study - II
Week 4:
1.Sentence length, conciseness, clarity, and ambiguity
2.Describing visual information: graphs, bar charts, pie charts, and tables
3.Measurements: abbreviations, symbols, use of articles
4.Numbers: Handling numerals, words versus numerals, plurals, use of articles, dates, numbers, and other small items
5.Guest Lecture - II
Week 5:
1.Information Flow & Formality levels
2.Paragraph Transitions & Methods for editing
3.Punctuation & Tense-choice
4.Verbs for academic scientific writing
5.Sample Passages for Study - III
Week 6:
1.Bibliography and citations
2.Avoiding Plagiarism: Turnitin and other software
3.Figures, graphs, & tables: referring to, writing captions
4.Proofreading and formatting the final draft
5.Guest Lecture - III
Week 7:
1.General advice for non-native writers: Journal articles, Impact factors, Scientific papers, Book Reviews etc.
2.The Thesis and Article Abstract
3.Permission and Citations in Theses and Articles
4.Handling Reviewers/Referees, and Journal Publishers
5.Sample Passages for Study - IV
Week 8:
1.Writing the Introduction & Literature Review chapters
2.Writing the Methodology chapter
3.Writing the Conclusion chapter: Analyses,Discussions, and Results
4.Writing the Abstract, Reference List / Bibliography, and Acknowledgements section
5.Course Conclusion