Academic Writing Centre Opens Registration for New Courses

The HSE University Academic Writing Centre has been helping researchers and teachers to develop their oral and written academic communication skills in English for over a decade. In March, the Centre is launching several new courses that will be useful for those aiming to publish and present their academic work at an international level.

My Fair Accent

March 14–April 4, on Mondays 5:00 pm–8:00 pm (16 academic hours)

The course focuses on the main differences between English and Russian phonemic systems. The course aims to work on the key pronunciation elements (vowels and consonants) that are likely to cause intelligibility problems or may create negative attitudes towards the speakers in international communication contexts. The course is primarily viewed as practical training and will culminate in a one-on-one test session where learners will receive individual feedback and recommendations for future development.

Registration is open until March 1.

More information and registration

Advanced Emailing: How to Be Polite yet Effective

March 16–April 20, on Wednesdays (40 a/h)

Students of this course will look at the finer aspects of emailing in English. They will start by revising the format, structure, and standard forms of emails; then take a closer look at the specific types that are most relevant to course participants. This course pays particular attention to solving problems by email, along with strategies for avoiding inappropriately straightforward and combative expressions and unintentional accusations, while making the emails polite, but firm and effective. Students will practice editing techniques that will help spot and correct inadvertent errors before hitting the send button. 

Registration is open until March 7.

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Basics of Writing an Empirical Research Article in English

March 23–April 29 (40 a/h)

The course covers the main aspects of successful intercultural academic communication: the usage of academic English by Russian-speaking researchers in their articles, language and speech culture of academic English, argumentative language techniques, academic grammar, and punctuation rules. The aim is to develop skills for writing an empirical research article following culturally and professionally conditioned rhetorical traditions. Throughout the course, the participants will work on their own research papers, which will be finalized by the end of the course. 

Registration is open until March 14.

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Writing Academic Articles: Strengthening Your Chances for Publication

March 31 –May 19, on Thursdays, 5:00 pm–8:00 pm

Students of this course will learn how to choose the relevant journal for publication and write an accompanying cover letter, how to describe the contribution made by their study and how to integrate sources in a way that is appropriate to the audience, as well as writing an effective introduction, abstract and title for their academic papers. The course will include significant peer work and feedback from instructors as participants write and revise. By the end of the course, the writers should be able to feel confident about what is expected in an introduction and how it connects to the other parts of an IMRaD, including the title and abstract.  Upon successful completion of the course, they should also have a polished draft of an introduction for an article and the accompanying submission materials.

Registration is open until March 22.

More information and registration

 

February 25, 2022