SCIENTIFIC ENGLISH
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Bibliography
- Delivery method
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
Since it is a first year course, there are no specific prerequisites other than those required to access the Degree Course.
Students’ knowledge of the topic will be assessed through a 2-hour written test. The test consists of 4 exercises:
1. Analysis of a scientific abstract through the identification of the communicative functions (5 points)
2. Description and commentary of a chart/table (10 points)
3. Writing a title for a scientific abstract (5 points)
4. Writing an abstract section on the basis of given hypotheses, theses and experimental data (10 points)
The written test awards a maximum of 30 points. Pass mark is 18/30. Should the final mark be lower than 18/30, students will have to take the test again in the following exam session.
The course aims at providing students with the necessary elements to understand and organize in a coherent and logical manner some of the most frequently used forms of communication in the biomedical research field, such as the abstract and the research paper for international journals and conferences.
Specifically, at the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Analyze and understand authentic scientific texts
2. Identify and use the most important lexical, morphological and syntactic structures of academic English
3. Recognize and apply the most important communicative and argumentative strategies used in scientific communication.
Through an analysis of authentic scientific texts and practical activities, the course will cover the following topics:
1. Lexical, morphological and syntactic structures which are typical of scientific discourse
2. Textual genres which are characteristic of scientific communication: the research paper and the abstract
3. Communicative and argumentative functions which are specific to scientific discourse:
a. Introducing a topic
b. Identifying and commenting on sources
c. Describing research methods
d. Presenting results
e. Describing and presenting figures, statistics, charts and tables
f. Summing up a topic and providing some conclusions
The study material will be presented during the lessons and later uploaded on the lecturer’s e-learning page.
Recommended texts:
- McCarthy, Michael and Felicity O’Dell. 2008. Academic Vocabulary in Use, Cambridge: CUP.
- Swales, John M. and Christine B. Feak. 2009. Academic Writing for Graduate Students, The University of Michigan Press.
The course is structured on lectures in which the lecturer will illustrate the contents and encourage students’ active participation through exercises, readings of authentic texts, discussions and mock tests.
Office hours upon appointment. You may contact me at: giulia.rovelli@uninsubria.it