• University of Reading

A Beginner's Guide to Writing in English for University Study

Learn how to use English for study at university or college and develop your writing skills, vocabulary and grammar.

372,790 enrolled on this course

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  • Duration

    5 weeks
  • Weekly study

    3 hours

Learn how to write using academic English in preparation for university study.

Academic writing can be very different from other types of written English. This course has been developed to help you learn the basics of academic writing and develop your English language skills.

You’ll develop some proficiency in key areas of ‘academic’ grammar, learn about the stages in essay writing, and produce an essay of your own. You’ll also explore how to organise an essay, write in an academic style, and use tools to evaluate your own writing and other learners’ writing, so that by the end of the course you’re able to write a good, basic academic essay.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 10 seconds Hi. Welcome to the Beginner’s Guide to Academic Writing for university. My name is Steve Thomas. And I teach EAP, English for Academic Purposes, here at the University of Reading.

Skip to 0 minutes and 37 seconds This course is all about writing. We know there are lots of people like you from countries all around the world who would like to take a degree in English. But you’re worried that your English isn’t good enough. Well, this is a beginner’s guide. So your writing skills only need to be good enough for a pre-university course. That’s about IELTS 4.5. But even if your writing skills are stronger than this, we still think this would be a useful course for you. Together with my colleagues Anne Vicary and Sebastian Watkins, we’ll be showing you the very first piece of writing that a student did on our course a few years ago.

Skip to 1 minute and 9 seconds The student’s name is Xiao And he’s currently take a PhD at the University of California in Los Angeles in the United States. If you follow this course closely, we think you’ll be able to make the same kind improvements that Xiao has. It won’t make you an expert writer, but what it will do is give you a solid base for you to build on in the future.

Skip to 1 minute and 37 seconds So come and join us at the University of Reading and improve your academic writing skills.

What topics will you cover?

Week 1

  • Key features of academic writing
  • Developing essay ideas
  • Organising your ideas effectively

Week 2

  • Essay structure and organisation
  • Choosing a title
  • Writing in an impersonal style

Week 3

  • Using academic language
  • Writing about facts and activities
  • Writing about groups of people
  • Writing longer sentences: linking words and subordinators

Week four

  • The stages of writing an essay
  • Analysing an essay title
  • Deciding what evidence to use
  • Writing a first draft of an essay

Week 5

  • Evaluating a first draft of an essay
  • Reflecting on feedback on your first draft of the essay
  • Responding to feedback on your first draft of the essay

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Compare one aspect of life now with life in the past in one well-constructed paragraph
  • Explore organisational structure of essays: identify and name the different sections of an essay
  • Explain one aspect of your home town in one well-constructed paragraph, focussing on language accuracy
  • Develop and write the first draft of your essay
  • Contribute and receive feedback on first essay drafts
  • Reflect on feedback received and improve your draft to create and submit a second draft of your essay

Who is the course for?

This course is aimed at non-English speakers who have studied some English. You should have a minimum level of IELTS 4.5 or equivalent.

Who will you learn with?

I’m an English for Academic Purposes lecturer & materials developer at the University of Reading. My research interest is different modes of thought & reasoning across different language & cultures.

I am the Director of the Academic English Programme at University of Reading, helping international students to achieve their full academic potential.

I'm Associate Professor in Technology-enhanced Learning at the University of Reading. I also teach on pre-sessional courses in English language and study skills.

Hi there! I'm Anne and I teach English for Academic Purposes at the University of Reading. I'm particularly interested in the teaching of grammar and writing. Looking forward to the course!

I work at the University of Reading, as a tutor in English for Academic Purposes. I've taught academic writing for many years now, and always enjoy seeing my students make progress.

Who developed the course?

University of Reading

The University of Reading has a reputation for excellence in teaching, research and enterprise.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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