Are you in agony because of your essay? This fall, two MOOC-courses on academic writing will start, and the goal is to help students succeed.
Writing an academic essay is never easy. Especially when you are doing it for the first time. Both the language, the rules for quotation and the outline are different from other types of texts, and it is common that this is the part of the education which causes students to fail.
New possibilities this fall
However, this fall Lund University will offer an opportunity for more people to succeed with their essays. Because this September two MOOC-courses in academic writing, developed at Lund University, will begin. The courses are open to everyone who wants to take them, but are aimed mainly towards the students and teachers of the University.
“I believe that students sometimes feel they do not receive all the help necessary to succeed with their essay. But with the help of these courses we hope students will learn what they need in preparation for the essay writing, so that they do not need to learn from their mistakes alone”, says Ebba Ruhe, librarian and the coordinator of the courses.
- The course Academic Writing is taught in Swedish and is aimed at those who are, or are going to be, students.
- The course Writing in English at University is meant for those who are about to start a bigger writing project and may be particularly useful for students who will be writing in English, but are not native speakers.
No credits and no exams
The courses do not give any credit, and they do not have any exams. They only have voluntary quizzes. In other words, you can decide how much time you want to spend on them.
“The idea is that they should be viewed as a tool, and even if you have signed up you can choose freely what parts of the courses you want to partake in”, Ebba Ruhe says.
FACTS
- A MOOC-course is a “Massive Open Online Course”.
- Applications start in mid-September, but after that you are free to apply whenever you want throughout the fall.
- The estimated work load for the average course attendee is approximated to around 5-10 hours a week, for four weeks, in each course.
In addition to the MOOC-courses there is other help to receive from the University if you are writing an essay:
- Studieverkstaden at Lund University helps students through lectures and individual guidance, among other things.
- There are courses online, such as AWELU (Academic Writing in English at Lund University), that are aimed at the large group of students who are writing essays in English.
- Help in preparation for the essay writing is also available on the libraries’ websites and it is of course possible to consult the staff at your local thematic library about searching for literature, how to reference material etc.
Text: Tindra Englund
Translation: Elise Petersson
