IL3AECN: Academic Writing for Economics

Module code: IL3AECN

Module provider: International Study and Language Institute

Credits: 0

Level: 6

When you’ll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Mr Daniel Devane , email: d.devane@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2025/6

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 3 April 2025

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This non-credit bearing module focuses on the academic language and writing skills needed to more effectively manage written coursework assignments, principally Essays, on undergraduate Economics degree programmes at the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø. It is primarily designed for Economics students studying for a double degree at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø and the Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology (NUIST), who have studied the first three years of their degree in China, as well as students at Nantong University (NTU), who have studied the first two years of their degree in China. The module aims to support the transition to the UK HE context and academic culture by enhancing their academic skills and English self-confidence. This developmental enhancement has been designed to be transferrable to other modules, both concurrent and future, and thus help facilitate the students' assessment task and overall performance in their undergraduate Economics studies at the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Apply knowledge of the essay genre in undergraduate Economics to interpret assignment tasks and employ appropriate organisational patterns in their completion.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of academic integrity through appropriate use of referencing conventions, including the paraphrase and summary of source material.
3. Employ task-appropriate language (grammar and lexis) in written texts.
4. Demonstrate criticality by using a variety of task-appropriate techniques to incorporate and comment on the views of others in their writing.

Module content

Classes will focus on: 

• Understanding the key written coursework assignment genre in Economics, the essay, including: 
  • Expected structural & argumentation patterns and how these differ according to question type. 
  • ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø-to-write processes and the centrality of source use and synthesis to successful Economics essay writing. 
  • How ‘voice’ and ‘stance’ are realised linguistically within Economics assignment texts. 
• Key skills for academic writing within Economics: 
  • Incorporating sources using paraphrasing, summarising and direct quotation. 
  • ‘Information flow’ in English-language texts. 
  • Employing linguistic features of textual cohesion to clearly signal relationships between parts of a text. 
• Grammar for academic communication, including verb tense and form, nominalisation, and clause and sentence structure. 
• Developing self-confidence in academic communication through guided tasks and discussions. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module will adopt an overall ‘genre’ approach, taking the social purpose of texts as the starting point to explicate organisation/structure and key discourse and language features.   

It takes a discipline-specific approach to language and literacy development using example student Economics texts and published Economics-specific sources in classroom tasks.    

Teaching and learning is facilitated in a generally task-based approach, through a combination of reflective and productive activities, guided analysis of texts and peer and tutor feedback. The guided analysis of texts involves 'noticing' of key organisational and linguistic features in context and exercises to