Scientific Research Committee Webinar: Academic Writing
Dr. Sheila Simpkins, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Languages and Translation, delivered an insightful webinar on "Academic Writing." The event was organized by the Scientific Research Committee and took place on Tuesday, November 10, 2020.
Dr. Simpkins initiated her presentation by addressing some fundamental assumptions concerning English writing, particularly those that EFL students often overlook. While many EFL students tend to believe that writing primarily involves grammar, Dr. Simpkins clarified that academic writing is fundamentally about communicating ideas. Grammar, she suggested, is crucial insofar as it allows the reader to understand these ideas. According to Dr. Simpkins, the central goal of academic writing is persuasion. "As a writer, you have an idea, and your objective is to convince the reader of the correctness of this idea," she expressed.
She continued her presentation by elucidating certain patterns in English writing that help ensure a piece of writing is unified, cohesive, coherent, and hence persuasive. Specifically, she introduced an important pattern that can be used in the body paragraph: T SEE SEE SEE C, which stands for a topic sentence, supporting sentences, explanation or example sentences, and a concluding sentence. She outlined that each of these sentences plays a specific role within the paragraph and went on to detail these roles.
Despite the formulaic nature of this pattern, Dr. Simpkins asserted its relevance and validity, whether for beginners learning to write a standalone paragraph or advanced learners crafting longer works. She highlighted that understanding this fundamental rule is crucial for EFL students aiming to produce compelling academic papers.
The webinar was highly informative and comprehensive, marked by a well-structured presentation. It attracted a diverse audience, including faculty members and Master's students who actively engaged in the discussion.
