COURSE MANUAL

PM TUTORIAL ACADEMIC WRITING

PREMASTER POLITICAL SCIENCE

2022 (3rd Period, January)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................... 2

1. COURSE INFORMATION ........................................................................................................................... 3
2. COURSE DESCRIPTION AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES ................................................................................ 4
Course description ................................................................................................................................... 4
Learning Objectives .................................................................................................................................. 4
3. COURSE FORMAT AND MODE OF ASSESSMENT ...................................................................................... 4
Course format .......................................................................................................................................... 4
Mode of assessment and resit ................................................................................................................. 5
4. COURSE SCHEDULE AND DEADLINES ....................................................................................................... 5

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1. COURSE INFORMATION

Course name PM Tutorial Academic Writing

University Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU)
Faculty Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS)
College n.a.
Executed by Department of Political Science & Public Administration
Code S_PMAWPS
Year 2021-2022
Period Period 3 (January)
Time and locations Lectures: Friday 11:00-12:00 Format depends on measures
Tutorials: Friday 13:30-15:15 Online (Zoom)

Study load (hours) 84

Coordinator Nina Onopriychuk | Email: n.onopriychuk@vu.nl
Lecturers Abby Cambrel (academic writing lectures) and Nina Onopriychuk
(tutorials)
Course format Lectures (morning); tutorials and peer review (afternoon)
Mode of assessment Final essay
Language English
Target group Premaster students in Political Science
Entry requirements n.a.
Number of lectures (morning) / 3 lectures
tutorials (afternoon) 3 tutorials
Frequency p/w 1
Duration of lectures and 2 hours (morning)
tutorials 2 hours (afternoon)
Contact hours 6h (lectures) + 6h (tutorials)
Level Premaster
Remarks none
Study load allocation (hours) Per week Total
Lectures (3 weeks) 2 6
Tutorials (3 weeks) 2 6
Literature and assignments (4 weeks) 18 72
Total 22 84

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2. COURSE DESCRIPTION AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The course introduces students to the practice of academic writing with several lectures on academic
writing (morning sessions). Through interactive tutorials and weekly assignments, students will be
familiarized with and practice citing, paraphrasing, argumentation and structuring academic texts. In class
peer review and discussion on these assignments are core and take place under supervision of a qualified
teacher. Students will write a final paper focusing on the identification of a research puzzle (‘problematic’)
to the formulation of a research question (+ literature review and theoretical model) in their field of
interest.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The student will acquire the competences

(1) to identify relevant academic literature on a specific topic;
(2) to paraphrase and cite academic texts;
(3) to discuss and assess critically relevant literature on a specific topic;
(4) to build a scientific argument (from the identification of a ‘problematic’ to the formulation of a
‘research question’);
(5) to structure an academic research proposal, using academic English.

3. COURSE FORMAT AND MODE OF ASSESSMENT

COURSE FORMAT

The joint lectures (morning sessions)

There will be three morning sessions for all Premaster students taught by a professional English language
teacher. The lectures take place from 11.00 till 12.45 (location depending on measures). The topics are:
14 January: The structure of texts in English – watch videos on canvas and attend Q&A session
21 January: Problems of grammar – watch videos on canvas and attend Q&A session
28 January: Issues of style – watch videos on canvas and attend Q&A session

Tutorials (afternoon sessions) – Topic: How to start thinking of and writing a research proposal
The tutorials are a 3-week introduction to research course. The three intermediate assignments and the
final paper will guide you into a preliminary research proposal that you can use a starting basis for
research that you can conduct either during your PM Research course or your Master (if appropriate to
the content of the courses and upon approval of your supervisor).
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The tutorials are interactive. It is thus essential that students prepare each session and upload each week
their short assignments on CANVAS (see preparation below). They will have to participate actively, read
and comment on each other’s assignments in class and apply what they have learned during the morning
lectures.

MODE OF ASSESSMENT AND RESIT

The tutorials are assessed on the basis of the final assignment – see the final paper instructions below
(deadline: 4 February – 23:59). This is a pair assignment; you get to choose your own partner.
The three intermediate assignments in session 1, 2 and 3 (weeks 2-3-4) are formative and they are not
formally assessed. While this grade is not part of the final grade, students need to submit all of the
assignments to be able to get the final grade. Feedback will be provided in class on the basis of peer
review. Preparing these assignments and uploading (+ bringing a printed copy to class) them on time is
essential in order to enable this process during each tutorial which is essential to prepare the final essay.
You have successfully completed this part of the course if your finale grade is 6,0 or higher. Final grades
between 5,001... and 5,499... will be rounded to 5,0. The grades from 5,5 to 5,9 will be rounded off to 6,0.
If your final result is 5,0 or lower, you can take the resit. You will be informed via CANVAS about
requirements and deadlines. PLEASE NOTE: You have the right to do the resit even when you have passed
the first exam. However, in that case the grade of the resit will count as the final grade.
Re-sit deadline: 18 March 2022 – 23:59. Requirements: the topic of this paper should be different from
the one used in the first paper (if one was submitted).

4. COURSE SCHEDULE AND DEADLINES

Date Topic/task Goal Preparation & Deadlines assignments

readings
Fri. 10 Jan 1 Overview of the tutorials - Understanding the See session 1 – 13 Jan 23:59 – on CANVAS
Review of an article structure of the final Assignment 1
Short discussion of your paper and the three
research topic main assignments of
the tutorial.
-Finding relevant
literature
Fri. 17 Jan 2 Literature review -Relating texts to See session 2 - 20 Jan 23:59 – on CANVAS
each other Assignment 2
-

Fri. 24 Jan 3 Research puzzle and research - Formulating and See session 3 – 27 Jan 23:59 – on CANVAS
question justifying your own Assignment 3
research question/
problematic.
4 Feb Final deadline See Final Assignment 4 February 23:59

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 SESSION 1 - INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH QUESTION

Goals:
1- Understanding the structure of research proposal and the steps of building a research starting with the
research question, going through the motivation/justification of relevance of the research, literature
review and application of theory/formulation of hypotheses.
2- Improve the academic writing skills based on the advice given to you during the lectures

Preparation (deadline 13 Jan 23:59 on CANVAS) - ASSIGNMENT 1 – INDIVIDUAL or in PAIRS if you

already have a partner to work with – max 500 words – NOT GRADED
(1) Find and read one article relevant to the topic of your research interest
(2) Include the following in your submission:
a. Mention the complete reference of the chosen article in APA style;
b. Mention the key words of the article;
c. Reflect on the article main research question (why it is relevant) and literature review
(what the structure of the literature review was – what topics / issues /controversies were
raised, what could have been done better) (300 words);
d. How is the chosen article linked to the topic you are interested in and how do you think
you could study it – don’t state personal information, argue as a researcher (200 words);

Readings:
Howard, C. (2017). Preface. Who Cares? and What Happened? In Thinking Like a Political Scientist (pages 1-
63 in printed book). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

SESSION 2 – Literature Review

Goal: prepare a short literature review on the topic that you submitted last week. Include at least 6 articles.
This text will be peer-reviewed in class.

Preparation (deadline: 20 Jan 23:59 on CANVAS) – ASSIGNMENT 2 – in PAIRS - max 500 words – NOT
GRADED
(1) Write a short literature review where you identify 5 academic articles that are relevant to the goal of
the research question you formulated earlier.
(2) Use the advice of Lecture 1 and Lecture 2 on Academic writing to improve the text before submission.

Readings:
Toshkov, D. (2016). Chapter 3 – Theory in the Research Process. In Research Design in Political Science
(Chapter 3). Palgrave MacMillan Press.
Howard, C. (2017). Why? In Thinking Like a Political Scientist (pages 64-90). Chicago: The University of
Chicago Press.
 SESSION 3 - RESEARCH QUESTION

Goals: writing good research questions and substantiating your choice of topic.
Considering the advice in the literature of the week two, the students should be able to come up with a
suitable research question, justification of academic and societal relevance of this question. This text will
be peer-reviewed in class.

Preparation (deadline: 27 Jan 23:59 on CANVAS) – ASSIGNMENT 3 – in PAIRS- max 500 words – NOT
GRADED
(1) Prepare a research question of your choice that is linked to the discussed articles.
(2) Explain: why did you chose this research question, why do we care about studying it, what is the
relevance of studying this particular question and how does it fit within the literature. You should
mention a minimum of 3 academic articles, you can also use other sources to substantiate your
arguments.
(3) Use the advice of Lecture 1, 2 and 3 on Academic Writing to improve the text before submission.

Readings:
Toshkov, D. (2016). Chapter 2 - Types of Research and Research Questions. In Research Design in Political
Science. Palgrave MacMillan Press.
Baglione, L. A. (2015). Getting Started: Finding a Research Question. In Writing a Research Paper in
Political Science (pp. 15-39). SAGE publishing.

FINAL ASSIGNMENT – in PAIRS – 4 February 2022 by 23:59 - GRADED

Your final assignment will consist of an improved version of assignments 2 and 3, including suggested
improvements during the peer-review sessions. A total of ±2000 words excluding references and
appendices (+/- 10% allowed). Deadline on 4 February 2022 by 23:59.
Parts of the assignment (and grading explanation):
1. Introduction to the Research (±500 words, up to 2 points)
- Introduction of the topic, explanation of its academic/societal relevance.
2. Literature review (±2000 words, up to 5 points)
- A discussion of minimum of 10 academic articles.
- Research puzzle explanation based on the existing literature described before, and research
question.
3. Additional 3 points will be given to you based on the application of the advice received during the
lectures on Academic Writing:
- Clear structure of your text / paragraphs (1 point)
- Good / convincing argumentation (1 point)
- Appropriate APA referencing (1 point)
***APA style guideline:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_for
mat.html