Effective Writing

Singapore University of Social Sciences

Effective Writing (NCO102)

Synopsis

Effective Writing aims to equip students with the necessary writing skills in academic and professional contexts. Students will learn how to write effectively for different audiences as well as with various purposes. This course will cover a variety of writing topics such as how to write an academic essay, how to write a report, how to write a professional email, and how to synthesize ideas from external information through writing. In addition, students will learn to evaluate their writing critically and adopt the feedback provided by instructors. From the revision process, students will learn to refine their writing drafts into clear and polished papers.

Level: 1
Credit Units: 5
Presentation Pattern: -

Topics

Characteristics of academic writing: the audience, the aim, the structure and the style
How to accurately respond to different essay instructions
The thesis statement in an introduction and the main ideas in body paragraphs
How to build strong arguments with well-structured supporting ideas
Paraphrase and synthesize external resources in your writing
The writing flow and the conclusion
Characteristics of professional writing: the audience, the aim, the structure and the style
Writing emails: organization, format and language styles
Writing memos: functions, formats and tones
Summarize information: describing in tables, charts and graphs
Report writing in the workplace
Writing instruction and procedures: purposes, steps and styles

Learning Outcome

Describe the audience, purpose and tones of academic writing as well as professional writing
Identify the correct organization and language styles for academic writing as well as professional writing
Apply the writing feedback to improve the writing drafts
Write effective academic papers in the university setting
Demonstrate effective writing in the workplace setting
Organize external resources critically into the writing