PSY7103 Advanced Academic Writing

This course shall enable students to appreciate the different ways of communicating scientific information. The students are expected to conduct independent research projects, write acceptable proposals and dissertations. During this course, students will gain mastery of the American Psychological Association (APA) academic writing style, emerging issues in publication, peer critique and review academic papers, and realize the rigour of quality academic work.

Course Objectives

The course is meant to;

• Provide knowledge and skills in academic communication
• Familiarize students with research writing skills and procedures
• Explore ethical issues in scientific writing
• Examine methodological issues in scientific writing
• Foster understanding of the scientific writing process
• Hasten application of scientific writing conventions

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate possession of skills and knowledge necessary for academic communication 
• Appraise research as an integral part of academics; write an acceptable proposal and a dissertation. 
• Apply the ethical and methodological issues associated with  research when designing their own projects
• Use the basic skills learnt during the course to write acceptable academic papers
• Enhance their understanding of the writing process
• Apply the writing conventions in psychology and build student confidence as writers 
• Improve their writing skills in general, and improve their skills at producing written material that follows psychology conventions