Course detail

Workshop on Basics of Academic Essay Writing

FA-ZAP-WEAcad. year: 2024/2025

The course takes the form of a workshop focused on academic writing as a tool for professional argumentation and critical thinking. It will support students in mastering the basic methods and processes of academic essay writing as a process. The topic of the workshop in June 2024, under the guidance of a guest lecturer, will focus on the area around Cejl Street in Brno, an area where the city's Roma population was concentrated in the second half of the 20th century. Until recently the Cejl area was considered dangerous by the majority population of Brno, but in the last few years this perception has begun to dissipate. Several development projects have been created in the area. Artists and designers find the area rich with opportunity. The area is a complex blend of people, histories, cultures, and economic disparities, and it deserves deeper focus and a well-founded discussion led by the architects and urban planners who may need to be involved in the changes it faces. The course uses a concrete example of a complex problem to develop the students ability to formulate a professional opinion and its argument.

Language of instruction

English

Number of ECTS credits

2

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

doc. Ing. arch. Nina Bartošová, Ph.D.

Department

Department of Theory (UT)

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

  • Evaluation by credit
  • Continuous consultation of work and active attendance is required
  • Submission of a 5-paragraph essay and accompanying graphic material is required
  • Attendance at all in-class sessions is compulsory. In case of excuse for serious reasons, substitution is possible and with the consent of the instructor, absence or substitution with online attendance is permissible.

Aims

The aim of the course is to develop critical thinking through the evaluation of different points of view by writing an academic essay in which the form is as important as the content. Students will deepen their ability to give clear argumentation of their stances clearly and express themselves at an appropriate professional level.

  • Students will learn the fundamentals of writing in an academic environment
  • Through the format of a 5-paragraph essay, they will become familiar with the structure of a simple form of academic writing
  • Writing as a process will lead to a stronger ability to argue at a professional level
  • An integral part of academic writing is working with professional literature, which will help to increase insight into the topic at hand
  • Last but not least, critical thinking and the formation of professional opinion will be strengthened

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

BŘEZINOVÁ, Andrea a ZAPLETAL, Tomáš. Brno - moravský Manchester. V Brně: Moravská galerie, 2014. ISBN 978-80-7027-277-0. (EN)
ILYIN, Natalia. Writing for the design mind. Bloomsbury: London, 2019. (EN)
ŠEDÁ, Kateřina; PALÁN, Aleš; FAULEROVÁ, Lucie a DRINKOVÁ, Kristína. Brnox: průvodce brněnským Bronxem : akce Kateřiny Šedé. Brno: Kateřina Šedá ve spolupráci s Tripitaka, z.s, 2016. ISBN 978-80-270-0967-1. (EN)

Recommended reading

Not applicable.