Welcome to Chris Elvin's Aoyama University Academic Writing Class

Dear students,
Welcome to academic writing. Last year about fifty percent of my students failed this course, so please beware that you may fail if you do not apply yourself properly from the outset.

Some reasons for failing include:

* under length final papers
* a lack of knowledge of academic writing 
* hubris (over-confidence in one's ability)
* cheating (copying from the Internet, for example)
* a naive and unfounded shared belief that everyone will pass the course

Grading Criteria

50 points:

A final paper of a minimum of 1500 words which includes at least seven references in the appropriate format (APA).

30 points:

A completed class workbook
(Every week you will do one chapter of the workbook which you are expected to download and bring to class yourselves).

20 points:

A mid-term in-class test and a final in-class test


Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Week 15

Dear students,
Please upload your essay to the database using the link below.
http://www.tinyurl.com/mgow8cs
You should then print out your receipt and staple it to the front of your final paper. Hand in your essay to me in class today. Your final paper assignment is worth fifty points.
Once the essays are collected, you will have a final ten-point test. This will be to summarize a story from one of today’s newspapers (either hardcopy or online), and include an opinion.
You should cite your source in APA and include an APA formatted reference. Write a multiple paragraph essay of at least 250 words.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

APA style preformated document

Dear students,
Microsoft provides a template already preformatted in APA style.  If you wish, please download a file and use it.
(Search: "preformatted APA .docx")

https://templates.office.com/en-us/APA-style-report-6th-edition-TM03982351?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Week 14

Dear students,
Today I would like to see your portfolios (chapters 1-10) and final paper assignment drafts.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Week 13

Dear students,
Today you will learn about formatting and hand in your first draft of your final paper. Please download Chapter 10 and bring it to class.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Deadlines

Dear students,
Your deadlines are fast approaching. Please hand in your final paper assignment (50 points) and portfolio (30 points) during the last two lessons of the semester. Tuesday students, this means December 19th 2017 and January 16th, 2018; Thursday students, this means January 11th and 18th, 2018. (You will also have final 10-point test on the last day of the semester).
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Week 12

Dear students,
Today you will study about cohesion and coherence. Please download the print and bring it to class.
Chapter Nine
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Week 11

Dear students,
Today you will focus on academic vocabulary. Please download the chapter and bring it to class.
Chapter 10 - vocabulary
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Week 10

Dear students,
Today you will learn about introductions. Please download chapter 7 and bring it to class.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Week 9

Dear students,
Today you will repeat the mid-term test, which was largely done badly. After you have corrected your  essays and shown them to me, you may continue with your concept maps and annotated bibliographies.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Week 8

Dear students,
Today you will have your mid-term test. You will need to bring a novel to class in order to do the test.
You will write a literary commentary which includes a summary, a paraphrase and a quotation. You should also include APA formatted in-text citations and a reference. The minimum word count for this test will be 250 words.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Week 7

Dear students,
Today you will study about references. Please download the prints and bring them to class.




Chapter 6 - References


Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Week 6

Dear students,
Week 6 was the effectively visit of the librarian.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Week 5

Dear students,
Please download week 5 prints, and bring them to class.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Week 4

Dear students,
Please download the week 4 prints and bring them to class.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin