Elements of scientific writing

Teacher(s)

. SOMEBODY; Scarpa Laura;

Language

Italian

Prerequisites

Speaking and writing: B2+ level in Italian 
Comprehension: C1 level in Italian 

Main themes

Introduction to academic writing in Italian.  
Students will identify the typical linguistic features of academic writing in Italian, e.g. the use of the passive and "si passivante", nominalisation and idiomatic expressions. 
Students will study the structures and rhetoric of Italian academic discourse. 

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	Write an academic text in Italian
This learning unit contributes to the development and command of the following skills and learning outcomes of the ELAL programmes: 3.5; 5.2; 5.5; 6.2; 6.4; 6.5; 6.6

Content

Introduction in the general principles of academic writing; presentation of the language elements specific to Italian academic writing: vocabulary and phrases, impersonal form, passive form, etc.;  related exercises and activities.

Teaching methods

Based on the full or partial reading of published scientific articles, students will initially analyze these texts to identify the structure and typical elements of scientific writing in Italian. Subsequently, through targeted exercises, the application of these elements will be reinforced, leading to a guided drafting phase aimed at replicating the structure and, partially, the text of a scientific article.

Evaluation methods

Assessment will be exclusively written for each examination session. For the first semester (Q1), the evaluation involves the analysis of a scientific article selected by the student (subject to the professor's approval) in accordance with the criteria presented in class. The second semester (Q2) assessment comprises productive exercises similar to those conducted in class, such as vocabulary tasks, sentence transformations, paragraph writing etc.
The result of each end-of-term assessment accounts for 50% of the final grade.
NB: AI tools can be used responsibly to prepare the evaluation. Significant or unreported use of these tools will be considered unfavorably in the evaluation.

Other information

Attendance is mandatory for at least two-thirds of the class hours.
Office hours will take place on appointment, either face-to-face or on Teams. To make an appointment please contact the teacher only by e-mail.
laura.scarpa@uclouvain.be    ( Q1 )
clementina.dimassa@uclouvain.be    ( Q2 )
Mandatory material will be available in Moodle during the course.

Faculty or entity

> ELAL