COURSE INFORMATION Course Title: ACADEMIC READING AND WRITING

Code	Course Type	Regular Semester	Theory	Practice	Lab	Credits	ECTS
PIR 405	A	1	3	0	0	3	7.5

Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature)	NA
Main Course Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	Dr. Mirela Alhasani malhasani@epoka.edu.al , Wednesdays 10:45-12:30
Second Course Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	NA
Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours:	NA
Language:	English
Compulsory/Elective:	Compulsory
Study program: (the study for which this course is offered)	Master of Science in Banking and Finance
Classroom and Meeting Time:	E211 Thursdays 18:00-20:45
Code of Ethics:	Code of Ethics of EPOKA University Regulation of EPOKA University "On Student Discipline"
Attendance Requirement:
Course Description:	The course is designed to prepare master’s level students to read critically and efficiently and equip them with the writing skills for academic literature reviews and articles. Towards this goal, students read and critically discuss scholarly articles and books, analyzing the structure, ideas and language of each. Proper use of sources is emphasized in this course. Students review writing norms in the social sciences, and work on developing appropriate vocabulary, sentence structures, paragraphs, and the language for an academic article, including titles, abstracts, introductions, literature reviews, methods, results, discussion, and reference sections. Spoken English is practiced in discussions and presentations.
Course Objectives:	Students are equipped with reading strategies and writing skills to succeed in their graduate studies.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE

1	Graduate students should possess the skills to organize and plan a long-term research and writing project
2	It is based on a competence-oriented syllabus and learner-centered classroom
3	It is driven by the principle of learners being critical thinkers to self- reflect on abundant academic literature in the domain.
4	To Encourage self- reflection of abundant academic literature in the domain.
5	It is guided by the provision of students with the contemporary conventions of academic and writing for future advanced research.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topics
1	Academic Reading and Writing for graduate studies - What is it all about ? Introduction to course teaching approach and grading criteria
2	Effective Reading strategies / R. Kaplan's cultural thought patterns in inter-cultural education ( 1966; pp 1-20)
3	Assessing arguments in the assigned scientific literature / Differing facts from claims and opinions
4	Research methods and tools to collect data for qualitative research ( Paul Leedy and Jeanne Ormrod, Practical research; planning AND DESIGN, 2001, PP 149-156)
5	Source evaluation prior to drafting and writing process - Illustrative reading article by Taylor and Francis online - Post Covid 19 studies published in 2022
6	Incorporating other's work in your research paper/ citation and reference styles- illustrative article Journal of International Organization, Cambridge University Press , 2020 ( international Relations after Covid -19)
7	Differing the features and functions of introductions, body analysis, conclusions, summary and synthesis
8	Coherence; Cohesion ; Making decisions about style of writing / Voice
9	Language awareness and thesis statement issues
10	Writing Argumentative research paper
11	Writing position papers/ writing book review/article review
12	Writing Master Thesis research proposal and its literature review
13	Presentation of initial draft of research paper by students
14	Peer feedback and evaluation/ lecturer's and students evaluative inputs

Prerequisite(s):	advanced English skills.
Textbook(s):	Various updated illustrative articles from ECO/BUS/BAF/PIR to conduct a critical analysis of scientific texts. Umberto Eco (2015) How to Write a Thesis Literature from the Center of Academic Writing, Central European University, Vienna Literature from the Writing Center of the University of Purdue, USA John Swales and Christine Feak (2017) Academic Writing for Graduate Students, 3rd Edition
Additional Literature:	Journals to illustrate research in each discipline and program of enrolled students in this Academic Writing class. Thesis manual of EPOKA university and other European universities.
Laboratory Work:
Computer Usage:	For research, writing, source citation, and presentations
Others:	No

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

1	Students will acquire awareness of and ability to use effectively the discourse patterns of academic English
2	Students will become very familiar with the genres of and enhance their skills related to critique, position paper, argumentative and research -based writing
3	Students will write and revise academic papers in compliance with latest conventions of academic writing
4	Students will identify and justify an appropriate methodological approach for your research
5	Students will be able to write literature review/ article review and book reviews
6	Students will be able to take into consideration the expectations of readership with regard to academic English discourse conventions
7	Students will present academic work to a critical audience via public speaking rhetoric of defense
8	Students will be able to write a successful master thesis proposal

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES (Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution)

No	Program Competencies	Cont.
Master of Science in Banking and Finance Program
1	The students gain the ability to look at the problems of daily life from a broader perspective with an increased awareness of the importance of moral/ethical considerations and professional integrity in the workplace.	4
2	They develop a broader understanding of banking and finance including concepts, theories, and analytical tools that serve both in national and international markets.	3
3	They are able to apply advanced valuation models to estimate the price of different financial assets as well as evaluate multinational business firms.	1
4	They are able to apply different investment techniques and form portfolios that would generate higher returns by decreasing the unsystematic risk level.	1
5	They have advanced knowledge of the regulatory framework and functioning of the banking system, international banking, central banking and the conduct of monetary policy.	1
6	They are able to conduct advanced financial analysis and use the results in the decision-making process of business firms.	2
7	They are able to understand and use advanced economic theories and tools to solve economic problems in banking and financial services industry.	3
8	They have the ability to utilize accounting, financial and economic data as well as other information to solve complex and unstructured business problems by using advanced econometric and statistical models.	3
9	They develop their ability to think critically, do advanced and independent research, analyze, interpret results, draw conclusions, and communicate effectively, both individually and as part of a team.	5
10	They are provided with opportunities to acquire the necessary skills and competencies to move on to further study within the discipline.	5

COURSE EVALUATION METHOD

Method	Quantity	Percentage
Homework	5	6
Presentation	1	20
Term Paper	1	50
	Total Percent:	100%

ECTS (ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD)

Activities	Quantity	Duration(Hours)	Total Workload(Hours)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours)	16	3	48
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)	16	5	80
Mid-terms	1	20	20
Assignments	1	9.5	9.5
Final examination	1	30	30
Other	1		0
Total Work Load:			187.5
Total Work Load/25(h):			7.5
ECTS Credit of the Course:			7.5

CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE COURSE LECTURER