COURSE INFORMATION Course Title: ACADEMIC READING AND WRITING

Code	Course Type	Regular Semester	Theory	Practice	Lab	Credits	ECTS
PIR 405	B	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)	Dr. Mirela Alhasani malhasani@epoka.edu.al
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
Language:	English
Compulsory/Elective:	Compulsory
Study program: (the study for which this course is offered)	Master of Science in Economics
Classroom and Meeting Time:	E211 Thursdays 18:00-20:45
Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours:	NA
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	This EAP class is based on needs assessment analysis.
2	Development of critical reading and writing
3	Learner-centered classroom
4	Self- reflection of abundant academic literature in the domain.
5	Essay and paper structure , style, register , tone , citation
6	Writing in the genre
7	To critically read, analyze, defend and present verbally and orally highly advanced and innovative scientific case studies

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topics
1	Academic Reading and Writing for graduate studies - What is it all about ? Cassutto 1-36 / 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. Cassuttoo 45-68- illustrative reading analysis of the article published by Taylor and Franis 2025 , 'The political economy of the digital age: A literature review on the interaction between citizens, enterprises, and the state".https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20954816.2025.2450107
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); illustrative reading and speaking group task of article "The political economy of the digital age: A literature review on the interaction between citizens, enterprises, and the state "https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20954816.2025.2450107
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	Keynote guest speaker Editor of OXFORD Journal of Applied Linguistics/ 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 in an article.
8	Coherence; Cohesion ; style of writing / Voice -Language awareness and thesis statement issues
9	Midterm exam
10	Writing Argumentative research paper/Writing position papers skills to persude for academic position papers or job papers https://www.munprep.org/mun-position-paper/
11	Keynote guest speaker Editor of Journal of TESAP / Writing book review/article review
12	Writing Master Thesis research proposal and its literature review - theoretical and empirical components, concepts, structure
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):	Leonard Cassutto, Academic Writing as if Readers Matter, Princeton University press, 2024 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 (2021) Academic Writing for Graduate Students, 3rd Edition Illustrative academic articles for each program of study will be obtained from Jstore and other Scopus databases. Online public lectures and case studies from English-instructed universities will combine conventional readings from theoretical books. Invited guest lecturers from Academic writing and publication field
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 Economics Program
1	Students apply advanced knowledge in economics	3
2	Students explain the interaction between related disciplines and economics	3
3	Students apply scientific methods to address economic problems	4
4	Students define existing theory in a specialized branch of economics	3
5	Students critically evaluate knowledge in economics and carry out advanced research independently	4
6	Students develop economic models and formulate policy options	2
7	Students make an original contribution to the discipline	2
8	Students effectively communicate in a variety of professional and academic contexts	5
9	Students will develop new strategic approaches for unexpected, complicated situations in economics and take responsibility in solving them	2
10	Students uphold and defend ethical values data collection, interpretation and dissemination	5
11	Students use advanced empirical analyses to address social problems	2
12	Students interact with professional networks in their field of specialization	2

COURSE EVALUATION METHOD

Method	Quantity	Percentage
Homework	3	5
Midterm Exam(s)	1	30
Presentation	1	10
Term Paper	1	45
	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