COURSE INFORMATION Course Title: ADVANCED ENGLISH

Code	Course Type	Regular Semester	Theory	Practice	Lab	Credits	ECTS
ENG 106	A	2	3	0	0	3	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:	M.A. Ada Cara acara@epoka.edu.al , 9:00-12:00 Mondays and Tuesdays
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)	Bachelor in Political Science and International Relations (3 years)
Classroom and Meeting Time:	Tuesday B010 12:30-14:15; Thursday E311 8:45-10:15
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:	N/A
Course Description:	The course reinforces academic writing skills. In this course students write different types of essays based on the ideas they are exposed to in the reading selections. The emphasis is on the writing process in which students go through many stages from brainstorming and outlining to producing a complete documented piece of writing.
Course Objectives:	Students of Advanced English (ENG 106) will demonstrate proficiency in researching, writing, speaking, and listening in English. They will demonstrate ability to read and critique literature and speeches, conduct interviews, write a formal letter, create a research paper, give a speech, and engage in reasoned discussion in English.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE

1	Critiquing the logic and evidence of arguments presented in text.
2	Building up verbal interaction confidence in colorful discussions.
3	Drafting a well refined report related to their field of study.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topics
1	Introduction; book review guidelines; research guideline
2	Format and Examples of Assignments Organising and Documenting Achievements for Career Development- This chapter is dedicated to helping students organize and present them - selves professionally. Students often complain that what they do in class is not related to what they want to do for a career. This is just not true. Every activity and every skill contributes to the value of that student in the job market (p. 535-567).
3	Critical Thinking: The Cornerstone of Political Inquiry. If we as political scholars are obliged to contribute to a body of knowledge, then we must learn to ask questions that are politically interesting. Critical thinking skills separate students who are information sponges from those who are information filters (p.26-51).
4	Common Problems with Writing- This chapter identifies and provides examples of stylistic problems and errors that writers commonly make for a number of reasons. Student writers may make errors when they are unsure of the focus or target audience, or do not fully understand the scope or nature of an assignment. Some errors impede the clarity of the writing about the topic because students use informal language conventions such as contractions or colloquialisms. Finally, some problems are due to poor proofing or careless grammar(p.158-174).
5	Creating Evidence with Primary and Secondary Data- This chapter begins with an overview of secondary data sources and then progresses to a discussion of primary data collection. To assist students in deciding how to use such data as evidence, this chapter also provides a primer on data reduction methods (p.101-137).
6	Format and Examples of Assignments for Managing and Processing Information- To prepare students for more complex research, instructors often require them to do special kinds of assignments (such as MEMCONS, Research proposals etc) to help them organize for professional research and develop analytical skills. The following descriptions encompass a traditional approach to completing each assignment (p.265-306).
7	Review for the midterm exam
8	Midterm exam
9	Draft submission and presentation
10	Writing Political Editorials- This chapter explains that editorials are brief but well-reasoned examinations of some specific phenomenon or behaviour. Writing editorials helps students work on critical thinking and political argument techniques without the constraints of evidence. The students are to take a position and support it using reasons, logic, and, yes, even facts if necessary (p.242-256).
11	Misinterpreting the Audience- This chapter identifies and provides examples of stylistic problems and errors that writers commonly make for a number of reasons. Student writers may make errors when they are unsure of the focus or target audience, or do not fully understand the scope or nature of an assignment. Some errors impede the clarity of the writing about the topic because students use informal language conventions such as contractions or colloquialisms. Finally, some problems are due to poor proofing or careless grammar. This chapter explains the value of correcting these problems for improving the clarity of the student’s writing (p.158-174).
12	Writing techniques for Policy Evaluation- This chapter explains that policy evaluation is limited to evaluation of past or present policies. This type of analysis entails examining the characteristics of a current or past policy—its origins, goals, who benefits, the instruments used to implement the goals, and perceived or actual impact (p.394-465).
13	Formating for Professional Communication- Like research papers, the examples in this chapter build on crystalized intelligence. In other words, these writing projects build on students’ ability to use learned knowledge and experiences in professional situations. There are multiple professional communication formats, each designed to reach different audiences for different purposes. As a result, the message in these types of communication must be carefully constructed to avoid confusion and misinterpretation by the person(s) receiving the message (p.466-535).
14	Research paper presentations- Students will be presenting their final research paper draft submission in a 10 minutes presentation and will be graded individually for their work reflected on the research paper and during their presentation.

Prerequisite(s):	ENG 109
Textbook(s):	APA style: http://apastyle.org/learn/index.aspx APA style at Purdue OWL: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/16/ TED Speaking Tips: https://www.ted.com/playlists/574/how_to_make_a_great_presentation UNSC Provisional Rules of Procedure (S/96/Rev.7): http://www.un.org/en/sc/about/rules/ Robert’s Rules of Order (Summary version): https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/education/activities/PDFs/SBSS_Lesson6_roberts_rules_of_order.pdf Parliamentary Procedure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfnBGolKmbM (15 min) Chairing Effective Meetings from Oxford University Press: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPhKhTI0Lss
Additional Literature:
Laboratory Work:
Computer Usage:	Needed for research and writing.
Others:	No

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

1	Students will critically engage with literature in Political Science and International Relations in English
2	Students will be able to craft a CV and cover letter and conduct and interview for a job in English
3	Students will engage in reasoned discussion on global issues in English
4	Students will give a formal speech in English
5	Students will identify elements of effective speeches and writing in English
6	Students will demonstrate their ability to gather, evaluate, and synthesize information from sources to answer a research question

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

No	Program Competencies	Cont.
Bachelor in Political Science and International Relations (3 years) Program
1	Having and using advanced knowledge and comprehension supported by textbooks including actual knowledge in political sciences and international relations literature, materials and the other scientific resources.	4
2	Analyzing data, ideas and concepts of current political issues and international relations, determining complex events and topics, making discussions and developing new suggestions in accordance with researches.	5
3	Having knowledge and thought about actual topics and problems together with their historical, social and cultural aspects.	5
4	Introducing those who are interested in politics and international events with the topics of Political Science and IR and teaching clearly the problems and the types of solutions.	4
5	Improving skills of working together with the main social science disciplines and other disciplines which are related to Political Science and International Relations.	5
6	Improving critical thinking and skills in making research independently.	5
7	Developing solutions about the problems and conflicts which are common in national and international arena.	5
8	Improving skills for leadership and research and analyze capacity of those who is responsible with national and international ones.	5
9	Knowing any foreign language enough to communicate with colleagues and understand actual researches and articles.	5
10	Gaining IT skills to use computer and technology) in order to reach actual knowledge.	4
11	Gaining skills to follow societal, scientific and ethic values during collecting, interpreting, conducting of data related to social and political developments.	5
12	Having consciousness about human rights and environment.	4
13	Gaining the skills to follow actual developments and pursue long-life learning.	5

COURSE EVALUATION METHOD

Method	Quantity	Percentage
Homework	1	10
Midterm Exam(s)	1	30
Presentation	1	10
Term Paper	1	40
Final Exam	0
Attendance		0
Other	1	10
	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	4	64
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)	16	2	32
Mid-terms	1	4	4
Assignments	4	4	16
Final examination	1	5	5
Other	1	4	4
Total Work Load:			125
Total Work Load/25(h):			5
ECTS Credit of the Course:			5

CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE COURSE LECTURER

Students will critically discuss research articles and ideas in a seminar format and present their research in an ethical way.