Module Objectives

The purpose of this seminar course is twofold:

a) To improve the educational effect by strengthening and cultivate students’ skills to become independent and organized in studying, effective writers and better communicators through the written word.

b) Addressing especially to the geographers, to acquire knowledge, and develop abilities and skills related to the search and the exploitation of resources and to scientific writing in an international and multilingual environment.

Objectives:

Upon completion of the seminar course, students are expected:

– To work out the written authentic reason to improve the image of their texts and general communication within the academic community.

– To cultivate self-motivation skills and self-determination in relation to their personal academic goals.

– To search methodically and find documents, sources and data through bibliographical search and search on the internet, to appraisal and use it in an appropriate way and with efficiency.

– To set up a scientific geography paper, with critical thinking and relying on relevant documents and sources appropriately cited.

Course Content

Writing types and academic written language. Original writing instead of copying (plagiarism). Growing vocabulary, semantics and editing. Time management. Strategic study and keeping notes. Communication with teachers and use of language in the context of electronic media (emails).

Developing a strategy for problem solving and critical thinking. The scientific discourse in geography– Argumentation. Bibliography, bibliographical citations and reference systems. The libraries (physical, digital), the bibliographical databases, the scientific journals. The editors. Geography journals.

The internet: search engines, Wikipedia, document search, scientific social media – networks – website and documents appraisal. Linguistic aspects, dictionaries and glossaries, translation engines.

Teaching and Assessment

The seminar course is structured on a total of 13 weeks in one (1) common introductory teaching period 1st week, and then follow a weekly three-hour period per instructor, according to the timetable set up at the beginning of the semester.
The three-hour period of E. Durie takes place in the Computer Lab and the students are shared into two groups (one morning, one afternoon) for all the semester.

The curriculum of each period is a product of a holistic approach to the issue and it requires independent and compulsory study from the students.

The module will be taught through lectures, case studies, embedment exercises on the texts with interactive and collaborative process. Use of Power Point, e-class platform and internet.

Assesment: Two short individual assignments (one for each part of the module) during the semester on the basis of the success or retesting (pass – no pass).