First week of Lingua Inglesa Escrita IV

1. Course Introduction
(Week 1)
W R I T I N G I V
(HE285)
Prof. Dr. Ron Martinez
drronmartinez@gmail.com

2. Goals for the week
• Reflect on and question current beliefs about
academic writing
• Gain a fresh understanding of the nature of
(academic writing)

3. Today’s agenda
• Introductions
• Course overview
• Introduction to course website
• Details on daily/weekly schedule
• Class survey

4. About me
• From San Francisco
• Grounded in the classroom
• Before UFPR, was at SF State University
• On editorial board of TESOL Quarterly and ELT
Journal; also regularly review for a number of
flagship journals
• Research interests revolve around vocabulary and
formulaic language (especially corpus-informed
research)
• Most recently, interested in ERPP

5. About you
• Do you know each other?
• Name game
• Talk about writing in English: easy or
challenging? Why?
• You will have a chance to say much more later.

6. About this course
Sample comment from student:
“I hope to be able to write good essays and
develop something that will help me in my
professional life in case I intend to take a
master’s abroad.”

7. About this course (details on
“ementa”)
• What is the ultimate objective of the course?
• What will I learn?
• How will I learn? (What is the approach?)
• How will I know I know I’ve learned?
• How will I be assessed?
• How will I be able to apply what I learn (in
“the real world”)?
• + Research Group, Online Journal

8. Other important information
• Website: www.drronmartinez.com
• You will need a UFPR email. Please obtain one
ASAP.
• WhatsApp (??)
• Please refrain from FB, etc.
• Office hours: Wednesday 4-6PM, or by appt.
• There are two “turmas”: one is morning
(“AM”), one is evening (“PM”).

9. AM Schedule
• MONDAY
• 9:30-10:30 (1.1 – form/lang. focus)
• [typical HW: Research new topic + “Reading Engagement Logs”, due
Sunday]
• WEDNESDAY
• 9:30-10:20 (1.2- guided practice) + 10m break + 10:30-11:30 (1.3 – focus
on revision) + 11:30-12:20 (1.4 – drafting)
• [typical HW: Continue draft already started in class, turn in by Sunday
evening with LexTutor score]
• SUNDAY
• Weekly writing assignments and Reading logs due by 3 PM.
• NB: Feedback will be given by Wednesday, but students will not receive
a a grade until after revisions are made.

10. PM Schedule
• MONDAY
• 20:30-21:20 (1.1 – form/lang. focus) + 20m break + 21:40-22:30 (1.2
– guided practice)
• [typical HW: Research new topic + “Reading Engagement” logs –
due Sunday]
• WEDNESDAY
• 18:30-19:30 (1.3 – focus on revision) + 20m break + 19:50-20:30
(1.4- drafting)
• [typical HW: Continue draft begun in class, turn in by Sunday
evening with LexTutor score]
• SUNDAY
• Weekly writing assignments and Reading logs due by 8 PM.
• NB: Feedback will be given by Wednesday, but students will not
receive a grade until after revisions are made.

11. Grammar and Vocabulary as a matter
of “choice” (not “correct”)

12. “ABOUT YOU” survey

14. N=20
Statement Weight
“My writing in English is terrible.” 3.39
“I can write academic essays in Portuguese well.” 3.39
“During my course, I already have had to read many
academic articles.”
3.33
“I get nervous before I have to write in English.” 3.28
“I know how to access online academic journal articles.” 2.89
“I can write a good introduction in an academic essay.” 2.89
“I know how to use sources to support my arguments in an
essay.”
2.56
“I know how to write a literature review .” 2.39
“I already have a lot of experience writing academic essays.” 1.44
“I don’t need this class – my writing is already good.” 1.28

15. How do you feel about these
activities?
Rank Activity
1 Grammar correction on essays
2 Academic vocabulary development
3 Reading of academic articles
4 Take-home essays
5 Reading magazine and newspaper articles
6 Reading during class
7 Group discussion
8 Grammar exercises
9 In-class essays
10 Pair work
11 Students reviewing and correcting each other’s writing

16. It

18. Quiz: What is “academic writing”?

19. Examples of journal article structure

20. Examples of journal article structure

21. Examples of journal article structure

22. “Subtext” video
Discuss in pairs:
• Can you relate?
• What insights does it provide (if any) into the
nature of the writing process itself?
• Bonus: How was he able to choose his words?

23. User comments on “Subtext” video

24. User comments on “Subtext” video

25. Some “Subtext” insights
• Lev (the writer) has a specific “agenda” in mind
before he begins writing.
• The whole process of writing involves him trying
to maximize the effect of his discourse to
achieve that agenda.
• The writing process is “dialogic”: in dialogue
with himself, in dialogue with the intended
reader.
• Lev is (painfully) aware that word choice is of
paramount importance; the right choice of
words can mean the difference between his
“goal” and flat-out rejection.

26. Lexical Priming (Hoey, 2005)
“As a word is acquired through encounters with
it in speech and writing, it becomes
cumulatively loaded with the contexts and co-
texts in which it is encountered, and our
knowledge of it includes the fact that it co-
occurs with other words in certain kinds of
context.” (p. 8)

27. Key words about academic writing
• ENGAGEMENT
• CRITICALITY
• POSITION
• PROBLEMATIZE
• ARGUMENT
• SUPPORT

31. HOMEWORK FOR
NEXT CLASS (WED.
MARCH 4)

32. AM Turma Homework
• TODAY: Complete personal survey on
www.drronmartinez.com (“Writing IV: About
YOU”)
• Watch “Subtext” video, and answer questions.
Bring notes to Wednesday class.

33. PM Turma Homework
• TODAY: Complete quiz on Academic Writing at
www.drronmartinez.com (“What are your
beliefs about academic writing?”)
• Watch “Subtext” video, and answer questions.
Bring notes to next class.

34. WEEKEND
HOMEWORK

35. Summary for Week 1
• In the context of genre, language is about choice, not
necessarily “right” and “wrong”.
• Academic writing is laden with a number of
institutionalized conventions (e.g., journal article
structure, academic abbrevations, referencing), and
these conventions can actually be of help to non-native
(of English) writers.
• Especially in argumentative-type essays (the most
common academic genre), it is the author’s “position”
that drives the discourse. Before anything else, this is
the sine qua non of the writing process.

36. Homework!

37. HOMEWORK FOR
NEXT CLASS (WED.
MARCH 4)

38. AM Turma Homework
• TODAY: Complete online survey “About YOU”
(on website)
• Watch “Subtext” video (on website)
• Get UFPR email ASAP

39. PM Turma Homework
• TODAY: Complete quiz about “Academic
Beliefs” (on website)
• Watch “Subtext” video (on website)
• Get UFPR email ASAP

40. WEEKEND
HOMEWORK

41. This weekend…
• “High or low scores?” Look at the two columns
of language samples. Do you see any patterns?
(On website.)
• Read (at least) the first two pages of Miller and
Parker (2012), answer questions (On website.)
• “Academic English?” (Optional) Read the article
and determine the extent to which it sounds
academic.
• (If you haven’t already….) Get your UFPR email!