Students with some academic writing experience
Advanced
One-on-one and small group (Max. 7 students/class)
📝 Study argumentative essays, persuasive writing, and rhetorical analysis
📚 Master core skills such as paragraphs, arguments, and citations
✍️ Complete 3 short writing assignments
🔍 Guided research on complex topics
📖 Master the full process of academic research writing
📄 Complete one research paper of 1500–1750 words
Class Introduction
In this advanced academic writing course, students will learn how to read, analyze, and evaluate scholarly research studies. Building on the skills developed in the Beginner and Intermediate courses, students will explore how researchers design studies, collect data, and present findings across various academic disciplines. The course will focus on teaching students how to identify research questions, examine literature reviews, evaluate research methods, analyze data presentations (such as tables and charts), and critically assess study conclusions. Students will also gain exposure to common research designs such as surveys, interviews, and content analyses. Throughout the course, students will complete weekly analytical assignments, strengthening their ability to understand, discuss, and evaluate academic research papers. This course serves as strong preparation for future research writing courses, including AP Capstone, Global Perspectives, and college-level research seminars.
Outcome
After completing the course, students will be able to:
- Understand the overall structure and organization of scholarly research papers.
- Identify research questions and gaps in the scholarly conversation.
- Summarize key findings from literature reviews.
- Explain how researchers choose and justify research methods.
- Recognize common primary research designs: surveys, interviews, and content analysis.
- Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different research methods.
- Analyze data tables, graphs, and qualitative coding examples.
- Summarize and interpret results presented in published studies.
- Explain how researchers draw conclusions and discuss limitations.
- Evaluate the credibility, bias, and validity of published research studies.
- Apply academic vocabulary related to research design and data analysis.
- Write clear, concise analytical summaries of scholarly research papers.
- Demonstrate growing familiarity with advanced academic reading skills.
- Prepare for future research-based writing and inquiry courses.
Class Schedule
| Lesson | Topic |
|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to Academic Research |
| 2 | Literature Reviews |
| 3 | Research Methods |
| 4 | Surveys and Interviews as Primary Research Methods |
| 5 | Content Analysis and Coding Qualitative Data |
| 6 | Analyzing Data Tables and Quantitative Results |
| 7 | Results and Discussion |
| 8 | Review the Quality of Research |
| 9 | Mock Full Paper Analysis |
| 10 | Mock Full Paper Analysis |
Feedback
Students and their parents will receive brief feedback after each class regarding the student’s general participation in class. Students will also receive feedback on graded assignments via email.
