Academic English: Writing Specialization

251,072 enrolled

Academic English: Writing Specialization

Transform Your Writing Skills. Prepare for college-level writing and research in just four courses.

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5 course series

Get in-depth knowledge of a subject

4.7

(12,574 reviews)

Beginner level

No prior experience required

Flexible schedule

2 months at 10 hours a week

Earn a career credential

Share your expertise with employers

5 course series

Get in-depth knowledge of a subject

4.7

(12,574 reviews)

Beginner level

No prior experience required

Flexible schedule

2 months at 10 hours a week

Earn a career credential

Share your expertise with employers

What you'll learn

The skills taught in this Specialization will empower you to succeed in any college-level course or professional field. You’ll learn to conduct rigorous academic research and to express your ideas clearly in an academic format. In the final Capstone Project, all the knowledge that you’ve gained over the span of these courses will culminate into an academic research paper on an issue of your choice.

Skills you'll gain

What’s included

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Taught in English

33 practice exercises

Advance your subject-matter expertise

Learn in-demand skills from university and industry experts
Master a subject or tool with hands-on projects
Develop a deep understanding of key concepts
Earn a career certificate from University of California, Irvine

Specialization - 5 course series

Grammar and Punctuation

Course 117 hours4.7 (19,493 ratings)View course

What you'll learn

Course 1: Grammar and Punctuation

Do you need to review English grammar? Have you forgotten the grammar you once studied? If so, this course is perfect for you. The first course in this specialization is a refresher on some tools needed for good writing. It will help prepare you for the other courses. You will need about 10 hours to complete this first course. Writing is a skill and to learn a skill well, you need to practice. In this course, you will watch short video lectures and then practice and discuss what you have learned. Make sure you take good notes and use the peer discussions to ask questions. Then you'll be able to remember the rules you learn in this course when you start writing essays in the next course. After completing this course, you will be able to: - identify the correct verb tenses to use - use commas effectively - utilize several different sentence types - write more effectively in English Please note that the free version of this class gives you access to all of the instructional videos and handouts. The peer feedback and quizzes are only available in the paid version.

Skills you'll gain

Category: Grammar

Category: Writing

Category: Editing

Category: English Language

Category: Proofreading

Getting Started with Essay Writing

Course 219 hours4.7 (3,249 ratings)View course

What you'll learn

Course 2: Getting Started with Essay Writing

This is the second course in the Academic English: Writing specialization. By introducing you to three types of academic essays, this course will especially help prepare you for work in college classes, but anyone who wants to improve his or her writing skills can benefit from this course. After completing this course, you will be able to: - create effective thesis statements for your essays - plan and write compare/contrast, cause/effect, and argument essays - write well-developed body paragraphs Note: The lectures and practice activities are available for free, but you must upgrade to the pay version in order to take the quizzes and get feedback on writing assignments.

Skills you'll gain

Category: Writing

Category: Grammar

Category: Editing

Category: English Language

Advanced Writing

Course 319 hours4.7 (1,930 ratings)View course

What you'll learn

Course 3: Advanced Writing

This is the third course in the Academic English: Writing specialization. By raising your level of academic writing, this course helps prepare you for college-level work. After completing this course, you will be able to: - plan and write a more sophisticated argument essay - identify plagiarism and explain how to prevent it - read and analyze several articles to form your own opinion on a topic - make connections between several articles - form thesis statements from your readings - use sources effectively when writing an essay Please note that the free version of this class gives you access to all of the instructional videos and handouts. The peer feedback and quizzes are only available in the paid version.

Skills you'll gain

Category: Writing

Category: Style Guides

Category: Proofreading

Category: Peer Review

Category: Editing

Introduction to Research for Essay Writing

Course 419 hours4.7 (1,123 ratings)View course

What you'll learn

Course 4: Introduction to Research for Essay Writing

This is the last course in the Academic Writing specialization before the capstone project. By the end of this course, you will be able to complete all the steps in planning a research paper. After completing this course, you will be able to: - choose appropriate research topics for college classes - write detailed outlines for research papers - find source material for research papers - take and organize good notes for research - use appropriate academic tone and language - document sources by creating a Works Cited list in MLA format - avoid plagiarizing your sources

Skills you'll gain

Category: Research

Category: Vocabulary

Category: English Language

Category: Report Writing

Category: Proofreading

Category: Language Competency

Category: Style Guides

Category: Writing

Category: Writing and Editing

Category: Statistical Analysis

Category: Research Design

Project: Writing a Research Paper

Course 510 hours4.8 (464 ratings)View course

What you'll learn

Welcome to the capstone project for the Academic English: Writing Specialization! This project lets you apply everything you’ve learned and gives you the practice you need for college classes by having you write a research paper. You'll have several due dates throughout the capstone to help you stay on schedule.

Skills you'll gain

Category: Writing

Category: Editing

Category: Proofreading

Category: Grammar

Category: Peer Review

Earn a career certificate

Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV. Share it on social media and in your performance review.

Instructors

Tamy Chapman

University of California, Irvine

22 Courses1,578,436 learners

Brad Gilpin

University of California, Irvine

20 Courses1,497,648 learners

Helen Nam

University of California, Irvine

15 Courses1,262,563 learners

Offered by

University of California, Irvine

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Frequently asked questions

Time to completion can vary based on your schedule, but most learners are able to complete the Specialization in about 4-6 months.

Each course in the Specialization is offered on a regular schedule, with sessions starting about once per month. If you don't complete a course on the first try, you can easily transfer to the next session, and your completed work and grades will carry over.

You should be comfortable reading and writing English at an intermediate (high school) level. This Specialization is designed to prepare high school graduates for writing and research at the college level. Students who have not been exposed to rigorous English courses in high school, students whose native language is not English, and others interested in refining their written English communication skills are all welcome.