Developing Your Research Writing Skills
The Centre for Academic Writing (CAW) provides essential scholarly writing support for
postgraduate researchers. CAW offers three modules aimed at developing research
writing skills:
• ‘Reviewing Research Literature’ (7022CAW) introduces and provides guided practice in
the writing skills needed for high-quality literature reviewing, argumentation and
conference presentations. Postgraduates seeking to strengthen and systematise their
approach to analysing and synthesising literature will benefit from this module. Students
who complete the module will produce a draft conference paper. The module will be
delivered in Semester 1 through 5 fortnightly asynchronous ‘sessions’ (a commitment of
approximately 4hrs per week), starting week 4, Monday 5 October. Optional live online
sessions and the end-of-module presentation conference will be organised according to
group availability, in week 13 (7-11 December).
• ‘Crafting a Research Article’ (7023CAW) examines the features, argumentation and
expectations of the research article as an academic writing genre. Students select and
review a range of research articles in their discipline with a view to developing their own
approach to research writing. The module is designed for those who are approaching
writing for publication for the first time and have begun (or are about to begin) a research
project that could lead to a scholarly or scientific publication. Semester 2: Dates TBC.
• ‘Writing for Scholarly Publication’ (7024CAW) helps participants gain experience in
writing for publication by overseeing participants’ production of a research output from
writing following data analysis through to submission. This module features a writing retreat
and peer-reviewing opportunities. Students who have completed data gathering and
analysis or other scholarly research will benefit from this module. The module can help
move research that has been generated for a thesis or dissertation, reported to funding
bodies, or presented at conferences, into the pages of scholarly journals, books, or other
publications. Semester 3: Dates TBC.
PGRs on CU’s ‘new academic regulations’ can take these modules free of charge and accrue
up to 100 development hours per module. Students who complete a module and its
assignments will receive detailed formative feedback on their writing and a Certificate of
Completion from CAW. Please note: ‘Reviewing Research Literature’ (7022CAW) is also
available on a ‘workshops only’ basis in which students do not complete the module
assignment and can earn up to 20 development hours by attending five four-hour sessions.
PGRs on CU’s ‘old academic regulations’ can enrol in one or more of these 10-credit
modules to earn part of their optional module credits.
Places on CAW’s modules are limited and subject to availability. For further information on how
these modules can work towards your development hours or module credits, please email the
Centre for Academic Writing at pgstudies.caw@coventry.ac.uk