The Fall term session is intended for second language students, especially those who have just joined the program. It will help you to get the most out of your other courses.
The Summer term session will be offered in two sections: one will be for second language students, and the other for students who took the first section, as well as for native English speakers who would like help with technical writing, oral presentations, and literature analysis.
The course is designed as a literature survey; the assignments fulfill part of the work required for the thesis project. Students will also be given the opportunity to improve their oral presentation skills and produce a poster based on their research.
What do you need to do?
If you have not already done so in the spring, register for the course by e-mail (julie@cs) and notify the instructor, Debby Repka (d.repka@utoronto.ca). The deadline for registration is September 14.After consultation with your supervisor, choose ten journal papers that you plan to read in preparation for your thesis. You will be asked to submit a written summary of one paper per week. The instructor will correct and return it so that you can apply the revisions to future work.
After consultation with your supervisor, pick an oral presentation topic related to your thesis. You will be asked to prepare transparencies and give a talk.
The first meeting will be on Thursday, September 17, 10-12. It will include a diagnostic test. Subsequent classes will be Thursdays 9-12. The classroom location will be announced here.
This course will save you time when you are writing your thesis. Needless to say, it is free; the department underwrites the cost. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the instructor.
Course Description
This hands-on course is designed to help students develop fluency, clarity, and accuracy in their written work and oral presentations. The goal is to enable students to perceive and correct errors on their own so the thesis supervisor is not burdened with extensive revision. Accordingly, every class includes a grammar and style lesson, illustrated with excerpts from the professional literature to put the material in context. The material is adapted to the conventions of scientific writing. Students are expected to learn the information and apply it to the weekly assignment.The course consists of the following components:
A Weekly Assignment:
Students read a journal article in their discipline and write a one-and-a-half to two-page précis, which is meticulously corrected and returned so that they can incorporate the revisions into subsequent assignments. There will be ten such assignments, one for each week of the course except the first and the last; the supervisor and the student are asked to choose ten papers that the student has to read as part of the thesis work.
Two Larger Assignments (to be completed over the term)
Students are asked to write the documentation for a fictitious software package.
Students are asked to prepare a comparative literature survey in their research area.
An Oral Presentation: Every student is required to make a ten-minute presentation on his or her research with PowerPoint or transparencies prepared to a professional standard. Basic comments about the form of the talk are provided by the instructor; then classmates are asked to critique the scientific content. One or two students will present each week.
Course Goal
The course has proven successful; those who take it seriously make substantial progress. Because writing is learned by practice, the ultimate goal is for each student to develop a substantial portfolio of written work over the term.If there are any questions about the course, please feel free to contact the instructor, Debby Repka, at d.repka@utoronto.ca.