Japanese II: Academic Writing

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• conduct a minor investigation of a subject related to Japan
• search for and critically examine the material relevant to the investigation
• formulate a plan for an investigation that is feasible to implement within a defined time frame
• write an article or a paper, using logically convincing arguments, and in which due consideration has been given to the structure of its outline, the references, footnotes and quotations
• critically reflect on their own conclusions
• give constructive criticism of the work of another and handle the criticism of others in an objective way.

The students conduct a minor investigation of a subject related to Japan and present the results by writing a short academic text. They practice reading academic prose, to plan and define a subject, and to formulate relevant problems. The principles for writing a research paper and the usage of academic prose will also be practiced.

The students will be assessed based on the writing of a short academic essay or article, and their constructive participation in tutorials and seminars.
The essay/article will be defended at a seminar where it will be examined by a fellow student. It may be written in English or Swedish and should have a length of about 2000-3000 words.

English and, where appropriate, Swedish are used as the language of tuition. Teaching is done in the form of tutorials and class discussions.

The Swedish grades U–VG.