Ritsumeikan University Syllabus

Course Name	Year	Term	Period	Faculty / Graduate School	All Instructors	Credits
16208:IR18‐CB102 Academic Skills II (Proficient) (RE) § 16209:RUIR-1102 Academic Skills II (Proficient)(RE)	2024	Fall	Wed3,Fri3	College　Of　International　Relations	BONG HYUNKYUNG	4

Campus

KIC/KIC

Class Venue

KOSHINKAN　KS205/KOSHINKAN　KS205

Language

English

Course Outline and Method

The aim of Academic Skills II is to develop students' academic writing competence together with related skills such as critical thinking, autonomous learning, research and referencing, team work and IT skills.

Students will examine contentious issues in International Relations, identify key questions and construct well-supported, logically sequenced arguments to address these questions. They will familiarize themselves with conventions of academic writing, expand their academic vocabulary and increase their control over complex grammar.

Class activities may include group discussions and oral presentations, sentence, paragraph and essay-level writing, as well as academic skills training such as paraphrasing, citing and referencing. The focus of this course is on developing students' research skills, power of argument and support, written expression, and awareness of writing conventions.

Formative evaluation is performed through class participation, including small quizzes and assignments as well as one or more essays, papers, and presentations, based on a rubric that targets each skill.

Student Attainment Objectives

<<<<< Attainment Objectives >>>>>

1. Students will be able to analyze, compare and evaluate a range of current issues in law, politics and economics with a view to their local, regional and global impact, and discuss different viewpoints from a variety of stakeholders in a well-informed, coherent manner.

2. Students will be able to plan, draft and revise a research essay or academic paper on a relevant topic following APA style conventions, share their findings in the form of an oral presentation, and provide, receive and integrate feedback from their peers.

3. Students will be able to comprehend and manipulate language at an advanced level of proficiency, demonstrate confidence in both independent learning and group work, and display an awareness of diversity and multicultural environments, developing skills transferable to future contexts in core programs, study abroad programs, and international job placements.

<<<<<Upon completion of this course >>>>>
Students will be able to read academic research papers critically and to discuss which area (s) they are interested in or what global issue(s) they’d like to pursue further. That is, students will be able to
(1) Analyse, evaluate, and summarise academic research papers in English
(2) Form questions (learning to clarify what you don’t know and what you do know after reading academic papers in English or listening to lectures in English).
(3) Discuss and express their own opinions and perspectives on the issues in English.
(4) Present idea/opinions on the issues (discussion questions) in English.
(5) Describe basics concepts and terms of International Relations in English
(6) Summarise academic research papers by making a poster presentation or writing a resume (a summary) (power-point or keynote).
(7) Through engagement in these activities, students will be able to produce an well structured essay (approximately 2000 words), showing evidence of further reading and not rely upon the textbook (A list of references-APA style- should be included, and demonstrating not only that they have understood the key concepts discussed in the course but also need to show that they have formed their own opinion which must be supported by reasons and examples and expressed clearly.

Recommended Preparatory Course

You must be familiar with the guidelines on writing essays and avoiding plagiarism:
http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/ir/ir-navi/common/pdf/gogaku/gogaku_text_01.pdf
http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/ir/ir-navi/common/pdf/gogaku/gogaku_text_08.pdf

Course Schedule

Lecture/Instructor（When there are multiple instructors)	Theme
Lecture/Instructor（When there are multiple instructors)	Keyword, References and Supplementary Information
1	Orientation (Syllabus & Academic Skills) & What is Critical Thinking?
1	Account of Assignments: Reading Assignment, Presentation Assignment, Writing Assignment ( Essays, research papers, reports, summaries of articles, and so on).
2	Critical Thinking Skills I: Self-Assessment (in class handouts - manaba)
2	Introduce yourself based on the self-evaluation result of your critical thinking skills and how to improve your critical thinking skills
3-4	Critical Reading Test 1: Reading Strategies
3-4	Self-Assessment and Evaluation Diagnostic Test I
5-6	Getting Started I-III: Key Terms and Sources:
5-6	--Discussion Topic: What is IR? International Relations?, Global Studies? -Academic Writing: Various Paragraph types (Academic paragraph, Definition type, Descriptive type, Compare & Contrast,/...)
7-8	International Governmental Organisations: United Nations: Global Issues
7-8	--Various types of Sources.. --Various types of Research papers Secondary Research Paper is...
9-10	Stratification and Inequality I Why it matters
9-10	Source/Background information Checking , Outlining - Analyzing and Organizing, Summarizing, and Evaluating - Presentation & writing Practice
11-12	Stratification and Inequality II
11-12	Source/Background information Checking , Outlining - Analyzing and Organizing, Summarizing, and Evaluating - Presentation & writing Practice
13-14	Stratification and Inequality III
13-14	Source/Background information Checking , Outlining - Analyzing and Organizing, Summarizing, and Evaluating - Presentation & writing Practice
15-16	Mobility and Poverty I
15-16	Source/Background information Checking , Outlining - Analyzing and Organizing, Summarizing, and Evaluating - Presentation & writing Practice
17-18	Mobility and Poverty II
17-18	Assignment : Critical Analysis/Review Essay
19-20	Putting it together
19-20	Mid-Term paper
21-22	Race, Ethnicity, and Discrimination I
21-22	Source/Background information Checking , Outlining - Analyzing and Organizing, Summarizing, and Evaluating - Presentation & writing Practice
23-24	Race, Ethnicity, and Discrimination II
23-24	Source/Background information Checking , Outlining - Analyzing and Organizing, Summarizing, and Evaluating - Presentation & writing Practice
25-26	Race, Ethnicity, and Discrimination III
25-26	Reading to Write I : Topic & Thesis Statement Topics & Sources (primary vs. secondary) and Structure, and Organizing
27-28	Race, Ethnicity, and Discrimination IV
27-28	Reading to Write II: Essay Writing Drafting & Revising
29-30	The Finals
29-30	Final Part I: Poster/Oral Presentation Final Part II; Written Presentation - 2000 words essay

Class Format

All classes are to be conducted face to face; however, in the case of an emergency, the instructor may elect to provide online (live-streamed) classes. Please note that the maximum number of online classes must be less than 1/2 of the total number of classes for the specified course. If an instructor does conduct a live-streamed class, then the link will be posted on Manaba+R.

Recommendations for Private Study

Though no particular prior study is required, daily consultation of international media of several countries, political persuasions and levels of depth is strongly recommended. Besides browsing headlines, reading of investigative journalism and reports is essential in order to understand the background of an issue. Finally, purposeful comparative reading/watching (e.g. Japanese vs. American views on a controversial issue) should become a habit.

Grade Evaluation Method

Kind	Percentage	Grading Criteria etc.
Final Examination (Written)
Report Examination (A report to be submitted by the unified deadline)
Exams and/or Reports other than those stated above, and Continuous Assessment　 (Evaluation of Everyday Performance in Class)	100	Questions/Quotes/Participation/Discussion (20%) Quizzes/Presentation practices (20%) Writing Assignments (40%) Formal Presentations (20%)

Grade Evaluation Method （Note）

Formative evaluation is performed through class participation, including small quizzes and assignments as well as one or more essays, papers, and presentations, based on a rubric that targets each skill.

Advice to Students on Study and Research Methods

(1) Be responsible for your owning learning (Responsibility/Self Management);
(2) Keep up with the assignments and do not fall behind (Meeting the deadline/Time Management);
(3) Read (understand) the designated readings in the textbook thoroughly (Preview).
(4) Make vocabulary notes and terminology notes (Organizing Skills).
(5) Make notes on quotes that you do not understand, and form questions or explain why you find it difficult to understand or unsure in 2-3 sentences. (Preview, Critical Thinking Skills)
(6) Type/copy quotes from the reading that either you are interested or you really disagree with. (Critical Thinking Skills, Academic Communication Skills)

Textbooks

Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN Code	Comment

Textbooks （Frequency of Use, Note）

Reference Books

Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN Code	Comment
Student Research and Report Writing : From Topic Selection to the Complete Paper	Gabe T. Wang and Keumjae Park	Wiley Blackwell	978-1-118-96391-3
Basic Steps to Writing Research Papers	David Kluge, Matthew Taylor	Cengage Learning ELT	978-4-86312-308-3

Reference Books （Frequency of Use, Note）

Reference books will be available in the library for students to further develop their written presnetation skills according to their specific needs.

Web Pages for Reference

How to Communicate with the Instructor In and Out of Class(Including Instructor Contact Information)

Learning Management System （manaba+R）,Talk with Students,Other (Separate instructions will be provided)

Other Comments

Note: This syllabus is subject to change based on the needs of the class.

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URL:http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp//students/pathways-future/course/curriculum.html