English Writing

ELC1014 Advanced English for University Studies

Unit 2 The Writing Process

Unit 2

The Writing Process

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

refer to, synthesise and evaluate sources

write an introduction to a research-driven position argument essay

write cohesive and coherent main body paragraphs

develop an appropriate title for a position argument essay

Introduction

This unit will help you to develop writing skills for the first draft of your research-driven position

argument essay. For your first essay draft, you are expected to write an introduction paragraph

and 2-4 main body paragraphs based on your evaluation of 2-4 arguments in four academic sources.

Your research question should be debateable and the arguments should come from at least two

different perspectives. In total, the length of your first draft should be approximately 600 words (not

including end-of-text references). You should not include a conclusion in your first draft. You are

recommended to use APA referencing style 6th Edition, as introduced in this unit, but other

recognised styles are also accepted. You must not copy language from the original sources or the

example essays provided in this unit, which are examples, not templates. You may quote from your

sources but the total amount of quotation should not exceed 5% (30 words) of the essay draft.

This unit is divided into four parts and includes 20 activities:

Part I

Referring to sources

Part II

Structuring your writing: Writing main body paragraphs

Part III

Structuring your writing: Writing an introduction

Part IV

Developing an appropriate title

© English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

1

ELC1014 Advanced English for University Studies

Unit 2 The Writing Process

Part I Referring to sources

Imagine that you are interested in global politics and international relations. After browsing academic

journal articles, you have formed...