UNIT 1: TOP-DOWN ACADEMIC WRITING
Welcome to the first and most straightforward unit, top-down academic writing!
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It is a wonder why whole EAP courses involve getting students to the point at which they can do top-down academic writing. The skills involved are important, though far from adequate, in learning how to manage university writing assignments.
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Therefore, this EAP course begins, rather than ends, with top-down academic writing. To start with, students will want to know the differences between top-down and bottom-up academic writing and strategies for doing top-down academic writing. The main strategy is a targeted Internet search: looking on the Internet not for sources themselves (a broad search), but for the specific facts and pieces of information you want to find. This assumes you know your argument and the facts that will support it in advance. Covered in this unit are Internet search techniques, Boolean operators, and how to evaluate sources for academic credibility.
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How to use the resources: After showing students the PowerPoint on top-down vs bottom-up academic writing (which has Internet search activities built into it, so they'll need laptops, or this lesson needs to take place in a computer lab), assign Paper 1 and have students go through the activities in the handout "Paper 1 Instructions." Some time during the process of drafting Paper 1, it might be useful to show the PowerPoint (also with built-in exercises) "How to proofread a paper."