University of California, Irvine
Writing Skills for University Success
University of California, Irvine

Writing Skills for University Success

This course is part of Essential English for University Success Specialization

Taught in English

Some content may not be translated

Marla Yoshida

Instructor: Marla Yoshida

7,462 already enrolled

Included with Coursera Plus

Course

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals

4.4

(46 reviews)

Beginner level
No prior experience required
7 hours (approximately)
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Assessments

4 quizzes

Course

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals

4.4

(46 reviews)

Beginner level
No prior experience required
7 hours (approximately)
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Placeholder

Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Essential English for University Success Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
  • Learn new concepts from industry experts
  • Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
  • Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
  • Earn a shareable career certificate
Placeholder
Placeholder

Earn a career certificate

Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV

Share it on social media and in your performance review

Placeholder

There are 4 modules in this course

In this first week of the course, we’ll be going over some very basic aspects of academic writing. You’ll learn about the writing process—the steps skilled writers go through in planning, writing, and revising their work—and review the basics of writing clear, effective paragraphs. You’ll learn about academic writing style and how it differs from more informal writing. Finally, you’ll learn about the problem of plagiarism—using someone else’s words and letting the reader think that you’ve written them yourself—and some strategies for avoiding it in your own work. Being able to observe all these basic aspects of academic writing will help you meet your professors’ expectations for what academic writing should look like. So let’s get started!

What's included

7 videos2 readings1 quiz

This week you’ll hear about a very important type of academic writing—the essay. You’ll hear about what an essay is and what its expected parts are. You’ll learn about writing strong introduction paragraphs that catch the reader’s interest and state the topic of the essay. You’ll hear about different kinds of support to include in the body of the essay, and how to write a strong conclusion paragraph that brings the essay full circle by reminding the reader of your main idea. Finally, you’ll practice by reading and evaluating short essays to see how well they match the requirements of a good essay. Let’s begin!

What's included

4 videos1 reading1 quiz

This week you’ll learn about a longer type of writing assignment—a research paper. First, we’ll think about how to begin to write longer assignments by expanding the basic format of an academic essay. You’ll learn how to use quotations, paraphrases, and summaries to incorporate source material to make your essay longer and more persuasive. You’ll also hear about choosing an appropriate topic for a research paper and outlining the ideas you want to include in your paper. Finally, you’ll write a summary of an article and share your writing with classmates to get their opinion. So let’s get ready to write!

What's included

4 videos1 reading1 quiz1 peer review

In this final week of the course, you’ll learn more about research papers, starting with how to write an good thesis statement. We’ll talk about finding and evaluating sources of information for your paper and identifying valid, scholarly sources that will strengthen your paper. You’ll see how to incorporate ideas from your sources into your paper and how to cite the source of facts or quoted words . You’ll learn some basic facts about common formats for research papers and works cited pages. Finally, you’ll practice by analyzing thesis statements and deciding which meet the criteria for good academic writing. Let’s get to it!

What's included

5 videos1 reading1 quiz1 discussion prompt

Instructor

Instructor ratings
4.8 (8 ratings)
Marla Yoshida
University of California, Irvine
11 Courses327,946 learners

Offered by

Recommended if you're interested in Learning English

Why people choose Coursera for their career

Felipe M.
Learner since 2018
"To be able to take courses at my own pace and rhythm has been an amazing experience. I can learn whenever it fits my schedule and mood."
Jennifer J.
Learner since 2020
"I directly applied the concepts and skills I learned from my courses to an exciting new project at work."
Larry W.
Learner since 2021
"When I need courses on topics that my university doesn't offer, Coursera is one of the best places to go."
Chaitanya A.
"Learning isn't just about being better at your job: it's so much more than that. Coursera allows me to learn without limits."
Placeholder

Open new doors with Coursera Plus

Unlimited access to 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs - all included in your subscription

Advance your career with an online degree

Earn a degree from world-class universities - 100% online

Join over 3,400 global companies that choose Coursera for Business

Upskill your employees to excel in the digital economy

Frequently asked questions