CAES1001 Academic Communication in English
Writing Module_Session 2
Activity 3
Aim: Identify your strengths and weaknesses in academic writing
The aim of this task is for you to identify areas for development across the key aspects of
your academic writing skills.
Step 1. Make sense of the criteria
Read through the assessment criteria on the “CAES1001 Diagnostic Writing Task Self-
Assessment and Development Plan” on page 4 carefully. The list includes various aspects of
academic writing, such as the clarity of your introduction, the development of your body
paragraphs, proper use of citations, and language accuracy. These are all important elements
of academic writing. If you have any questions about the criteria, seek clarification from a
classmate or your teacher.
Step 2. Assess your competency level
Use the assessment list to review your Session 1 Diagnostic Writing Task. Based on your
teacher’s feedback, assess your competency level for each criterion. Take time to reflect on
your strengths (e.g., What did I do well in the diagnostic writing task?) and identify areas for
improvement (e.g., Which areas need more practice?). This process will help you become
more aware of your learning progress and set clear goals for your writing.
Step 3. Set goals for improvement
Based on your reflection, write 1-3 specific goals to work on in your next writing task, e.g., I
will work on developing clearer topic sentences; I will improve accurate APA citation format.
Step 4: Explore the available resources to support your learning
Use the following resources to deepen your understanding and improve your writing skills:
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CAES1001 Academic Communication in English
Area Resource Aim Topic
Guide on Course Help you develop the Features of academic writing at university level (Unit 1)
academic textbook: general academic Searching for and evaluating academic sources (Unit 1)
writing Academic English skills you will Taking effective notes and paraphrasing from sources (Unit 2)
English Skills need to complete your
Features of a successful academic stance (Unit 3)
for Success (3rd undergraduate degree at
edition) university Identifying topic sentences and their functions (Unit 4)
Synthesizing ideas from multiple sources (Unit 4)
Connecting ideas through the use of cohesive devices and strategies (Unit 4)
Structuring a complete academic text (Unit 5)
Academic CAES1001 Help you understand Understanding academic honesty and GenAI use
integrity Academic what academic integrity Building ethical research skills
Integrity (AI) is and develop the skills Avoiding plagiarism
Moodle you need to achieve it
Using Turnitin effectively
Developing source integration techniques
Developing Accurate Citation and Referencing Styles
Academic CAES1001 Support your Unit 1: Key features of academic style and tone
language STYLE Moodle development of precise Strategies to formal writing
and academic vocabulary Strategies to objective writing
vocabulary and language use Strategies to clear writing
Unit 2: Strategies to produce error-free work
How to fix fragments and comma splices
How to strengthen coherence and cohesion
Understanding subject-verb agreement
Tense choice in academic writing
Unit 3: How to use GenAI tools to learn and practise academic vocabulary
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CAES1001 Academic Communication in English
Step 5: Create your action plan
Now that you have reflected on your writing, set your goals for improvement, and identified
the resources available to support you, the next step is to develop an action plan.
Step 3. Step 4. Step 5.
Set Goals Identify Resources Create Plan
e.g., Develop clearer Course textbook By next writing task submission,
topic sentences Unit 4
Teacher’s 1. Review examples of strong topic
sentences
feedback
2. Practise writing topic sentences for
my next writing task
Step 6: Discuss your plan
Share your action plan with a classmate to get their feedback on how realistic and achievable
it is for improving your academic writing skills.
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CAES1001 Academic Communication in English
CAES1001 Diagnostic Writing Task Self-Assessment and Development Plan
Step 1. Step2. Step 3. Step 4. Step 5.
Make sense of the Criteria Assess Competency Level Set Identify Create
Goals Resources Plan
Good Fair Much word
needed
Introduction
Provide relevant background information
Explain the importance of the topic
State a clear position
Show the outline of the essay
Body paragraph
Use topic sentences to highlight the main idea of the paragraph
Organize ideas logically and coherently
Show criticality through counter-arguments & rebuttals
Support the academic position with evidence from sources
Academic integrity & Use of APA citations
Paraphrase properly to avoid plagiarism
Use correctly formatted in-text citations
Include a complete and correctly formatted reference list
Language
Use accurate grammar, punctuation, and spelling for clarity
Write in a formal and objective tone
Use hedging devices to express caution
Use varied and accurate vocabulary for an academic context
Use clear and grammatically correct complex sentence
structures
Other comments (if any):