ENG 102 develops the academic approach to thinking, reading, speaking, writing and language use begun in ENG 101. In addition, this course aims to develop students’ ability to conduct basic library research and to evaluate and synthesize the information they find.
In the first part of the course, students write one drafted essay based on a mix of sources provided by the instructor and one they locate themselves through library research. Over the course as a whole, students develop an independent research project, working towards a final written research paper. Students develop their speaking skills during an assessed in-course presentation and the end-of-course interview.
To ensure that students have reached an appropriate level of English language and academic skills by the end of ENG 102, they must achieve a grade that contributes to a passing GPA.
Students are required to attend a minimum of 90% of total course hours. Attendance is counted from the first class. Students who exceed the attendance limit will automatically receive an ‘F’ grade for the course.
ENG 101 introduces students to an academic approach to thinking, reading, speaking, writing and language use; skills they will need in their departmental studies. The course also aims to develop students’ linguistic accuracy and range in English.
During ENG 101, students write essays which synthesize and reference readings on topics chosen by the course instructor. Students develop their critical thinking and speaking skills through in-class group work and presentation tasks. ENG 101 has a final exam which assesses reading-into-writing skills.
To ensure that students have reached an appropriate level of English language and academic skills by the end of ENG 101, they must achieve a C grade to pass. If students have a final less than C, they will not be able to continue on to ENG 102 and will have to repeat ENG 101 in the next semester.
Students are required to attend a minimum of 90% of total course hours. Attendance is counted from the first class. Students who exceed the attendance limit will automatically receive an ‘FZ’ grade for the course.
ENG instructors contribute to sessions to orient newly-arriving Bilkenters as part of the university-wide GE 100 program, that takes place in early September each year. The initial session focuses on “Ethics and Integrity in the Academic Environment”, which considered the basic ethical rules that students are expected to observe in the academic environment, as well as the consequences and penalties for those who do not. ENG instructors Elif Hande Özer and Lorna Yeşilkaya also presented the ENG program’s “Ways of Thinking” workshop, on the importance of developing and using critical thinking skills and creativity in academic studies as well as in daily life.
ENG 101/102 courses are designed to help you expand the range and accuracy of your academic vocabulary. Course materials contain many of the words found on the Academic Word List (the AWL), which is comprised of 570 word “families” that form a core academic vocabulary necessary for general academic study (for more information, see the video “What is the AWL?” below). Why not have a look at the list at one of the links below and note how many of the words you don’t yet know?
Learning all of these words will certainly help improve your comprehension of academic texts and your ability to write in an academic way. It would be inadvisable, however, to simply try and memorize the whole AWL out of any context. The best way to use it is as a resource, combined with learning tools including:
All academic research is created and furthered through collaborative human effort. Academic Integrity is about maintaining moral and ethical standards in how all stakeholders are treated during the processes of learning and research. Beyond simply avoiding the temptation to cheat on tests or assignments, it includes an ethical approach to data and collaboration.
Bilkent University defines plagiarism as: “The use of somebody else’s ideas, viewpoints, findings or works in a paper, project, report, or any similar document which is presented as part of a course requirement, without proper acknowledgment of the source.”
For many students avoiding plagiarism is a difficult skill to learn. In your lessons and tutorials your instructor will explain how to avoid plagiarism by summarizing/paraphrasing, quoting/citing, and referencing properly (see also Citation and Referencing). If you need extra help, you can make an appointment for an additional tutorial.
It will, however, be your responsibility to avoid plagiarism in your work. Should the final draft of your assignment still have problems with plagiarism, you will likely receive a very low or failing grade, and, if the plagiarism is considerable, disciplinary action may also be taken according to Bilkent University rules and regulations.
This “plagiarism spectrum” shows some common misuses of source material in student writing and is from the website of Turnitin (who provide electronic similarity checking services): https://www.turnitin.com/static/plagiarism-spectrum/
In-class drafting sessions and presentations are taken under exam-like conditions, and getting help from somebody else or copying from pre-prepared written or recorded materials other than your outline notes and course readings is considered cheating. If you cheat in these ways, disciplinary action can be taken according to Bilkent University rules and regulations.
“Ghost writing” is contracting/commissioning another person to produce written or oral coursework for you, and it is another form of cheating. The use of online or informal services to cheat in this way is against university rules, and engaging in it can affect both your disciplinary record / academic transcript, and if undetected can undermine the validity of the qualifications provided by a university.
If your instructor decides that you are not the sole author or creator of work submitted for grading, or that you have had significant and inappropriate help in preparing it, you will likely fail the assignment and/or course and disciplinary action will be taken against according to Bilkent University rules and regulations.
Below is an interesting short film about “Essay Mills” (online contract cheating services) made by 3 final year Broadcast Journalism students from Nottingham Trent University as part of their final assessed project.
