USTC
Academic Communication Course
Spring Semester 2023
Teacher: Dr. Murray Sherk
Use msherk@ustc.edu.cn to email questions to the teacher,
and please use English (using English is good practice for
you!).
News and Announcements (Please
refresh this page in your internet browser to make sure you are
seeing the most up-to-date information):
- Keep checking this webpage for new information as it become
available.
- Remember to refresh this page in your
browser (maybe with the F5 key) to make sure you see the
newest information.
- Possible future website problems: USTC is changing the
staff.ustc.edu.cn webspace and parts of this page may not
download. If you have a problem, email to msherk@ustc.edu.cn.
- This is a course with two parts, BOTH of which are required.
Read the course overview below for details.
- Murray is teaching the classroom part.
- The other part is taught by Teacher 陈澄, who has already sent
information to students. If you did not get yours (perhaps
because of registering late), then email to her at echocc@ustc.edu.cn
-
学术交流英语硕士课程的同学们：
请大家再次确认已加入QQ群658387020，所有关于该课程应用写作部分的问题都可以在群里提问。
同时，请同学们点击教务处，进入“瀚海教学网”。身份认证后点击右上角的“学习空间”查询和认真阅读该课程的“通
知”。
任何和应用写作部分的问题请直接联系老师本人。
老师的邮箱：echocc@ustc.edu.cn
陈澄
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Course Overview:
- This
Academic Communication (AC) course is divided into two phases
which may overlap in time.
- The classroom phase is 20 hours split into nine
2-hour classroom lessons and a final 2-hour exam session.
This part of the course is taught by Murray.
- The nine regular lessons start at the beginning
of the semester.
- Each student gives their exam presentation in one
of the six weeks after the regular and special lessons are
finished.
- Students
have their exam sessions in groups of 6 or 7.
- Exam sessions will be at the same time and
place as classroom lessons, except in some special
circumstances.
- The other phase: Taught by Chinese teachers
who will contact the students with further information.
- Ms. 陈澄 will contact the students with further
information. Ms. Chen will email to students using the
student address you put in the teaching platform
(研究生信息平台). You can check it March 6–13 to obtain
information. Contact Ms. Chen at echocc@ustc.edu.cn if you
do not receive text messages or email. Completing this
part of the course is also required to get credit for the
entire course.
- Students need to complete both phases to pass the course.
Click
here to see the Spring 2023 Course Syllabus and Schedule on a
webpage
Click here to get the Spring 2023 Course
Syllabus as a PDF file
The teacher of this course uses the
schedule on the course syllabus, but sometimes this ideal gets
messed up by changes in holidays or other considerations. Look
in the "Announcements" section for changes about which classes
get which lessons when. Please come only to the section in which
you are registered, except with teacher permission to make up
for missing a lesson with your own section. Remember that you
can miss at most 2 lessons (4 classroom hours). Lateness (up to
10 minutes) to a class counts as half of an absence (1 classroom
hour). Being more than 10 minutes late means you are counted as
absent that class.
Schedule
and Room Numbers for the Spring 2023 Semester
| Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| 7:50-9:25 |
7:50-9:25
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7:50-9:25
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7:50-9:25 |
7:50-9:25 |
| 9:45-11:20 |
9:45-11:20
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9:45-11:20
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9:45-11:20 |
9:45-11:20 |
14:00-15:35
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14:00-15:35
FORL6103U.05 in East Campus Teaching Building 2
Classroom 2606
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14:00-15:35
FORL6103U.07 in East Campus Teaching Building 2
Classroom 2606
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14:00-15:35
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14:00-15:35
FORL6103U.09 in East Campus Teaching Building 2 Classroom
2606 |
15:55-17:30
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15:55-17:30
FORL6103U.06 in East Campus Teaching Building 2
Classroom 2606
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15:55-17:30
FORL6103U.08 in East Campus Teaching Building 2
Classroom 2606
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15:55-17:30
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15:55-17:30
FORL6103U.10 in East Campus Teaching Building 2 Classroom
2606 |
Which section gets which lesson
when?
Friday classes are not affected by holidays, but Tuesday and
Wednesday classes are. "Unusual" lesson numbers are colored red below. Around the May holiday, AC
scheduling depends on USTC scheduling, which is not announced until
the last minute. The best prediction is that the May 2 and May 3
classes will be made up on Sunday, April 23 and Saturday, May 6, but
we don't know which is on which day. When USTC announces it, I can
update the table below, but for now, it shows both options.
Sunday
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Monday
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Thursday
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Friday
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Saturday
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March 7: Lesson 1
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March 8: Lesson 1 |
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March 10: Lesson 1 |
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March 14: Lesson 2
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March 15: Lesson 2 |
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March 17: Lesson 2 |
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March 21: Lesson 3 |
March 22: Lesson 3 |
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March 24: Lesson 3 |
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March 28: Lesson 4 |
March 29: Lesson 4 |
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March 31: Lesson 4 |
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April 4: Lesson 5
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April 5: USTC holiday
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April 7: Lesson 5
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April 11: Lesson 6
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April 12: Lesson 5 |
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April 14: Lesson 6
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April 18: Lesson 7
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April 19: Lesson 6
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April 21: Lesson 7
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April 23: USTC Work day.
Makeup Lesson 8
for Monday May 2 classes
or Makeup Lesson 7
for Tuesday May 3 classes |
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April 25: Lesson 8 or 9
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April 26: Lesson 7 or 8
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April 28: Lesson 8
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May 2: USTC holiday
(lesson moved
to April 23 or May 5)
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May 3: USTC holiday
(lesson moved
to April 23 or May 5)
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May 5: Lesson 9 |
May 6: USTC Work day.
Makeup Lesson 9 for
Monday May 2 classes
or Makeup Lesson 8
for Tuesday May 3 classes
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May 9: Exam session
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May 10: Lesson 9
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May 12: Exam session |
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May 16: Exam session |
May 17: Exam session |
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May 19: Exam session |
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May 23: Exam session |
May 24: Exam session |
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May 26: Exam session |
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May 30: Exam session |
May 31: Exam session |
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June 2: Exam session |
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June 6: Exam session
(if needed) |
June 7: Exam session
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June 9: Exam session
(if needed)
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June 14: Exam session
(if needed) |
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To get the PowerPoint lesson
files and electronic copies of the handouts, click the links
below.
NOTE: You will enjoy each
class more if you do NOT look at the lesson files and handouts
until AFTER you have had that class.
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Lesson 5
Lesson 6
Lesson 7
Lesson 8
Lesson 9
Lesson 10 (Your exam session)
Remember:
Each Academic Communication student
must also complete the "Part 2" hours supervised by Chinese
teachers.
You will receive a failing grade for the course if you do not do
both parts of the course.
Electronic
versions of handouts for each lesson appear below. Most are PDF files, but some are in MS
Word (.docx) format.
PowerPoint files you see in class are also here, although some you
see on this page may be slightly different (for various reasons,
don't ask). The homework assignment for the next lesson appears at
the end of each PowerPoint file.
Please do not look at the
PowerPoint file for a lesson until after you have attended that
lesson, otherwise the lesson will be less interesting for
you.
If you miss a lesson in which a
handout is given, you may download the handout here and print it
out for yourself.
NOTE: When a link below fails, it is because that file/lesson
is being updated. Try again later, remembering to refresh the
browser page. (AC
Spring2023 is significantly updated from AC Fall2022.)
Lesson 1 (Please
bring an ID photo to this lesson for your attendance card.)
- Teacher Introduction (pair activity)
- Course Introduction
- About handouts: All documents labeled "Handout" are given
out on paper during class time. If you miss a lesson, you can
get the handout from this webpage and print it out yourself.
- Course Goals
- Good speakers will get better
- Bad speakers will get good enough
- You will know what to aim for
- You will know what mistakes to avoid
- Pair activity about organization of international scientific
conferences.
- Types of Scientific Presentations:
- Seminar (60-minute talk for 10-20 experts in your area,
explaining details of your recent result)
- Colloquium (60-minute talk for 50-100 experts in your field
but not area, explaining progress in your area)
- Conference Paper (20-minute talk for 50-500 experts in an
area "close" to yours, summarizing your new result so experts
in your area can duplicate it and others know basically what
the result is and why it is interesting)
- Your Final Exam (9-minute talk for 5 Master's- or PhD-level
scientists in various research areas, to prove to the teacher
that you can present a research result well using English)
- Homework for next week:
- Think about what makes a scientific presentation good or
bad.
- Please bring an ID photo to Lesson 2 if you did not have one
today for your attendance card.
- L1 Academic Communication Intro.pptx
(Recommendation: Do not look at this until after
you have had the lesson.)
Lesson 2 (Please bring an ID photo to this
lesson if you didn't have one in Lesson 1.)
Lesson 3 (Be sure to bring to class a copy
of the paper you will present for your final exam!)
- Analysis of your paper
- Summarizing a paper for a partner ("What
and Why": In simple words,
what is the result and why should people care about it?)
- Timing of presentations
- Presentation Checklist parts 2A-2D
- Homework: Project 2: Write a working outline for your final
exam presentation. To be finished in about a week, or maybe two
weeks:
- Take a week or two to do a good job on this before emailing
the project proof: your working outline in a .doc, .docx, or
.pdf file.
- The sooner you email it, the sooner your teacher will
respond, but getting a response may take 2-3 days. (It may
even take 4 days; it depends how many working outlines your
teacher receives each day.)
- You may find this template for a
working outline to be useful. You can also start with
the example working
outline file and change the information to fit your file
(don't forget to delete the bottom 2 lines that are a
comment from teacher to students).
- L3 all
info.pptx (Recommendation: Do not look at this until after
you have had the lesson.)
Lesson 4
- Presentation Checklist parts 3A-3B
- Presentation Checklist part 3C: PowerPoint slides and visual
aids
- Example 9-minute presentation by teacher
- Homework: None, unless you have not finished Projects 1 and 2.
You can also be working on any of the optional projects, working
toward your required total of 8 hours of required projects and 8
hours of optional projects.
- L4 all
info.pptx (Recommendation: Do not look at this until after
you have had the lesson.)
Lesson 5
- Effective Explanations: How to help people understand
difficult material quickly
- Developing a good Conclusion section
- Preparing a good Introduction section
- Strategies for Arguments: Ways to convince listeners that
something is true
- Common mistakes and "Chinglish"
- Homework for next week:
- Bring to next class your Conclusion section, in full English
sentences printed out on paper
- L5
all info.pptx (Recommendation: Do not look at this until after
you have had the lesson.)
Lesson 6 (Be
sure to bring a printed-out copy of your Conclusion section so
another student can read it)
- Listening to Conclusions
- Presentation Checklist parts 4A-4B:
- Click here for a
reference sheet of useful sentence patterns.docx for
describing past events. This sheet is NOT distributed in class
as a handout. You may find these patterns helpful in writing
your transcript and describing your results in English.
- Degrees of Belief: Speaking precisely
- Genetic Engineering Activity
- Homework due in class in 2 weeks (i.e. in Lesson 8):
- Bring to Lesson 8 a complete transcript of your presentation
on paper:
- Divided up by slide
- For each slide you need a printout of: the slide image +
what you will say in full English sentences + how long the
slide will be seen
- L6
all info.pptx (Recommendation: Do not look at this until after
you have had the lesson.)
Lesson 7
- Careful Descriptions
- Pronouncing Mathematical and Chemical terminology
- Describing Graphs
- Homework due in class next week (i.e. in Lesson 8):
- Bring to next class a complete transcript of your
presentation (on paper if class is in-person, e-copy if
on-line):
- Divided up by slide
- For each slide you need a printout of: the slide image +
what you will say in full English sentences + how long the
slide will be seen
- Warning: If you do not bring a transcript to
Lesson 8, most of that lesson will be almost useless to you.
- L7
all info.pptx (Recommendation: Do not look at this until after
you have had the lesson.)
Lesson 8
(You must bring to class with you a full transcript of your
presentation, printed out on paper.)
- Warning: If you do not bring a transcript with you to
this class, most of this lesson will be almost useless to you.
- Final Exam information + choose your exam session
- All students in your session will be from the same section
(i.e. your class).
- All exam sessions will be at your usual class time in the
same classroom as you had your lessons, except in special
cases.
- You will be signing up for a session on a sheet that looks
like this: Sample Exam Sign-up Sheets.pdf.
The sheets that your teacher brings to class will all be for
the same time -- 7:40am, 9:35am, 1:50pm, or 3:45pm, whichever
corresponds to 10 minutes before your class's usual lesson
starting time.
- (In some cases there may be special extra sessions at
another time and/or location. If so, your teacher will
explain that option.)
- Try to sign up in a session that has other talks in your
research field or area.
- You will sign up for a session without knowing which week
that session will take place.
- After all have signed up, we will randomly assign dates to
sessions. The first session will be one week after Lesson 9.
- Practice your presentation
- Present your research result to a randomly-chosen partner
- Analyze your partner's presentation
- Homework:
- Use the transcript checklist for your presentation to
improve your presentation
- Handout: On the back of the transcript checklist is a
reference sheet of general advice about your exam
presentation.docx for this course. Read this carefully!
Although the focus of the advice is exam presentations for
this course, the ideas apply to all conference presentations.
- L8
all info.pptx (Recommendation: Do not look at this until after
you have had the lesson.)
Lesson 9
- Checklist Section 4: Doing final preparation
- PowerPoint views: Regular and Presenter. Explanation
Sheet: PowerPoint Presenter View
- Volume, Speed, Looking at the Audience
- How to handle nervousness
- Checklist Section 5: Preparing for questions
- Final Exam Grading Sheet:
- You will receive a copy of this Grading Sheet.docx in class but
you must hand it back in to your teacher at the end of the
class.
- Your teacher will talk about where people usually do well
and where they usually lose marks. Handout: Typical Exam Problems.docx
- L9
all info.pptx (Recommendation: Do not look at this until after
you have had the lesson.)
Lesson 10
(Simulated Conference Session = Exam Session = When you present the
research result you have chosen)
- This is your exam session, which will take place one to six
weeks after Lesson 9.
- You have to come to two of the six exam sessions: the one in
which you present, and one other (your choice, one in which
you do not present) to do required Project 4.
- The other four exam sessions are holidays for you.
- I (your teacher) could wish you "Good Luck!" on your exam, but
I won't. Why? Because if you prepare well, following the
guidelines given in this course, then you will not need luck.
xntimer
for teacher use in classroom (right-click to download)