Dear students of the College of Science,
Greetings to all of you as we approach the beginning of the new semester. We wish you good health, happiness, and fruitful achievements, and we extend a warm welcome to the incoming graduate students who are joining the College of Science family.
With the support of the Academic Writing Education Center (AWEC, NTU), the College of Science is offering three intensive courses for our students: Logic, Writing, and English Oral Presentations. During the course selection period, we especially encourage our third-year students who are planning to apply for the NSTC Research Grant for University Students, as well as our master’s and doctoral students who will be taking elective thesis writing courses, to consider these offerings.
The College of Science covers a diverse range of topics, and our research primarily focuses on exploring fundamental principles. To showcase your future learning achievements, publish research contributions, engage in meaningful dialogues with society, and make a positive impact, you will need adequate skills in presenting your arguments. These foundational skills are primarily developed through oral presentations and thesis writing. In this regard, each department and program within the College has designed courses such as book reports, seminars, and thesis writing classes during the senior year and graduate studies.
Recognizing the significance of argumentative abilities for career development, the College of Science, department heads, and the Curriculum Committee of the CoS have engaged in systematic discussions and deliberations concerning the effectiveness of academic writing instruction. The key conclusion was that critical thinking is the core academic writing skill. In response, the College has promoted relevant courses while emphasizing that students should take responsibility for strengthening their own English grammar skills.
With the support of the AWEC, the College of Science has been offering three intensive courses starting from the 110th academic year. These courses are titled “Critical Thinking through Logic“, “Fundamentals of English Writing“, and “English Oral Presentations for Academic Purposes“. Through systematic and stage-by-stage cultivation, we hope that our students can establish a solid academic foundation and enhance their communication skills.
These three courses are offered in the first semester, each with one class taught in Chinese and one in English. “Critical Thinking through Logic” aims to enhance students’ analytical and critical thinking abilities by cultivating logical reasoning skills. “Fundamentals of English Writing” familiarizes students with the basic knowledge and skills of academic English writing. “English Oral Presentations for Academic Purposes” teaches oral and poster presentation techniques. The class details are listed in the table below.
This marks the third year of offering these courses, and the AWEC has created explanatory videos to help students better understand the course design: (Chinese version) https://youtu.be/si9IrqKNIn4/, (English version) https://youtu.be/msV8-CDGbM0.
This course design will benefit your learning in various disciplines and academic reporting, and provide you with a deeper understanding of thesis writing. We appreciate your feedback and assistance in improving the course design for future years for those who have already taken these courses.
Sincerely,
Prof. Chun-Chieh Wu
Dean, College of Science, NTU
* Each course has one class taught in Chinese and one in English; each course is worth one credit.
* You are not required to take all three courses.