Academic Communication
As an employee at the University of Borås, there are resources available to you for support and professional development in academic communication and English in a university setting.
Academic Communication is a forum for professional development for university employees in communication in English for professional and academic purposes. You are welcome to take part in these activities no matter what your role is at the university. The goal is to support internationalisation and research.
Academic Communication's professional development activities are conducted in English. The activities relate to speaking and writing for professional and academic purposes, often with a particular focus on English, and include seminars, workshops, and writing retreats.
Read more about the university's writing retreat.
The Communications Office, the Unit for Development and Research in Higher Education, Grants and Innovation Office, and Language Support at the University Library all offer different types of support in regards to academic communication and other areas. In addition to their regular activities, these units collaborate to offer professional development activities under the heading Academic Communication.
If you have any questions or would like to suggest a future activity, please contact Eva Medin.
Upcoming and ongoing activities
Just Write!
Do you need to write something? Sometimes it helps to set aside some time, spend time in an environment with other writers, or be able to discuss your text with someone else. Just Write! is a mini writing retreat open to all researchers at the university.
Just Write! is arranged by Academic Communication’s Eva Medin, Language Specialist at the Communications Office, together with the PhD Committee.
Workshop on concise academic writing in English
Facilitator: Eva Medin, Language Specialist, Communications Office
This workshop gives you tips and tools for reducing word count and writing concise academic and scientific texts. The same writing and revision techniques that help reduce the number of words in an academic text can also contribute to clear and concise writing. This workshop provides you with revision methods, such as Lanham's paramedic method, as well as a variety of concrete tips, phrase lists, and an abstract template to help you write more concisely. There is a presentation and several practical exercises.
Note: This workshop can be booked for individual departments/groups. Please contact Eva Medin for more information.
Workshop on English at Work
Facilitator: Eva Medin, Language Specialist, Communications Office
This workshop aims to enhance professional English communication skills, focusing on correct usage, avoiding Swenglish, and proper terminology. It covers audience-specific strategies, email writing, British spelling, and common mistakes and provides ample opportunity for practice. Emphasising accuracy and clarity, the workshop provides resources like grammar tools and official guidelines to ensure effective representation of the university.
Note: This workshop can be booked for individual departments/groups and thus adapted to specific needs. Please contact Eva Medin for more information.
Workshop on writing emails in English
Facilitator: Eva Medin, Language Specialist, Communications Office
The workshop provides you with templates, tools, and phrases for writing emails in English for work. It includes a presentation of common phrases for different levels of formality and contexts, information about tools and things to consider, as well as practical exercises.
Note: This workshop can be booked for individual departments/groups and thus adapted to specific needs. Please contact Eva Medin for more information.
Workshop on Giving Feedback: Why, When and How?
Facilitator: Anna Ekman, Language Lab at the University Library
Ever felt overwhelmed by all the demands on response from your students? Wondered if they did not read any of your well formulated comments and suggestions? Or if you simply have students who do not understand how to use feedback -and in that case, who should teach them that?
In this workshop, we will use our collective experiences to find reasons for starting or continuing to give feedback. We will also look at when to use feedback in your daily work and courses to make a difference. Lastly, I will suggest ways to communicate feedback in different situations to develop motivation and learning.
Theoretical background to this workshop is Hattie, Dylan and Dweck who all focus on education together with methods for coaching from the areas of business and sports.
Note: This workshop can be booked for individual departments/teaching teams and thus adapted to specific needs. Please contact Anna Ekman for more information.
Workshop on Oral Communication and Presentation Skills
Facilitator: Johanna Persson, Language Lab at the University Library
This workshop is an introduction to oral communication and presentation skills. We discuss what needs to be considered when giving an oral presentation before a group. What positive and negative factors influence a presentation? How do you best put your message across? This session also covers the different parts of a typical presentation and how to organise the contents. Furthermore, different common presentation aids and how they can/should be used, are discussed.
Note: This workshop can be booked for individual departments/groups and thus adapted to specific needs. Please contact Johanna Persson for more information.
Rhetorical Writing
Facilitator: Anna Ekman, Language Advisor, Language Lab at the University Library
When do we need the powers of persuasion in academic writing? More often than we perhaps think. In this workshop, we will examine the rhetorical triangle and see how we can develop claims, support, and warrant in texts such as proposals, applications, and reviews. There will be a short introduction to rhetoric followed by strategies and appeals. We also hope that you are up for a few more hands-on exercises, so bring your texts as work materials! Before we end, we will get a chance to analyse and critique the appeals and their effectiveness in different situations.
Note: This workshop can be booked for individual departments/teaching teams and thus adapted to specific needs. Please contact Anna Ekman for more information.
Abstract Writing Workshop
Facilitator: Eva Medin, Language Specialist, Communications Office
This interactive workshop presents a tool for writing an abstract for a scholarly/scientific text.
Note: This workshop can be booked for individual departments/groups and thus adapted to specific needs. Please contact Eva Medin for more information.
Facilitated Peer Review Session with a Special Focus on Clarity
Facilitator: Eva Medin, Language Specialist, Communications Office
This interactive workshop helps us think about communicating complex ideas through clear language. We will look at each other’s texts and consider the writing at the paragraph and sentence levels as well as look at clarity within sentences.
Note: This workshop can be booked for individual departments/groups and thus adapted to specific needs. Please contact Eva Medin for more information.
First Page Concept: Grant Applications
Facilitator: Research Advisors, Grants and Innovation Office
This workshop focuses on the presentation of central arguments in a grant proposal. The workshop consists of two parts. In the first part, some tools and exercises for proposal writing are presented. The second part consists of a joint discussion of the results of the exercises where all participants will receive feedback on some of the central arguments in their proposal text.
Note: This workshop can be booked for individual departments/groups and thus adapted to specific needs. Please contact Stefan Permanto for more information.
The university's writing retreat
Academic Communication and the Grants and Innovation Office regularly arrange writing retreats for the university's researchers.
The aim is to give researchers opportunity and coaching in order to get a lot of writing done. The writing retreat will consist of two or three full days with full room and board. The researchers who participate will have the opportunity to take part in an in-depth experience, close to nature, where you can write without distractions. You will have access to professional development in English and academic writing through workshops and through individual bookable coaching sessions. The retreat will also be an excellent opportunity for university researchers from different subject areas to meet. You can use the time and support to write whatever you want, such as articles for scientific journals, conference papers, or applications for research funding.
Resources
University resources
- University of Borås Swedish-English Lexicon
- University of Borås English Writing Guidelines
- Workshops and activities from Language Support at the University Library
- University Library, Academic Language
- Writing Email in English for University Work: Tips, Tools, and Phrases
- Writing Concisely: Tips for Reducing Word Count and Writing Concise Academic and Scientific Texts in English
External resources
- Academic Writing in English, Lund University (external link)
- Purdue Online Writing Lab, Purdue University (external link)
- Writing Guide from Blekinge Institute of Technology, Kristianstad University, Linnaeus University and Umeå University (external link)
- Academic Phrasebank, University of Manchester (external link)
- Academic Writing Resources from ECHER, Early Career Higher Education Researchers
- Sketch Engine for Language Learning, examples, collocations and thesaurus