Academic Writing

The Academic Writing Workshop aims to provide students with useful tools for organising a text. The course content is geared towards developing the skills needed to write scientific and research articles, newspaper pieces, press releases, and degree theses.    

The course focuses on academic skills and the fundamentals of academic writing. The aim is to enhance the impact of students' writing by equipping them with both the theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed to produce high-quality texts. 

In particular, students will have the opportunity to practise critical reading and writing by summarising, analysing, and synthesising ideas.

A key goal of the course is to equip students with more impactful communication skills, particularly in storytelling, by developing their own narrative style for presentations, interviews, speeches, negotiations, debates, meetings, and written communications. There will be a strong focus on shaping students' individual expression in both oral and written skills, with particular attention to their chosen work environment.

The course will also combine narrative theory with writing exercises to explore the art of storytelling in its various forms. 

Expected course outcomes 

By the end of the course, students should demonstrate greater confidence and precision in both oral and written communication. This should result from developing storytelling skills, oral and written expression, and a greater command of the language (especially for the English course), including vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, neologisms, compound forms, phrasal verbal expressions, and specialist terms. Students should also see a reduction in errors, develop critical analysis, become more proficient in using high-quality formal language, improve their pronunciation (more natural rhythm, body language, voice clarity, and a clearer tone and intonation), increase their speed, and enhance their translation skills.

In terms of academic writing, students will be able to: approach readings critically, considering the various contexts (social, contemporary, or personal) that surround and support each text; recognise the stylistic conventions of academic writing; effectively summarise and analyse various texts, identifying and highlighting key ideas and messages; develop independent perspectives and arguments supported by research; and strengthen the proofreading skills needed to complete a writing project. 

Lecturers

Academic Writing (English): Orsetta Lopane

Academic Writing (Italian): Cinzia Tani

General Rules

• The course lasts a total of 30 hours, after which students will be required to work on assigned project work. To have the University Credits recognised, you must have attended 80% of the total hours, which corresponds to 24 hours (you can therefore be absent for a maximum of 6 hours), and the lecturer must deem you eligible for the final assessment.
• A tutor will be responsible for recording attendance, which will be done by signing a register. Failure to sign in and/or out will be considered an absence. There will be no exceptions to the sole criterion for awarding university credits, which is attendance.
• Absence hours will be calculated based on the attendance records. Depending on the schedule or personal needs, students can either take a full day off or miss individual hours across multiple lessons.
• Once a student has chosen their pathway, they will not be able to earn University Credits through any other means.
• Students who have already earned the University Credits required by their study plan for Other Activities, or who have already started attending optional language courses or other activities for which credits are recognised, are excluded.

Additional information

• The course will take place during the first semester.
• The course will be delivered in both Italian and English.
• All sessions will take place on either a Friday or a Saturday.

The activity schedule will be available in September.

Registration

Students enrolled in the second year of the Bachelor’s Degree programmes in Management and Artificial Intelligence, Business Administration, Economics and Business, and Global Law for the 2026/2027 academic year will be able to select the Soft Skills Academic Writing course in English directly via Web Self Service when completing their Study Plan, in order to earn the relevant credits.

Students enrolled in the second year of the Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Management for the 2026/2027 academic year, and those in the third year of the Single-Cycle Master’s Degree in Law for the 2026/2027 academic year, can select the Soft Skills Academic Writing course in Italian directly via Web Self Service while completing their Study Plan, to earn the relevant credits.

For more information, please email: softskills@luiss.it