What is a Program?

Several MOOC providers have introduced series of courses that are designed to provide in-depth knowledge of particular fields.  Often the final course is a project. Sometimes the final project is individually assessed by course staff rather than the peer assessments common in many free or low-cost MOOCs. Four to six courses are common, although there may be fewer or more. Coursera calls these groups of courses Specializations. EdX has XSeries, Micromasters and Professional Certificates. FutureLearn has Programs.

Improve Your Writing with this Program

One of FutureLearn’s Programs is titled Writing in English for University Study. Produced by the University of Reading, this program consists of two five-week MOOCs plus a final essay that is individually assessed for a fee by university staff.

I took the first two MOOCs in this program in 2018. The course information pages appear to cover similar material in 2019. The program is aimed at non-English speakers who have studied some English and have a minimum level of IELTS (International English Language Testing System ) score of 4.5 or equivalent.

The two MOOCs are A Beginner’s Guide to Writing in English for University Study which starts its next run on 11 February, 2019 and An Intermediate Guide to Writing in English for University Study which starts on 25 March, 2019. The final component is titled Writing in English for University Study Success: Final Assessment. According to the Program page, after the second course finishes, you will have two weeks to write your 500-to-600 word essay, then you can expect your assessment within two more weeks. Students are advised to complete the second course in the program before being accepted into the Final Assessment. According to the FutureLearn Program page, students who purchase and successfully complete all three components will earn the FutureLearn Program award.

Are These Courses Available for Free?

You can enroll and complete the two MOOCs for free without getting a certificate. Under FutureLearn’s current policy, you have seven weeks to complete them without paying (five weeks per course plus two extra weeks); or you can pay, enjoy unlimited access, and receive certificates when you complete them.

You cannot submit your essay for the third component without paying the fee. Find out the fee in British Pounds or, in some countries, your local currency by checking the Writing in English for University Study Program page.

Beginner’ Guide

Week one of the Beginner’s Guide defines academic writing and includes example essay drafts written by a non-native English speaker. For many learners this may be reassuring, to find that other students have difficulties writing in formal English. There is plenty to think about, and the instructor explains the strengths and major weaknesses of the essay. I was interested to find that not only does the course teach us how to write, it also shows us how to comment on other students’ work. The example student made great progress between the first and second drafts of his essay.

The course includes many clear explanations of aspects of written English as well as some exercises, free quizzes and downloadable guides to various topics.

Basic writing rules including subject-verb agreement, past, present, and future tense, and singular versus plural are discussed. The differences between spoken and formal language are also explained.

This course introduces three aspects of essays: content, organisation, and language.

The five weeks take learners through the process of choosing a subject and title for our 300-word essay, collecting ideas, planning the structure, writing and editing. In the final week, you receive feedback on your essay from a random classmate. I received minimal feedback, but then again, I am a native speaker, which most of my classmates were not.

Links to useful resources are included, such as an Academic Phrasebank created by the University of Manchester: http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/

Intermediate Guide

The Intermediate guide introduces learners to the set topic for the essay to be assessed in the third component of the program. It teaches you how to interpret and answer topic questions. More information about words, and some activities and quizzes, are again included. Some reference resources are mentioned and students are shown how to search for further materials. Distinguishing between scholarly articles, news items, and opinion pieces is also explained. You are taught how to take notes and include information from articles without plagiarism. Building a bibliography or reference list is also covered. How to write an introduction, intermediate paragraphs, and a conclusion are taught, as are recommendations for effective editing and proofreading.

The ten weeks of these two courses cover plenty of material.

Final Assessment Essay

I did not enroll in the third part of the program. The course information mentions a set of revision steps to work through before submitting your essay for individual assessment by staff at the University of Reading’s International Study and Language Institute. The feedback would likely be very useful for students who lack confidence with their academic writing. There are set assessment times: a few periods per year, following the dates of the MOOCs.

A Final Thought

If you are not confident about your writing in English, you will find these courses very useful. Successfully completing these two courses and the final essay will probably lead to dramatic improvements for English students, although you may need further study and practice before being able to produce high quality essays.

By Pat Bowden, published February 12, 2019.