Today, English is the main - and most widely internationally accepted - language used for writing research proposals, yet not everyone is academically fluent in English. Even native English speakers can often benefit from improving their English academic writing skills, the lack of which can lead to lack of clarity, confusion and rejection. In other words, the quality of the English used can make or break your research proposal.
During this online course, you will enhance your skills in writing a research proposal in English, both in terms of information elements and language. We will analyze the structure, vocabulary and grammatical structures of research proposals, including word order, articles, verb tenses, punctuation marks, modal verbs, hedging, referencing styles, and the use of transitional words and phrases. We will also address the concept of plagiarism and how to avoid it.
Your own (draft) research proposal will be central to this course. Beside practicing on model research proposals from your own academic domain and doing exercises in grammar and vocabulary topics, you will work on your proposal and receive feedback on this from both your peers and an English expert. At the end of the course, your research proposal will be reviewed both by a content and an English expert.
In addition to improving your English writing skills, you will enlarge your academic vocabulary and gain experience in critical reading. You will learn to better understand your own strengths and weaknesses in writing in English, and be able to familiarize yourself with vocabulary and self-study strategies that will enable you to improve your own writing.
Please note: This course is specifically aimed at researchers with a background in epidemiology. Therefore, all participants of the MSc Epidemiology Postgraduate Online Program are eligible to participate.
Participants in this course are required to hand in assignments every week, deadlines will be on Fridays, Sundays and Mondays.
If you are not participating in the MSc Epidemiology Postgraduate Online Program, we kindly ask you to send an email to info@elevatehealth.eu and include your research topic and your CV (optional), so we can assess your eligibility based on your proposal.
By the end of this Writing Research Proposals course, you will be able to:
• Display sufficient academic writing skills to write a successful research proposal
• Correctly structure a research proposal, and be able to assemble the correct information elements
In particular, you will be able to:
• Make good use of a range of relevant vocabulary
• Understand how to recognize and avoid plagiarism
• Grasp the use of transitional words and phrases
• Use correct grammar and syntax, e.g. word order, articles, verb tenses and punctuation
• Work with different referencing styles, and select the correct one for your own proposal
• Write using an enlarged academic vocabulary
• Recognize and use modal verbs for hedging
• Have gained experience in critical reading
• Be familiar with your own strengths and weaknesses in writing academic English
• Develop self-study strategies to further improve your own writing
• Getting started
Learning objectives; pre-writing stage; vocabulary development strategies; grammar review: verb tenses
• Analysis of model texts parts 1 & 2
Analyzing for information elements, vocabulary and grammar; transitional words and phrases; vocabulary portfolio; writing and peer reviewing
• Analysis of model texts part 3
Analyzing for information elements, vocabulary and grammar; plagiarism; grammar review: articles; vocabulary portfolio; writing and peer reviewing
• Analysis of model texts part 4
Analyzing for information elements, vocabulary and grammar; inventory of personal error types; grammar review: punctuation, modal verbs; vocabulary portfolio; writing and peer reviewing
• Analysis of model texts parts 5 & 6
Analyzing for information elements, vocabulary and grammar; referencing styles; vocabulary portfolio: finalizing; writing and peer reviewing; revisiting learning objectives; course evaluation
• Final proposal
Finalizing text research proposal; peer, lecturer and expert feedback; learning objectives revisited; course evaluation
To successfully complete this Writing Research Proposals course, you need to actively participate in the discussion forums, provide peer-feedback and complete the learning unit assignments, including:
• Vocabulary portfolio (25% of the final mark)
• Research proposal (75% of the final mark), your text will be marked on your use of English (50%) and on the content (50%)
To enroll in this course, you need:
• A Bachelor’s degree
• Sufficient proficiency in English reading and writing (B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference)
• Your own (draft) research proposal (if you do not have this, you will have to spend more time on the course than indicated)
Compulsory study materials
• ‘Practical English Usage’ by Michael Swan, Oxford University Press, fourth edition, ISBN: 978-01-94-420243-5.
We offer discounts for participants from Low- and Lower-middle-income Countries. Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht employees and students are eligible for a 10% discount. Unfortunately, we don’t offer any scholarships.
No, there aren’t any set times you should be online as it is an asynchronous course. All the web lectures are already pre-recorded. However there will be deadlines each week (during the week as well on weekends). Each week consists of approximately 14 study hours. To experience maximum interaction, we advise you to log in several times per week. Furthermore, you should be aware that the teacher and the e-moderator are off on weekends.
No, this is not possible because the course contains group assignments, so you can’t work ahead. Each week, a new learning unit will be made available. This means that not all the learning units are open simultaneously. Additionally, you can’t catch up on the course because there are deadlines to meet every week.
After enrollment, you will receive a confirmation email. A week before the course officially starts, you will receive an email with more detailed information and planning.
If you have ordered a course and paid immediately, you will receive an email with your login details. Sometimes, this email ends up in your spam folder. If you already have an existing account, simply log in to our learning environment. The course you just ordered will be visible in your account.
If you paid by invoice, you will receive your login credentials as soon as the invoice is paid. If the course is starting soon and you haven’t received your login details, please reach out to us at info@elevatehealth.eu to inquire about the payment status.
When you have completed all the assignments or have finished the exam with a good grade, you will receive an official certificate from Utrecht University. All academic certificates issued by Utrecht University will be sent by mail to the address registered in your account. Since these certificates are official documents, they cannot be sent by email.
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