Akademické čtení/Mgr. Ritter Konárková ZS 2025/2026
Osnova sekce
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Course Description and Requirements
The language of instruction and communication in this course will be English, with occasional support in Czech if needed.
The first half of the semester will focus on developing effective reading strategies, expanding academic vocabulary, and practising close reading of selected texts from the humanities.
By mid-semester, each student will choose an original academic text in English from their own field of study (approx. 10–15 standard pages). In November/December, students will present their chosen text in a short 10-minute presentation in English. By the end of the course, each student will submit:
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the original text,
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a written summary of the text (uploaded via Moodle).
In addition, students will keep a private “reader’s self-assessment journal,” where they will reflect weekly on their own reading experiences. These entries will be accessible only to the teacher.
Course Requirements (for 4 credits)
To successfully complete the course, students must:
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participate actively in class,
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attend at least 50% of contact sessions,
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submit all assignments on time via Moodle,
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keep a weekly reader’s self-assessment journal,
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give a short presentation,
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pass a test in academic vocabulary.
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Challenge yourselves!! Learn the words from the AWL by the end of the semester! Your progress will be checkd regularly by short assigned quizzes. If you study 1 sublist a week, you'll become an academic vocabulary expert by January—what a chance! Don't miss it!
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Reflective journal
Record and reflect on your reading progress and experience weekly (deadlines are Mondays, 11 p.m.). Think about the following: How have I contributed to my vocabulary and reading development this week? What have I read? Which words have I learnt? Am I satisfied with this week's progress? Do I need any assistance from my teacher? How did I use English this week? Was this week's course topic useful for me?
While writing, do not censor yourself too much, try to write freely and don't worry about any grammar errors, this is a journal. You can switch to Czech if you don't feel like writing in English. Write min.100 words per entry.
Your answers will remain private with only your teacher having access and commenting on them.
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Studenti musíOznačit jako hotovo
Read the article and:
- skim the text (write the main idea in 2-3 sentences
- scan for 3 details (dates, names, numbers, examples)
- deep-read one paragraph (underline topic sentence and key supporting details
- bring your notes to class
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Practice your reading comprehension skills and revise by taking this short fun quiz - by October 13, 11 p.m.
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Studenti musíOznačit jako hotovo
Study the fist 2 sublists from the AWL and then take this quiz to practice.
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Reflective journal
Record and reflect on your reading progress and experience weekly (deadlines are Mondays, 11 p.m.). Think about the following: How have I contributed to my vocabulary and reading development this week? What have I read? Which words have I learnt? Am I satisfied with this week's progress? Do I need any assistance from my teacher? How did I use English this week? Was this week's course topic useful for me?
+ Reflection on Week 2 topic: “Next time I read a text in English, I will look for these 3 features to check if it is academic:”
While writing, do not censor yourself too much, try to write freely and don't worry about any grammar errors, this is a journal. You can switch to Czech if you don't feel like writing in English. Write min.100 words per entry.
Your answers will remain private with only your teacher having access and commenting on them.
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Practice your knowledge of the words from Sublist 3 with this fun quiz.
The quiz closes on Oct 30, but the ideal deadline for our course is October 20, 11 p.m.
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Study the differences between everyday and academic words and prepare your answers to exercises 1-3. Bring your answers to class.
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Reflective journal
Record and reflect on your reading progress and experience weekly (deadlines are Mondays, 11 p.m.). Think about the following: How have I contributed to my vocabulary and reading development this week? What have I read? Which words have I learnt? Am I satisfied with this week's progress? Do I need any assistance from my teacher? How did I use English this week? Was this week's course topic useful for me?
+ Reflection on Week 3 topic: “How do structure and vocabulary support clarity in academic writing?”
While writing, do not censor yourself too much, try to write freely and don't worry about any grammar errors, this is a journal. You can switch to Czech if you don't feel like writing in English. Write min.100 words per entry.
Your answers will remain private with only your teacher having access and commenting on them.
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For our next class: like last week, find a text from your field of study (the length is up to you). Read it and prepare a max. 3-minute presentation of its main ideas to your colleagues. Select 5-10 words you didn't know or you think are crucial for understanding the topic and check their meaning - we will share them again in class.
If you cannot come, upload your article summary here, together with the list of the new words.
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Read the text about SQ3R reading system and fill in the attached diagram.
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Studenti musíVytvořit odpověď
Download the SQ3R mindmap diagram, fill in the blanks and upload.
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Studenti musíVytvořit odpověď
FIND AN ARTICLE (5-15 PAGES) RELATED TO YOUR FIELD OF STUDY WHICH YOU FOUND IN AN ONLINE SCHOLARLY DATABASE.
READ THE TEXT USING THE INSERT METHOD OF ACTIVE READING.
CREATE A MIND MAP OF ITS MAIN IDEAS. UPLOAD A SCAN/PHOTO/SCREENSHOT/ OF YOUR MINDMAP.
UPLOAD THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE (OR A LINK) AND A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF WHY YOU CHOSE IT AND HOW IT IS RELATED TO YOUR CURRENT STUDY.
BRING THE ANNOTATED TEXT TO OUR CLASS ON 4 NOVEMBER (ELECTRONIC VERSION IS FINE).
JUST LIKE IN THE LAST WEEKS, PREPARE 5-10 NEW WORDS TO SHARE WITH YOUR COLLEAGUES AND A SHORT SUMMARY OF THE TEXT.
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Studenti musíZobrazit
Practice your knowledge of the words from Sublist 4 with this fun quiz.
The quiz closes on 4 November.
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Studenti musíZobrazit
Reflective journal
Record and reflect on your reading progress and experience weekly (deadlines are Mondays, 11 p.m.). Think about the following: How have I contributed to my vocabulary and reading development this week? What have I read? Which words have I learnt? Am I satisfied with this week's progress? Do I need any assistance from my teacher? How did I use English this week? Was this week's course topic useful for me?
+ Reflection on Week 4 topic: “Am I an active reader? What do/will I do to approach the assigned texts actively?”
While writing, do not censor yourself too much; try to write freely, and don't worry about any grammar errors—this is a journal. You can switch to Czech if you don't feel like writing in English. Write min. 100 words per entry.
Your answers will remain private, with only your teacher having access and commenting on them.
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In this unit, we will be looking at summary writing. Please study the attached documents and upload a summary of the text you chose for the previous unit (mind-mapping exercise).
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Studenti musíZískat nějakou známku
Write a summary of the text you have found and mind-mapped for the previous class. Write ca 200-300 words. Please follow the guidelines offered in the links above. Make sure your text is spell-checked. Please upload your original text (or a link) as well as your summary.
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Studenti musíZískat nějakou známkuZískat požadovanou známku
Practice your paraphrasing skills in this test.
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Studenti musíZobrazit
Reflective journal
Record and reflect on your reading progress and experience weekly (deadlines are Mondays, 11 p.m.). Think about the following: How have I contributed to my vocabulary and reading development this week? What have I read? Which words have I learnt? Am I satisfied with this week's progress? Do I need any assistance from my teacher? How did I use English this week? Was this week's course topic useful for me?
+ Reflection on Week 5 topic: “When paraphrasing, what challenges do you face in keeping the original meaning while using your own words, and how do you address them?"
While writing, do not censor yourself too much; try to write freely, and don't worry about any grammar errors—this is a journal. You can switch to Czech if you don't feel like writing in English. Write min. 100 words per entry.
Your answers will remain private, with only your teacher having access and commenting on them.
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This week find another academic text from your field of study (10-20 standard pages).
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Studenti musíVytvořit odpověď
Choose 1-3 paragraphs from an academic article of your choice and summarize them using:
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One hedge (e.g., “may,” “appears”),
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One passive (e.g., “was conducted”),
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One nominalization (e.g., “the analysis of data”),
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Two linking devices (e.g., “however,” “therefore”).
Include the original paragraphs and a full bibliographic citation.
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Studenti musíZobrazit
Reflective journal
Record and reflect on your reading progress and experience weekly (deadlines are Mondays, 11 p.m.). Think about the following: How have I contributed to my vocabulary and reading development this week? What have I read? Which words have I learnt? Am I satisfied with this week's progress? Do I need any assistance from my teacher? How did I use English this week? Was this week's course topic useful for me?
+ Reflection on Week 6 topic: “How could you apply Intensive Reading strategies when reading your own academic texts?"
While writing, do not censor yourself too much; try to write freely, and don't worry about any grammar errors—this is a journal. You can switch to Czech if you don't feel like writing in English. Write min. 100 words per entry.
Your answers will remain private, with only your teacher having access and commenting on them.
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Presentations: Let's get ready to overcome these:
The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public. ~ Unknown
Glossophobia, or a fear of public speaking, is a very common phobia and one that is believed to affect up to 75% of the population. Some individuals may feel a slight nervousness at the very thought of public speaking, while others experience full-on panic and fear.
For your presentation, use a text from your field of study that is 10-20 standard pages. Prepare a visual aid—a presentation in PowerPoint, Canva, Prezi, etc.—and a handout for your classmates, including 10 essential words from your topic and their explanation in English. I will copy the handout; please send it to my email before the presentation.
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Studenti musíOznačit jako hotovo
The name of this talk speaks for itself:)
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Studenti musíVytvořit odpověď
Find an academic text from your field of study. Identify one claim the author makes and evaluate it: What kind of evidence is provided? Is the claim well supported, biased, or overly general? Explain your reasoning.
Upload the original text and mark the evaluated claim and its reasoning. You can also provide a link to the text and copy the passage in question to your file.
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Studenti musíZobrazit
Reflective journal
Record and reflect on your reading progress and experience weekly (deadlines are Mondays, 11 p.m.). Think about the following: How have I contributed to my vocabulary and reading development this week? What have I read? Which words have I learnt? Am I satisfied with this week's progress? Do I need any assistance from my teacher? How did I use English this week? Was this week's course topic useful for me?
+ Reflection on Week 8 topic: “Are you a critical reader?"
While writing, do not censor yourself too much; try to write freely, and don't worry about any grammar errors—this is a journal. You can switch to Czech if you don't feel like writing in English. Write min. 100 words per entry.
Your answers will remain private, with only your teacher having access and commenting on them.
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These fallacies have been selected for the classroom handout.
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Studenti musíZobrazit
Reflective journal
Record and reflect on your reading progress and experience weekly (deadlines are Mondays, 11 p.m.). Think about the following: How have I contributed to my vocabulary and reading development this week? What have I read? Which words have I learnt? Am I satisfied with this week's progress? Do I need any assistance from my teacher? How did I use English this week? Was this week's course topic useful for me?
+ Reflection on Week 9 topic: “Search for an example of a logical fallacy? Which one is your favourite? Which do you come across often? Give examples, please."
While writing, do not censor yourself too much; try to write freely, and don't worry about any grammar errors—this is a journal. You can switch to Czech if you don't feel like writing in English. Write min. 100 words per entry.
Your answers will remain private, with only your teacher having access and commenting on them.
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Prepare your answers to the exercise for our class on 9 December.
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Try this exercise and get ready for our short in-class reading comprehension quiz.
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This week, focus on completing your moodle assignments and journal entries. Practice the Academic Wordlist.
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Below, you can find a list of texts from the field of education and humanities to practice your reading. Some of them are accompanied by questions for reflection.
