If you are an English language learner and getting ready to enter into university, getting up to speed on your academic writing will mean the difference between success and struggle in your academic pursuits. However, you're in luck, as there are several free online academic English writing courses available that offer students like you a chance to brush up on your skills in your own time and without paying a dime.
- A Beginner's Guide to Writing in English for University Study — In this five-week course provided by the University of Reading (via FutureLearn), you will learn how to write using academic English in preparation for university study. The course was developed to help students learn the basics of writing in English for academic purposes, including the stages of essay writing. Aimed at non-English speakers with a minimum level of IELTS 4.5 or equivalent, you should know some English before taking this course.
- Adjectives and Adjective Clauses — In this four-week course provided by the University of California, Irvine (via Coursera), you will learn how to make your writing more interesting through writing adjectives and adjective clauses. In the first module, you will review what adjectives (and adjective phrases) are and how to use them correctly in English. In the second module, you'll learn about adjective clauses, what they look like, and how to use them correctly to make your sentences more complex. In the final module, you'll learn the different ways to use adjective clauses in academic writing.
- Advanced Writing — In this four-week course provided by the University of California, Irvine (via Coursera), you will learn to raise your level of academic writing in preparation for college-level work. Specifically, you will learn to plan and write a more sophisticated argumentative essay; identify plagiarism and explain how to prevent it; read and analyze several articles to form your own opinion on a topic; make connections between several articles; form thesis statements from your readings; and use sources effectively when writing an essay. While you'll have access to all the instructional videos and handouts by taking the free version of this course, you'll need to enroll in the paid version to receive peer feedback and take quizzes.
- Conjunctions, Connectives, and Adverb Clauses — In this four-week course provided by the University of California, Irvine (via Coursera), you will learn about the different types of conjunctions in English and how to use them and punctuate them in sentences. You will also learn how to join ideas with correct grammar and punctuation, including transition words and prepositional phrases, complex sentences, and adverb clauses. Finally, you'll learn a more advanced way to write complex sentences by reducing the adverb clauses. Each of these lessons will help you write academic English more fluently.
- English Composition — In this eight-week course provided by Arizona State University (via edX) as part of the Global Freshman Academy (GFA), you will learn how to communicate your ideas clearly through English writing. Specifically, you will learn to develop ideas effectively for a variety of purposes, audiences and occasions through completing several major written projects. Furthermore, you will learn how to craft your writing to meet the needs of specific audiences for specific purposes; how to make decisions about what to include and not include in your writing; how to use invention, research, drafting, revising, and editing in your writing; to use various formats and stylistic choices, including genre conventions; and how to use diverse technologies to write more effectively and efficiently.
- English Composition I — In this ten-week course provided by Duke University (via Coursera), you will learn college-level writing by reading carefully, writing effective arguments, understanding the writing process, engaging with others' ideas, citing accurately, and crafting powerful prose. Throughout the course, you will also learn how to summarize, analyze, question, and evaluate written and visual texts; argue and support a position; recognize audience and disciplinary expectations; identify and use the stages of the writing process; identify characteristics of effective prose; apply proper citation practices; and discuss applying your writing knowledge to other writing occasions.
- English Grammar and Style — In this eight-week course sponsored by The University of Queensland (via edX), you can learn key concepts and strategies in grammar and style to help enhance your writing. The course offers instruction in grammatical principles, word usage, writing style, sentence and paragraph structure, and punctuation. Video interviews with distinguished grammarians, along with quizzes and writing activities, assist students build their English writing skills.
- Getting Started with Essay Writing — In this four-week course provided by the University of California, Irvine (via Coursera), you will learn about the three types of academic essays and how to improve your writing skills when writing each type. The course covers how to create effective thesis statements for your essays; how to plan and write compare/contrast, cause/effect, and argument essays; and how to write well-developed body paragraphs. While the lectures and practice activities are available for free, students must enroll in the paid version to take the quizzes and receive feedback on writing assignments.
- Grammar and Punctuation — In this four-week course offered by the University of California, Irvine (via Coursera), you will learn the basics of writing academic English for studying in an American university. It includes video lectures, readings, practice exercises, and quizzes, although the free version does not offer peer feedback and graded quizzes. By the end of the course, you will know how to identify the correct verb tenses to use, use commas effectively, utilize several different sentence types, and write more effectively in English.
- How to Write an Essay — In this five-week course provided by the University of California, Berkeley (via edX), you will be introduced to academic writing for English learners by learning essay development, grammatical correctness, and self-editing. The course covers basic grammar terminology and understanding; writing effective sentences and paragraphs; introductions and conclusions; strategies for writing longer texts; and thesis statements. It is provided in partnership with the U.S. Department of State.
- Introduction to Research for Essay Writing — In this four-week course provided by the University of California, Irvine (via Coursera), you will learn the steps involved in planning, outlining, and writing a research paper. Some topics covered include how to choose appropriate research topics for your classes, how to find source material for research papers, how to avoid plagiarizing, and how to take and organize notes in the process of your research. You will also learn how to use an appropriate academic tone and language in your writing, along with how to document sources by creating a Works Cited list in MLA format.
- Perfect Tenses and Modals — In this four-week course provided by the University of California, Irvine (via Coursera), you will learn about important intermediate verb tenses, including present perfect, present perfect progressive, past perfect, and past perfect progressive. The course also covers common modal verbs used in English. Although it is designed for learners who already have a basic understanding of English grammar, it will help you become a better academic writer.
- Preparing for College: Writing Proficiency — This self-paced course provided by Parkland College (via Canvas Network) is third in a series of four courses that are aimed at helping students improve their scores on placement tests while preparing for college-level courses. The focus of this course is on writing skills, along with links to practice tests to help students identify problem areas and supplemental help for students who need it.
- Scribble: Writing for New Writers — In this 13-week course provided via OpenLearning, you will learn the process of writing—from simple paragraphs to more complex writing structures. The course's eventual aim is to prepare you for research writing. Designed for students who are studying English and are preparing to soon enter a university, this course will help you brush up on some basic skills such as sentence and paragraph creation, along with proper English structure and forms of writing.
- Tricky English Grammar — In this four-week course provided by the University of California, Irvine (via Coursera), you will learn about tricky issues in English grammar that can confuse even the most astute student. This includes tricky nouns, articles, and quantifiers; when to put "a" or "the" in front of a noun; when to put nothing in front of the noun; using gerunds and infinitives correctly; making requests and asking for permission; some word forms that cause confusion; and phrasal verbs and collocations.
- Verb Tenses and Passives — In this four-week course provided by the University of California, Irvine (via Coursera), you will review the verb tenses that you learned in beginning English classes and learn about a few tenses you may not know very well. It covers 12 of the English verb tenses and passive verb forms, along with how to blend these tenses, which is what native speakers frequently do. Overall, this course will help you improve your fluency in written and spoken academic English. While the free version of this class gives you access to all of the instructional videos and handouts, you will need to enroll in the paid course to receive peer feedback and take quizzes.
- Writing in English at University — In this four-week course provided by Lund University (via Coursera), you will learn to understand the conventions of academic writing in English along with the various components of the academic writing process. The course is divided into four modules:
- Writing in English at university: An introduction;
- Structuring your text and conveying your argument;
- Using sources in academic writing; and
- The writer's toolbox: Editing and proofreading.