Module Information

Module Identifier
IC31100
Module Title
Written Communications in Management and Business 2
Academic Year
2016/2017
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 1 (Taught over 2 semesters)
Mutually Exclusive
Other Staff

Course Delivery

Delivery Type Delivery length / details
Seminar 11 x 2 Hour Seminars
 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment Semester 1: 50% of final mark, to include  Assignment 1: 40% - Critical review of three case study reference sources relevant to subject area (1,000 words); Assignment 2: 60% - Essay (1,500 words)  50%
Semester Assessment Semester 2: 50% of final mark, to include  Assignment 3: 40% - Team written portfolio assignment (to a maximum of 1,000 words per team member), including a) written project proposal and oral presentation of proposal b) development of project material; Assignment 4: 60% - Team written portfolio assignment (to a maximum of 1,500 words per team member) including a) team written final report b) oral presentation  50%
Supplementary Assessment Failed assignments must be retaken if the student's combined final mark falls below 40% (to a maximum of 5,000 words)  100%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

* Analyse and appropriately interpret the needs of a given writing and/or communications brief

* Display a critical awareness of the differences between academic and professional discourse

* Identify the relative values of reference materials from a wide range of published and media resources

* Evaluate the effectiveness of their own writing, communication and research strategies at all stages of the writing and/or communications process

* Target the needs of proposed research interests

* Work effectively in self managed teams

* Identify needs for drafting oral presentations from written documents

* Further develop skills in self reflexive assessment of the needs of a range of written and oral communication practices

Brief description

In semester 1 the module covers aspects of planning, drafting, re-drafting, editing and submitting written academic work in essay and report format. It will compare and contrast these approaches to writing with approaches required in the workplace and in professional media. To facilitate this students will work with case studies in management and business to identify issues in structural and rhetorical descriptions of written communication and in particular how choices made by individual communicators impact on academic and professional audiences.

In semester 2 the module develops upon the themes of semester 1 and expands into a significant teamwork project in developing, writing and producing socially or publicity oriented materials that reflect the student experience at Aberystwyth University. The materials created may include a variety of formats, which include YouTube videos, limited public content Facebook pages, printed materials, among others. The project will culminate in a series of presentations of project materials.

Aims

To enhance the ability for students to develop levels of excellence in academic writing and to contrast this with variable possibilities in the requirements of future professional writing in the fields of Management and Business.

This module will be useful for:

  • Second and third year students who need to further develop writing ability as a result of writing development needs identified from year 1;
  • Second year entry students on internationally agreed 2+2 programmes;
  • Second and third year students who need to develop an awareness and appreciation of finer nuances of written communication in academic and professional life;
  • Students who wish to pursue the development of writing with a view to career plans that may involve significant professional writing responsibilities;
  • To provide pathways to writing at higher levels of critical and self reflexive complexity for those intending to pursue postgraduate studies.

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Application of Number Structuring and sequencing in essays and reports.
Communication 1) Groupwork within the module; 2) communicating ideas through sequence of graded tasks.
Improving own Learning and Performance Through all seminars and tasks; written identification through reflective report.
Information Technology Use of computer network for researching essays, identifying case study material, planning and writing essays. Some tasks will be submitted through Blackboard.
Personal Development and Career planning Consideration is given to the needs of professional communication through all tasks.
Problem solving Identifying writing topics, topic analysis, interpreting essay questions, creating writing task, essay and report structures, identifying strategies for learning.
Research skills Independently proposing essay questions, researching subject matter related to tasks, essays/reports, identifying suitable case study material, reviewing material.
Subject Specific Skills Rhetorical and linguistic analysis of subject specific text and tasks.
Team work Groupwork within module.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6