59356 Developing Academic Writing and Speaking Skills

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2020 is available in the Archives.

UTS: International Studies: Applied Language and Literacy Studies
Credit points: 8 cp
Result type: Grade, no marks

Anti-requisite(s): 59720 Academic English: Communication Fundamentals, and Category Type = Subject AND 59721 Academic English: Communication Fundamentals, and Category Type = Subject

Note

Students who have already completed at least one session at UTS and who would like to develop their academic English skills should see either 59720 Academic English: Communication Fundamentals (6cp) or 59721 Academic English: Communication Fundamentals (8cp).

Description

This subject is for undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students in the early stages of study at UTS. It provides an introduction to the special features of academic communication and develops students' skills in academic writing and academic speaking.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

a.	Demonstrate awareness of the differences between academic and ‘common sense’ discourse.
b.	Build the content of their academic writing and organise information and ideas in a systematic way.
c.	Achieve sentence-level intelligibility in their academic writing.
d.	Communicate intelligibly in a spoken mode in academic contexts.

Contribution to the development of graduate attributes

As this is a stand-alone subject and not part of a specific degree program, the subject engages with the following Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Graduate Attributes:

1. Professional Readiness

2. Critical and Creative Inquiry

3. International and Intercultural Engagement

5. Active Citizenship

6. Effective Communication

Teaching and learning strategies

Preparation for classes

Students will be expected to:

1. preview the weekly material posted on UTS Online,
2. complete designated pre-class reflection and analysis tasks within this material,
3. complete short comprehension and reflection tasks accompanying any required reading.

In-class activities

The in-class activities will feature a mix of:

1. lecturer input on principles of academic communication, research-informed ‘unpacking’ of academic writing and speaking skills, and language as a system at the level of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation,
2. individual student analysis and practice of specific academic writing and speaking skills, based on concrete and in-context tasks,
3. collaborative analysis and, where appropriate, interactive practice of specific academic and speaking skills, again based on concrete and in-context tasks.

Post-class activities:

Students will be expected to complete short tasks posted on UTS Online which consolidate and extend the skills development work done in class.

Content (topics)

1. A practical, rather than linguistic, perspective on the nature of academic communication, what makes it different from other forms of communication.
2. The knowledge and skills required in effective academic writing.
3. Conceptualising academic writing: drawing on and synthesizing appropriate reading, addressing the set task, using a coherent framework, providing an appropriate level of detail.
4. Common sentence-level accuracy problems in academic writing and approaches to editing them.
5. Speaking and listening versus writing and reading, the knowledge and skills required for effective speaking in academic contexts.
6. Effective speaking in group work, in consultative discourse with a lecturer, and in an oral presentation.

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Outline of a written assessment task

Objective(s):	a, b and c
Weight:	40%
Length:	750 words (Justification section no fewer than 500 words)
Criteria linkages:	Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs Clarity of, and level of detail in, the outline 20 a Clarity of the description of the choices made 20 b Level of principled justification of the choices made 40 b Care, clarity and accuracy of written communication 20 c SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 2: Editing academic writing for accuracy

Objective(s):	c
Weight:	20%
Length:	60 minutes
Criteria linkages:	Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs Accuracy of editing 100 c SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 3: Analysis of spoken communication in an academic context

Objective(s):	c and d
Weight:	40%
Length:	500 words
Criteria linkages:	Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs Accuracy of description of the purpose of the interaction 20 d Level of principled analysis of the success of the communication 40 d Appropriacy of the suggestions for more effective communication 20 d Care, clarity and accuracy of written communication 20 c SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Minimum requirements

Students need to pass Assessment Task 1 and 3 to pass the subject. Each task assesses different subject learning objectives.

Attendance at weekly classes is important for this subject because it is based on the interchange of ideas with other students and with the lecturer. Students must attend at least 9 of the 11 classes. A roll will be kept for each class. Students who do not meet this attendance requirement will not have their final assessment task marked.

Required texts

There is no set textbook for this subject. Weekly teaching and learning material will be posted on UTS Online.