Module Information

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.

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.