Course syllabus

Convenor:

Stephen Turner

sf.turner@auckland.ac.nz

Social Science building, rm 538 (201E-538)

 

Office hours:

Monday 12-1 or by appointment

 

Lecture:

Thurs: 2-4, Clocktower, rm 029 (105-029)

 

Tutorials:

Mon 11-12, Arts 1, rm 210 (206-210)

Thurs 1-2, Arts 1, rm 215 (206-215)

 

Course description:

Addresses written communication in the workplace across a range of discourses, environments, strategies and audiences. Focusing on different kinds of writing used in contexts such as government, community organisations, consultancy, professions, NGOs and private business, students will analyse and produce key workplace text-types within a critical framework of workplace analysis and scholarship on labour and organisations.

By the end of this course students will have developed the ability to distinguish between the main types of workplace writing and to determine their mode, function and role in workplace operations; to produce effective, appropriate and strategic writing across key workplace text-types; to relate the type and function of texts to the contexts of different kinds of work environments; to relate workplace writing to the aims and goals of different kinds of organisations; and will be able to understand the relation of writing and workplace, including the ability to reflect on writing as part of the work. 

 

Prescribed text:

Sky Marsen, Professional Writing, 3^rd edition (Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke, Hampshire: New York, 2013)

 

Recommended text:

Jenny Buxton, Susan Carter and Sean Sturm, Punc Rocks (Pearson: Auckland, 2012)

 

Resources:

write@uni [academic writing]

https://flexiblelearning.auckland.ac.nz/writeatuni/

 

OWL Purdue Online Writing [writing rules]

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/599/01/Pr4snaion

 

Texas A and M University Writing Centre [writing and presentation]

http://writingcenter.tamu.edu/Students/Writing-Speaking-Guides

 

Course outline:  Course outlinePDF.pdf

 

Weekly Topics:

Week 1 (July 27): Introduction to the course

Week 2 (August 3): Internal communications(email, memo, letters, minutes, notes)

Week 3 (August 10): External communications (PR copy, customer relations, web page)

Week 4 (August 17): Report and proposal

Week 5 (August 24): Document design

Week 6 (August 31): Sentence work on workplace texts

Week 7 (September 21): Employability (EOI, CV, resume)

Week 8 (September 28): Critical management 

Week 9 (October 5): Content strategy and data analytics 

Week 10 (October 12): Teamwork

Week 11 (October 19): About presentations

Week 12 (October 26): Group presentations

 

Coursework:

1. Text practice (4 x 500 words each = 2000 words total) 10% each = 40%

                    Text-types #1 and #2 (internal and external communication)

                    Text-type #3 (employability document)

                    Text-type #4 (publicity)

 An exercise that involves practice in writing different types of work documents, in different types of organisations, according to imaginary work scenarios.

 

2. Text-evaluation (1000 words) 20%                          

A critical response to a workplace document, involving summary, analysis and discussion. 

 

3. Case study (2000 words) 40% 

= group written report 20%

   self-evaluation 10%

   role in group presentation 10%

A case study or critical review of an organisational situation, identifying underlying issues, with analysis of an organisational problem within a theoretical framework, and recommendations or implementation.