ORGANISATIONS AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATION - 2021/2

Module Overview

The module aims to introduce students to the specifics of writing for, and within, organisations such as businesses, not-for-profit organisations and other organisation in the public and private sector.

 

Students will examine, week by week, the differences in approach to specific documents and communicational devises and methodologies used in organisations, from advertising to report writing, visual language to electronic communication in terms of tone, register, structure, style, audience and impact. In each class, students will be exposed to critical writing on the subject of the week and will look at relevant examples in detail. Students will develop the ability to analyse these modes of written communication, to apply them to organisational situations, and to develop their own writing styles. To this end, they will then be given the opportunity to begin work on producing their own piece of written communication tied to that week’s subject, which will be taken away and worked on, and a selection of which will be presented at the following session.

 

Texts will be drawn from range of management, business, communications and literary sources, and will include theoretical and creative work.

 

Students will carry out their own analysis by producing a creative piece of written organisational communication alongside a critical essay and commentary reflecting on the creative work produced and using theories and concepts learnt on the module.

Module provider

School of Literature and Languages

Module Leader

MOONEY Stephen (Lit & Langs)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

The following areas are indicative of topics to be covered:

 

• Introduction to Organisations and Communications


• Advertising (conceptualizing the audience)


• Writing for Levels (different management and literacy levels)


• Report Writing


• Delivering Positive Information, & Managing the Negative


• The Language of Responsibility


• Case Study


• Handbook and Procedures Writing (internal)


• Translating the Technical


• Visual Language - Graphics and Visual Aids


• Electronic Communications.

 

 

 

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate:

• the development in their creative writing skills in prose fiction and/or poetry


• their understanding of the context of their work in historical and cultural terms, as well as in terms of other creative writing in the field


• their development of research and writing skills and, specifically, an understanding of matters relating to the dissemination of research and/or publishing


• productive and informed critical reflection on both the creative process itself and the finished work that has resulted from it

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

 

End of semester Creative Piece (500-1000 words) plus Critical Essay and Commentary (2500 words) (100%)

Deadline: Week 11 of the Semester in which the module runs.

 

Formative assessment and feedback

 

Formative assessment is provided through workshops every week, where one or more students will present a piece of written communication (uploaded to the Virtual Learning Environment in advance), which will then be workshopped by the class in conjunction with the lecturer.

 

Formative ‘feed forward’ is provided through seminar discussions, tutor feedback in seminars, and a range of other feedback mechanisms agreed between tutor and students in week 1 of the module, such as seminar contribution and writing exercises, and one-to-one tutorials focusing on assignment planning.

Module aims

• Develop an understanding of the function and operation of the various forms of written communication employed in organisations (both business and non-business)
• Stimulate the ability to identify and replicate different types of written documents and modes of written communication used within organisations
• Develop individual applied writing ability within the context of organisational structures and operational requirements
• Develop the ability to mould and adapt information to suit the specific communicational requirements and scenarios in a written format
• Facilitate students in gaining experience in working independently, selecting and evaluating date and other material for inclusion in, as well as the writing of, their own creative texts
• Develop the ability to analyse and appraise organisational situations and scenarios, and react to these appropriately, efficiently and effectively in written and electronic forms
• Encourage students to think multi-modally about their written presentations and communication techniques, and to engage with technological opportunities and developments

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

 

• Hone and develop students’ writing skills in prose fiction and/or poetry by helping them gain significant confidence and ability in critical analysis and thinking about writing as communication, and in gaining an ability to use specific compositional skills that will have practical application to the workplace 

• Assist students in locating their work in historical and cultural contexts by developing in them an understanding of the function and operation of the various forms of written communication employed in organisations (both business and non-business)


• Equip students with the research and writing skills they will need to produce both critically informed prose or poetry and creative criticism by helping them to apply frameworks for the analysis of written forms of communication in the organisational workplace, and evaluate their effectiveness as well as their limitations


• Facilitate in students productive reflection on both the creative process itself and the finished work that has resulted from it by enabling them to work independently in creating a piece of creative writing, backed up with a combined critcial commentary and critical essay that will have developed their skills in essay composition, and to more fully develop their sense of their own practice as writers

 

The learning and teaching methods include:

 

2 hour seminar x 11 weeks. In each workshop we will first spend some time discussing the set texts, before moving on to discuss and critique work presented by students each week. In the course of the seminar, students will be asked produce a piece of their own creative writing according to the set exercise.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: CMCM058

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2021/2 academic year.