WRITING AND REWRITING FOR TRANSLATORS - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module focuses on the intricate relationship between writing and translation through the practicalities of text production within a broad writing context (i.e. from fiction prose to technical text production), with a view to making translators aware of the basic elements required to create an effective text. It will combine weekly theoretical lectures with workshops to read and discuss students' work as well as rewriting and revising techniques.

Module provider

Literature & Languages

Module Leader

ASIMAKOULAS Dimitris (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

Indicative content includes:

• Composition: words, sentences, paragraphs (cohesion, coherence, narrativity)


• Textual structures or modes of discourse: Narration; Exposition, Argumentation and Persuasion


• Using tools, including Large Language Models such as ChatGPT to address issues of creativity


• Planning and organizing content


• Rewriting for different audiences


• Dialogic texts: elements of orality and performativity


• Style, lexical richness, figurative language, register and linguistic varieties


• Self-revising and revising the work of others

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

n/a

Assessment Strategy

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

* development of writing skills for different contexts and audiences
* development of revising and editing skills
* development of an initial idea to create a story understanding of source text analysis for translation
 

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

* Portfolio of Item(s) Consisting of 1-2 Creative Piece(s) (1000 words) (40%)
These are pieces that students started authoring during one of their weekly sessions and which they later revised, taking in-class feedback on board, enabling students to experiment with different topics, test and take ownership of their writing approaches and develop professional presentation skills of their final written contributions

* Additional Creative Piece, which Is Complemented by a Reflective Commentary (1500 words)  (60%)
This enables students to develop subject-specific knowledge, apply research skills and further develop their decision-making in developing an additional topic with a view to unleashing their creativity

 

Formative assessment

Portfolio consisting of written work produced throughout the semester. Formative feedback is provided in class, in exercise de-briefing posted on the VLE and in work students share with the module leader via the E-Portfolio option on their VLE.


Feedback

Verbal feedback in class, written and/or oral feedback on prepared written work and class exercises

Module aims

• This module aims for students to: know about textual elements, structures and linguistic norms
• develop writing skills in different genres having different audiences/cultures in mind
• engage with resources, computer tools and Large Language Models that aid in the writing/translating process so as to develop self-efficacy and a personalized approach to writing using all possible available resources
• have the foundations to revise the work of others in a systematic and constructive manner using predefined criteria
• revise their own writing in a critical and systematic manner to rewrite and create the best possible version of a text
• build confidence in presenting creative work in a group setting and in writing collaboratively

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

* develop students’ writing skills in creative and technical writing (prose fiction, poetry, opinion pieces, instruction material and scientific/environmental discourse) by understanding the fundamental elements effective text composition for different audiences
* engage students who have different backgrounds and maximize their learning by drawing on their own writing experience and by confidently contributing to discussions in a class group
* equip students with the ability to understand elements of effective texts, to reflect on them and to gain confidence in in creating clear, well-formed texts with a view to enhancing their translation work 
* equip students with the ability to conduct independent research and assess (digitally enhanced) writing approaches in their planning and execution of a writing task, which will extend beyond the strict remit of module tasks and will be useful in other modules, especially their practical translation modules and their future writing or translation work

 

The learning and teaching methods include:

• Seminars, which are interspersed with opportunities for group and whole class discussions , where students will be able to assimilate, apply and question acquired knowledge and where they will be able to analyse concrete examples of writing from a text planning, composition or editing perspective (1 hour per week x 11 weeks)


• Workshops, where students will read, analyse, write and revise proposed material in order to  share written pieces with the rest of the class and offer peer feedback on ongoing work (1 hour per week x 11 weeks)


• The above contact hours will be complemented with materials (such as model texts, podcasts, exercise de-briefing) and activities (such as planning text writing) for guided study posted on SurreyLearn


• Students are expected to read language-related and creative writing-related sources outside classes in order to build their confidence in discussing elements of text composition and they are expected to prepare texts for workshops in advance so as to maximize their creative writing output to brief writing tasks tackled in class

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: TRAM504

Other information

Surrey's Curriculum Framework is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills and capabilities in the following areas:

The module explores writing as a creative task of planning, authoring and revising, three stages that are also widely recognized as key transferrable skills sought by employers in the language service industries (Cultural and Global Capabilities; Employability). Whilst the module is taught in English, it is suitable for any translation/interpreting postgraduate student with a flair for writing and who wishes to pursue a career in the language service industry sector (an outlook also shared by the professional translation practice modules in Semesters 1 and 2) (Employability).

As such, it allows students to demonstrate awareness of and respect for different models of writing developed in different parts of the world and focusing in different fields of specialization (Cultural and Global Capabilities); it helps them develop confidence in writing texts for different audiences and to learn from their own writing performance and experiences (Resourcefulness and Resilience); it introduces students to the grander narratives of sustainability, including the preservations of personal or collective memory and the impact of human activity on the animal world and the environment (Sustainability); it helps them develop as critical, creative thinkers and effective communicators who excel in applying a well-prepared writing design to topics of their choice and in justifying their approach to peers and teaching staff (Resourcefulness, Sustainability); it presents them with opportunities to demonstrate digitally informed, evidence-based methods of writing in a variety of thematic areas, ranging from the more personal or aesthetic artifice-focused to the scientific and  the multimodal (combining images with words) (Sustainability; Digital Capabilities). As with all modules, students are expected to engage with online material and resources on the VLE (Digital Capabilities).

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 2025/6 academic year.