• MED2020
• Intro to Academic Writing

This mandatory module is designed to introduce students to a number of essential literacies required for the academic study of media at undergraduate level. The purpose of the module is to introduce students to the fundamentals of critical reading, writing, rhetoric and academic argument. The module is delivered through a series of activity-based workshops, which will introduce learners to skills in writing and argument and allow them to understand them by practicing them. The focus of the module moves from an initial emphasis on introductory concepts (referencing, basic academic writing, presentations) and work towards deeper principles of argument and persuasion through logic, character and emotion (logos, ethos and pathos). The emphasis of the module is on student engagement with academic discourse on media through a variety of activities, materials and exercises. Class based lectures will be supplemented by small group break- out sessions that enable both collaborative and individual learning activities.

1.Introduction: What you need to know now, what is academic writing and how do you write an academic essay
2.Developing Literacy: academic writing is informed by strong academic reading skills; how to read an academic text
3.Formal Aspects of academic writing: structure, style, expression and referencing. Developing good habits
4.Information Literacy: accessing primary and secondary sources; getting the most out of the library resources
5.Academic Knowledge: key aspects of academic knowledge construction in the media/communication field of study including theory, concepts and methods
6.Constructing Arguments: Introduction to thesis, antithesis and synthesis (dialectical method)
7.Conveying Knowledge: Introduction to Bolton's three phase model of academic writing
8.Conveying Knowledge: Rhetoric and true arguments. Writing effectively and critiquing discourse
9.Desk Work: Library research exercises
10.Practical exercises: Collection and critical synthesis of information
11.Practical exercises: Editing for persuasion and posterity.