| Semester 1, 2020 On-campus Toowoomba | |
| Short Description: | Writing Good Prose |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts |
| School or Department : | School of Humanities & Communication |
| Student contribution band : | Band 1 |
| ASCED code : | 100705 - Written Communication |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
Staffing
Examiner:
Other requisites
Students will require access to e-mail and to UConnect for this course.
Rationale
This course focuses on how to write effective and engaging prose. You will be supported through the process of developing a deep understanding of how sentences, paragraphs and narratives are constructed in English. You will develop a clear understanding of the relationship between the purpose of text and its structure.
The course is included in the Creative and Professional Writing major, but can be taken as an elective by any student who wishes to improve their written expression.
This course equips you with a range of skills that are highly valued in the workplace, including critical thinking, and the ability to write clear, effective and engaging prose.
This course contributes to your development of the Creative and Performing Arts Threshold Learning Outcomes, and USQ Graduate Capabilities.
Synopsis
Writing effective prose is an essential skill for all students, as well as for professionals across a wide range of fields. This course provides you with an introduction to the fundamentals of expression in written language. This unit is available in the first semester of your first year to ensure that you have the necessary writing skills to complete a range of writing tasks, including typical assessment tasks such as essays, at a high standard.
Objectives
By the end of this course you should be able to:
- apply written communications skills in creative and professional writing contexts;
- demonstrate a solid understanding of the mechanics of good sentences, paragraphs and narratives;
- interpret and analyse a range of texts;
- demonstrate critical, creative and analytical thinking, as well as effective problem-solving;
- synthesise information to form an effective argument;
- evaluate the quality of your own and others' writing.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Writing good sentences | 40.00 |
| 2. | Writing good narratives | 40.00 |
| 3. | Core skills development | 20.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=01&subject1=CWR1001)
Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)
Reference materials
Student workload expectations
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Directed Study | 39.00 |
| Independent Study | 126.00 |
Assessment details
| Description | Marks out of | Wtg (%) | Due Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEAUTIFUL SENTENCES | 100 | 40 | 20 Apr 2020 | |
| A GRAND NARRATIVE | 100 | 40 | 08 Jun 2020 | |
| WORKSHOP PORTFOLIO | 100 | 20 | 08 Jun 2020 | (see note 1) |
Notes
- You will be required to complete a series of workshop tasks during semester.
Important assessment information
-
Attendance requirements:
Students must attend and complete the requirements of the Workplace Health and Safety training program for this course where required.
External and Online: There are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students鈥� responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.
On-campus: It is the students鈥� responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. -
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks. -
Penalties for late submission of required work:
Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4) -
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course. -
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course -
Examination information:
There is no examination for this course. -
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
There is no examination in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations. -
University Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene University policies and practices. These policies can be found at .
Other requirements
-
Students can expect that questions in assessment items in this course may draw upon knowledge and skills that they can reasonably be expected to have acquired before enrolling in the course. This includes knowledge contained in pre-requisite courses and appropriate communication, information literacy, analytical, critical thinking, problem solving or numeracy skills. Students who do not possess such knowledge and skills should not expect to achieve the same grades as those students who do possess them.