Students

ACSH100 – Academic Communication in the Social Sciences and Humanities

2016 – S1 Day

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Margaret Wood
Convenor
Maria Herke
Contact via 4249
C5A544
Credit points Credit points
3
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit is designed to support students in their transition to university by enabling them to understand and achieve standards of performance required in an academic environment. The unit provides a three-level focus which is initiated by supporting the development of academic practices, behaviours and values. Secondly, it fosters a level of familiarity with the disciplinary language, texts and conventions used when studying in programs offered by the Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Human Sciences. Finally, it raises an awareness of the diverse perspectives offered by disciplines and the different contributions they can make to solving problems and addressing issues of concern in contemporary society. Learning and assessment activities are designed to build the capacity for independent and collaborative approaches to learning. Students are guided to develop their capacity for reading, thinking and expressing ideas effectively and critically.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • Engage in independent and collaborative learning activities.
  • Plan and produce texts to reflect academic and disciplinary standards.
  • Apply reasoning to formulate and support a position or argument.
  • Apply academic referencing conventions accurately and appropriately.
  • Express ideas using appropriate language, grammar and text structure for academic and professional purposes in written and/or oral texts.
  • Critically evaluate information and ideas from academic, disciplinary and professional sources.
  • Analyse the purpose, language and features of academic, disciplinary and professional genres.
  • Demonstrate an ability to interpret and apply concepts from sources used in the discipline.
  • Read efficiently to gather specific information and ideas from discipline-specific sources.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Due
Integrative Summary 25% Week 5
Grammar Assessment 20% Week 8
Persuasive Essay 35% Week 12
News Page 20% Exam Period

Integrative Summary

Due: Week 5
Weighting: 25%

The Integrative Summary will describe and discuss two sources relevant to the assigned social inclusion issue.  It will summarise and integrate the salient arguments and supporting evidence to present the key knowledge relevant to the issue. 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Engage in independent and collaborative learning activities.
  • Plan and produce texts to reflect academic and disciplinary standards.
  • Apply reasoning to formulate and support a position or argument.
  • Apply academic referencing conventions accurately and appropriately.
  • Express ideas using appropriate language, grammar and text structure for academic and professional purposes in written and/or oral texts.
  • Critically evaluate information and ideas from academic, disciplinary and professional sources.
  • Analyse the purpose, language and features of academic, disciplinary and professional genres.
  • Demonstrate an ability to interpret and apply concepts from sources used in the discipline.
  • Read efficiently to gather specific information and ideas from discipline-specific sources.

Grammar Assessment

Due: Week 8
Weighting: 20%

The Grammar assessment will assess students’ understanding of the basic grammatical resources required to package ideas as clauses and connect them logically to one another in order to soundly construct texts. The assessment will require students to analyse a series of clauses, breaking them down into their functional constituents.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Engage in independent and collaborative learning activities.
  • Express ideas using appropriate language, grammar and text structure for academic and professional purposes in written and/or oral texts.
  • Analyse the purpose, language and features of academic, disciplinary and professional genres.

Persuasive Essay

Due: Week 12
Weighting: 35%

The Persuasive essay will identify a recommendation in response to the social inclusion issue topic and develop a thesis to argue for this recommendation.  The argument essay outlines the key arguments supporting a central thesis, referencing relevant evidence to support each argument before reiterating and reinforcing the thesis through a summary of salient arguments. In the argument essay students are required to reference at least five (5) sources and demonstrate the ability to synthesise information and views from a variety of perspectives to produce a coherent, well-supported recommendation.  


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Engage in independent and collaborative learning activities.
  • Plan and produce texts to reflect academic and disciplinary standards.
  • Apply reasoning to formulate and support a position or argument.
  • Apply academic referencing conventions accurately and appropriately.
  • Express ideas using appropriate language, grammar and text structure for academic and professional purposes in written and/or oral texts.
  • Critically evaluate information and ideas from academic, disciplinary and professional sources.
  • Analyse the purpose, language and features of academic, disciplinary and professional genres.
  • Demonstrate an ability to interpret and apply concepts from sources used in the discipline.
  • Read efficiently to gather specific information and ideas from discipline-specific sources.

News Page

Due: Exam Period
Weighting: 20%

The News Page assessment will require students to rewrite some aspects of the research that were written up in the Persuasive essay into a News Page for a public audience. The News Page, while still formal and making reference to the literature will use more relaxed language than the Persuasive essay which was written for an academic audience.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Engage in independent and collaborative learning activities.
  • Plan and produce texts to reflect academic and disciplinary standards.
  • Apply reasoning to formulate and support a position or argument.
  • Apply academic referencing conventions accurately and appropriately.
  • Express ideas using appropriate language, grammar and text structure for academic and professional purposes in written and/or oral texts.
  • Critically evaluate information and ideas from academic, disciplinary and professional sources.
  • Analyse the purpose, language and features of academic, disciplinary and professional genres.
  • Demonstrate an ability to interpret and apply concepts from sources used in the discipline.
  • Read efficiently to gather specific information and ideas from discipline-specific sources.

Delivery and Resources

The learning and teaching strategies used in this Unit are weekly lectures with ECHO recordings, online quizzes (accessed through the unit’s iLearn site on request), discussions and assigned research and reading tasks.

It is expected that students in this unit will participate in individual and collaborative learning tasks such as working in groups and completing assigned preparation tasks. Students are also expected to complete preparation activities prior to tutorials.

Unit Schedule

There are two scheduled sets of lectures for this unit per week, one set a repeat of the other. Due to space constraints, you are required to attend the lecture set for which you are registered.

Day Lecture Set: Wednesdays 3:00-4:00pm AND Thursdays 3:00-4:00pm (attend both)

Evening Lecture Set: Wednesdays 6:00-8:00pm

Draft” Due dates refer to the time the assignment should be completed and brought to the tutorial in hard copy for final review and revision.

Formal” due dates refer to the time the assignment should be formally submitted electronically to Turnitin.

For current updates, lecture times and classrooms, please consult the MQ Timetables website: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

New Assessment Policy in effect from Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html. For more information visit http://students.mq.edu.au/events/2016/07/19/new_assessment_policy_in_place_from_session_2/

Assessment Policy prior to Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html

Grading Policy prior to Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html​

Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

Creative and Innovative

Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Engage in independent and collaborative learning activities.
  • Plan and produce texts to reflect academic and disciplinary standards.
  • Apply reasoning to formulate and support a position or argument.
  • Express ideas using appropriate language, grammar and text structure for academic and professional purposes in written and/or oral texts.
  • Critically evaluate information and ideas from academic, disciplinary and professional sources.
  • Demonstrate an ability to interpret and apply concepts from sources used in the discipline.

Assessment tasks

  • Persuasive Essay
  • News Page

Capable of Professional and Personal Judgement and Initiative

We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Engage in independent and collaborative learning activities.
  • Plan and produce texts to reflect academic and disciplinary standards.
  • Apply reasoning to formulate and support a position or argument.
  • Apply academic referencing conventions accurately and appropriately.
  • Express ideas using appropriate language, grammar and text structure for academic and professional purposes in written and/or oral texts.
  • Critically evaluate information and ideas from academic, disciplinary and professional sources.
  • Analyse the purpose, language and features of academic, disciplinary and professional genres.
  • Demonstrate an ability to interpret and apply concepts from sources used in the discipline.
  • Read efficiently to gather specific information and ideas from discipline-specific sources.

Assessment tasks

  • Integrative Summary
  • Persuasive Essay
  • News Page

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Our graduates will have enquiring minds and a literate curiosity which will lead them to pursue knowledge for its own sake. They will continue to pursue learning in their careers and as they participate in the world. They will be capable of reflecting on their experiences and relationships with others and the environment, learning from them, and growing - personally, professionally and socially.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Engage in independent and collaborative learning activities.
  • Plan and produce texts to reflect academic and disciplinary standards.
  • Apply reasoning to formulate and support a position or argument.
  • Express ideas using appropriate language, grammar and text structure for academic and professional purposes in written and/or oral texts.
  • Analyse the purpose, language and features of academic, disciplinary and professional genres.
  • Read efficiently to gather specific information and ideas from discipline-specific sources.

Assessment tasks

  • Grammar Assessment
  • Persuasive Essay
  • News Page

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Plan and produce texts to reflect academic and disciplinary standards.
  • Apply reasoning to formulate and support a position or argument.
  • Apply academic referencing conventions accurately and appropriately.
  • Express ideas using appropriate language, grammar and text structure for academic and professional purposes in written and/or oral texts.
  • Analyse the purpose, language and features of academic, disciplinary and professional genres.
  • Demonstrate an ability to interpret and apply concepts from sources used in the discipline.
  • Read efficiently to gather specific information and ideas from discipline-specific sources.

Assessment tasks

  • Integrative Summary
  • Grammar Assessment
  • Persuasive Essay

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Plan and produce texts to reflect academic and disciplinary standards.
  • Apply reasoning to formulate and support a position or argument.
  • Apply academic referencing conventions accurately and appropriately.
  • Express ideas using appropriate language, grammar and text structure for academic and professional purposes in written and/or oral texts.
  • Critically evaluate information and ideas from academic, disciplinary and professional sources.
  • Analyse the purpose, language and features of academic, disciplinary and professional genres.
  • Demonstrate an ability to interpret and apply concepts from sources used in the discipline.
  • Read efficiently to gather specific information and ideas from discipline-specific sources.

Assessment tasks

  • Integrative Summary
  • Persuasive Essay
  • News Page

Problem Solving and Research Capability

Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Engage in independent and collaborative learning activities.
  • Plan and produce texts to reflect academic and disciplinary standards.
  • Apply reasoning to formulate and support a position or argument.
  • Apply academic referencing conventions accurately and appropriately.
  • Express ideas using appropriate language, grammar and text structure for academic and professional purposes in written and/or oral texts.
  • Critically evaluate information and ideas from academic, disciplinary and professional sources.
  • Analyse the purpose, language and features of academic, disciplinary and professional genres.
  • Demonstrate an ability to interpret and apply concepts from sources used in the discipline.
  • Read efficiently to gather specific information and ideas from discipline-specific sources.

Assessment tasks

  • Integrative Summary
  • Persuasive Essay

Effective Communication

We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Engage in independent and collaborative learning activities.
  • Plan and produce texts to reflect academic and disciplinary standards.
  • Apply reasoning to formulate and support a position or argument.
  • Apply academic referencing conventions accurately and appropriately.
  • Express ideas using appropriate language, grammar and text structure for academic and professional purposes in written and/or oral texts.
  • Critically evaluate information and ideas from academic, disciplinary and professional sources.
  • Analyse the purpose, language and features of academic, disciplinary and professional genres.
  • Demonstrate an ability to interpret and apply concepts from sources used in the discipline.
  • Read efficiently to gather specific information and ideas from discipline-specific sources.

Assessment tasks

  • Integrative Summary
  • Grammar Assessment
  • Persuasive Essay
  • News Page

Engaged and Ethical Local and Global citizens

As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Engage in independent and collaborative learning activities.
  • Apply reasoning to formulate and support a position or argument.
  • Apply academic referencing conventions accurately and appropriately.
  • Express ideas using appropriate language, grammar and text structure for academic and professional purposes in written and/or oral texts.
  • Critically evaluate information and ideas from academic, disciplinary and professional sources.
  • Read efficiently to gather specific information and ideas from discipline-specific sources.

Assessment tasks

  • Integrative Summary
  • Grammar Assessment
  • Persuasive Essay
  • News Page

Socially and Environmentally Active and Responsible

We want our graduates to be aware of and have respect for self and others; to be able to work with others as a leader and a team player; to have a sense of connectedness with others and country; and to have a sense of mutual obligation. Our graduates should be informed and active participants in moving society towards sustainability.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Engage in independent and collaborative learning activities.
  • Apply reasoning to formulate and support a position or argument.
  • Apply academic referencing conventions accurately and appropriately.
  • Express ideas using appropriate language, grammar and text structure for academic and professional purposes in written and/or oral texts.
  • Critically evaluate information and ideas from academic, disciplinary and professional sources.
  • Read efficiently to gather specific information and ideas from discipline-specific sources.

Assessment tasks

  • Integrative Summary
  • Persuasive Essay
  • News Page

Changes from Previous Offering

one assessment deleted (and will now be a tute activity: approved by Pamela Coutts).

Lecture times updated.