Students

ENGL332 – Writing Ecologies

2017 – S1 Day

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor and Lecturer
Rebecca Giggs
Contact via 02 8950 1820
626 W6A
By appointment
Credit points Credit points
3
Prerequisites Prerequisites
39cp at 100 level or above or (6cp from ENGL units at 200 level)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
What literary techniques, genres and styles are called forth by the environmental challenges of our times? This applied writing unit looks at how nonfiction, as a human art-form, accesses the non-human world. In addressing contemporary ecological themes, students will have the opportunity to explore traditions in creative nonfiction, nonfiction poetry, lyricism, natural history, science, and public advocacy writing. Skills developed include place-based observation, writing about embodiment and landscape, writing about animals, scientific storytelling and the use of primary resources. At the conclusion of the unit students will submit a writing folio developed throughout the workshop series.

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:

  • a) Adopt appropriate critical strategies for the analysis of craft, technique and effect in nonfiction;
  • b) Identify and productively integrate key concepts into written and oral work;
  • c) Enhance reading, writing, research and oral presentation skills;
  • d) Compose several pieces of conceptually developed writing; and
  • e) Reflecting on process, provide constructive feedback on students’ writing in a workshop context.

General Assessment Information

Assessment Submission Guidelines

Marking rubrics will be provided for written assessment tasks. A portion of marks for each written assessment piece will be assigned to presentation

All written assessments are to be submitted through Turnitin (unless otherwise specified) in word document format. 

As near as possible, word counts should be adhered to. Students who exceed the total word count for formal assessment pieces by up to 10% will not be penalised. Students who fall short of the total word count for formal assessment pieces by under 10% will not be penalised. Outside of these margins grades will be impacted by at least 10% of the total mark, in accordance with English Department policy. 

It is each student’s responsibility to ensure work is submitted by the due date. Extensions need to be negotiated with your instructor prior to an assessment’s due date, and will only be granted in exceptional, unforeseeable circumstances. Extensions will not be granted for final assessments without a preemptive application lodged through Ask.Mq with supporting documentation (a Professional Authority Form).

The Disruption to Studies Procedure and policy is applicable to students who suffer serious and unavoidable disturbance to their academic progress throughout the semester, inclusive of periods of bereavement, sudden injury and illness (psychological and physical), societal obligation (such as jury duty), and family disruption. The University accounts for such events as being beyond a student’s control and being unable to be anticipated (www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html). 

Late Penalties will be applied to work submitted after the due date. English Department policy specifies that: late assignments will attract a penalty of 2 marks/day (or part thereof), including weekends. This calculation assumes that the assignment is marked out of 100: e.g., if an assignment were awarded 74% and is submitted 3 days late, a mark of (74 - 6) 68% would be recorded. Work that is more than 2 weeks overdue without an extension will be marked on the rubric only, and will receive no detailed feedback.  

Written feedback from your instructor will be provided through the Turnitin interface, usually in the form of in-text comments. It will be beneficial for students to read all marking rubrics prior to submitting assessment, and to reflect on feedback from their instructor.

 

 

University Grading Policy

The grade a student receives will signify their overall performance in meeting the learning outcomes of a unit of study. Grades will not be awarded by reference to the achievement of other students nor allocated to fit a predetermined distribution. In determining a grade, due weight will be given to the learning outcomes and level of a unit (i.e. 100, 200, 300, 800 etc.). Graded units will use the following grades:

HD

High Distinction

85—100

D

Distinction

75—84

Cr

Credit

65—74

P

Pass

50—64

F

Fail

0—49

 

Plagiarism and Academic Honesty

Academic honesty is an integral part of the core values and principles contained in the Macquarie University Ethics Statement: http://www.mq.edu.au/ethics/ethic-statement-final.html. Its fundamental principle is that all staff and students act with integrity in the creation, development, application and use of ideas and information. This means that:

  • All academic work claimed as original is the work of the author making the claim;
  • All academic collaborations are acknowledged;
  • Academic work is not falsified in any way;
  • Academic work has not been previously or concurrently submitted for assessment elsewhere; and
  • When the ideas of others are used, these ideas are acknowledged appropriately.

The link below has more details about the policy, procedure and schedule of penalties that will apply to breaches of the Academic Honesty Policy which can be viewed at: http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Breaches of academic honesty are taken seriously and can attract penalties, failure of the assessment task or the unit, or further disciplinary action depending on the severity of the dishonest conduct. 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Participation 10% No Week 01—Week 13
Poster Presentation 15% No Week 01—Week 11
Writing Assessment 01 20% No 21 April 2017
Plan for Major Creative Work 5% No 16 May 2017 (Week 10)
Writing Assessment 02 50% No 07 June 2017 (Week 13)

Participation

Due: Week 01—Week 13
Weighting: 10%

A threshold requirement for participation marks is attendance and involvement in all the seminars, including in-class discussions. In addition to attendance and involvement, participation entails completing all the readings and listening to all the Echo recordings before class; and reflecting on those materials

Submitting workshop drafts in a timely fashion and up to standard will contribute to participation, as will feedback to peers during workshop. Maintaining a regular writing practice will also ensure that students are capable of participating in-class, in a full and informed manner.  

For further details, please see the Unit's iLearn site. 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • a) Adopt appropriate critical strategies for the analysis of craft, technique and effect in nonfiction;
  • b) Identify and productively integrate key concepts into written and oral work;
  • c) Enhance reading, writing, research and oral presentation skills;
  • d) Compose several pieces of conceptually developed writing; and
  • e) Reflecting on process, provide constructive feedback on students’ writing in a workshop context.

Poster Presentation

Due: Week 01—Week 11
Weighting: 15%

Between Weeks 02 and 11 students will be assigned a single week in which to make and present a ‘poster’ in ENGL332. The poster topics will be drawn from real life (i.e. from the news-media). Poster topics will be uploaded on iLearn in Week 01 of the session. The presentation of the poster will go for 10 minutes, with a short period afterwards for questions from the class and the Unit Convenor/Lecturer. 

For further details about this item of assessment, please see the Unit's iLearn site. 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • a) Adopt appropriate critical strategies for the analysis of craft, technique and effect in nonfiction;
  • b) Identify and productively integrate key concepts into written and oral work;
  • c) Enhance reading, writing, research and oral presentation skills;

Writing Assessment 01

Due: 21 April 2017
Weighting: 20%

Word count: 1,000 words (poetry/hybrid work equivalent: 60 lines). 

Writing Assessment 01 (Minor Creative Work) requires the development 1 or 2 of the writing exercises undertaken between Weeks 01 and 06 into short work/s. 

For further details about this item of assessment, please see the Unit's iLearn site. 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • a) Adopt appropriate critical strategies for the analysis of craft, technique and effect in nonfiction;
  • b) Identify and productively integrate key concepts into written and oral work;
  • c) Enhance reading, writing, research and oral presentation skills;
  • d) Compose several pieces of conceptually developed writing; and

Plan for Major Creative Work

Due: 16 May 2017 (Week 10)
Weighting: 5%

Word Count: Up to 1,000 words. 

In ENGL332 students have the opportunity to submit and receive early feedback on a plan for their final Major Creative Work. There are two different ways in which this task can be approached: students might write a ‘pitch’, or alternatively, they might follow the worksheet uploaded onto iLearn. 

For further details of this item of assessment, please see the Unit's iLearn site. 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • c) Enhance reading, writing, research and oral presentation skills;
  • d) Compose several pieces of conceptually developed writing; and

Writing Assessment 02

Due: 07 June 2017 (Week 13)
Weighting: 50%

Word Count: 2,500 words (2,000 word creative content + 500 word reflective statement) OR 130 line nonfiction poetical/hybrid work/s + 500 word reflective statement.

The Major Creative Work for this unit is a 2,000 word nonfiction essay OR a 130 line nonfiction poetical/hybrid written work/s that engages with the themes and techniques explored in the unit. Concept development will be an important factor in this assessment, hence the submission of the plan in Week 10. The Major Creative Work must evidence significant research, and requires students to include a bibliography.

At the end of the Major Creative Work students should include a 500 word reflective statement

For further details of this item of assessment, please see the Unit's iLearn site. 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • a) Adopt appropriate critical strategies for the analysis of craft, technique and effect in nonfiction;
  • b) Identify and productively integrate key concepts into written and oral work;
  • c) Enhance reading, writing, research and oral presentation skills;
  • d) Compose several pieces of conceptually developed writing; and

Delivery and Resources

The unit is taught in a blended learning format. Students will participate in a 2 hour face to face seminar from Week 01 to Week 12 of the session (Week 13 is a non-teaching week). Attendance is mandatory in ENGL332—there is no quota of classes that can be missed without impact on the student's participation grade. Absences will be excused only under exceptional (documented—i.e. with a medical certificate and a Professional Authority Form) circumstances. In addition, students must listen to weekly lectures online through Echo360 on iLearn. They are also required to complete weekly readings, and some writing activities

Readings will be made available through the Library’s Multisearch interface.

 

Unit Schedule

Session 01, 2017 Topic
Week 01 Introduction
Week 02 A Taxonomy of Nonfiction
Week 03 Strategies for Counter-Tourism
Week 04 Tensing Up
Week 05 Form and Structure
Week 06 Eco-Poetics and Green Grammar
Week 07 Writing for Advocacy
Week 08 The New Nature Writing
Week 09 Animals (Biting Back)
Week 10 Animals (Extinction)
Week 11 How the Weather Reports You
Week 12 Field Trip
Week 13 Non-Teaching Study Week

 

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

Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.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 (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html

Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration

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

  • a) Adopt appropriate critical strategies for the analysis of craft, technique and effect in nonfiction;
  • b) Identify and productively integrate key concepts into written and oral work;
  • c) Enhance reading, writing, research and oral presentation skills;
  • d) Compose several pieces of conceptually developed writing; and
  • e) Reflecting on process, provide constructive feedback on students’ writing in a workshop context.

Assessment tasks

  • Participation
  • Writing Assessment 01
  • Writing Assessment 02

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

  • c) Enhance reading, writing, research and oral presentation skills;
  • e) Reflecting on process, provide constructive feedback on students’ writing in a workshop context.

Assessment task

  • Participation

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

  • a) Adopt appropriate critical strategies for the analysis of craft, technique and effect in nonfiction;
  • b) Identify and productively integrate key concepts into written and oral work;
  • c) Enhance reading, writing, research and oral presentation skills;
  • d) Compose several pieces of conceptually developed writing; and
  • e) Reflecting on process, provide constructive feedback on students’ writing in a workshop context.

Assessment tasks

  • Participation
  • Poster Presentation
  • Writing Assessment 01
  • Plan for Major Creative Work
  • Writing Assessment 02

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

  • a) Adopt appropriate critical strategies for the analysis of craft, technique and effect in nonfiction;
  • b) Identify and productively integrate key concepts into written and oral work;
  • e) Reflecting on process, provide constructive feedback on students’ writing in a workshop context.

Assessment tasks

  • Participation
  • Poster Presentation
  • Plan for Major Creative Work

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

  • c) Enhance reading, writing, research and oral presentation skills;
  • d) Compose several pieces of conceptually developed writing; and

Assessment tasks

  • Participation
  • Plan for Major Creative Work
  • Writing Assessment 02

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

  • a) Adopt appropriate critical strategies for the analysis of craft, technique and effect in nonfiction;
  • b) Identify and productively integrate key concepts into written and oral work;
  • c) Enhance reading, writing, research and oral presentation skills;
  • d) Compose several pieces of conceptually developed writing; and
  • e) Reflecting on process, provide constructive feedback on students’ writing in a workshop context.

Assessment tasks

  • Participation
  • Poster Presentation
  • Writing Assessment 01
  • Plan for Major Creative Work
  • Writing Assessment 02

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

  • b) Identify and productively integrate key concepts into written and oral work;
  • d) Compose several pieces of conceptually developed writing; and

Assessment tasks

  • Participation
  • Writing Assessment 01
  • Writing Assessment 02

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

  • b) Identify and productively integrate key concepts into written and oral work;
  • d) Compose several pieces of conceptually developed writing; and

Assessment tasks

  • Participation
  • Writing Assessment 01
  • Writing Assessment 02

Changes from Previous Offering

Some weeks in the S01 2017 have been slightly changed in timing and content from the S01 2016 offering.