Notice
As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group learning activities on campus for the second half-year, while keeping an online version available for those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.
To check the availability of face to face activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.
Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Convenor
Adam Smith
Margaret Wood
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Credit points |
Credit points
10
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
Admission to GradCertEditElecPub or MCrWrit or GradDipCrWrit or MAccComm or MEd
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit focuses on language, including variation in grammar, usage and punctuation, and linguistic approaches to writing style, discourse development and readability. It examines the features of different text types, spoken and written, as well as those evolving on the internet. It discusses communicative approaches to writing, including plain English for mediating complex content, and promotional writing for advertising purposes. It includes modules on editing Aboriginal English, and on academic writing and editing, especially theses and journal articles. |
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Late assignments The policy regarding late assignments has now been standardised across postgraduate Linguistics units.
Extensions cannot continue beyond the start of the following semester, and students should be aware that long extensions may impact graduation dates.
Academic Honesty
As a good student, you are responsible for ensuring academic integrity practices are followed at all times. Your first step is to read the University's Academic Honesty Policy, and make sure you know what constitutes good practice. Then make sure you know how to reference and cite correctly. There are other practices we need to consider, and one of these is the potential for collusion.
Informal study groups are encouraged as a good way to assist your learning, but please remember that all your independently assessed assignments must be totally independently completed. Unless you are doing a group project where each member contributes to producing one piece of work, for which you get the one mark, using part or all of someone else's work constitutes collusion and breaches the University's Academic Honesty policy.
Do not collude with any other student by selling, giving, lending, explaining or showing all or parts of your independently assessed work/answers/past or current assignments, and do not ask to buy, borrow, see and use all or parts of the work of another student.
Do not reuse any work you have presented for assessment in this or another unit. This will activate a turnitin alert.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
---|---|---|---|
Online discussion on nominalisation | 20% | No | Week 6 |
Exercise on punctuation | 20% | No | Week 9 |
Online discussion on electronic communication | 20% | No | Week 11 |
Exercise on promotional writing/scholarly editing | 40% | No | Week 13 |
Assessment Type 1: Debate
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 6
Weighting: 20%
Identification of nominalisation and appropriateness to discourse; application of editorial skills to correct unnecessary nominalisation.
Assessment Type 1: Practice-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 9
Weighting: 20%
Application of punctuation to texts, and discussion of effect of punctuation on different types of text.
Assessment Type 1: Debate
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 11
Weighting: 20%
Analysis of features of electronic communication
Assessment Type 1: Professional writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 40%
Creation of different types of text for promotion/presentation of a scholarly journal, and justification of approach.
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
All lectures and tutorials will be available online.
Week 1 Grammar in the context of editing
Week 2 Sentence patterns
Week 3 Nominal and verbal style
Week 4 Cohesion and coherence in writing
Week 5 Information delivery: topic and topical progression
Week 6 Punctuation system and its functions
Week 7 Readability and lexical density
Week 8 Writing, speech, and the language of the internet
Week 9 Editing Indigenous texts
Week 10 Persuasive and promotional writing
Week 11 Editing theses and dissertations
Week 12 Editing scholarly articles
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.
The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
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.