Students

APPL8100 – Exploring Discourse in Context and Action

2020 – Session 2, Weekday attendance, North Ryde

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.

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Lecturer and co-convener
Stephen Moore
Contact via Contact via email
12SW 508
Arranged by email
Lecturer and co-convener
Dariush Izadi
Contact via Contact via email
12SW 508
Arranged by email
Administration
Margaret Wood
12SW 502
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MAppLing or MAppLingTESOL or MTransInterMAppLingTESOL
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit focuses on the analysis of spoken, written and multimodal discourses in a range of real-life settings and domains. It locates such discourses in their historical, institutional, and local contexts and presents a range of methodologies associated with key questions raised by scholars and researchers in discourse analysis research and practice, focusing on descriptive, interpretive and explanatory analysis.

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:

  • ULO1: characterize discourse as a rich, complex phenomenon with qualities that can be understood through a wide range of different theoretical approaches.
  • ULO2: differentiate how discourse functions in everyday and professional encounters, emphasizing the links to be made between social and institutional practices, and discursive practices.
  • ULO3: apply a multi-perspectival approach to design your own discourse-related research
  • ULO4: analyse naturally occurring discourse in relation to key theoretical concepts.
  • ULO5: critique discourse theories in relation to their suitability for addressing practical problems
  • ULO6: appraise discussions of discourse analysis in relation to new data and contexts

General Assessment Information

How to apply for a late submission of an assignment

All requests for special consideration, including extensions, must be submitted via  ASK.mq.edu.au and provide suitable supporting documentation

 

Late Assignment Submission

  • Late submissions without an extension will receive a penalty of 5% of the total mark available for the assignment per day
  • Late submission of an assignment without an extension will not be permitted after marks have been released to the rest of the class.
  • Extensions will only be given in special circumstances, and can be requested by completing the Special Consideration request at ask.mq.edu.au and providing the requisite supporting documentation.
  • For more information on Special Consideration, see the university website https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration
  • Assignments submitted after the deadline, regardless of the reason, will be marked and returned at a date determined by the unit convenor.

Extensions cannot continue beyond the start of the following semester, and students should be aware that long extensions may impact graduation dates.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Discourse Analysis Task 45% No 11 September 2020
Critical Review Essay 50% No 12 November 2020
Class/Group Participation 5% No Ongoing

Discourse Analysis Task

Assessment Type 1: Qualitative analysis task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 11 September 2020
Weighting: 45%

 

This 2000-word task involves analysing discourse in relation to methods and theories covered in the first half of the unit.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • characterize discourse as a rich, complex phenomenon with qualities that can be understood through a wide range of different theoretical approaches.
  • differentiate how discourse functions in everyday and professional encounters, emphasizing the links to be made between social and institutional practices, and discursive practices.
  • apply a multi-perspectival approach to design your own discourse-related research
  • analyse naturally occurring discourse in relation to key theoretical concepts.
  • critique discourse theories in relation to their suitability for addressing practical problems
  • appraise discussions of discourse analysis in relation to new data and contexts

Critical Review Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 45 hours
Due: 12 November 2020
Weighting: 50%

 

This 4000-word essay involves writing an extended critical review essay integrating three (3) academic articles or book chapters related to a particular Theme from APPL8100

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • characterize discourse as a rich, complex phenomenon with qualities that can be understood through a wide range of different theoretical approaches.
  • differentiate how discourse functions in everyday and professional encounters, emphasizing the links to be made between social and institutional practices, and discursive practices.
  • apply a multi-perspectival approach to design your own discourse-related research
  • critique discourse theories in relation to their suitability for addressing practical problems

Class/Group Participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 5%

 

Participation in online group discussion forums will be noted, but the content of your contributions will not be evaluated

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • characterize discourse as a rich, complex phenomenon with qualities that can be understood through a wide range of different theoretical approaches.
  • differentiate how discourse functions in everyday and professional encounters, emphasizing the links to be made between social and institutional practices, and discursive practices.
  • apply a multi-perspectival approach to design your own discourse-related research
  • analyse naturally occurring discourse in relation to key theoretical concepts.
  • critique discourse theories in relation to their suitability for addressing practical problems
  • appraise discussions of discourse analysis in relation to new data and contexts

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

The learning and teaching strategies used in this Unit involve reading the weekly PowerPoint lecture presentations and listening to corresponding recordings; interaction with materials on iLearn; group discussion in iLearn discussion forum; and self-study of course readings. There are supplementary on-campus sessions every fortnight which focus on the current Theme of study, and involve a variety of relevant activities. Also, there is a weekly Zoom meeting at which students may have the opportunity to engage in group activities and ask questions of the lecturer.

The text book forms the backbone of this Unit, and nominated chapters should be read in advance of each lecture session.

It is also expected that students in this Unit will read many of the set readings, participate in all group discussions, and go beyond the recommended readings to follow areas of specific interest to them in the academic literature.

The Unit lecturers will be contactable through email to answer any queries that might arise.

Unit Schedule

Week 1:  Introduction to discourse

Week 2:  Discourses on discourse

Weeks 3 and 4:  Who's involved in discourse?

Weeks 5 and 6:  What is it that's going on here?

Weeks 7 and 8:  How do you know that?

Weeks 9 and 10:  Why that now?

Weeks 11 and 12:  What actions are being taken here, by whom and why?

Week 13:  How do discourse and social change drive each other?

Policies and Procedures

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).

Student Code of Conduct

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

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

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 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. 

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

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@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.