Students

ACOM1001 – Academic Communication in the Social Sciences and Humanities

2021 – Session 2, Weekday attendance, North Ryde

Session 2 Learning and Teaching Update

The decision has been made to conduct study online for the remainder of Session 2 for all units WITHOUT mandatory on-campus learning activities. Exams for Session 2 will also be online where possible to do so.

This is due to the extension of the lockdown orders and to provide certainty around arrangements for the remainder of Session 2. We hope to return to campus beyond Session 2 as soon as it is safe and appropriate to do so.

Some classes/teaching activities cannot be moved online and must be taught on campus. You should already know if you are in one of these classes/teaching activities and your unit convenor will provide you with more information via iLearn. If you want to confirm, see the list of units with mandatory on-campus classes/teaching activities.

Visit the MQ COVID-19 information page for more detail.

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Maria Herke
maria.herke@mq.edu.au
Margaret Wood
margaret.wood@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
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 Medicine, Health and 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:

  • ULO1: Demonstrate acceptable academic practices, behaviours and values (academic integrity) in the completion of assessment tasks and other learning activities
  • ULO2: Critically gather, read, interpret, evaluate and synthesise information and ideas from appropriate sources
  • ULO3: Produce written and multimodal texts appropriate to the purpose and audience in accordance with academic, disciplinary and professional communication conventions
  • ULO4: Understand the basic grammatical foundations of clear academic and professional communication
  • ULO5: Reflect on learning experience to inform future academic, disciplinary and professional practice

General Assessment Information

Requesting an extension to assessment due date

On occasion, you may be in a situation when you aren't able to submit an assessment task on time. Extensions are only given in special circumstances, by completing a Special Consideration request. For more information on Special Consideration, see https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration  

Late submission of assessments

If you haven't been approved for an extension and you submit your assessment task late, penalties are applied. You should consult your unit convenor if you are in this position. Late submissions will receive a 5% per day penalty. If you submit the assessment task 10 days or more beyond the due date, without an approved extension, you will be awarded a maximum of 50% of the overall assessment marks. Weekends and public holidays are included.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
E-portfolio and Online Tasks 30% No Week 1-13
Research News Page (Part B) 15% No Week 13
Integrative Summary 20% No Week 6
Persuasive Essay (Part A) 20% No Week 11
Grammar Quiz 15% No Week 8

E-portfolio and Online Tasks

Assessment Type 1: Portfolio
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 1-13
Weighting: 30%

 

The E-portfolio and online tasks consist of three components which students will complete online. These include practice quizzes, a set of blogs and one final reflection. The assessment aims to test students’ understanding of and engagement with the concepts of the unit. It will run over the entire semester, culminating in each student publishing an e-portfolio.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate acceptable academic practices, behaviours and values (academic integrity) in the completion of assessment tasks and other learning activities
  • Critically gather, read, interpret, evaluate and synthesise information and ideas from appropriate sources
  • Understand the basic grammatical foundations of clear academic and professional communication
  • Reflect on learning experience to inform future academic, disciplinary and professional practice

Research News Page (Part B)

Assessment Type 1: Non-academic writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 15%

 

Part B requires students to rewrite some aspects of the research that were written up in Integrative Summary 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 Integrative Summary, which was written for an academic audience. Three (3) sources to be used. (500 words)

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate acceptable academic practices, behaviours and values (academic integrity) in the completion of assessment tasks and other learning activities
  • Critically gather, read, interpret, evaluate and synthesise information and ideas from appropriate sources
  • Produce written and multimodal texts appropriate to the purpose and audience in accordance with academic, disciplinary and professional communication conventions
  • Reflect on learning experience to inform future academic, disciplinary and professional practice

Integrative Summary

Assessment Type 1: Summary
Indicative Time on Task 2: 12 hours
Due: Week 6
Weighting: 20%

 

The Integrative Summary builds on the information from an annotation completed in an earlier tutorial class. 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. Such knowledge may include descriptions, statistics, perspectives (e.g. opposing theories for approaching the issue), related programs (and their impact) and general discussion of the core issue. Students are required to reference at the two (2) sources and demonstrate the ability to synthesise information and varying perspectives on a certain aspect of the social inclusion issue. (800 words) This assessment will also require students to write a reflective blog once feedback for the integrative summary has been received.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate acceptable academic practices, behaviours and values (academic integrity) in the completion of assessment tasks and other learning activities
  • Critically gather, read, interpret, evaluate and synthesise information and ideas from appropriate sources
  • Produce written and multimodal texts appropriate to the purpose and audience in accordance with academic, disciplinary and professional communication conventions
  • Reflect on learning experience to inform future academic, disciplinary and professional practice

Persuasive Essay (Part A)

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 11
Weighting: 20%

 

The Persuasive essay will require students to develop a thesis and argue a response to a given quote related to their social inclusion topic. Students need to correctly reference relevant evidence to support each argument before reiterating and reinforcing the thesis through a summary of salient arguments. 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. (1200 words)

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate acceptable academic practices, behaviours and values (academic integrity) in the completion of assessment tasks and other learning activities
  • Critically gather, read, interpret, evaluate and synthesise information and ideas from appropriate sources
  • Produce written and multimodal texts appropriate to the purpose and audience in accordance with academic, disciplinary and professional communication conventions

Grammar Quiz

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 8 hours
Due: Week 8
Weighting: 15%

 

The grammar quiz is an online randomised grammar quiz that tests knowledge of basic grammatical constituency. The quiz will be open for 1 week and will take 1 hour to complete once it has been begun. To prepare for this quiz, students should participate in the online practice quizzes provided on the learn site. These practice quizzes can be attempted as many times as the student feels is necessary with no marks penalty.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Produce written and multimodal texts appropriate to the purpose and audience in accordance with academic, disciplinary and professional communication conventions
  • Understand the basic grammatical foundations of clear academic and professional communication

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

Lecture content will be delivered to you online via your ilearn site in the form of screencast videos (vlogs) with associated online activities which will be available through the ACOM1001 ilearn site. There are no face to face lectures.

Tutorials are 2 hours. Som streams are available in face to face mode on campus and some are available online via Zoom. Unless you have permission to change, you  should attend the tutorial class you registered in. Students should aim to attend at least 80% of these valuable classes.

The prescribed text book is

Brick, J., Herke, M. & Wong, D. (2020). Academic Culture: A student’s guide to studyingat university. (4th ed). South Yarra, Vic: Palgrave Macmillan

You can order it online from the Booktopia online site:https://www.booktopia.com.au/books-online/text-books/textbook-finder/cXC-p1.html?src=header

Recommended texts and apps you may find useful:

Butt, D., Fahey, R., Feez, S., & Spinks S. 2012, Using Functional Grammar: an Explorer’s Guide, Palgrave Macmillan, (third edition).

iGE Grammar App for iPhone, iPad and Android (Available from the App store).

Collins COBUILD English Grammar HarperCollins, 2011

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/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.