Students

LING2218 – Grammar and Meaning

2022 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Annabelle Lukin
annabelle.lukin@mq.edu.au
Maria Herke
maria.herke@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
10cp from LING units at 1000 level
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Grammar is the powerhouse of language. The grammar of language emerges over time, as people use language for the varied processes of living. This course will introduce you to the relationship of grammar and meaning, through understanding the three functions of language: - textual function: how we organise our language into coherent text in the many different contexts in which we interact - interpersonal function: how we enact our social relationships through language - ideational function: how we use language to construe our experience of the world around us, and the world inside us. The analysis you will learn about in this unit is used in many different fields of study, including computational linguistics, translation, literary studies, child language development, political and media discourse, the language of health professionals, the language of education, etc. This is a course for people who love language, or who understand that language is important to all aspects of life.

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 understanding of three functions of language: the ideational, interpersonal, the textual functions
  • ULO2: Apply grammatical concepts to the study of naturally occurring text
  • ULO3: Identify grammatical patterns in naturally occurring text
  • ULO4: Analyse and interpret grammatical patterning in naturally occurring text
  • ULO5: Explain the effects of the grammatical patterning in text in relation to the nature of the social and cultural context of the text

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Text analysis 1 20% No Fri 22nd April @ midnight
Five short online quizzes 25% No see iLearn
Tutorial preparation and participation 15% No weekly
Text analysis 2 40% No Fri June 3rd @midnight

Text analysis 1

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 22 hours
Due: Fri 22nd April @ midnight
Weighting: 20%

 

In this assignment, students analyse text data for its constituency patterns and its experiential patterns, and write an interpretation in 500 words.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate understanding of three functions of language: the ideational, interpersonal, the textual functions
  • Apply grammatical concepts to the study of naturally occurring text
  • Identify grammatical patterns in naturally occurring text
  • Analyse and interpret grammatical patterning in naturally occurring text
  • Explain the effects of the grammatical patterning in text in relation to the nature of the social and cultural context of the text

Five short online quizzes

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 2 hours
Due: see iLearn
Weighting: 25%

 

Five short quizzes each worth 5% testing understanding of grammatical concepts

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate understanding of three functions of language: the ideational, interpersonal, the textual functions
  • Apply grammatical concepts to the study of naturally occurring text

Tutorial preparation and participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 12 hours
Due: weekly
Weighting: 15%

 

A mark of 15 is allocated for tutorial attendance, preparation and participation in group discussions (hours included in scheduled and non-scheduled learning activities e.g. tutorial and class preparation)

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate understanding of three functions of language: the ideational, interpersonal, the textual functions
  • Apply grammatical concepts to the study of naturally occurring text
  • Identify grammatical patterns in naturally occurring text
  • Analyse and interpret grammatical patterning in naturally occurring text
  • Explain the effects of the grammatical patterning in text in relation to the nature of the social and cultural context of the text

Text analysis 2

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: Fri June 3rd @midnight
Weighting: 40%

 

In this assignment students continue with the same short text from assignment 1, but extend the analysis to include the interpersonal and textual metafunctions, and write an interpretation of the analysis in 1000 - 1200 words.(1200 max).

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate understanding of three functions of language: the ideational, interpersonal, the textual functions
  • Apply grammatical concepts to the study of naturally occurring text
  • Identify grammatical patterns in naturally occurring text
  • Analyse and interpret grammatical patterning in naturally occurring text
  • Explain the effects of the grammatical patterning in text in relation to the nature of the social and cultural context of the text

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

This unit has a weekly two hour lecture and a weekly one hour tutorial. Tutorials start in week 2, and each week there is a task to prepare prior to coming to the tutorial. There is a choice between two textbooks which cover the content which covers the content of this unit - there are weekly readings from the textbook. Extra activities are available on iLearn. 

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

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

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

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

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.

Unit information based on version 2022.02 of the Handbook