Students

LING3391 – Forensic Linguistics

2023 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Maria Herke
Anita Szakay
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
50cp at 2000 level or above including 10cp of LING units at 2000 level
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Forensic linguistics is a diverse, rapidly-growing field that applies linguistic knowledge and methods to the forensic context of law, language, crime investigation, and judicial procedure. This unit covers the various sub-fields and issues of forensic linguistics, such as, key theoretical and methodological approaches within the field, the work of the forensic linguist, the sub-field of forensic phonetics including speaker identification and voice comparison, authorship attribution of written texts, the linguistic investigation of plagiarism, and the linguist as an expert witness. Key outcomes of the unit are the ability to understand and describe basic concepts and theories in forensic linguistics, to demonstrate basic knowledge of a wide range of issues in forensic linguistics both in the national and international context. Students will have the opportunity to critically observe and linguistically describe relevant evidential data, as well as to analyse linguistic evidence in a scientific manner.

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: Describe key theoretical and methodological approaches within the field of forensic linguistics.
  • ULO2: Demonstrate basic knowledge of a wide range of issues in forensic linguistics in both the national and the international context.
  • ULO3: Critically observe relevant evidential data, and linguistically describe and characterise it.
  • ULO4: Demonstrate the knowledge and ability to analyse linguistic evidence in a scientific manner.

General Assessment Information

Use of Generative AI

Please refer to instructions from your lecturer on the use and acknowledgement of use of Generative AI in your submitted assignments.

Late Submissions

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (OF THE TOTAL POSSIBLE MARK) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.  

 For example:

Number of days (hours) late

Total Possible Marks

Deduction

Raw mark

Final mark

1 day (1-24 hours)

100

5

75

70

2 days (24-48 hours)

100

10

75

65

3 days (48-72 hours)

100

15

75

60

7 days (144-168 hours) 

100

35

75

40

>7 days (>168 hours)

100

-

75

0

 

For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration.

 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Participation and engagement 35% No Week 4-5
Proposal for Forensic Linguistic case study 25% No Week 7
Forensic linguistc case study 40% No Week 13

Participation and engagement

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Week 4-5
Weighting: 35%

 

Students complete a sequence of reading reflections and online peer feedback tasks throughout the teaching session.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Describe key theoretical and methodological approaches within the field of forensic linguistics.
  • Demonstrate basic knowledge of a wide range of issues in forensic linguistics in both the national and the international context.

Proposal for Forensic Linguistic case study

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 7
Weighting: 25%

 

Students present a written plan for a proposed Forensic Linguistic analysis case study. In this assessment, students will nominate a forensic linguistic issue/ problem from the national or international context and they will nominate a proposed professional organisation as their audience. Students will outline the linguistic evidence, either sourced or collected, and a relevant methodology that they propose to use to address this issue.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Describe key theoretical and methodological approaches within the field of forensic linguistics.
  • Demonstrate basic knowledge of a wide range of issues in forensic linguistics in both the national and the international context.
  • Critically observe relevant evidential data, and linguistically describe and characterise it.
  • Demonstrate the knowledge and ability to analyse linguistic evidence in a scientific manner.

Forensic linguistc case study

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 40%

 

Students will analyse the linguistic evidence using the methodology, both of which were outlined in their earlier proposal in Assessment 2. Drawing on evidence and theoretical approaches from the unit and literature, students will then write up their findings as a professional report for their proposed audience.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate basic knowledge of a wide range of issues in forensic linguistics in both the national and the international context.
  • Critically observe relevant evidential data, and linguistically describe and characterise it.
  • Demonstrate the knowledge and ability to analyse linguistic evidence in a scientific manner.

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

Seminar and lecture content will mostly be delivered to you face to face. There may be some weeks where we need to deliver via zoom or pre-recordings, so please check oyur announcments on ilearn regularly.  If you wish to chat with myself (Maria), then do please email and we can organise a Zoom meeting. 

•Readings will be placed in Leganto

•Recommended texts:

•Coulthard, M., & Johnson, A. (2010). The Routledge handbook of forensic linguistics . Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ;: Routledge.

••Coulthard, M., Johnson, A. & Wright, D. (2017). An Introduction to Forensic Linguistics. Language in Evidence.

 

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.

SECTION 7: PROFESSIONALISM

In the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, professionalism is a key capability embedded in all our courses. 

As part of developing professionalism, students are expected to attend all small group interactive sessions including clinical, practical, laboratory, work-integrated learning (e.g., PACE placements), and team-based learning activities. Some learning activities are recorded (e.g., face-to-face lectures), however you are encouraged to avoid relying upon such material as they do not recreate the whole learning experience and technical issues can and do occur. As an adult learner, we respect your decision to choose how you engage with your learning, but we would remind you that the learning opportunities we create for you have been done so to enable your success, and that by not engaging you may impact your ability to successfully complete this unit. We equally expect that you show respect for the academic staff who have worked hard to develop meaningful activities and prioritise your learning by communicating with them in advance if you are unable to attend a small group interactive session.

Another dimension of professionalism is having respect for your peers. It is the right of every student to learn in an environment that is free of disruption and distraction. Please arrive to all learning activities on time, and if you are unavoidably detained, please join activity as quietly as possible to minimise disruption. Phones and other electronic devices that produce noise and other distractions must be turned off prior to entering class. Where your own device (e.g., laptop) is being used for class-related activities, you are asked to close down all other applications to avoid distraction to you and others. Please treat your fellow students with the utmost respect. If you are uncomfortable participating in any specific activity, please let the relevant academic know.

SECTION 8: INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY

Social inclusion at Macquarie University is about giving everyone who has the potential to benefit from higher education the opportunity to study at university, participate in campus life and flourish in their chosen field. The University has made significant moves to promote an equitable, diverse and exciting campus community for the benefit of staff and students. It is your responsibility to contribute towards the development of an inclusive culture and practice in the areas of learning and teaching, research, and service orientation and delivery. As a member of the Macquarie University community, you must not discriminate against or harass others based on their sex, gender, race, marital status, carers' responsibilities, disability, sexual orientation, age, political conviction or religious belief. All staff and students are expected to display appropriate behaviour that is conducive to a healthy learning environment for everyone.


Unit information based on version 2023.02 of the Handbook