Content

This unit introduces students to techniques and practices that advance their writing skills in various contexts and to various audiences – e.g., essays, reviews, preaching, reflections, eulogies, newsletters, opinion pieces, event advertisements, letters, etc.

Unit code: AL1020W

Unit status: Approved (New unit)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 1

Unit discipline: Languages

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Whitley College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Identify key principles that make for excellent writing.

2.

Put into practice key principles of good writing.

3.

Understand style changes required to write effectively for different contexts.

4.

Know how to adapt their writing for different audiences.

5.

Understand how good writing assists key service objectives and theological expression.

Unit sequence

This unit compliments units taken in disciplines B, C, and D.

Pedagogy

The unit will involve a combination of pre-reading, lecturer/tutor presentation, assessed in-class student presentations, in-class discussions, and in-class writing exercises.

Indicative Bibliography

  • Atwood, Margaret. Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
  • Barnet, Sylvan and William E. Cain, A Short Guide to Writing About Literature, 12th ed., rev. Melbourne: Pearson, 2013.
  • Dillard, Annie. The Writing Life. New York: Harper Perennial, 2013.
  • Doyle, Brian, ed. A Sense of Wonder: The World’s Best Writers on the Sacred, the Profane, and the Ordinary. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2016.
  • Kaplan, Bruce. Editing Made Easy: Simple Rules for Effective Writing. Hinesburg: Upper Access Inc., 2012.
  • Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New York: Pantheon Books, 1994.
  • Orwell, George. Why I Write. London: Gangrel, 1946.
  • Sword, Helen. Stylish Academic Writing. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2012.
  • Williams, Joseph M. Style: Toward Clarity and Grace. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1990.
  • Zinsser, William. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction. 7th ed., rev. New York: Harper Perennial, 2016.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Document Study

Document Study

500 20.0
Portfolio

Portfolio (2 parts)

3500 80.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Maggie Kappelhoff on 9 Oct, 2020

Unit record last updated: 2020-10-09 10:39:22 +1100