Key concepts of effective writing in academic and professional contexts.
Clear, powerful communication is a prerequisite of success in the academic or business world. More than ever in the Internet age, communication takes place in a written form with speech, gesture, expression or body language providing fewer clues to meaning. ENGL 127 will introduce you to - or refresh your memory of - key concepts in effective writing. We will study practical aspects of grammar, punctuation, style and mechanics at the level of the sentence, paragraph, essay and beyond. We will emphasise practical work and teach you skills that you can transfer to your own academic or professional writing projects. This paper builds on the skills taught in ENGL 128, but may be taken separately.
| Paper title | Effective Writing |
|---|---|
| Paper code | ENGL127 |
| Subject | English |
| EFTS | 0.15 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 1
(On campus)
Semester 2 (On campus) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees (NZD) | $955.05 |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music, Science
- Contact
Sem 1: michael.cop@otago.ac.nz
Sem 2: nicola.cummins@otago.ac.nz- More information link
- Teaching staff
Convenors: Sem 1: Dr Michael Cop and Sem 2: Nicola Cummins
Lecturers: Ms Nicola Cummins, Michael Cop, and Associate Professor Shef Rogers- Paper Structure
- Weekly one-hour lectures focused on writing at the paragraph level and beyond
- Two-hour tutorials in selected weeks focusing on writing from the sentence level to the paragraph level
- Textbooks
Required: Williams, Joseph M. and Joseph Bizup. Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace, international edition, (Pearson Longman).
Course Reader (available from the Print Shop).- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Global perspective, Interdisciplinary perspective, Lifelong learning, Scholarship,
Communication, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Ethics, Information literacy,
Research, Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
Students who pass ENGL 127 will be able to:
- Apply a sound knowledge of grammatical and syntactical structures in English to their writing in a variety of discourses
- Summarise texts in a coherent paragraph that orders points in a logical way, expresses ideas clearly and uses consistent topic strings
- Write an academic essay that demonstrates the above features and separates ideas into appropriate paragraphs
- Apply the stylistic conventions of academic written English to their written work
- Understand the concept of audience and adapt writing style to suit a particular audience
- Use information technologies to facilitate their individual study and production of writing in English in a formal context
