HUM30050 Writing for Life: employability skills for arts and humanities students

Academic Year 2023/2024

This module is designed to enhance your employability by offering you the chance to hone and activate your communication skills, with special focus on writing and presentations in the workplace. It will be delivered via independent learning activities and one intensive week-long face-to-face workshop. The workshop will be held from Monday-Friday in the first week of the March field break: week beginning 11 March 2024. To participate in the module it is essential that students attend the full workshop week and engage with all activities. Participants will also be required to complete some exercises independently in advance of the intensive workshop week and, afterwards, to complete a project for submission at the end of the teaching trimester.

This module is co-facilitated by a UCD academic and an industry professional with extensive experience in broadcast and print media. In the module students will learn how to write accurate, persuasive, dynamic texts to engage and inform target audiences in professional contexts. Workshop activities will include writing effectively for a variety of platforms (including print, spoken word, broadcast and social media). Some practical exercises will be drawn from the world of media, but all activities are applicable to a wide spectrum of professional contexts.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module participants will be able to:
• Critically evaluate effective written communications for specified professional target audiences
• Assess the requirements of specific communicative tasks and plan appropriate written responses
• Write accurate, engaging short texts in response to a targeted brief
• Proofread and edit short texts
• Develop and deliver project based on a specific personal interest, selecting appropriate communicational strategies

Indicative Module Content:

•Understanding the importance of clear, concise, structured communications in professional contexts.
•Evaluating examples of various forms of communication.
•Evaluating various communication aids, including AI apps.
•Drafting effective communications for various formats and audiences: including, for example, print media, public relations, marketing, report writing, abstract editing, public speaking, presentations and social media.
•Developing and delivering a project to communicate a topic of personal interest, selecting an appropriate communicational strategy.
•Giving and receiving effective feedback on documents for professional purposes.


Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Small Group

35
Specified Learning Activities

30
Autonomous Student Learning

35
Total

100
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This module adopts a learning-by doing approach. It will be delivered by means of independent work - completed before and after the workshop - and in an intensive week-long workshop. The intensive workshop will take place during the March fieldwork break (week beginning 11 March 2024, full-days Monday-Friday, during which participants will engage in:
• individual and group-based practical writing exercises set by industry experts
• oral and written peer-feedback activities
• discussion-based activities
• individual and group-based reflective learning exercises
 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Presentation: Presentation of project plan, including reflection on the writing/development process. Unspecified n/a Pass/Fail Grade Scale No

30
Continuous Assessment: Portfolio of written assignments developed in the course of the module. Varies over the Trimester n/a Pass/Fail Grade Scale No

40
Project: Submission of a completed project based on the plan presented Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Pass/Fail Grade Scale No

30

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback will be a central part of this workshop module: participants will develop their writing skills through the feedback and reflection process of working on practical writing tasks. Facilitators will provide ongoing feedback to drafts and samples of written work during the workshops and participants will receive individual oral and written feedback on their final submission.

Name Role
Assoc Professor Jaime Jones Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
 

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