module specification

This core Module will focus on developing students ability in business writing and business journalism, whether for internal business writing (marketing / advertising copy, press releases, annual reports) or external business writing (news articles, feature articles, reviews, interviews, columns, social media, blogs).  This will enable students to develop confidence and expertise in their business writing for a wide range of audiences, will contribute to their understanding of how business is communicated, and will contribute to their academic development across the course as a whole.

The aims of this Module are to:

1. Enable the students to develop expertise in business writing and business journalism
2. Develop student understanding of the business writing industry, and associated industries (e.g. media, digital, marketing, press, broadcasting, publishing)
3. Contribute to student overall academic and professional development, and to the course as a whole

Business writing exercises
Journalism  / copy-writing exercises
The business writing industry
The media, digital, marketing, press, broadcasting, and publishing industries
Preparation for assignments (i) and (ii)

The Module will be delivered over 30-weeks, one 3-hour session per week.

Students will be required to gather and evaluate information and data from various sources, relate contemporary business academic issues to their module assignment(s), and to communicate their opinions and analysis in a variety of ways, to a range of audiences.

Guest speakers will be invited from industry and the professional bodies to give master classes and to discuss career opportunities and prospects with students.

The facilities of Web Learn will be used as part of a blended learning approach by providing students with support information and as a resource to support independent learning.  Students will be encouraged to undertake wider reading of academic journal articles and the business press, and to demonstrate these in seminar discussions, debates and in their assignments. This module also requires students to reflect upon their experiences and record their skills and personal development plan (PDP).

On completing the Module, students will be able to:

1. Write in a professional style for a wide range of business audiences and for a wide range of business purposes
2. Understand the importance of the business writing industry, and associated industries (e.g. media, digital, marketing, press, broadcasting, publishing)
3. Recognise the importance of being able to write to a high academic and professional standard for their career and professional development

The Module will have three assignments.  Component (i) will be a team-based assignment, where students will present their analysis of a media institution and how it presents business writing and communication to its audiences; (ii) will be a portfolio of three 500-word articles; and component (iii) will be a portfolio of three 1,000-word articles, each article for a different business audience and purpose.  All written assignments will be submitted on-line via WebLearn / Turnitin.

Atkinson, I (2011) FT Essential Guide to Business Writing, Pearson
Al-Maskari, K (2013) A Practical Guide to Business Writing: Writing in English for Non-Native Speakers, Wiley
Bradshaw, P et al (2011) The Online Journalism Handbook, Routledge
Hicks, W et al (2016) Writing for Journalists, Routledge
Talbot, F (2016) How to Write Effective Business English, Kogan Page

Writing for the Web, at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/journalism/article/art20130702112133610

The Art of Copywriting, at:
https://www.diygenius.com/master-the-art-of-copywriting