MN6069 - Business Writing and Communication (2018/19)
| Module specification | Module approved to run in 2018/19 | ||||||||||||
| Module title | Business Writing and Communication | ||||||||||||
| Module level | Honours (06) | ||||||||||||
| Credit rating for module | 15 | ||||||||||||
| School | Guildhall School of Business and Law | ||||||||||||
| Total study hours | 150 | ||||||||||||
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| Assessment components |
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| Running in 2018/19(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change) |
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Module summary
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.
Syllabus
Analysis and evaluation of the key players in the contemporary business writing industry
Analysis and evaluation of the media, digital, marketing, press, broadcasting, and publishing industries, institutions, and audiences LO1
Creative business writing exercises, designed for the contemporary business industry LO2
Creative journalism and copy-writing exercises, designed for the contemporary business writing industry
Preparation for assignments (i) and (ii) LO1,LO2
Balance of independent study and scheduled teaching activity
The Module will be delivered over 15-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).
Learning outcomes
On completing the Module, students will be able to:
1. Evaluate and assess the key features of the business writing industry, and associated industries (e.g. media, digital, marketing, press, broadcasting, publishing)
2. Write and design ‘copy’ in a professional style for a wide range of business audiences, and for a wide range of business purposes, and evaluate and assess their impact
Assessment strategy
The Module will have two 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 750-word articles, each article for a different business audience and purpose. All written assignments will be submitted on-line via WebLearn / Turnitin. Formative verbal and written feedback will be provided to each student on a 1-2-1 basis, within two weeks of submission, for components (i). Summative verbal and written feedback will be provided to each student in the final week, Week 15.
Bibliography
Textbooks:
Core Text: Talbot, F (2016) How to Write Effective Business English, Kogan Page
Other Texts:
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
Loizou, Andreas (2015) Smack my Pitch Up: Business Writing Success, Urbane
Journals:
International Journal of Business Communication (http://journals.sagepub.com/home/job)
Journal of Mass Communication and Journalism, at:
(https://www.omicsonline.org/mass-communication-journalism.php)
Websites:
Writing for the Web, at:
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/journalism/article/art20130702112133610)
Press Gazette Business Journalism, at: (http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/category/news/b2b)
Electronic Databases: N/A
Social Media Sources: Twitter, Instagram
Other: Company Websites and Annual Reports, Business Pages of major newspapers and magazines