 |
 |
On the last day of my course, I sometimes bring in a set on magazines... I look for things that have a tenuous (no more) connection to their research, but a completely different audience: children's magazines, health magazines, hobby, gardening and animal and farmer-directed titles. They then have to identify a part on their research that would be interesting to that audience, and develop a synopsis and a pitch, including the direction the first lines will take. These are working scientists, we do it in a workshop (they would not like this as homework, I think) and they love this. It does let us have a great (and often funny) discussion about audience... something they will have been getting in a different way in every class. On 25 Feb 2010, at 12:37, Dujardin, Anne-Florence wrote: > I did something similar - though not as exciting - a few years ago in a project called 'writing geology' which involved student workshops. One of the exercises was to ask students to compare three articles related to the same geological phenomenon: one from the everyday press, one from a geology magazine and a third one from a geology journal. This helped raise issue of audiences and audience expectations in relation to content and style. There is more about the project at: http://www.gees.ac.uk/planet/p15/sy.pdf > > > Anne-Florence Dujardin, Senior Lecturer in Communication Studies > ________________________________________ > From: European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing - discussions [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sandra Sinfield [[log in to unmask]] > Sent: 25 February 2010 08:52 > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: [EATAW] basics of academic writing > > A lecturer here at London Met gets students to re-genre writing from > other courses as part of her programme. Hence an anthropology essay > might become a sci-fi play; a rather tedious regurgitative essay from > one subject - might become an exhilarating children's story in her course... > This also seems to raise student awareness - alongside their interest > and enthusiasm. > Best, > Sandra Sinfield > > [log in to unmask] wrote: > >> A brief remark: >> I tend to believe that "handling" genres develops students' awareness >> and establishes "schemata".(Other/ previous communication courses might >> mean support.)> >> Ilona Ma'te' >> BME >> >> On 23 Feb 2010, at 10:59, John Harbord wrote: >> >>>> Using your 3 ECTS to perfect a single genre would be doing >>>> the students a disservice unless they will only (or mainly) need to >>>> write that genre. >>> >>> Well, yes and no. My course is 3 ECTs (for reasons that are hazy to me, >>> because as a consultant lecturer, I was outside that negotiation). In it, >>> PhD students work on a single article they plan to publish. In working >>> through that genre, we naturally touch on the differences between it and a >>> proposal. a report, etc., so the course has the form they most need as the >>> focus, but they see aspects of differences as well. Then there's the >>> readability of that article... that half of the course applies to anything >>> technical they write in future, and I know people keep and refer to the >>> class notes for years afterwards, so, disservice? No. >>> >>> I can't really see you disagreeing with this, so maybe it's the word >>> 'perfect' that you're stressing? I'm looking for successful papers, >>> flexible writers, and can't really believe in 'perfect'. >>> >>> Linda McPhee >>> http://www.lindamcpheeconsulting.com >>> >> >> > > -- > > Sandra Sinfield > University Teaching Fellow > _______________________________________________________________________ > Coordinator LDU & LearnHigher CETL www.learnhigher.ac.uk > LC-M10 London Metropolitan University, 236-250 Holloway Road, N7 6PP. > (020) 7 133 4045 > www.londonmet.ac.uk/ldu > _______________________________________________________________________ > > > Companies Act 2006 : http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/companyinfo