Text Analysis and Text Development

This course targets students who want to work with professional writing, by writing themselves and by helping others to improve their writing. Text development through collaboration occurs daily in many places of study and work, and there is a need for people who can analyse texts and provide competent feedback, a competence that is valued in higher education, public services and business.

The course has a double focus – partly to develop a theoretical perspective on text and competence development, and partly to foster an ability to use analytical tools that stimulate such development. In many contexts of study and work, response to preliminary drafts is an important means of developing the potential of texts and of writers. Response is thus a central theme throughout the course.

KNOWLEDGE

The student:

- Has a disciplinary foundation for perceiving the role of the written language in social and institutional life.

- Has broad knowledge of central themes, theories, research questions and processes related to written communication at different levels of education.

- Has knowledge about strategies of argumentation in writing.

- Has a well-developed ability to think analytically and see patterns in written communication, and has insight into how knowledge about such patterns can contribute to support learning and competence development.



SKILLS

The student:

- Is able to use disciplinary tools to analyse written communication processes and texts from the perspective of development.

- Has training in giving and discussing response to texts as they are being developed.

- Has training in analysing texts from the media.

- Is able to communicate a case or subject and provide arguments in an independent and logical manner in keeping with the discipline.

Lectures, joint analysis sessions and individual analyses. We emphasise fostering students’ knowledge and understanding of the tools of analysis as they work independently to bring out the potential for development in different kinds of texts.. Therefore, analyses of specific texts and writing processes are integrated in the course.