Professional writing and text analysis

This course is based on a perspective of written communication as social action. Students work on writing processes and texts from different empirical contexts and gain insight into the central role written communication plays in modern work life. Different writing cultures and types of text in work life and higher education are examined in their respective contexts of use, and communication challenges associated with disciplinary and interdisciplinary written communication is a key focus in the course. The students will practice various approaches to text analyses.

Candidates who have completed this course will have acquired the following learning outcomes, defined as knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The candidate

- has advanced knowledge of the role writing plays in work life and higher education, and how different writing cultures are expressed

- has deep insight into key communication challenges in written communication in various empirical contexts

- understands how writing processes and text work can support new ideas, learning processes and competence development within the field

Skills

The candidate

- has developed good scientific writing skills

- is capable of helping others by providing constructive feedback during writing processes and is able to make use of such feedback in their own writing

- is able to apply knowledge of quality criteria for different genres to their own writing as well as in their assessment of others

General competence

The candidate

- understands writing as social action and has insight into different genres and their functions for different readers

- is able to analyze challenges in interdisciplinary written communication and apply their insights in collaborative writing to professional practice

This course emphasizes teaching methods in which students actively participate, including various writing exercises, analysis workshops, co-writing and feedback workshops. Students work together in groups, both physically and digitally. By working on cases, students develop their text, writing and feedback competence by analyzing, writing and supporting others in their writing.