About this unit

Introduces students to active practices of reading and writing, different forms of writing and critical reading strategies that will enable them to analyse and critique meanings in the written word. Reading and writing skills are introduced with a particular emphasis on critical thinking and essay writing as forms of academic practice.

As a graduate of Southern Cross University, you will have developed skills, values and attitudes that are essential for gaining employment and advancing life-long learning. The University refers to these as graduate attributes and identifies them as follows:
GA1 Intellectual rigour, GA2 Creativity, GA3 Ethical practice, GA4 Knowledge of a discipline, GA5 Lifelong learning, GA6 Communication and social skills, GA7 Cultural competence. This unit will assist students to develop the following graduate attributes (shown below as they relate to this unit's learning outcomes).

This text is essential for the course and should also help with your whole experience of study at SCU: Grellier, J & Goerke, V 2010, Communication Skills Toolkit: Unlocking the Secrets of Tertiary Success, 2nd edn, Cengage Learning, South Melbourne. ISBN: 9780170184762.

This is a graded unit and grades are awarded as detailed in Rule 3.8 of the University's Rules Relating to Awards. To achieve a passing grade in the unit all assessment tasks must be submitted and an overall mark of 50% or more must be obtained. Resubmission is available on one assessment item in this unit. Resubmitted assignments will only be eligible for a Pass.

How to begin?
1.Go to http://study.scu.edu.au (the ‘MySCU’ student portal) and log in using your username and password. If you still have trouble, ring the Helpdesk on 6620 3698 (if you live in the Lismore area) or 1800 111 890 (if you live elsewhere).
2.Find the link for the COM10295 Written Communication MySCU site and click on it.
3.In Announcements you will find the announcement titled ‘Congratulations! You’re on your way’. This announcement will give you the clues you need to find how to write the type of paragraph required for this assignment.
4.Using the information you have found on writing a paragraph, use a word processor to write a paragraph describing one aspect of when you write and why. For example, is there an aspect of writing you enjoy? Do you dislike writing? What is it about writing that you enjoy or dislike? You don’t have to answer these questions but you can use them to start thinking about what you will write about when and why you write. You can be creative in your response. The paragraph should be approximately 150 words long. (If you are unsure how to determine the word count of your paragraph, go to the help function of your word processor and search for a topic on ‘word count’.) Use the tips on writing paragraphs from the ‘Writing Paragraphs’ sheet as you write and edit your work.
5.Once you have written your paragraph, check that it meets the marking criteria below.
6.Next, you need to submit your assignment. To do this:
·Go to the COM10295 Written Communication MySCU learning site and find the area in the left-hand navigation column called My Groups.
·Click on your group name.
·Click on ‘Group Discussion Board’; and then
·Click the forum link titled ‘The writing experience’.
·Start a new thread by clicking the ‘Create Thread’ button.
·The subject of your thread should be ‘First-name Second-name on Writing’, for example, Dana Sock on
Writing.
·Now copy the paragraph from your word processor and paste it into the ‘Message’ box. ·When you are finished, click the ‘Submit’ button.
Congratulations, you have completed your first assignment!
This first assignment does not need to be submitted via Turnitin, nor does it require a cover sheet. Please note that if you are an external student the Group Discussion Board is where you can ‘discuss’ specific Topics and other issues with your tutor.