Course Catalogue

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This course develops knowledge of Business English as it is used in written business communication in order to support professionally orientated international post graduate students, for example, those studying within the Adam Smith Business School. The course focuses on Business English as it is used in a variety of key academic and professional written texts with a view to supporting on-course study and future employability. It further studies how to effectively produce some of those written texts and how they function in the wider inter-textual context of contemporary Business communication.

The course runs for 10 weeks in Semester 2. There will be 1 two hour session in each of those weeks.

Overall IELTS 6.5 or language proficiency at this level, with no sub-test less than 6.

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The standard assessments for this course are:

■ Written Test of a specific business genre - 40%

■ Written Test of a specific business genre - 60%

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:

■ There is no alternative to the assessed language exercise, but extensions to the deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (students should follow the usual process for extensions).

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.

It is the default expectation that all courses will offer opportunities for reassessment or deferred assessment. Where it is not possible to offer this in some assessment components, the grade achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade, and any exceptions for this course are described below.

[No exceptions]

This course aims to:

■ Develop proficiency in the use of varieties of written Business English particular to professional business contexts

■ Develop knowledge of relevant written genres as inter-discoursal components of business communication

■ Provide structured opportunities for students to develop the practical skills needed to interact with and produce these written genres

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Write a defined range of business texts showing an understanding of genre features including organisational structure, vocabulary and register

■ Identify and use a range of Business English as it functions in written business contexts

■ Evaluate information from a variety of business texts to extrapolate relevant details and establish intertextual relationships