Introduction
HW0105 Academic Communication in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences is a 2-credit, foundation course for Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) students at NTU. Note that HW0106 is a pass/fail course, but with course content the same as that of HW0105. Students taking HW0105 will receive grade marks.
HW0105 is a foundation course with the broad aim to enabling HASS students to recognise and use an appropriate style of communication in both academic and non-academic settings broadly related to the various fields within the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. The basic premise of the course is that effective writing is contingent on critical thinking, reading and writing. You will be exposed to a variety of texts to encourage them to critically evaluate and write about issues from multiple perspectives before you develop your own arguments. The need to consider the rhetorical situation and ethical issues is emphasised as you go through the process of planning, writing, and critically revising your own texts based on individual feedback. The course is designed specifically for the needs of NTU students and many of the texts and study topics have a Singapore focus.
This Course Guide has been prepared to guide you through the course. It contains important information on the course schedule, tutorial handouts and assignments. Please read this guide carefully as it will help you to get the best out of your studies. If you have any questions related to the course, do not hesitate to discuss these with your tutor.
Learning Objectives
This course aims to equip students with the necessary skills for reading and thinking critically and writing effectively by:
- analysing and evaluating academic texts;
- cultivating awareness of audience, context and purpose in writing tasks;
- developing rhetorical skills relevant to the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences in Singapore; and
- engaging in texts from a range of disciplines.
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- produce a short observational research essay;
- write an audience-specific argumentative essay; and
- make presentations on an academic