In lectures, the instructor will introduce theory and demonstrate analytical techniques. In seminars, students will practise analysis of sample texts and of their own writing. In their research outside the classroom, students will gather data on readers’ comprehension by conducting and recording think-aloud readings and text-based interviews with readers. In their written assignments, students will provide analyses using the theories and techniques introduced in lecture, and they will compose in the genres they have analyzed.
1. Genres and Their Social Contexts
Students will
- become familiar with theories of genre that describe the relations between genre and context (that is, between styles of writing and the distinct situations which these styles serve)
- analyze samples of genre to determine the conventions (that is, the regular forms of expression, organization, and situation) that distinguish them from one another
- examine the role of innovation in different types of writing, and the opportunities for and constraints on individual writers’ innovations
2. Readers and Texts
Students will
- become familiar with research on reading comprehension that explains the roles of word choice, grammar, coherence, and format in the reader’s experience of text
- become familiar with basic principles of classical rhetoric that help to explain the success or failure of texts in addressing their readers
- become familiar with current explanations of the role that conventions of style and organization play in the reader’s comprehension
- analyze text samples to (i) describe their genre features and rhetorical profile, and (ii) estimate the ease with which the intended reader could understand and use the text
- complete exercises on the functional linguistic approach to coherence
3. Writer and Text
Students will
- compose examples of specific genres, consulting the genre descriptions devised
- evaluate writing in light of conventions of style and organization, rhetorical profile, and models of the way readers understand—or fail to understand—what they are reading
4. Techniques and Analysis
Students will
- learn and apply techniques for analyzing a text’s patterns of abstract and concrete reference, and its levels of generality and their arrangement
- learn and apply techniques for analyzing grammatical features crucial to reading comprehension
- learn and apply techniques for analyzing a text’s patterns of coherence
- learn and apply techniques for analyzing the role of background knowledge in a text
- use these techniques to develop descriptions of different types of writing
- use these techniques to estimate appropriateness and readability of texts
- learn how to use interview techniques (for example, think-aloud protocols) to elicit readers’ responses to texts, and to use the results of these interviews in the drafting or revision process
Students who successfully complete this course will
- become familiar with genre theory, discourse theory, principles of classical and contemporary rhetoric, and models of reading comprehension
- develop techniques for analyzing texts and situations in response to generic conventions, rhetorical profile, and readability
- be able to apply theory and analytical techniques to practical communication tasks, especially written communication in non-academic contexts
Students are expected to be self-motivated and to demonstrate professionalism, which includes active participation, good attendance, punctuality, effective collaboration, ability to meet deadlines, presentation skills, and accurate self-evaluation.
Evaluation will be based on this general format:
| Rhetorical analysis | 10% |
| Genre analyses (3) | 40% |
| Report of reader interview (think-alouds) | 20% |
| Genre sample and analysis | 20% |
| Professionalism/participation (as defined above) | 10% |
| 100% |
Texts may include a resource such as Joan Cutting’s Pragmatics and Discourse: A Resource Book for Students.
Texts may also include a rhetorical grammar reference such as a current edition of Joseph M. Williams’s Style.
Coursepack of required readings
Acceptance into the Post-Degree Diploma in Professional Communication
or a minimum of 45 credit hours including a university-transfer course in English, Communications, or Creative Writing with a grade of B or higher
or permission of the Professional Communication program coordinator
None
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