Academic Communication


This subject is designed to acclimatise students to a broad range of skills necessary to succeed in their academic studies. Performance and critical/creative thinking skills give students confidence in the use of their body and voice which will better enable them to deliver successful presentations and take part self-assuredly in any academic speaking contexts. 

Writing tasks also build an understanding of structure and language that enhance essay writing. Working as a group, setting goals understanding text, building empathy, expressing an opinion, engaging an audience, developing interpersonal, oral and written communication skills will be addressed through workshop activities. 

Students use their own experiences to develop stories and a performance that utilises the principles and techniques of drama. They are encouraged to reflect on the practical relationship these skills have to their academic and professional lives. Research skills are employed to add context to storytelling. Multimedia is used to enhance student learning as well as to demonstrate how different media combine to engage an audience. The principles and techniques of effective storytelling form the basis of this subject and through practical application, students learn to write and perform their stories, explore ways to represent these stories digitally and understand the importance of storytelling in their personal lives, study and professional practice. 

This subject also works to increase awareness of, as well as develop and employ ‘soft skills’: attributes such as adaptability, resourcefulness, initiative, creativity, interpersonal communication skills and the ability to problem solve and to work well in teams.