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As a first-year module, FAS1102 develops the writing and oral communication skills that
FASS undergraduates like yourselves require to engage with the public effectively. As the
conventions and practices of writing and communicating with the public differ from those
of academic writing and communication, this module provides you with the opportunity to
apply the appropriate language, tone, structure and approaches necessary for engaging with
the public effectively, enhancing your ability to adapt and adjust your writing and speaking
to different contexts and target audiences.
You will engage with two main rhetorical frameworks, Bitzer’s (1968) Rhetorical Situation
and Aristotle’s (350 B.C.) widely applied Rhetorical Appeals of logos, ethos and pathos, to
develop an understanding of how public communication is shaped. You will critically analyse
current public communication practices and content, and learn to produce persuasive
and engaging public communication content yourselves by adopting a social issue of your
choice, writing about your issue in an online opinion piece, and speaking about it in a public
presentation.
Critically analyse and produce public writing and presentations for various
communication contexts, purposes and target audiences;
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FAS1102 Module Overview and Syllabus 19/20 S1
Apply targeted and persuasive writing strategies for various rhetorical situations and
audiences;
Apply targeted and engaging speaking strategies and active listening skills for
successful public speaking;
Conduct research and apply the information gathered to effectively persuade public
audiences;
Thoughtfully, succinctly and clearly document your personal communication
development.
Pre-requisites
If you are required to read ES1000 Basic English and/or ES1103 English for Academic
Purposes, you will need to pass these modules first before you can read FAS1102.
Teaching Modes
This module is presented in a flipped classroom mode and comprises an online component
followed by a face-to-face tutorial each week. It is taught using a combination of mini-
lectures, tutorials and workshops, and class participation is an essential component of the
continual assessment.
Students are expected to read the Student Notes and prepare responses to the Tutorial
Activity or other activities as instructed by their tutors before each week’s class. Both the
Student Notes and Tutorial Activity handouts can be downloaded from the weekly lesson
plans found in the Module Overview.
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FAS1102 Module Overview and Syllabus 19/20 S1
Schedule
Note: This schedule is subject to revisions, adjustments, and other updates during the semester.
Do stay informed of any changes by referring to this schedule and staying alert to your tutor's
notifications.
Week Lesson
1 IMPORTANT NOTICE
Lesson Components:
Public writing and communication in the world today: The Good, The Bad and The
Ugly
Definition of a social issue
Brief overview of module and assessments
o Writing Assessment Details
o Group Email Tutorial Task
*Individual quick sharing of preferred social issue (*please think about it before
coming to class)
Learning Objectives:
Understand the current context, purpose and challenges of public writing and
communication
Define what constitutes as a social issue
Recognise fundamental techniques of writing to engage and persuade
Understand the module’s objectives, structure, tasks and assessments
Readings:
Plugged in: Social Action on Social Media
Writing Assessment Task Description and Rubric
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FAS1102 Module Overview and Syllabus 19/20 S1
3 Tutorial 2: Why do we communicate with the public? And how should we go about it?
Lesson Components:
Bitzer's Rhetorical Situation
Group email task peer review and class discussion
Beyond email template writing: Emails as a form of persuasive and
interpersonal writing and communication
Aristotle's Rhetorical Appeals: Logos, Ethos, Pathos
Discussion of articles: Different aspects/perspectives and claims of an issue
Next task: Group Writing Proposal
Learning Objectives:
Understand key elements of the rhetorical situation and explain how they apply to
public writing and communication
Recognise the importance of the audience and engagement in public
communication
Understand Aristotle’s rhetorical appeals and apply them as strategies for
persuasive communication
Identify and evaluate the different aspects/perspectives and claims of an issue
Identify the rhetorical situation of your selected social issue Apply rhetorical
situation and rhetorical appeals in Group Email and Group Writing Proposal
Reading:
Student notes
Bitzer’s Rhetorical Situation
Writing Assessment Task Description and Rubric
Group Writing Proposal Task Description
Lesson Components:
Principles of good writing
Structure of an argumentative article
Group feedback and consultation on proposed social issue* (*Issues are not to be
replicated within each class)
Learning Objectives:
Understand the importance of clarity, conciseness, coherence and cohesion in good
writing
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FAS1102 Module Overview and Syllabus 19/20 S1
Lesson Components:
Credibility and the public communicator
Credibility in research and information sources
Citations and hyperlinks as methods of demonstrating credibility
Group feedback and consultation on Group Writing Proposal for Writing
Assessment
Learning Objectives:
Understand and apply various strategies for achieving credibility in public writing
and communication
Recognise the need for public communicators to offer credible sources, well-
supported arguments and clear organisation to gain credibility
Avoiding the pitfalls of plagiarism, defamation and copyright infringements
Lesson Components:
Peer review of group articles using Rhetorical Situation, Rhetorical Appeals and
Principles of Writing
Assessing your written piece using the Writing Assessment Rubric
Learning Objective:
Utilise Rhetorical Situation, Rhetorical Appeals and Principles of Writing
to review the drafts of your peers
DUE:
Draft of individual writing assessment article for peer review
Group’s blog site to be set up and link to be submitted to tutor
RECESS DUE: Writing Assessment on day before your tutorial, 23:59
WEEK To be submitted individually via LumiNUS Turnitin and also on your group's online portal
as an online post
7 Tutorial 6: Principles of Persuasive Presentations
Lesson Components:
Principles of persuasive public speaking
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FAS1102 Module Overview and Syllabus 19/20 S1
Ethical communication
Logos, pathos and ethos in public speaking
Writing Assessment feedback and consultation
Learning Objectives:
Understand and apply the principles of persuasive presentations
Recognise the importance of ethical communication
Understand how rhetorical appeals are applied in speeches
Readings:
Oral Presentation Task Description and Rubric
Student notes
Lesson Components:
Motivated Sequence Pattern (MSP)
Group consultation on proposed oral presentation outline
Learning Objective:
Structure a persuasive presentation using Motivated Sequence Pattern (MSP)
Reading:
Student notes
DUE: Proposed Group Presentation Outline on speech topic, occasion and audience
profile
9 Tutorial 8: Soft Skills for 'Soft' Persuasion: Active Listening and Empathy in Public
Communication
Lesson Components:
Practising and demonstrating active listening
The importance of empathy in communication
Learning Objectives:
Identify and utilize active listening strategies
Demonstrate empathy in a presentation as speaker and listener
Lesson Components:
Effective use of visuals and props
Group feedback on Writing Assessment and consultation on oral presentation
target audience, speech occasion and purpose
Learning Objective:
Utilise slides and props effectively in a presentation
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FAS1102 Module Overview and Syllabus 19/20 S1
Readings:
Zimmer, J. (25 Sept 2011). How do props help a presentation? Manner of Speaking.
10 tips on how to make slides that communicate your idea, from TED’s in-house
expert. (15 July 2014). TEDBlog.
DUE: Presentation outline or storyboard
11 Tutorial 10: Enhancing Speaker's Credibility and Audience Engagement: Nonverbal
Communication and the use of Voice
Lesson Components:
Nonverbal Communication
Voice
Learning Objectives:
Utilize gestures and other nonverbal behaviour to increase comprehension,
interest, persuasiveness and credibility
Incorporate vocal qualities that increase comprehension, interest, persuasiveness
and audience engagement
Reading:
Toastmasters Intl. (2011). Your speaking voice. Zimmer, J. (25 Sept 2011).
Note: Monday 28 Oct is a public holiday. Be alert to your tutor’s plans to make up for the
lesson missed.
12 Tutorial 11: Group Presentation week
Lesson Component:
Delivery of group presentations
Lesson Components:
Reflection
Letter format
Oral presentation feedback and consultation
Learning Objectives:
Understand the purposes and benefits of writing reflections
Apply the same persuasive and engaging interpersonal communication to letter
writing
Apply letter format
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FAS1102 Module Overview and Syllabus 19/20 S1
Reading DUE: Reflection Letter due on Monday 18 November 2019 of Reading Week, regardless of
Week your usual lesson time.
Assessment
Evaluation is based on continual assessment (CA). There are three main projects for the course: a
persuasive article posted to an online portal, a group presentation, and a reflection letter. Other
requirements that constitute the CA are class participation and tutorial tasks such as an email,
group proposal paper, and group presentation outline. Student contributions to class discussions,
performance in group activities, and class preparation will be the basis for assessing class
participation.
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FAS1102 Module Overview and Syllabus 19/20 S1
Submission Deadlines
*All tasks and assessments are due one day before your tutorial at 23:59, except for the Writing
Assessment Draft, Group Presentation video and Reflection Letter.
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FAS1102 Module Overview and Syllabus 19/20 S1
Penalties
Word count: One mark deducted for every 25 words exceeding the word limit.
Late submission: 5 marks deducted for every 24 hours past submission deadline.
Late submission by one week: ‘0’ marks.
Non-completion of Plagiarism Quiz: 5 marks deducted from Participation, Tutorial
Tasks component.
Non-participation in Writing Assessment peer review: 5 marks deducted
from Participation, Tutorial Tasks component.
No submission to LumiNUS or online portal for Writing Assessment: 5 marks
deducted.
Group presentations exceeding time limit: One mark deducted from Content and
Organization component for every extra two minutes, for all group members.
No submission of group presentation slides or video: 5 marks deducted from
Participation, Tutorial Tasks component, for all group members.
Academic Integrity
All students are expected to know and observe the guidelines for academic integrity stated in the
NUS Code for Student Conduct. The Code applies to all students even if they have not read it. You
can access the Code here at the Office of Student Affairs website. Here are two important excerpts
taken from the website:
Important: All FAS1102 students are to complete the plagiarism quiz and score a full 100% by
week 6 before submitting their Writing Assessment.
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FAS1102 Module Overview and Syllabus 19/20 S1
Course Readings
Students can access course materials and optional resources through LumiNUS. Materials used
for this module include:
Bitzer, L. F. (1968). The rhetorical situation. Philosophy & Rhetoric, 1(1), 1-14.
http://sites.psu.edu/fa2014vicarocas201/wp-
content/uploads/sites/15238/2014/08/40236733.pdf
Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (2008). The craft of research (3rd ed.). Chicago
Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing. http://rampages.us/univ200watson/wp-
content/uploads/sites/7575/2015/06/The-Craft-of-Research-From-Topics-to-Questions-
by-Wayne-C.-Booth.pdf
Marwick, A. E. & Boyd, D. (2011). I tweet passionately: Twitter users, context collapse, and the
imagined audience. New Media & Society.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0ee2/da37957b9d5b3fcc7827c84ee326cd8cb0c3.pdf?_g
a=2.17045562.26993124.1565162671-459526068.1565162671
Ten tips on how to make slides that communicate your idea, from TED’s in-house expert. (15
July 2014). TEDBlog. http://blog.ted.com/10-tips-for-better-slide-decks/
Zimmer, J. (25 Sept 2011). How do props help a presentation? Manner of Speaking.
http://mannerofspeaking.org/2011/09/25/how-do-props-help-a-presentation/
Other Resources
Students who need assistance with their writing or oral presentations are encouraged to make
use of the Writing and Communication Hub.
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