Module: English Skills for Professional Life

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	English Skills for Professional Life
Module Code	LIG1002 (ITS: LC345)
Faculty	SALIS	School	Humanities & Social Sciences
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5

Description

This module aims to equip students who are already fluent in English with specialised skills in writing, editing, and textual mediation in English that will be of use in a growing number of professional pathways after graduation. An ability to work with English in varied and sophisticated ways is important to careers in governmental and non-governmental institutions, digital and traditional media, translation and interpreting, public relations and marketing, journalism, research, and many more. The focus of this module is to improve students’ abilities to work with English in a number of specialised ways.

Learning Outcomes

1. Paraphrase and summarise texts in English in different registers and tones for a variety of purposes
2. Describe and give examples of selected guidelines on writing in Plain English or Clear English
3. Edit and proof highly specialised texts in English for a variety of purposes
4. Rewrite a piece of highly specialised text in Plain English according to a selected set of guidelines
5. Write pieces of text in appropriate registers and tones of English for such purposes as academic writing, social media posts, technical writing, a press release, a voice-over, an audio description, etc.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Lecture	20	Attending synchronous teaching sessions
Independent Study	35	Completing assigned readings
Independent Study	35	Reviewing content asynchronously (slides, videos, radio programmes etc.)
Directed learning	10	(small quizzes, directed discussions, etc. assigned during the semester)
Assignment Completion	25	No Description
Total Workload: 125

Section Breakdown
CRN	10673	Part of Term	Semester 1
Coursework	0%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	Y
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Martin Toal	Module Teacher

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Assignment	n/a	50%	As required
Assignment	n/a	50%	Sem 1 End

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Workplace writing skills
Content includes:

Students will develop key writing skills that are needed in the workplace. They will examine different genres of writing focusing on areas such as: report writing; translating text into plain English, writing for the social media audience, voice overs, audio and press releases, etc. The writing skill sets applicable to these genres will be examined through reading texts, discussion, and analysis of themes such as, migration, homelessness, climate change, sustainability, food poverty/insecurity.

Indicative Reading List

Books:

Gere, A.R.: 2019, Developing Writers in Higher Education A Longitudinal Study, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor Available at: https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.10079890,
King, G. and King, G.: 2009, Collins improve your writing skills, new, Collins, Glasgow,
Levinson, N.: 2000, How To Sharpen Your Business Writing Skills, 2nd ed, Amacom, Saranac Lake, NY, USA,
Tosques, E.: 2006, Writing in English for the Workplace, Firenze University Press. Available at: https://doi.org/10.36253/978-88-5518-030-6., Firenze,

Articles:
None

Other Resources

course materials: Materials to be provided by the course coordinator,