Written Communication 1
Main language of instruction: Catalan
Head instructor
Dr. Esteve VALLS - evalls@uic.es
Office hours
Dr. Esteve Valls: arranged hours. If you have not been able to come to class, you can send an email to the following address: evalls@uic.cat
Deepening the study of a language allows one to develop one's own linguistic and communicative competence. It is, therefore, an essential exercise to more fully satisfy the need to communicate, to enrich interpersonal relationships and to mature personality and intellectual life.
On the other hand, reading literature is an unbeatable opportunity to improve reading fluency, to know the historical and literary context of the authors, to appreciate the value of literary creations and to reflect on the great themes of literature, which are the great questions of human life.
The mastery of the linguistic code –and especially of the new Gramàtica de l'Institut d'Estudis Catalans– and the reflection on four strictly contemporary books will be the two pillars of this subject, which aims to contribute to the enrichment of expressive skills and to the broadening of the stylistic and communicative repertoire of future professionals in the Humanities.
To achieve these goals, four books have been selected to be read during the course:
To certify a C1 or equivalent level of Catalan under the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). Students unable to certify this level must agree with the teacher the itinerary they will have to follow in order to acquire a sufficient level of Catalan.
In this subject, students will develop three types of skills, which will result in several learning outcomes:
a) Grammatical and metalinguistic competences:
b) Textual and discursive competences:
c) Reading competence:
1. Communication skills
1.1. Listening, reading, speaking and writing
1.2. The text-reception process
1.3. The text-production process
1.4. Reading and writing purposes
2. The text
2.1. Definition of text
2.2. Criteria for classifying texts: genres and types of text
2.3. Oral text and written text
3. Text properties
3.1. Adequacy
3.1.1. Linguistic varieties: dialects, standard and registers
3.1.2. Modalization
3.2. Coherence
3.2.1. Coherence: a cognitive, pragmatic and semantic phenomenon
3.2.2. Paragraph segmentation and thematic progression
3.3. Cohesion
3.3.1. Cohesion resources: lexical relationship, anaphora, definition and connection
3.3.2. Punctuation
4. Oral discourse
4.1. Phonetic, morphosyntactic and lexical correction
4.2. Locution: pronunciation, speed, intensity, intonation and pauses
4.3. Nonverbal communication: body language
5. Analysis and production of several types of text
5.1. Phases: planning, textualization and revision
5.2. Some types of text: narrative, argumentative, descriptive and expository
6. Novelties of the Gramàtica de l’Institut d'Estudis Catalans
The methodology of the course is based on reflective learning, which is a way of allowing students to step back from their learning experience to help them develop critical thinking skills and improve on future performance by analysing their own experience. The teacher’s reviews will always be indicative, never resolutive. Acting on feedback is also a way of encouraging students to reflect on what they have learned and how they will improve.
Several activities will be carried out –although only a few will be evaluated–, such as:
Continuous evaluation (50%):
Final exam (50%):
Students must pass both parts of the final exam (with a minimum of 5 out of 10) to pass it. In addition, the average between continuous evaluation and the final exam can only be calculated once the final exam is passed. No grades will be saved from one course to another.
Correct use of language in written tests, papers and oral presentations is required. Evaluation of delivered texts will consist of two basic aspects:
Finally, it should be borne in mind that plagiarism is unacceptable and, therefore, any work in which plagiarism is committed will be scored with a zero.
Written language
Amadeo, I. & J. Solé (2004), Curs pràctic de redacció, Barcelona, Columna.
Bordons, G.; Castellà, J.M. & E. Costa (1998), TXT. La lingüística textual aplicada al comentari de textos, Barcelona, Edicions UB.
Cassany, D. (1993), La cuina de l’escriptura, Barcelona, Empúries.
Castellà, J. M. (1992), De la frase al text. Teories de l’ús lingüístic, Barcelona, Empúries.
Castellanos, J. A. (1998), Quadern de normativa, Barcelona, ICE de la UAB.
Comelles. S. (1989), Exercicis autocorrectius d’ampliació de vocabulari, Vic, EUMO.
Cuenca, M. J. (2008), Gramàtica del text, Alzira, Bromera.
Solà, J.; Lloret, M-R.; Mascaró, J. & M. Pérez Saldanya (dirs.) (2002), Gramàtica del català contemporani, Barcelona, Empúries.
Vilagrasa, A. & M. Mas (2012), Gramàtica catalana de la A a la Z, Barcelona, Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat.
Oral language
Bau, M.; Pujol, M. & A. Rius (2007), Curs de pronunciació. Exercicis de correcció fonètica, Barcelona, Publicacions Abadia de Montserrat.
Castellà, J. M. (2002), «La llengua oral formal: un espai intermedi entre oralitat i escriptura», dins Didàctica de la llengua oral formal, Barcelona, Graó, pp. 19-30.
Castellanos, J. A. (1993), Manual de pronunciació, Vic, Eumo, 2d reprint, 1994.
Rubio, J. & F. Puigpelat (2000), Com parlar bé en públic, Barcelona, Pòrtic.