English Academic Skills for Business

Module title	English Academic Skills for Business
Module code	INT0206
Academic year	2025/6
Credits	30
Module staff

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks	12	12

Number students taking module (anticipated)	310

Module description

This module is designed to enable you to improve your language proficiency and study skills within the context of business studies, in order to develop your ability to read complex academic texts and to extract and evaluate the relevant information; to produce written assignments in an appropriate format following academic conventions; to develop fluency and confidence in seminar discussions and the delivery of presentations, and to enhance your ability to extract relevant information from lectures.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to provide students who already have a degree of proficiency in spoken and written language skills to develop and strengthen the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking in an academic context.

During seminar skills classes the aim is to develop confidence, fluency, and accuracy when participating in discussion, giving presentations, and listening actively to other speakers. In terms of academic writing skills, the core aim is to develop awareness and proficiency in the essential skills needed when undertaking written assignments. These include extensive research, reading, note-taking, drafting and editing of work.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

1. Express yourself with a degree of fluency and accuracy that enables effective spoken and written communication in an academic setting
2. Present information and written text in a structured way that engages the audience and facilitates understanding
3. Extract and use key information from a range of written and / or spoken sources
4. Demonstrate your understanding of good academic practice
5. Engage actively in discussion and show awareness of the communicative needs of others
6. Organise and present ideas logically, following academic conventions

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

7. Carry-out discipline-specific research through selection and use of appropriate source material

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

8. Critically review your academic skills and performance by engaging with tutor and peer feedback
9. Demonstrate analytical and evaluative thinking in subject related areas

Syllabus plan

Skills are integrated and are developed throughout the module:

Skills and strategies for listening: comprehension skills and using linguistic knowledge to understand meaning and purpose
Listening and note-taking in a variety of contexts including lectures
Giving presentations: producing effective slides, engaging the audience, delivering information effectively and persuasively and dealing with questions
Participating in seminars: turn-taking, using evidence to support contributions, building on the contributions of others and responding to feedback
Communication skills: accuracy, register, fluency and intelligibility
Skills and strategies for reading: comprehension skills and using linguistic knowledge to understand text structure and purpose
Academic language: sentence structure, register and vocabulary
The writing process: analysing writing task titles, brainstorming ideas, planning, drafting, and responding to feedback
Using sources: notetaking, summarising, paraphrasing, quotation
Research skills: finding and evaluating appropriate sources and using University of Exeter library resources
Referencing: in-text citation, writing a reference list, avoiding plagiarism, using Turnitin and adhering to academic conventions
Reflecting critically on feedback from teacher and peers and taking steps to improve

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
90	210	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	90	Formal whole-group teaching including teacher-led activities, seminars, and tasks done individually, in pairs or in groups, and individual tutorials, group tutorials, and assessed seminar weeks
Guided Independent Study	210	Homework tasks; coursework assessments; materials on ELE

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Group Presentation: Pitch Presentation + Q&A	40 minutes (10 mins per student)	1-9	Written and spoken teacher feedback and group reflection
Timed Reading to Writing	2 hours, 650 to 850 words	1-4, 6, 8, 9	Written and spoken teacher feedback and individual reflection
Written Assignment Outline/Plan 1st Draft	800-1,000 words (First draft)	1-4, 6-9	Written and spoken teacher feedback and individual reflection

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
70	30	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Group Presentation + Q&A	40	40 minutes (10 mins per student)	1-9	Written feedback
Timed Reading to Writing	30	2 hours, 650-850words	1-4, 6, 8, 9	Written feedback
Written Assignment: Final draft	30	1,500 words	1-4, 6-9	Written feedback

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Group Presentation + Q&A	Individual Presentation + Q&A	1-9	Next assessment opportunity
Timed Reading to Writing	Timed Reading to Writing	1-4, 6, 8, 9	Next assessment opportunity
Written Assignment	Written Assignment	1-4, 6-9	Next assessment opportunity

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – If you miss an assessment for reasons judged legitimate by the Mitigation Committee, the applicable assessment will normally be deferred. See ‘Details of Reassessment’ for the form that assessment usually takes. When deferral occurs, there is ordinarily no change to the overall weighting of that assessment.

Referral – If you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to re-do each assessment you have failed (i.e. the ones with a score of 0-39%). Marks awarded in these referred assessments will not be capped at 40%. If the overall module grade including the referred assessment is 40% or more, a module mark of 40% will be awarded.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Basic reading:

Bailey, S, 2017. Academic Writing A Handbook for International Students (5^th edition), Routledge, Abingdon

De Chazal, E. & S. McCarter, 2020. Oxford EAP Upper-Intermediate/B2, Oxford University Press, Oxford

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

Web-based and electronic resources:

ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=4497

Key words search

Language; discussion; skills; communication; presentation; research; clarity; coherence; listening; comprehension; written; reading; structure; ideas; complex; unsimplified; text; analytical; vocabulary; academic; assignment; sources; notetaking

Credit value	30
Module ECTS	15
Module pre-requisites	None
Module co-requisites	None
NQF level (module)	3
Available as distance learning?	No
Origin date	16/05/2008
Last revision date	14/05/2025