Welcome to the Health Communication to Academic Audiences module.
Acknowledgement of Country
We would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which this module was designed and developed, the Yuggera and Turrbal people. We invite you to learn about and acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which you join us today.
We would like to pay our respects to the Ancestors and Descendants of these lands and acknowledge their continued cultural and spiritual connections to Country. We would also like to recognise their valuable contributions to Australian and global society.
This is a module about writing for and with academic audiences! We acknowledge that Country is not just the physical earth and landscape, but communities, relationships, and people who live, play, study, and work here. In this way, acknowledging Country is also a means of understanding how our academic writing plays an important role to shape and support the health and wellbeing of people and their communities. What we write and how we write matters. With that in mind, we would like to acknowledge the tremendous contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who have led the way understanding how to communicate with others about health and wellbeing.
Learning Objectives
Let us begin by diving into the learning objectives.
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
Identify how genre functions in written health communication for academic audiences.
Understand how and why writers develop arguments in academic texts.
Understand the importance of writing ethically for academic audiences.
Estimated learner time: 45min
1. Introduction
We welcome you to think a little differently about academic writing in health communication. Writing happens all around us, and when it is effective, it shapes our lives in meaningful ways.
To illustrate the importance of writing, let’s consider road signs, a type of writing we often take for granted. Road signs help us find destinations, so we don’t lose our way. This type of writing also keeps us and others safe on the road while travelling. We can think of the road sign as a specific type of text and travellers as the audience or the intended readers for this text. Audience is very specific here. The audience for these signs is not everyone living in the area, but only those who are using the road.
Notice how each road sign is specific to the context and situation of the traveller. Road signs answer key questions that travellers may have at any given point in time. For example, how much longer until I reach my destination? What are the hazards on the road?
In similar ways, what we write, how we write, and why we write for academic audiences very much depends on the context within which our writing takes place, and the purpose we want our writing to accomplish. It is important to note that distinct types of writing have evolved over time to do specific work for readers in academic contexts. We call these types of writing genres. Let’s take a closer look at the role of genre in writing for academic audiences.
Working out Academic Genres: It’s not Always Obvious
In this next section, Dr Kevan Jones will explain in greater depth what audience and purpose are and how these concepts relate to genre in the context of writing for academic audiences.
It may surprise you that genre isn’t fixed or unchanging. Academic genres are organic, with interrelations like a taxonomy. It’s useful to think of genre as a tree: roots, a single trunk, splitting branches. Related genres are close to each other on the tree, but as each branch splits a new genre is born. Spend some time now examining the tree below – try exploring the tree from the roots up to get an idea of how genre evolves.
What do all texts have in common?
As we have seen, texts can take a variety of shapes and styles, from road signs, movies, to peer reviewed research articles, reports, and journalistic research. We invite you to tune into what Dr Kevan Jones has to say about a key element that ALL texts have in common. Understanding this core element is critical to your success as a writer to academic audiences.