LS2441 STEM communication with impact 7.5 credits

On this course, participants should acquire strategies for persuasive communication in English. They should be able to apply these strategies to create impact in texts and oral presentations about (but not limited to) their technical domain. The course focuses on clear, concise and precise English, and it highlights the opportunities and the challenges of rhetoric within science communication. Course participants receive training in and personal feedback on:

- strategies and rhetorical models for creating impact in speech and writing

- advanced scientific English: sentence structure, text flow, scientific style, vocabulary, and reference management

- handling of source materials and references

- formal debating on a technical topic

In a language-focused learning environment and with course participants from different technical disciplines, the students learn both the mechanics of English and strategies to communicate their technical knowledge in clear, concise, and precise English. More exactly, the students should be able to do the following on completion of the course:

1. identify communication strategies in a public, STEM-related speech, and analyse how these strategies contribute to the impact of the speech
2. identify effective writing strategies in published texts within their own technical discipline, and apply these strategies in their own scientific writing
3. use and adapt their technical knowledge in discussions with experts and non-experts
4. develop arguments in speech and writing about their own technical discipline

Documented knowledge in a STEM discipline, with a minimum of 90 ECTS, and English proficiency equivalent to B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

If the course is discontinued, students may request to be examined during the following two academic years.

• INL1 - Assignments, 4.0 credits, grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F
• SEM1 - Seminars, 2.0 credits, grading scale: P, F
• TEN1 - Oral examination, 1.5 credits, grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

Based on recommendation from KTH’s coordinator for disabilities, the examiner will decide how to adapt an examination for students with documented disability.

The examiner may apply another examination format when re-examining individual students.

Jane Bottomley

Susanna Zeitler Lyne

• All members of a group are responsible for the group's work.
• In any assessment, every student shall honestly disclose any help received and sources used.
• In an oral assessment, every student shall be able to present and answer questions about the entire assignment and solution.