What will I learn on this module?
This module aims to develop your academic and professional writing skills necessary to produce a consulting report to a high-level professional standard. It is vital as a future manager who is shaping, promoting and implementing the sustainability agenda to be able to communicate in a clear and articulate manner to the organisation’s internal and external stakeholders the value and challenges of the transition towards a more responsible business model. Employers seeking high-calibre graduates expect strong and effective verbal and oral communication skills in order to disseminate new ideas and initiatives, products and services to their internal and external stakeholders. As part of the transferable skills agenda of the Masters programme, in this module you will be taught by experienced academic tutors and industry professionals and critically review real examples of good and bad practice of corporate reporting and communication.
The module is based on a series of lectures, seminars and workshops where you will have the opportunity to learn and apply theoretical frameworks aimed to build your research, critical thinking and reflective writing skills. You will be provide with the cognitive tools necessary for a criterial review of information provided in the public domain by various types of organisations on their sustainability credentials and performance. As a future manager confident in your approach to communicate effectively to a wide range of audience you will develop management reporting and writing skills based on complex and multi-disciplinary data, information and other sources of secondary data.
Topics covered in the module are decoding and making sense of complex data sets, critical approach to writing, understanding your audience and stakeholder expectations, reflective and authentic writing, and GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards.
How will I learn on this module?
The module is designed to facilitate the development of the student learning experience over the course of one semester. The module’s learning method and interventions provide the tools for the development of your professional and academic writing skills.
Every session of the module leads you towards creating a professional consulting report on a sustainability issue of a company. You be given the opportunity to engage with a professional business copywriter, which will aim at maximizing the quality of your company-internal, as well as external, communication.
A teaching and learning plan supports the module, outlining the formal lecture sessions, together with the tutor-directed study in seminars and independent reading. An interactive approach to lecture sessions will draw upon the directed learning undertaken and your own experiences. Throughout, the emphasis will be on high levels of your participation.
Directed learning will centre upon a range of activities including pre-reading, preparation for interactive, group-based activities in seminars and use of the discussion board on the electronic Learning Portal.
How will I be supported academically on this module?
A member of academic staff leading the module will provide support both during the on-campus sessions and online.
The taught sessions of the module lectures, seminars, workshops and directed learning.
The emphasis will be on the transferability of academic activities to support your academic and professional development.
The electronic Learning Portal will house lecture and seminar materials relating to the module.
You will be provided with electronic reading and practice material on company data for description and analysis.
Peer assessment, formative and summative feedback will form the basis of your reflective development in becoming an effective sustainability communicator.
The electronic Learning Portal will house lecture and seminar materials relating to the module. You will be provided with electronic reading and practice material as well as a set of data for description and analysis.
What will I be expected to read on this module?
All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.
What will I be expected to achieve?
Knowledge & Understanding:
• Integrate knowledge and critically evaluate sources and ideas in an academic literature review [MLO1]
Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• Communicate synthesised knowledge and present research data and findings in a clear verbal or written manner [MLO2]
Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
• Reference, cite and paraphrase source material correctly with the use of adequate functional and reference phraseology [MLO3]
How will I be assessed?
Formative Assessment
Formative assessment will take place during weekly interactive lectures and seminars where individual contributions and group discussions will be accompanied by relevant tutor feedback. Additional further tutor-supported individual and group discussion will be supported via the module’s electronic Learning platform. During each session you will work on individual assignments leading up to the creation of a consulting report which will include a problem-related literature review. Peer-review and tutor-feedback will be offered on the consulting report which will offer a basis for your academic and professional development. After each session, you will be expected to upload parts of your work to the electronic Learning Portal. As systematic work and revisions of text are inherent in professional and academic writing, the regularity and timeliness of these submissions will be reflected in the final grades of the summative assessment.
Summative assessment
The module has two summative assessment submissions:
- Individual presentation (20%) [MLO2]
- Consulting report, 2,500 words (80%) [MLO 1, 2, 3]
Pre-requisite(s)
N/A
Co-requisite(s)
N/A
Module abstract
The main objective of the module is to help you develop professional skills necessary for writing a consulting report that contains professional advice in the subject of sustainability, which you will also find useful when preparing your dissertation and research. As this module is designed to give you the necessary tools to fulfil the requirements that academic writing imposes, you will advance your general professional writing style, which is also crucial to functioning in an international business environment.
At the outset of the module you will analyse the latest academic literature with a view to identifying authors’ (hypo)theses, supporting points, evidence and conclusions; this will help you summarise and critically evaluate texts and, ultimately, write a critical literature review. You will also learn how to present data and findings in a clear and efficient manner. Conclusively, on the basis of the literature review and provided data, you will learn how to organise and communicate your ideas clearly in the form of a consulting report.
Course info
Credits 10
Level of Study Postgraduate
Mode of Study 18 months Full Time
Department Newcastle Business School
Start August 2026
All information is accurate at the time of sharing.
Full time Courses are primarily delivered via on-campus face to face learning but could include elements of online learning. Most courses run as planned and as promoted on our website and via our marketing materials, but if there are any substantial changes (as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority) to a course or there is the potential that course may be withdrawn, we will notify all affected applicants as soon as possible with advice and guidance regarding their options. It is also important to be aware that optional modules listed on course pages may be subject to change depending on uptake numbers each year.
Contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with possible restrictions imposed by the government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors if this is deemed necessary in future.
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