Unit information: Communicating Economics in 2028/29

Please note: Programme and unit information may change as the relevant academic field develops. We may also make changes to the structure of programmes and assessments to improve the student experience.

Unit name Communicating Economics
Unit code EFIM30049
Credit points 20
Level of study H/6
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director Professor. Smith
Open unit status Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)

OR

OR

  • ECON20002 Microeconomics for Economics and Finance AND
  • ECON20003 Macroeconomics for Economics and Finance AND
  • ECON20004 Econometrics 1 for Economics and Finance
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)

None

Units you may not take alongside this one

None

School/department School of Economics
Faculty Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Unit Information

Why is this unit important?

Economists need to be able to communicate their expert analysis and advice to different audiences, via a range of media. In this unit, student will explore the challenge of communicating a technical and quantitative subject, and develop better communication skills.

How does this unit fit into your programme of study?

This unit offers students the opportunity to communicate the core economic ideas, developed across their undergraduate programmes to various different stakeholders, through various media.

Your learning on this unit

An overview of content

The course will run as a series of interactive sessions. Students will reflect on how to communicate economics knowledge and will gain hands-on experience in how to use different media (including writing economic briefs and blogs, making videos and producing data stories) to communicate messages to decision-makers and wider public audiences. External speakers will provide advice and experience.

How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit

The unit aims to:

  • train students to communicate expert economics knowledge in an accessible way to different audiences
  • respond to criticism that economists are insufficiently skilled in communicating complex economic concepts to the audiences they are trying to reach
  • improve and test intuitive understanding of complex economics appropriate for the level of study
  • expose students to knowledge and experience from professional communication experts
  • provide a learning experience in line with the labour market demands graduates will face.

Learning Outcomes

The course trains students to communicate complex economic ideas to different non-specialist audiences.

By the end of the course, students will

  1. be able to communicate expert economics knowledge in an accessible way to different kinds of non-expert audiences, such as the general public, politicians, A-level and first year students and colleagues within policy or business organisations.
  2. be able to produce concise writing and compelling videos and data stories for the target audience.
  3. be aware of challenges when communicating to non-expert audiences and show familiarity with real world examples of good and inadequate communication.

How you will learn

Teaching will be delivered through a combination of large and small group classes, supported by online resources

How you will be assessed

Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):

A formative assessment will give students an opportunity to practice and receive feedback on writing intuitively about economics and crafting a clear narrative. These skills will be tested in the summative assignments.

Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):

  • Assignment 1: Economic briefing note (2 pages) (50%)
  • Assignment 2: Students have a choice between creating a data story (data graph(s) and no more than 300 words of writing) and the creation of a video (no more than 3 minutes) (50%).

Both assessments assess all learning outcomes.

When assessment does not go to plan:

Normally, there are no opportunities for reassessment in final-year units. Where students are taking this unit as a non final-year unit (such as an MSci), or where there are validated exceptional circumstances:

If students fail the unit such that credit points cannot be awarded at the first attempt, they will be given a reassessment to replace the failed element(s).

These elements will be;

  • Assignment 1: Economic briefing note (2 pages) (50%)
  • Assignment 2: Students have a choice between creating a data story (data graph(s) and no more than 300 words of writing) and the creation of a video (no more than 3 minutes) (50%)

Both assessments assess all learning outcomes.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EFIM30049).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.

The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.