The Critical Academic Literacies (CAL) courses:

The CAL courses are designed to support students studying across the disciplines. These courses focus on writing guided academic assignments for the purpose of developing students’ writing ability in various discourses. They also emphasise intensive and extensive reading, and listening and note-taking practices as vital to developing academic skills. Students are introduced to a variety of topics relevant to the respective disciplines through a faculty-specific and resource-based approach. 

Although our focus is on reading and writing, the overall outcomes of the courses are to help students develop:

• Critical reading skills (the ability to extract the main ideas and key details of an academic text);
• Academic writing skills (the ability to express information and opinions clearly and with appropriate organisation in the written mode);
• Oral skills (the ability to express opinions about a variety of issues fluently, critically, as well as creatively in the mode of oral discussion); 
• Critical thinking skills (the ability to apply, analyse, and/or evaluate information); and
• Listening and note-taking skills (the ability to collect and organise important ideas).

The courses are presented in both the mainstream and extended degree programmes. The following courses are presented:

• CALH1508 and EALH2508 (Faculty of the Humanities)
• CALT1508 (Faculty of Education)
• CALL1508 (Faculty of Law)
• CALE1508 (Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences)
• CALN1508 (Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences)
• CALM1504 (Faculty of Health Sciences)
• CALR 1508 (Faculty of Theology and Religion)