BA (Hons) English and Public Relations (Full Time) Length: 3 years UCAS: QP32

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Course overview
The English scheme joins the study of English literature on a 50/50 basis with a number of our existing degrees. The scheme takes a cutting-edge, interdisciplinary approach towards the study of English, encouraging students to think in new and imaginative ways about not only fiction, drama, poetry and language, but also television, film, journalism, advertising, and their own creative writing. This degree is an innovative combination in which the insights of litrary and critical theory are brought to bear on the huge expansion of new media and desktop publishing within the world of business. Students understanding of literary styles and techniques will be given a vocational edge in practical Public Relations units on message analysis, technical and creative skills, image manipulation, and media production. Creative and visual approaches are emphasized across the course.

Course content
Year 1

Cultural Fragments: An Introduction to Literary Studies Adapting the Novel Making and Reading Poetry Communications in action Introduction to PR & Media Relations Electronic publishing and Website design

Year 2

Gender Agendas: Unpacking 19 Playtexts in Context

th

Century Literature

Shakespeare: Script, Stage and Screen PR & Contemporary Issues Marketing and Marketing Communications

Corporate identity and Design

Year 3

Shock Value: Rejecting Realism in 20 Persuasive Communication Dissertation/Major Project

th

Century Literature

Option in English (to include Comedy, Radical Re-Readings, Storytelling from The

Odyssey to EastEnders, Writing about Writing)

Option in Public Relations

Career opportunities
Graduates from this course could find openings for careers in many areas, including public relations, advertising, journalism and within corporations in functions such as marketing and human resources. English is a well-respected and adaptable degree, showing potential employers that you are an intelligent, motivated and imaginative person who is able to communicate ideas clearly in a range of formats, to write elegantly and persuasively, to manage your time effectively and to think 'outside the box'. English graduates often go on to have careers in teaching and education, writing and publishing, PR and advertising, TV and media, journalism, acting, management and administration, or legal, financial, and sales work. Many English graduates go on to do further study. For facts, figures and further details of graduate employability, view the career destinations PDF for this course.

Entry requirements

240 points from a maximum of three A Levels (6-unit awards) or equivalent (12-unit awards, AVCE, BTEC Nationals, and so on). Applications may be considered on the basis of experience rather than formal qualifications.

Assessment
Public Relations uses a variety of methods of assessment: practical projects, reports, essays, individual and group presentations, dissertation, examinations. On the English scheme, assessment is innovative and wide-ranging. In addition to the more traditional

essays, examinations, research projects and presentations, students will have opportunities to submit creative writing, journalism, workbooks and portfolios.

Programme Specification

The current academic year (2010-2011) programme specification for this course can be found via the Faculty of Media, Arts and Society course list held in our Programme Specification centre.

Contact

For further information on the course please contact the: Faculty of Media, Arts and Society Tel: 023 8031 9653 E-mail: fmas@solent.ac.uk International Students please contact the International Recruitment Office: Tel: +44 (0) 23 8031 9129 Fax: +44 (0) 23 8031 9412 E-mail: international@solent.ac.uk

English for Public Relations in Higher Education Studies The Garnet Education English for Specific Academic Purposes series won the Duke of Edinburgh English Speaking Union English Language Book Award in 2009. English for Public Relations is a skills-based course designed specifically for students of public relations who are about to enter English-medium tertiary level studies. It provides carefully graded practice and progressions in the key academic skills that all students need, such as listening to lectures and speaking in seminars. It also equips students with the specialist language they need to participate successfully within a public relations department. Extensive listening exercises come from public relations lectures, and all reading texts are taken from the same field of study. There is also a focus throughout on the key public relations vocabulary that students will need.

Listening: how to understand and take effective notes on extended lectures, including how to follow the argument and identify the speaker's point of view. Speaking: how to participate effectively in a variety of realistic situations, from seminars to presentations, including how to develop an argument and use stance markers. Reading: how to understand a wide range of texts, from academic textbooks to Internet articles, including how to analyze complex sentences and identify such things as the writer's stance. Writing: how to produce coherent and well-structured assignments, including such skills as paraphrasing and the use of the appropriate academic phrases. Vocabulary: a wide range of activities to develop students' knowledge and use of key vocabulary, both in the field of public relations and of academic study in general. Vocabulary and Skills banks: a reference source to provide students with revision of the key words and phrases and skills presented in each unit. Full transcripts of all listening exercises.

The Garnet English for Specific Academic Purposes series covers a range of academic subjects. All titles present the same skills and vocabulary points. Teachers can therefore deal with a range of ESAP courses at the same time, knowing that each subject title will focus on the same key skills and follow the same structure. Key Features

Systematic approach to developing academic skills through relevant content.

Focus on receptive skills (reading and listening) to activate productive skills (writing and speaking) in subject area. Eight-page units combine language and academic skills teaching. Vocabulary and academic skills bank in each unit for reference and revision. Audio CDs for further self-study or homework. Ideal coursework for EAP teachers.

Contents Unit 1: What is public relations? Unit 2: Public relations activities Unit 3: Public relations research Unit 4: Careers in public relations Unit 5: PR for non-profit organizations Unit 6: Crisis communication Unit 7: Public relations regulation Unit 8: Public relations and marketing Unit 9: Public relations for corporate responsibility Unit 10: Financial public relations Unit 11: Current issues in public relations Unit 12: Strategy and change

PUBLIC RELATIONS
Pronunciation (US):
Dictionary entry overview: What does public relations mean?

PUBLIC RELATIONS (noun) The noun PUBLIC RELATIONS has 1 sense: 1. a promotion intended to create goodwill for a person or institution Familiarity information: PUBLIC RELATIONS used as a noun is very rare.
Dictionary entry details

PUBLIC RELATIONS (noun)

Sense 1
Meaning: Classified under:

public relations [BACK TO TOP]

A promotion intended to create goodwill for a person or institution Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents Synonyms: public relations; PR Hypernyms ("public relations" is a kind of...): packaging; promotion; promotional material; publicity (a message issued in behalf of some product or cause or idea or person or institution)

What is Public Relations?

The main goal of a public relations department is to enhance a companys reputation. Staff that work in public relations, or as it is commonly known, PR, are skilled publicists. They are able to present a company or individual to the world in the best light. The role of a public relations department can be seen as a reputation protector. The business world of today is extremely competitive. Companies need to have an edge that makes them stand out from the crowd, something that makes them more appealing and interesting to both the public and the media. The public are the buyers of the product and the media are responsible for selling it. Public relations provide a service for the company by helping to give the public and the media a better understanding of how the company works. Within a company, public relations can also come under the title of public information or customer relations. These departments assist customers if they have any problems with the company. They are usually the most helpful departments, as they exist to show the company at their best.

1.2. What is Public Relations? You have news to shareinformation that would benefit the Linux community. You have some idea of the people you want to reach with your news and views. Now the problem becomes: How to reach them in the most effective way? The better the communications between you and your audience, the higher the profile of your organization. Generating publicity is not as complex as you might think. Most of the success of public relations centers on knowing what to do and when. Implementing these initiatives can dramatically increase awareness of your business. Public relations (PR) is often confused with advertising, merchandising, promotion, or any of a dozen other buzz words in the marketing communications vocabulary. (By

the way, marketing communications is a broad term that encompasses all of these disciplines.) Public relations is about doing something newsworthy that you want to communicate, and then telling your audience (or very likely, several audiences) what you have done. One of the most common public relations vehicles is the brief "New Product" announcement you see in magazines and trade publications. Often only a few lines or a paragraph in length, these announcements herald the launch of future products or services. These short announcements are typically triggered by a new product release, which may be accompanied by various forms of communications such as internal announcements to the organization's employees and external news releases to the media, stockholders, user community, and other groups. News releases trigger a chain of events that result in visibility. There are some important terms that may help you understand public relations. News media refers to all the places where people read or hear about news, including newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and the Internet.

A news release, sometimes referred to as a press release, is a printed or electronic document issued by organizations who want to communicate news to editors, journalists, industry writers, or other media groups. Journalists write about the story for publication (if it is considered newsworthy), while editors control whether the story actually appears in a newspaper, magazine, website, or broadcast. A news release contains important facts, quotes from key people, dates that the news happened (or will happen), and contacts for additional information. The news release is concise and usually runs no longer than two pages. Public relations, then, can be thought of as the process that delivers your news to the people you want to reach through a broad, influential, and far-reaching news media community.