THE COPPERBELT UNIVERSITY

DIRECTORATE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION AND

OPEN LEARNING

BACHELOR OF COMMERCE WITH EDUCATION

THROUGH DISTANCE LEARNING

2012

EDC 121: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

(PART ONE)

LECTURER: MR. S. KAVWAYA

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. UNIT 1: Definition, elements and the process of communication. Page 1

2. UNIT 2: Barriers to effective human communication page 7
3. UNIT 3: Nonverbal communication page13
4. UNIT 4: Writing as a skill page20
5. UNIT 5: Writing an academic essay page27
6. UNIT 6: The library and its use page34
7. UNIT 7: Referencing systems page41
8. UNIT 8: Listening to lectures and note taking page59
9. UNIT 9: Reading skills page67
10. UNIT 10: Summary skills page73

References page77

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 UNIT 1
1.0 DEFINITION, ELEMENTS AND THE PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit you should be able to:

1. Define communication
2. Outline the major components of the communication process.
3. Enumerate all the elements of the communication process

1.1 DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATION

The word “communication” is derived from the Latin word communis: meaning to share.
It is, therefore, a process (series of actions) in which people share information, ideas and
feelings in order to achieve a specific goal. (Hybels and Weaver 1989). Sillars (2007:1)
gives a comprehensive definition of communication and he defines it as follows:
The giving, receiving or exchange of information, opinions or ideas by writing,
speech or visual means – or any combination of the three- so that the material
communicated is completely understood by everyone concerned.
It is clear form the above quotation that communication is about understanding others and
having them understand us. It can best be summarized as the transmission of a message
from a sender to a receiver in an understandable manner.

1.2 COMMUNICATION PROCESS

The communication process is the guide towards realizing effective communication. It is
through the communication process that the sharing of a common meaning between the
sender and the receiver takes place. It must be mentioned, at the very outset, that “in
actual practice, the communication process is not simple. Sometimes quite complex and
imperfect, it malfunctions easily and may result in miscommunication.‟ (Murphy and
Peck, 1980:15)

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The communication process is made up of four key components. These components
include encoding, medium of transmission, decoding and feedback. There are also two
other factors in the process, and these are the sender and the receiver.

The sender is an individual, group, or organization who initiates the communication. The
sender is initially responsible for the success of the message. The sender„s experiences,
attitudes, knowledge, skills, perceptions, and culture influence the message. “The written
words, spoken words, and non-verbal language selected are paramount in ensuring the
receiver interprets the message as intended by the sender.” (Burnett and Dollar, 1989).
The first step the sender is faced with involves the encoding process. This simply means
translating information into a message in the form of symbols that represent ideas or
concepts. The symbols can take numerous forms such as languages, words, or gestures.
These symbols are used to encode ideas into messages that others can understand.

To begin transmitting the message, the sender uses some kind of channel (also called a
medium). The channel is the means used to covey the message. Most channels are called
oral or written, but currently visual channels are becoming more common as technology
expands. Common channels include the telephone and a variety of written forms such as
memos, letters and reports. The effectiveness of the various channels fluctuates
depending on the characteristics of the communication. For instance, when immediate
feedback is necessary, oral communication channels are more effective because any
uncertainties can be cleared up on the spot. In a situation where the message must be
delivered to more than a small group of people, written channels are often more effective.

If a sender relays a message through an inappropriate channel, its message may not reach
the right receivers. That is why senders need to keep in mind that selecting the
appropriate channel will greatly assist in the effectiveness of the receiver‟s
understanding. The sender‟s decision to use either an oral or a written channel for
communicating a message is influenced by several factors. The sender should ask
himself/herself different questions so that they can select the appropriate channel. Is the
message urgent? Is immediate feedback needed? Is documentation or a permanent record
required? Is the content complicated, controversial or private? What oral and written
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 communication skills does the receiver possess? Once the sender has answered all of
these questions, they will be able to choose an effective channel.

After the appropriate channel or channels are selected, the message enters the decoding
stage of the communication process. Decoding is done by the receiver. It is the
interpretation of the symbols sent by the sender, translating the message to the receiver‟s
set of experiences in order to make the symbols meaningful. Successful communication
takes place when the receiver correctly interprets the sender‟s message.

The receiver is the individual or individuals to whom the message is directed. The extent
to which this person comprehends the message depends on a number of factors, which
include the following: how much the individual or individuals know about the topic, their
receptivity to the message, and the relationship and the trust that exists between sender
and receiver. All interpretations by the receiver are influenced by their experiences,
attitudes, knowledge, skills, perceptions and culture.

Feedback is the final link in the chain of the communication process. After receiving a
message, the receiver responds in some way and signals that response to the sender. The
signal may take the form of a spoken comment, a long sigh, a written message, a smile,
or some other action. Without feedback, the sender cannot confirm that the receiver has
interpreted the message correctly.

Feedback is the key component in the communication process because it allows the
sender to evaluate the effectiveness of the message. Feedback ultimately provides an
opportunity for the sender to take corrective action to clarify a misunderstood message.
“Feedback plays an important role by indicating significant communication barriers:
differences in background, different interpretation of words and differing emotional
reactions.” (Bovee and Thill, 1992).

ELEMENTS OF THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

The basic components or parts of the communication system are the communicators (senders and
receivers), message channel, feedback, noise and situation.
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1. SOURCE/SENDER
The source of the communication transaction is the originator of the message. Also
known as the sender of information, the source initiates the communication process. In
speech communication, we can identify the source to be the speakers, the one delivering
the message. In daily life situations we are all sources of information as we relate to
others and speak our ideas to them. We are both a source of message, consciously and
unconsciously.

2. MESSAGE
In the simplest sense, a message maybe thought of as an idea, concept, emotion, desire,
or feeling that a person desires to share with another human being. A message may be in
verbal or non-verbal codes. The purpose of a message is to evoke meaning in another
person. Some messages are intentional some are not.

3. CHANNEL
A channel is the means by which a message moves from a person to another. The channel
is the medium or vehicle by which we are able to transmit the message to the recipient.
For instance, the republican president to deliver his message to his fellowmen may speak
face to face with an audience, via the broadcast media or via print. Hybels and Weaver
(1989) observe that “channels also exist in communication that is not face-to-face, such
as writing, telephoning, or sending a cassette recording.” In the mass media we are
familiar with the channels of radio, television, records, newspaper and magazines.

4. FEEDBACK/EFFECT
Sillars (2007:23) defines feedback as “the information which the sender receives from the
way in which the receiver accepts the message.” For example, if you talk to somebody
and they smile, it suggests a positive feedback. Feedback is that integral part of the
human communication process that allows the speaker to monitor the process and to
evaluate the success of an attempt to get the desired response from the receiver. Also
called “return signals,” it has a regulating effect upon the speaker since the speaker must
adjust to the feedback responses in order to be successful.

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 5. NOISE
Hybels and Weaver (1989:10) define noise as “interference that keeps a message from
being understood or accurately interpreted. “It is, therefore, any interference in the
communication process and may occur anywhere along the communication line. Noise
may be physical, physiological or psychological in nature. Physical noise is also referred
to as external noise where as psychological noise is also referred to as internal noise.

6. CONTEXT/SETTING
Communication does not take place in a vacuum. Between communicators, the process
takes place in a particular communication situation where the identifiable elements of the
process work in a dynamic interrelation. This situation is referred to as the context- the
when and where of a communication event. Communication context vary depending on
the need, purpose, number of communicators and the ways exchange is taking place.
Communication can be interpersonal, group, organizational, cultural or public.

SELF EVALUATION QUESTIONS

1. Discussion in detail the communication process. Ensure that you bring out all the
elements involved in the process.
2. “The communication process is only the responsibility of the sender” How far do you
agree with the above quotation?

3. Discuss the role of feedback to the completion of an effective communication act.

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 UNIT 2
2.0 BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE HUMAN COMMUNICATION

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this unit you should be able to:
1. Explain the meaning of the expression “barriers to effective human communication.”
2. Demonstrate how barriers can affect the flow of information in an organization.
3. Outline the normal stages of the communication cycle.
No matter how good the communication system is in an organization, unfortunately barriers
can and do often occur. A barrier to communication is anything that affects the flow of
communication in an organization. There are several barriers that affect the flow of
communication in an organization. The following are some of the main barriers to effective
communication:
a) Information overload
b) Lack of sensitivity to receiver
c) Lack of basic communication skills
d) Insufficient knowledge of the subject
e) Information distortion
f) Use of wrong medium/channel
g) Physical barriers
h) System design faults
i) Attitudinal barriers
j) Psychological barriers
k) Linguistic barriers

2.1 INFORMATION OVERLOAD

This refers to a situation where a person receives too many messages at the same time.
Because the amount of information is too much and is coming too fast, the receiver may
have serious difficulties to interpret it. A lecturer who wants to cover three or four topics
within a single session is a good example of this.

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2.2 LACK OF SENSITIVITY TO RECEIVER
In any communication act, it is important to recognize the receiver‟s needs, social status,
and knowledge of the subject and language skills. Consideration of the above needs
assists the sender in preparing a successful message. A breakdown in communication
may result when a message is not adapted to its receiver. A person who uses technical
Jargon to an audience that has humble education is an example of an insensitive
communicator.

2.3 LACK OF BASIC COMMUNICATION SKILLS

The ability to choose precise words needed and to arrange them in a grammatically
correct sentence is what maybe referred to as basic communications skills. The receiver is
likely to understand the message if these basic communication skills are lacking in the
sender. It is worth noting that grammatically incorrect sentence cannot effectively
communicate a message

2.4 INSUFFICIENT KNOWLEDGE OF THE SUBJECT

The receiver is likely to receive an unclear message if the sender does not have sufficient
knowledge of the subject matter. It is, therefore, important that the sender understands
precisely what he wants to communicate before he communicates it to the receiver.

2.5 INFORMATION DISTORTION

Sillars (2007:1) refers to distortion as “the name given to barriers which arise at the
encoding and decoding stages.” It is a situation where the sender uses language or signs
that do not convey the intended message to the receiver. In Britain, for example, „a billion
usually means „one million million‟ whereas the same word in America means „one
thousand million.‟ Simply put, distortion refers to a situation where people from different
countries or different parts of same country use the same word to mean different things.
Therefore, any British entrepreneur who uses the term „billion,‟ for example, to
communicate to his American counter part should ensure that it is being used by both in
the same way so as to avoid information distortion.

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2.6 USE OF WRONG MEDIUM/CHANNEL
The choice of wrong medium/channel of communication can be a serious hindrance to
effective communication. In fact, it can be as disastrous as conveying inaccurate
information. Sillars (2008:8) observes that “the communication medium – the form in
which ideas, information or opinions are to be conveyed – must be selected with great
care and only after considering all the factors involved.” It would be inappropriate, for
instance, to write a letter to a person whose command of English is poor. This is because
the letter may contain words phrases that the reader does not understand. The best option
would be face to face conversation so that anything not clear can be explained straight
away. Similarly, if you need to contact a company in a country where there is a postal
strike, writing a letter is obviously not a good idea because the message would not arrive
at its destination thereby creating a serious barrier.

2.7 PHYSICAL BARRIERS

These are sometimes referred to as environmental barriers that physically disrupt
communication such as standing next to loud speakers at a party, or classroom located
near a construction site making it difficult for the learners to hear the teacher. Poor
handwriting, a bad cellular phone line, or a noise restaurant that keep the message from
being heard or understood are other good examples of physical barriers to
communication. It is, however important to note that physical barriers do not always
come from sound. For instance, standing and talking to someone in the hot sun can be a
source of discomfort to both sender and receiver thereby affecting the communication
act. Hybels and Weaver (1989:11) develop the above argument further by observing that
“conversation might also falter on a picnic when you discover you are sitting on an
anthill and ants are crawling all over your blanket.‟‟

2.8 ATTITUDINAL BARRIERS

These come about as a result of problems with staff in an organization. These maybe
brought about, for example, by such factors as poor management, lack of consultation
with employees, personality conflicts which can result in people delaying or refusing to
communicate, the personal attitude of individual employees which may be due to lack of
motivation or dissatisfaction at work brought about by insufficient training to enable
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 them carry out particular tasks or just resistance to change due to entrenched attitudes and
ideas.
2.9 PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS
These refer to one‟s state of mind during the communication act. They refer to a situation
where the receivers or senders are thinking about something other than the
communication that is taking place. A student, who has just received a funeral message,
cannot hear the lecturer because he is thinking about the sad news that he has received.
Anger and hunger are other examples of psychological barriers to communication for
they tend to make someone lose focus on the present moment.

2.10 LINGUISTIC BARRIERS

Linguistic barriers are those barriers associated with language problems. They manifest
themselves in various ways. Among them are:
i) Different interpretation of the same word between the sender and the
receiver.
ii) Failure to give correct interpretation to idiomatic expressions, phrasal
verbs and euphemisms.
iii) Confusion between denotative and connotative meaning.

2.11.1 Different interpretation of the same word between the sender and the receiver
One of the most fundamental principles of communication is that the symbols or words the
sender uses to communicate messages must have the same meaning in both the sender‟s and
receiver‟s minds. When the message sender and receiver attribute different meanings to the
same word, miscommunication is often the result. Words have several dictionary meanings
and consideration of the context in which the word has been used is extremely important if
effective communication is to take place. Murphy and Peck (1980) give the following
incidents to illustrate the above argument:
1. An office manager handed to a new assistant one letter with the instruction, “take it to
our stock room and burn it.” In the office manager’s mind (and in the firms Jargon) the
word “burn” meant to make a copy on a company machine which operated by a heat
process. As the letter was extremely important, she wanted an extra copy. However, the
puzzled new employee, afraid to ask questions, burned the letter with a lighted match and
thus destroyed the only existing copy!

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2. An equipment supervisor told a new night duty employee, “You will have to crack all the
valves before you clear the setting tank.” The next morning the supervisor found a floor
full of smashed castings. “Crack” to the supervisor meant opening each valve just
enough to allow minimum flow. You may be surprised that the supervisor was discharged
because of inadequate instructions that resulted in costly miscommunication!

2.11.2 Failure to interpret idiomatic expressions, phrasal verbs and euphemisms

a. Idiomatic expressions
Idiomatic expressions are phrases or sayings whose meanings are not deducible
from those of individual words. They are, in fact, a form of figurative language. In
figurative language, words are used in such a way that they differ somewhat from
ordinary everyday speech and convey meaning in a more impressive manner. The
following are examples of idiomatic expressions and their meanings:
 “Crocodile tears” meaning – tears which are not genuine.
 “Blow your top” meaning – to lose your temper.
“Have an exe to grind” – meaning – to have long term grudge against
someone.
“Hit the sack” meaning – to go to bed.
 “Between a rock and a hard place” Meaning – in a very difficult situation
when any resolution will be unpleasant.
It is clear from the above examples that idiomatic expressions, if
misinterpreted, can be a very serious linguistic barrier to effective
communication.

b. Phrasal verb
A phrasal verb is the combination of a verb + a particle (preposition or adverb)
resulting in a new word. Usually the new unit (word) is different from the two
separate words. The following are examples of phrasal verbs and their meanings:
 Look (v) + after (prep). Meaning – to take care e.g. she is looking after
the children.
 Give (v) + up (prep) meaning- to stop e.g. I have decided to give up
smoking.
 Find (v) + out (prep) meaning – to discover e.g. what will she say when
she finds out.
 Run (v) into (prep) meaning – meet by chance e.g. yesterday I ran into an
old friend of mine.
Failure to interpret phrasal verbs correctly can result in communication
breakdown.

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 c. Euphemisms
A euphemism is a generally harmless word, name or phrase that substitutes an
offensive or suggestive one. “Euphemisms are mild, innovative expressions with
which most people do not have negative associations.” (Murphy and Peck
1980:19) They tend to have obvious connotative advantages. Consider the
following euphemisms and their meanings:
- Carnal knowledge - sexual intercourse
- Adult movie - pornography
- Being in a family way - to be pregnant
- Pass on/away - to die
- Remains - dead body
- Physically challenged - handicapped
- Vertically challenged - short

2.11.3 Confusion between denotative and connotative meaning

Some of the communication problems occur because words have both denotative and
connotative meanings and the sender does not think of the receiver‟s probable interpretations
and reactions. The denotative meaning of a word is its literal word meaning – the definition
you would find in the dictionary. It informs the receiver, and it names objects, people or
events without indicating positive or negative qualities. Take the word “mother,” for
example, the dictionary would define mother as “a female parent” but the word mother may
create emotions and feelings in you. It paints a picture in your mind. You may think of love
and security or may think of your own mother. The emotions, feelings, qualitative judgments
that a word creates are called its connotative meaning.
Another example, worth considering is the word “chick.” Denotatively, the word means “a newly
hatched young domestic fowl” but in a connotative sense it may refer to a young woman.
Consider the following sentence:

My chick is visiting me this weekend.

In order for you to interpret the message in the above sentence correctly, you should have the
ability to distinguish denotative meanings from connotative ones. When the two meanings are
confused, the result is communication breakdown.

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ASSIGNMENT 1

a) What is meant by barriers to effective communication? Explain in detail how the

following barriers affect the flow of information in an organization.

i) System design faults or organizational barriers

ii) Use of wrong medium or channel

iii) Information overload

b) Prepare an organization chart for the organization for which you work. How does
the structure of your organization (school) help to solve some of the barriers to
effective communication especially the one associated with system design faults.
Explain also how the same structure can aid information breakdown.

c) Demonstrate the normal stages of the communication cycle with the aid of a
diagram and outline the possible causes of breakdown which may occur at each
stage.

DUE DATE: 18TH JUNE 2012

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 UNIT 3
3.0 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit, you should be able to:
1. Enumerate the differences between verbal and nonverbal communication
2. Explain the importance of nonverbal communication
3. List the various functions of nonverbal communication
4. Describe the various types of nonverbal communication

3.1 DEFINITION
Nonverbal communication refers to the process of communication where people send and
receive wordless (mostly visual) messages. It is a vital form of communication – a natural,
unconscious language that broadcasts our true feelings and intentions in any given moment.
Messages can be communicated through gestures and touch, body language or posture, by facial
expression and eye contact. Nonverbal messages could also be communicated through material
exponential; meaning objects or artifacts such as clothing and hair style. Speech also contains
nonverbal elements such as voice quality, pitch, volume and speaking style, as well as prosodic
features such as rhythm, intonation and stress. Similarly, written texts have non-verbal elements
such as handwriting, spatial arrangement of words, or physical layout of a page.

3.2 IMPORTANCE
Unlike verbal communication which begins and ends with words, nonverbal communication is
continuous. We are communicating even when we are silent. Nonverbal communication is
extremely important because it broadcasts our true feelings and intentions. Think for instance
how many relationships start with a man and woman making eye contact across a crowed room?
No wonder they say, “Actions speak louder than words.” In essence, this proverb underscores the
importance of non verbal communication. It is also important to note that “whenever the
meaning of the non verbal message conflicts with the meaning of the verbal message, we are
more likely to believe the nonverbal message.‟ (Stanton, 2004:47). This demonstrates how
important nonverbal communication is.

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3.3 FUNCTIONS
Scholars have identified a number of functions associated with non verbal communication some
of which are discussed below:
3.3.1 To Complement verbal messages
Non verbal cues complement a verbal message when they add to its meaning. For example, a
node may reinforce a positive message.
3.3.2 To Substitute for, or be use in place of, verbal message
Sometimes, we use nonverbal cues in place of verbal messages. For instance, we raise a hand in
greeting instead of saying hello, or we beckon somebody instead of saying „come here.‟ Another
example would be a situation where we put a finger to our lips to indicate the need for quietness.
3.3.3 To accent verbal messages
Hybels and Weaver (1988:111) observe that “whenever people are communicating something
they consider important they are likely to accent it with a non-verbal message.” For example, a
verbal tone may indicate the actual meanings of specific words used. Another example would be
that of a teacher who pounds the table in front of him to make every student realize that he is
angry.
3.3.4 To perform rituals such as greetings and goodbyes
In most cases we use non verbal cues to perform rituals such as greetings or goodbye. For
instance, we wave at friends and colleagues as a way of greeting them.
3.3.5 To repeat the verbal messages
Non verbal communication can be used to repeat verbal message. For example, you can point in
a direction while stating directions.

3.4 TYPES OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

There are several kinds of non verbal communication. The main ones are described below:

3.4.1 POSTURE
Posture or a person‟s bodily stance communicates a variety of messages. It can be used to
determine a participant‟s degree of attention, the difference in status between communicators and
the level of fondness a person has for the other communicator. A person, for example, who
displays a forward lean or decreases a backward lean, signifies that he is highly attentive to what
is being communicated. “Conversely, a person sitting well back in her/his chair, looking at the
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carpet probably lacks interest or concentration.” (sillars, 2007:90). In most African cultures,
kneeling down is used as a sign of respect for the other person.

3.4.5 CLOTHING
Clothing is the most common form of non verbal communication. The types of clothing that an
individual wears convey non verbal cues about his or her personality, background and financial
status. “Smart, clean clothing will convey efficiency and suggest that you have taken the trouble
to dress formally, demonstrating courtesy and consideration.” (Sillars, 2007:89). An individual‟s
clothing style can also demonstrate their culture, mood, level of confidence, interests, age,
authority, beliefs and their sexual identity. Some examples of a person‟s clothing type in which a
negative message is being conveyed could include the following: A person with a slopping
appearance, messy hair and wrinkled clothes sends the message, “I don‟t care.” Also, a woman
who wears a tight dress with a low – cut neckline may convey the message- “I‟m attractive and
sexy.

3.4.5 GESTURES
Gestures may be made with the hands, arms or body, and also include movements of the head,
face and eyes, such as winking, nodding or rolling one‟s eyes. Gestures can be divided into
various categories. The most familiar, however, are the so-called emblems or quotable gestures.
These are conventional, culture-specific gestures that can be used in Western cultures for “hello”
and goodbye.” Other examples of emblematic gestures are the head nods used in place of the
word “yes”, the putting of a finger to one‟s lips to indicate the need for silence or quietness,
exposed palms to show that nothing is being concealed in the hands. It is important, however, to
note that certain gestures such as the shoulder shrug are universal. The shoulder shrug is a good
example of a universal gesture that is used to show that a person doesn‟t know or doesn‟t
understand what you are saying. Shrugging of shoulders may also indicate disagreement or
denial of things while looking up may indicate recall of a point.
Another category of gestures worth considering are what are referred to as illustrators. These
accent, emphasize, or reinforce words. For example, if someone asks how tall your child is, you
may describe him/her with words and illustrate those words by indicating the dimensions with
your hand.

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3.4.4 EYE CONTACT
Eye contact is when two people look at each other‟s eyes at the same time; it can indicate
interest, attention and involvement. Men and women have different ways of eye contact. Men
stare at the women they are interested in for at least half an hour whereas women tend to always
keep eyes roaming around the room to see who is there. Disinterest is highly noticeable when
showing little eye – contact in a social setting. Pupils dilate when they are interested in the other
person. Generally speaking, the longer the eye contact between two people the greater the
intimacy is felt inside. According to Eckman (2003:77) “Eye contact (also called mutual gaze) is
another major channel of non verbal communication. The duration of eye contact is its most
meaningful aspect. Liking generally increases as mutual gazing increases.”
Along with the detection of disinterest, deceit can also be observed in a person. Hogan
(2003::68) states that “when someone is being deceptive their eyes tend to blink a lot more. Eyes
act as leading indicator of truth or deception. Eye contact and facial expression provides
important social and emotional information.

3.4.5 PROXEMICS: PHYSICAL SPACE IN COMMUNICATION

Proxemics is the study of how people use and perceive the physical space around. The space
between the sender and the receiver of a message influences the way the message is interpreted.
In addition, the perception and use of space varies significantly across cultures and different
setting within cultures. Space in non verbal communication maybe divided into four main
categories: intimate, social personal and public space.
The term territoriality is used in the study of proxemics to explain human behavior regarding
personal space. Hargie & Dickson (2004:69) identify for such territories:
1. Primary territory: This refers to an area that is associated with someone who has
exclusive use of it. An example is a house that others cannot enter without the owner‟s
permission.
2. Secondary territory: Unlike Primary territory, there is no “right” to occupancy of
secondary, but people may still feel some degree of ownership of such space as they
develop the custom of occupying it. For example someone may sit in the same seat in
church every week and feel irritated if someone else sits there.
3. Public territory: this refers to an area that is available to all, but for a set period, such as
parking space, or a seat in a library.
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4. Interaction territory: this is space held by others when they are interacting. For example,
when a group is talking to each other on a footpath, others will walk round the group
rather than disturb their interaction territory.
Woolcott and Unwin (1988:189) observe that “each person has an individual spatial
relationship with others. The closer the relationship with another, the less necessity to keep
them at a distance.”
Space can have other impressions such as status. The larger the office, the bigger the desk or
the company car, then the more important the position of the executive is seen to be.
3.4.6 MOVEMNT AND BODY POSITION (KINESICS)
The term Kinesics was first used by Birdwhistel, an anthropologist who wished to study how
people communicate through posture, gesture, stance and movement.

3.4.6.1 HAPTICS: TOUCHING IN COMMUNICATION

Haptics is the study of touching as non verbal communication and haptic communication
refers to how people and others communicate via touching.
Touches among humans that can be defined as communication include handshakes, holding
hands, kissing (cheek, lips, and hand), back slapping, a pat on the shoulder, and bushing an
arm. The meaning conveyed from touch is highly dependent upon the culture, the context of
the situation, the relationship between communicators and the manner of touch.
Touch is an extremely important sense for humans, as well as providing information about
surface and textures. It is a component of non-verbal communication in interpersonal
relationships, and vital in conveying physical intimacy. It can be both sexual (such as kissing
and platonic (such as hugging or tickling).

3.4.7 PARALANGUAGE /PARALINGUISTIC

Paralanguage is the way a person says something. There is a difference between a person‟s
use of words and a person‟s voice. “Paralanguage includes such characteristics as rate (speed
of speaking), pitch (highness or lowness of tone), volume (loudness) and quality (pleasing or
unpleasing sound.”(Hybels and Weaver 1989:114)\
All of the above characteristics of paralanguage will affect communication in one way or the
other. Pitch, for example, can determine whether a voice sounds pleasant or not, whereas a
change in volume is good for gaining attention. Paralanguage conveys the opposite of the
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 words themselves. When this happens, we usually pick up the meaning of paralanguage
rather than the meaning of the language being used. Consider the following illustration by
Stanton (2004:31):
A sarcastic parent may comment on something very unhelpful that a child has done by
saying, “Thank you very much,” in such a tone of voice and with a particular emphasis
on the “you” perhaps, that leaves the child in no doubt at all that the parent is not
thanking them at all, just the opposite!
The meaning of words can completely change by the way in which we say them. What
matters, therefore is not what one says but the way he says it.

3.4.8 CHRONEMICS: TIME IN COMMUNICATION

Chronemics is the study of time in non verbal communication. The way we perceive time,
structure our time and react to time is a powerful communication tool and helps set the stage
for communication. Time perceptions include punctuality and the willingness to wait, plus
the speed of speech and how long people are willing to listen.
If, for example, you are always late for class as a student, you may be communicating that
you are not interested in this particular class and that you do not respect the lecturer. By the
same token, students might resent a lecturer who is always late for class. They might think
that he is disorganized and that he does not plan his work.
As regards time and status, Hybels and Weaver (1988) observe the following;

Often time is connected with status: the higher our status the more control we have
over our time. A child has little control over time. His high status mother interrupts his
play to have him eat dinner or makes him go to bed far earlier than he wants.
Professionals in our society often make others wait for them. How long do you wait in
the doctor’s office before you can see him?
It should also be under scared that the great majority of people would feel valued if an
important person takes time to talk or listen to them. Not only does it give them a sense
of well being and confidence but it also leads to better communication.

18
EXERCISE

1. What do you understand by the term “nonverbal communication? Indicate, with

examples, how oral communication can be modified through nonverbal
communication.

2. Discuss in detail the importance and the various functions of non-verbal

communication.

3. To what extent and in what ways can nonverbal communication affect human
relations within working groups?

4. Discuss in detail at least two types of non verbal communication

19
 UNIT 4
4.0 WRITING AS A SKILL
OBJECTIVES: At the end of this unit you should be able to
1. Relate the topic and purpose for writing
2. Develop a paragraph using the topic sentence and other sign post words
3. Write a topic sentence without any difficulties.
4. Match the main idea of a piece of writing to purpose and audience
5. Organize your piece of writing in either chronological or spatial order

4.1 INTRODUCTION
Much of the communication done between lecturers and students at University is through
writing. Students take notes as they listen to lecturers; they use their writing skills to answer
assignments and test questions. Writing, therefore, is of great significance to any University
student. No student can function at University without effective writing skills. In order to
become an effective writer, always pay particular attention to the following; topic, purpose and
audience.

4.2 TOPIC
A topic is a specific aspect of a subject, one that you can use for a paragraph, an essay or report.
For example your notes on an educational tour to University of Zambia might suggest the topics:
Differences between University of Zambia and Copperbelt University or the University of
Zambia‟s curriculum.

4.3 PURPOSE
The purpose for writing is what one intends to accomplish with their writing. There are basically
five purposes for writing. These are; to inform, to persuade, to amuse or entertain, to narrate and
to describe. As you define your purposes for writing, identify a corresponding audience. There
are often several audiences for a topic and purpose. For example, a television network‟s goal is
to attract and entertain a wide audience, but entertainment means something quite different to
children, teenagers, sports fans etc. The same topic and purpose can be treated differently
depending on the audience.
20
4.4 IDENTIFICATION OF YOUR AUDIENCE
Identifying several traits of your audience can help you to effectively appeal to them when you
are writing. Once you have identified and profiled your audience readers, you can tailor your
writing to the content that will interest them, the style that will hold their attention and the
vocabulary that will best be understood. For example, suppose you are writing an informational
article about skyscrapers for young children, you might focus on how skyscrapers are built, using
an informal style and simple vocabulary. If on the other hand, your audience is the adult
readership of an architectural magazine, you might focus on the development of a single
architectural feature, using a formal style and technical language.

4.5 MATCHING YOUR MAIN IDEA TO PURPOSE AND AUDIENCE

Once you have a topic, a purpose and an audience for a piece of writing, you need to narrow
your focus to zero in on what you really want to say. In other words, you need to select and
refine a main idea that you could express as a topic sentence of a paragraph or the thesis
statement of an essay. This main idea must be closely related to your purpose and audience.

4.6 PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENT

A paragraph is a series of sentences that develops a single idea or topic. In other words, a
paragraph is a unit of thought. A good paragraph, as with a good sentence and a good essay, has
a structure. The structure of a paragraph is of two parts. The topic sentence and, secondly, details
to support the topic sentence. The topic sentence is that sentence in a paragraph in which the idea
of a paragraph is expressed. Not only does the topic sentence expresses the main idea of a
paragraph but also indicates the purpose of the paragraph. Usually placed at the beginning of a
paragraph, it gives readers an overview of what they are about to read. Supporting sentences
explain or develop what is stated in the topic sentence. They do so by giving specific facts,
examples or reasons related to the topic. A paragraph may also have a concluding sentence to
bring it to a close.

In the following paragraph, the topic sentence is in italics. Each of the other sentences offer
specific information that supports the general idea stated in the topic sentence.
No other invention has had more impact on modern life than Thomas Alva Edison. You probably
know that Edison inverted the light bulb. But are you aware that he also gave us the light switch,
21
the light socket and three wire system of electric wiring? Edison‟s inventions ranged from
crushing machine and underground electric trains to storage batteries and electric pens. If you
have ever ridden a train, you are indebted to Edison, for he inverted the electric railway car and
the electric rail road signal. In fact, the next time you turn on a radio, play a record, watch a
movie, copy a paper, or record a message, remember that it was Edison who inverted the radio
vacuum tube, the phonograph and the phonograph record, the motion picture camera, and the
first mimeograph.
A paragraph has a unity when each sentence in it clearly contributes to the unity by saying
something about the topic. To write a unified paragraph, you must know when to include a detail
and when to omit it. The preceding paragraph on Edison begins with a clearly stated topic
sentence. It then includes only those details that relate to the idea stated in the topic sentence.

4.7 WRITING A TOPIC SENTENCE

A topic sentence states the idea that unifies the details in the other sentences of the paragraph.
Your topic sentence should neither be too general nor too narrow. A topic sentence is too general
if it is only partly developed by the details in the other sentences of the paragraph. An example
of too general a topic sentence is “There are several reasons why it pays to get a college
education” followed by sentences that discuss only one reason. A topic sentence is too narrow if
it states only part of what is discussed in the other sentences. An example of too narrow a topic
sentence is “High school rallies are enjoyable” followed by sentences that discuss not only rallies
but also sports events.
The following are examples of well constructed paragraphs with their topic sentences in italics.

Example 1
The meeting had been a very long one. Starting at nine O‟ clock in the morning, it had eventually
ended seven O‟clock in the evening. There were the usual reasons for it lasting this long. Firstly,
there had been too many items on the agenda. Secondly, there were, as the proverb says, several
„empty vessels” which as usual, “made the most sound.” These empty vessels” too, were aided
by a weak chairman who had let them meander on, go off the topic, repeat themselves and
generally bore everyone-apart from themselves. Finally, there had been a long and bitter
argument between the school of Mathematics and Natural Sciences and the School of Business
over the possibility of Mathematics and Natural Sciences using some of Business‟ excess money.
22
Example 2
A library is a place where books and journals are kept. Journals are probably most used by
students. The principal differences between a book and a journal are that the latter contains more
up to date material. Books can normally be borrowed from a library while journals cannot be.
Libraries are found in all big towns and there are travelling libraries which go out from these
towns to allow people living in villages the chance to borrow books.

4.8 WRITING SUPPORTING SENTENCES

The supporting sentences of a paragraph provide the details that explain the topic. The kind of
support that you need depends on your topic sentence and the purpose of your paragraph. The
basic kinds of support are facts, examples and reasons. You may develop your paragraph with
only one kind of supporting detail, or you may use any combination of the three kinds.
a) FACTS
The most common kind of supporting sentence that you can use is the statement of fact.
A fact is something that you know with certainty. The topic sentence of the following
paragraph is in italics. The numerous facts given in the supporting sentences help you to
understand the topic sentence:

Topic Sentence. Tenoctitl’, the capital of the ancient Aztec empire was a remarkable
city. Inhabited by nearly 100,000 people when the Spaniards arrived in 1519, it was
larger than any Spanish City at the time. The truly unusual feature of Tenochtitl’ is
that it was built in lake Texcoco on an island which had been enlarged by filling
swampland with silt dredged from the bottom of the lake and earth brought from
the mainland in canoes.
b) EXAMPLES
Another way to support your topic sentence is to give examples. An example is
something that is typical of the whole group. An example helps readers to understand the
characteristics of a group. The writer of the following paragraph offers some examples:

Topic Sentence No insect has a voice. All the familiar sounds they make are
mechanized, like the sounds coming from the instruments in an
orchestra. Certain beetles burrow into wood and make a
Example tapping sound as their hard head strike against the wood. The
mosquitoes hum comes from the vibration of its wings.
23
 c) REASONS
A third kind of supporting sentence that you can use is that which gives a reason. A
reason is a statement that explains or justifies another statement. A reason answers the
question “why” for your reader: why did that event occur? Why is this the way it is? Why
should I believe that remark? In some paragraphs each supporting sentence offers a
different reason that explains what is said in the topic sentence. In other paragraphs only
one or two supporting sentences actually offer reasons; the remaining supporting
sentences further explain those reasons.
The topic sentence of the following paragraphs is in italics. The supporting sentences of
the paragraph give reasons that explain the topic sentence.

Topic sentence: In the Northwest Passage, the sea route that threads its way through the
Canadian Arctic, danger is never very far away for ships and their crew.
Reason: The weather alone makes the voyage difficult.
Temperatures often fall to -50oC, strong winds blow off the polar ice cap,
and visibility is frequently near zero. Navigation by compass is not possible
Reason: because the magnetic North Pole lies along the route and radio
communications are often interrupted by arctic blank outs.

4.9 WRITING A CONCLUDING SENTENCE

After you have composed a topic sentence and supporting sentences, you will sometimes want a
concluding sentence that summarizes your thoughts and brings your paragraph to a close. A
concluding sentence can restate your topic sentence or can offer a final comment about the topic.
By restating the topic sentence, you remind your reader of the main point. Such a restatement, of
course, should be worded differently from the topic sentence. The concluding sentence ought to
say something but in a different way.
In the following paragraph, the concluding sentence restates the topic sentence and strengthens
the reader‟s understanding of the topic of the paragraph.

Topic sentence Have you ever thought of weeds as a source of help in meeting our petroleum
needs? According to Russel Buchanan of the United States, Department of
Agriculture, „Rogweed, sow thistle, and other common weeds could become a
main stay of the chemical industry because they are high in hydrocarbons, oils
and rubber. Buchanan points that weeds are easy to grow, despite insects, poor

24
 weather and undernourished soil. Weeds maybe an alternative to crude oil as a
source of petroleum

Concluding sentence

4.10 SOME TERMINOLOGIES ASSOCIATED WITH WRITING

4.10.1 COHERENCE
Coherence is the clear and orderly presentation of ideas. You make a paragraph coherent by
arranging the supporting details logically and by making clear the connection between them.

4.10.2 CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

Chronological order is the way of organizing events according to the time which they happen.
When you use chronological order, you begin with what is oldest or happens first, and you end
with what is newest of happens last.
Chronological order is useful for relating historical events, telling a story or explaining a process.

4.10.3 SPATIAL ORDER

Spatial order is a way of organizing details according to their location in space. It is useful for
description. To use spatial order you begin at a certain point and direct the reader‟s attention
from one item to next. The direction in which you move depends on your topic and your desired
effort. For example, if you wish to stress the great height of an object, you could stress width by
describing from side to side, and stress depth by describing from foreground to background.

25
EXERCISE

1. Discuss in detail why every university student needs writing skills

2. Why should one consider his audience before he engages into a writing activity

3. Discuss in detail the structure of a good paragraph

4. Explain the relationship between, topic, purpose and audience when developing a piece
of writing.

5. What is the importance of the following to writing as a skill?

a) Coherence

b) Chronological order

26
 UNIT 5
5.0 WRITING AN ACADEMIC ESSAY
OBJECTIVES: At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
1. Write an academic essay without any problems
2. Cite their source correctly in their various academic essays
3. Explain the structure of an academic essay

5.1 INTRODUCTION
An essay is a short piece of writing that expresses organized thoughts through direct statements.
The term essay may also mean any sort of academic writing assignment that you hand in for a
course. It should be noted, at the very outset, that good essay writing is a skill acquired rather
than learnt. The more you practice, the better writer you become.

5.2 STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

5.2.1 Structure
All essays should have an introduction, the main body and the conclusion. The introduction is
usually the first paragraph of an essay whereas the last paragraph concludes it. However, once
you have mastered the art of essay writing, you can vary your structure a little more. In a
technical write up, the order is often prescribed or logically dictated by the material (e.g.
methods before results). But even in a technical write –up the introduction section may itself be
like a mini essay that aims to make a point.

5.2.2 Introduction
In the introduction, say
 What the essay is about – “In this essay one will consider the question of …..” or “This
essay analyses……” or “The aim of this essay is …..”
 What material you intend to cover - “The writer/author will look at …..”
 What argument you intend to follow – “The writer will suggest that.”
Finally, indicate clearly where your introduction ends by starting a new paragraph to show the
beginning of the rest of your essay. Usually the future simple tense is used in the introduction.

27
5.2.3 Body of the Essay
The body of the essay consists of a series of paragraphs which progress logically through the
series of points that you intend to cover. It covers in detail what you set out to achieve in the
introduction.

5.2.4 Conclusion
The conclusion brings your essay to a definite end. It summarizes that which you have been
discussing in your essay, stating what your answer to the question is and why. You may feel that
you are repeating yourself, as the body of your essay should have made your argument clear
already, but the reader will appreciate a good summary the present perfect tense is usually used
in the conclusion.

5.2.5 ORIGINALITY
Most essays students write lack originality. They simply copy information from books word for
word without any show of creativity. This, however, does not mean that you have to invert a new
theory each time you write an easy. You can still achieve originality in a number of ways, such
as making up your own examples rather than using ones straight from books, relating popular
examples to your own experience or perhaps trying to make new connections between particular
view points.

5.2.6 USE OF EXAMPLES

The use of examples is essential to a good essay. Each argument you make should be supported
by one or two good examples. But remember that using an example is not sufficient to support
your point of view in itself. Be explicit in stating why this example is good evidence of your
argument. However, you don‟t need a lot of them: one pertinent example is far more effective
than three mediocre ones.

5.2.7 LENGTH
Your lecture will give a word limit, or suggested length for essay. Use this information to gauge
the level of detail, and degree of coverage that is expected. Obviously, an essay of 1500 words
will have a narrower focus and will require greater summarizing skills than one of 2500 words.
The ability to extract what is important about a particular paper, and summarizes it, is an
28
invaluable skill that can be applied in all kinds of real world situations. Note that markers will
penalize essays which are too long. Keeping to the limit tells the markers that you understand
what is important in you argument.

5.3 PRESENTATION AND STYLE

5.3.1 PRESENTATION
The way you layout your essay is very important. Several studies have shown that the way you
present your essay has a subconscious effect on markers, even when they are not explicitly
marking on that criterion. A well presented essay, therefore, is likely to earn you good marks.
For longer essays with distinct sections, you may consider using headed sections as in this
particular document. However, this may disrupt the flow of the essay. Shorter essays, therefore,
should not be written in sections.
5.3.2 STYLE
Style refers to a particular choice of words and manner of expression which is typical of a writer
or speaker. There are basically two kinds of style: formal and informal. It is, therefore, important
to remember that you are writing an academic essay, and as such, it requires a reasonably formal
style of writing. This does not mean that you should be obscure, or use impossibly long
sentences, but should avoid being overly colloquial. More importantly, you should:
 Be explicit – don‟t leave your reader to infer your conclusions, you should state them
explicitly
 Use sign posts – make your essay easier to read by being explicit about your essay
structure, e.g. “In the next section we will …, “or” as we have argued previously….”
 Avoid long sentences – go for shorter sentences: if you have a sentence more than three
or four lines long, break it up into smaller structures.
 Avoid long paragraphs – try to avoid writing paragraphs more than 10 or 15 lines long.
Blocks of text have a negative subconscious effect on the reader. Of course, sometimes
points take more space to make, but if you find yourself writing a long paragraph, break it
into sub-points and then connect the sub-points with linking sentences at the beginning or
end of each of the smaller paragraphs.
 Never imagine that the reader knows what you mean. If you imagine a reader, don‟t
imagine the marker, whose knowledge you will probably exaggerate. Imagine that your

29
 essay will be read by another student in your class. This will help you to be explicit about
definitions and sign posting.

5.3.4 STYLISTIC CONVENTIONS

There are a number of points of grammar and style that you should be aware of, and a number of
conventions that you should follow. These are discussed below:

5.3.4.1 STYLE AND GRAMMAR

A few stylistic points are listed below:
 Split infinitives – This is a construction in which one or more words come between the
infinitive marker to and the verb (as in “to boldly go,” “to quickly go”). Split infinitives
bear little connection to the way most people talk and write. They should, therefore be
avoided or completely ruled out.
 Use of the first person – in any academic writing the repeated usage of I is inappropriate
(as is the repetition of any word or phrase), but for many people it is preferable to use I
occasionally instead of the writer or similar phrases. As with split infinitives, however,
note that some conventions completely prohibit the use of I. In reports of experimental
work, we is often seen as a good substitute for I. This is partly because the use of the first
person is more necessary to describe the experimental procedure, but also, the use of the
plural makes a statement of belief less a personal opinion, and more a collective view
point. The use of the “editorial” we is often acceptable in a piece of academic writing.
 Masculine Generic terms – the use of masculine generic term such as man or he to refer
to both males and females is now avoided in most academic writing. A useful alternative
to generic he is to use plural constructions that will permit the use of they.

5.3.4.2 SPELLING
Poor spelling gives the impression of carelessness and laziness. You should, therefore, ensure
that you proof read your work carefully to avoid spelling errors.

30
5.3.4.3 QUOTATIONS
Don‟t quote for the sake of quoting. Use a quotation only when you are unable to say it better.
Quoting extensively may disturb the flow of your essay. However, if you use quotations, they
should be enclosed in quotation marks “like this”. Larger quotation – if absolutely necessary,
maybe set off from the main body of the text, slightly indented and perhaps in a slightly smaller
type size. All quotations should always be referenced by author, date of publication and page
number. For example, Babbie (2001:7) observes that “………………….”

5.3.4.4 REFERENCES
Any books or articles which you quote (or just mention) must correctly be referred to in both the
body of the essay and in a reference or bibliography section at the end of the paper. When you
quote or refer to a work, give author‟s name, date of publication, and (if appropriate the page
numbers (s) in the body of the text. At the end of the essay include a bibliography listing
alphabetically by author surname all the publications which you have mentioned in the course of
your essay. The purpose of a reference section is to enable people to find the books and articles
which you have referenced which they would like to study further

31
DIAGRAM SHOWING A SUMMARISED STRUCTURE OF AN ACADEMIC ESSAY

Introduction  Introduce the topic

General
(Approximately 10% of the  Provide background
total length. May be one information
paragraph or several
depending on essay length.)  Limit the scope of discussion

 Define /state the topic/question

 Present the plan of coverage

More specific
Body including your line of argument

Topic sentence
Topic
sentence Topic sentence
Each paragraph should have
Carry the
one main point.
link theme/outline
/argument

link

Topic sentence

Conclusion Sum up your argument/information

with reference to the essay question.

32
5.4 CONCLUSION
Essay writing is a skill worth perfecting: the techniques you need to master in order to write
good essays generalize very well to the world outside academia. Components of a good essay
also relate to other communication skills, such as giving talks or presentations. Note that good
graduates are valued for their ability to communicate and express themselves fluently through
the written word.

EXERCISE

1. What is an academic essay? Discuss in detail the structure of an academic essay?

2. Discuss in detail stylistic conventions associated with good essay writing.

33
 UNIT 6
6.0 THE LIBRARY AND ITS USE

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
1. Outline the different sections of the library
2. Explain the way books and other publications in the library are organized
3. Identify the difference between the Dewey Decimal and the Library of Congress
system of classification
4. Select books and other publications in the library with much ease.

6.1 INTRODUCTION
The library is a major resource for a student in any learning institution. It is therefore
important that from the start students are oriented towards the use of the library.

6.2 ORGANISATION
The organization of a library of whatever size is the same. The library contains books,
newspapers and journals which are classified into two groups. The first group consists of
books which can be borrowed by a person given permission to borrow and can be taken out
of the library for a specific period of time. The second consists of books which can only be
used for reference within the library. This category of books includes encyclopedias,
yearbooks, dictionaries, bibliographies and handbooks. These are books which are usually
expensive and are needed for wide use.

6.3 SECTIONS
Any library, regardless of the size, is divided into sections. These sections house specific
kinds of books and publications and there are specific characteristics associated with each
one of them. The following are the main sections of the library.

34
6.3.1 Reference Section (General Reference)
This section of the library houses general encyclopedic works including dictionaries,
handbooks, manuals, indexes, abstracts, yearbooks and bibliographies. These books are used
for reference and they cannot be borrowed from the library.

6.3.2 Open Stock

This section of the library houses books which are open to borrowing. They are put in open
places where people can easily access them. People are free to borrow any book from this
section.
6.3.3 Short loan(Reserve Section)
Books found in this section of the library are not open to the members of the public.
They are not to anyone‟s access apart from the librarians themselves. These books are widely
used and are only borrowed for a specific number of minutes within the library. They are also
borrowed for overnights and weekends.

6.3.4 Special Collection

This section keeps the most endangered documents. It contains books which are scarce and
do not have a copyright. Examples of such documents are theses, dissertations etc.

6.3.5 Periodical (Serials) Section

This section houses all local and foreign journals, magazines, newspapers, government
publications and other forms of serial publication such as vertical files, pamphlets,
brochures etc. You are not allowed to borrow from this section. You can only use these
materials within the library.

6.3.6 Circulation/Issue Desk.

This is the desk where librarians are found. It is at this desk where books are borrowed.
Librarians at this desk also answer questions regarding details of a book. You can also
put a book on hold at this section.

35
6.4 CLASSIFICATION
The classification of books in the library is done by following either the Dewey Decimal or
the American/Library of Congress system of classification.

6.4.1 Dewey Decimal Classification

The Dewey decimal classification also called the Dewey Decimal system is a proprietary
system of library classification developed by Melvin Dewey in 1876. The system organizes
books on library shelves in a specific and repeatable order that makes it easy to find any book
and return it to its proper place. The Dewey decimal classification attempts to organize all
knowledge into ten main classes. The ten main classes are each further subdivided into ten
divisions, and each division into ten sections, giving ten main classes, 100 divisions and 1000
sections.

The classes are:

000 - Computer science information and general works
100 - Philosophy and psychology
200 - Religion
300 - Social science
400 - Languages
500 - Science (including mathematics)
600 - Technology and applied science
700 - Art and recreation
800 - Literature
900 - History, geography and biography
Each main class is further divided into classes. Take, for example, the main class of
social sciences (300) is divided into:
Statistics 310
Politics 320
Economics 330
Law 340
Administration 350
Associations and institutions 360
36
 Education 370
Commerce 380
Customs and folk lore 390

Further subdivisions are made. Take, for example, the class education (370) is further
subdivided into:
Teachers and teaching 371
Child and school (primary) 372
Secondary Education 373
General studies in Adult Education 374
Curriculum 375

6.4.2 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CLASSIFICATION

The library of congress classification (LCC) is a system of library classification developed by
the library of congress. It is used by most research and academic libraries in the US and
several other countries such as Australia and Taiwan. It uses the letters of the alphabet and
divides fields of knowledge into the following categories
LETTER SUBJECT AREA
A General Works
B Philosophy
C Philosophy, psychology and religion
D General and old world history
E History of America
F History of the United States, British,
Dutch, French and Latin
G Geography, Anthropology and recreation
H Social Sciences
J Political sciences
K Law
L Education
M Music
N Fine Arts
37
 P Language and literature
Q Science
R Medicine
S Agriculture
T Technology
U Military Science
V Natural Science
Z Bibliography, library, science and
General information resources
SUBCATEGORIES
Class A - General works
AC - Collections, or series of collected works
AE - Dictionaries and other general references works
AL - Indexes
AM - Museums, collectors and collecting
AN - News paper
AP - Periodicals
AS - Academic and learned societies
AY - Year book, directories
AZ - History of scholarship and learning
Class B - Philosophy, psychology and religion
B - Philosophy general
BC - Logic
BD - Speculative philosophy
BF - Psychology
BH - Aesthetics
BJ - Ethics
BL - Religions, Mythology, and Rationalism
BM - Judaism
BP - Islam, Baha‟ism, Theosophy
BR - Christianity
BS - The Bible
38
 BT - Doctrinal theology
BX - Christian Denominations
Class C
CB - History of civilization
CC - Archeology
CD - Diplomatic, Archives
CE - Technical Chronology, Calendar
CJ - Numismatics
CN - Inscriptions, epigraphy
CR - Heraldry
CS - Genealogy
CT - Biography

6.5 LOCATING SKILL

You can locate information on books and other materials by using catalogues which are
found in the libraries.
There are four kinds of catalogues as follows:
a) Index of subject Headings: The cards for the catalogue are arranged according to
subject titles. For example, education is under E; Language under L etc. within each
subdivision books are arranged alphabetically according to authors. Other details
provided are publishers and date of publication.
b) Author catalogue
The author catalogue lists each book according to the author.
c) Title catalogue
This is usually incorporated in the author catalogue. The arrangement of books is by
first letter in the title.
d) Index books and CD ROM
Index books contain information on published articles in each year and indicate
journals where the articles were published and when. A CD-ROM is a computer
compact disc that contains information on all published articles. A CD –ROM
provides information on published articles by subject areas and by authors.

39
EXERCISE
1. With clear examples, explain the difference between the library of congress and the
Dewey Decimal Systems of Classification.
2. Discuss at least three main sections of the library bringing out the kind of resources
found in each one of them and rules governing their operations.

3. Explain, with examples, how the following kinds of catalogue help to locate books
and other publications in the library:

a) Index of subject heading

b) Author catalogue

40
 UNIT 7
7.0 REFERENCING SYSTEMS

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
1. Define the following terminologies associated with referencing: citation, paraphrase,
quotation.
2. Explain the basic characteristics of various systems of referencing such as the Harvard,
the APA, the MLA, the modern Oxford and the Vancouver
3. Cite various references such as books, journals, proceedings of meetings, personal
communications, interviews, symposia, dissertations etc.
4. Explain the subtle differences between the APA and the Harvard systems

7.1 INTRODUCTION
The books and other publications which a scholar uses for their academic works are called
references. These include articles, books, items from the internet, newspaper articles, conference
papers, thesis, personal communication, government reports etc. Referencing or citing means
acknowledging your sources of information and ideas you have used in an essay or report. This
is a standard practice at university. It means that whenever you write an assignment that requires
you to find and use information from other sources, you are expected to reference (cite) these
resources in your writing.

7.2 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF REFERENCING (RATIONALE)

In academic assignments you are required to read widely so that you can identify the current
thinking about a particular topic. You can then use ideas expressed by other people to reinforce
the arguments you present in your assignment. The referencing in your assignment shows two
things;
 The range of ideas and approaches to a topic that you have found and thought
about
41
  Your acknowledgement of where these ideas came from.
Additionally, referencing is important for it enables other researchers to trace your sources easily
and lead them on to further information. By using references appropriately, you will show the
breadth and quality of your research and avoid plagiarism.

7.3 PLAGIARISM
The concise Oxford Dictionary of current English (1990: 909) defines the verb plagiarism, as
“the act of taking and using the thoughts, writings, inventions, etc of another person as one‟s
own, or to pass off the thoughts, etc of another person as one‟s own. “Plagiarism can have
serious consequences ranging from failing to expulsion.” (White, 2004:10). Public figures that
have been accused of plagiarism have been pressured into resignation. A case in point is that of
the Hungarian President who is said to have plagiarized parts of his doctoral thesis which critics
say threatens the integrity of his office. (The Post, Friday March 30 2012). You commit
plagiarism when you:
 Intentionally or unintentionally use someone else’s words or ideas but fail to credit that
person
 Credit the author but use his exact words without indicating it as such by placing it in
quotation marks; and
 Use words so close to those in your source, that if you placed your work next to the
source, you would see that you could not have written what you did without the source at
your elbow (Booth e tal., S.d.67)
Electronic information is also subject to legal protection. Cyber plagiarism implies copying
or downloading in part, or in the entirety, articles or research papers found on the internet, or
copying ideas found on the internet and not giving proper attribution.
Babbie (1998) shares the following views concerning plagiarism on his web page:
“Plagiarism is the presentation of another‟s words or ideas as your own. It is a bad thing.
Don‟t do it.”
“Turning in a paper actually written by your room-mate and saying, „I wrote this,` would be
flagrant example of plagiarism. The same would be true if you were to buy a term paper from
a “paper mill”
“The highest punishment for plagiarism of this sort would be a grade of zero for the paper.
Other common punishments are failing the course or even expulsion”
Babbie indicates the following reasons why plagiarism should not be tolerated:

42
 1. Lying : if you have been asked to write something as evidence that you have grasped the
materials of the course you are taking, offering someone else’s work as evidence is a lie.
It is no different from having someone else taking an examination in your name.
2. It is an insult to your fellow students. When you plagiarize, just as when you cheat on an
exam you treat unfairly those who play by the rules. You seek an unfair advantage over
them, and inevitably, you will find yourself looking down on those who devote their time
and energy to the task which you have cheated on.
3. When you use other people’s words and ideas without their permission, it is stealing. It
would be wrong to sneak into a factory and still the products manufactured there during
the day, and in the academy words, ideas, paintings, compositions, sculpulture,
inventions, and other creations are what we produce. It is wrong to steal them and claim
them as your won.

7.4 TH RULES OF REFERENCING

There are three main rules of referencing
1. A reference must be included every time you use someone else‟s ideas or information
2. A reference must be included when you:
- Paraphrase (express someone else‟s ideas in your own words)
- Summarize (express someone else‟s ideas in a reduced form in your words )
- Quote (express someone else‟s ideas in their exact words)
- Copy (reproduce a diagram, graph or table from someone else‟s work)
3. Each reference must appear in two places:
i) Shown as a shortened reference in the text of your assignment each time it used
(the in – text reference or citation)
ii) Listed in full once in the reference list at the end of the assignment. This listing
has full details so that your reader can find the reference.
The two most common types of referencing systems used are:
 Author – date system– such as the Harvard system, APA and MLA.
 Numerical systems- such as Chicago or Turabian, Vancouver

7.5 KINDS OF REFERENCING SYSTEMS

A variety of referencing systems are used in academic writing, for example, the Modern Oxford,
the Vancouver, the Harvard, the MLA, and the APA systems. At first glance, these systems
might appear to be similar, but they are not. Each of them contains a high number of detailed

43
specifications, all of which are important. Not only are there differences between the various
referencing of each system. Therefore, it is essential that you
1. Consult your course handbook or a member of staff in order to establish which
referencing system your department expects you to use.
2. Choose and use one version of referencing system. Be consistent otherwise you might
lose valuable marks.
A brief description of each of the above mentioned referencing systems will be given. An
example covering in – text and bibliographic references will be given for each referencing
system. The example will show the elements of a reference to a book.

7.5.1 THE MODERN OXFORD SYSTEM

This referencing system gives full bibliographic details at the bottom of the page on which a
cited work is first mentioned. In other words, it relies on a footnote approach, not on an
alphabetical reference list added at the end of the text. However, it does use endnotes (i.e.
notes which are added at the end of the text), but these are not listed alphabetically. Instead,
both footnotes and endnotes should be numbered consecutively throughout the text. It is
recommended that you use the superscript to do this. The system requires that you use Arabic
numerals typed slightly above the line (like this12) to indicate a footnote or end note.

An example of the Modern Oxford Referencing System

In the text:
Peck and Coyle1 tackle writing problems from the student’s perspective.
Or
A common writing problems among students is that they struggle to position and introduce
subordinate clauses.1
At the bottom of the same page:
1. J. Peck & M. Coyle, The student’s guide to writing: Grammar, punctuation and spelling,
Palgrave, Basingstoke, 1999, p. 15
Or
1
John Peck and Martin Coyle, The Student’s guide to writing, punctuation and spelling,
(Basingstoke, 1999), P.15
Or
44
 1. Peck, J. & Coyle, M. The student’s guide to writing: grammar, punctuation and spelling.
Palgrave, Basingstoke, 1999, P.15
The traditional version of the Oxford referencing system is characterized by its use of Latin
abbreviations. (e.g. „ibid,‟ loc.cit‟, and „op.cit‟.). However, most versions of the Modern Oxford
System tend not to use them

7.5.2 THE VANCOUVER SYSTEM

The Vancouver system also relies on a numerical approach because references should be
numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. However, the
Arabic numerals should be written within parenthesis rather than added as superscript. These
numbers should be linked directly to the reference list at the end of the essay, but the numbers at
the start of each entry should not be put in parenthesis.
An example of the Vancouver Referencing system.
In the text:
Peck and Coyle (1) tackle writing problems from the student’s perspective.
Or
A common writing problem among students is that they struggle to position and introduce
subordinate clauses (1)
Reference list at the end of the essay:
1. . Basingstoke: Palgrave; 1999. Peck J, Coyle M. The student’s guide to Writing:
Grammar, Punctuation and spelling
As explained, the Modern Oxford system and the Vancouver system are numerically formatted
referencing styles. In other words, they do not list references according to an author‟s name or
the year of publication. In contrast, the Harvard, the MLA and the APA system list their
references alphabetically.

7.5.3 HARVARD SYSTEM

It is easy to acknowledge other people‟ work when you use the Harvard System because you
simply add the author‟s surname and the year of publication to your text. This information
should be added in brackets and a comma should be inserted between the surname and the year\.
However, as there are several versions of the Harvard System, it is necessary to point out that
some of these find the comma unnecessary. The most sensible thing to do, however, is to choose
45
and consistently use one version of a referencing system. Furthermore, remember to use the same
version when you produce the alphabetical reference list at the end of the assignment.
An example of the Harvard Referencing System
In the text:
Peck and Coyle (1999) tackle writing problems from the student’s perspective
Or
Many students experience writing problems (Peck & Coyle, 1999)
In the reference list:
Peck J. & Coyle M. (1999). The student’s Guide to writing: Grammar, punctuation and
Spelling. Basingstoke, Palgrave
Or
Peck. & Coyle, M. (1999). The student’s Guide to writing Grammar, punctuation and
spelling. Basingstoke Palgrave
Peck,J. & Coyle. M (1999). The Student’s Guide to Writing: Grammar, punctuation and
Spelling. Basingstoke, Palgrave.

7.5.4 MLA SYSTEM

MLA Stands for Modern Language Association. There are both similarities and differences
between MLA and the Harvard System. Both systems require you to cite works in the text
according to the surname of the author. The author‟s name can occur either directly in the text or
in parentheses. However, there is a difference when you use the Harvard System you have to
include the year of publication, whereas with MLA system you always refer to the page
information was found on, even when it is not a direct quotation.
In addition, both systems state that author‟s names should be arranged alphabetically, but again
there is a difference: on an MLA reference list the second and subsequent lines of each entry
should be intended. The inclusion of the author‟s first name constitutes another difference.
An example of the MLA Referencing System
In the text:
Peck and Coyle tackle writing problems from the student’s perspective. (vi)
Or if you as a student learn to construct complex sentences, you will be able to tackle any writing
task (Peck and Coyle 15)

46
In the reference list
Peck, John, and Martin Coyle. The Student’s Guide to Writing Grammar, Punctuation and
Spelling Basingstoke: Palgrave, 1999

7.5.5 APA SYSTEM

APA Stands for American Psychological Association. Like the Harvard System, the APA
system, the APA system also favours an author – data method of citation. Basically, the author
surname and the year of publication should be inserted in brackets at an appropriate point in the
text and a comma should be inserted between them. However, if the citing is author-led, only
insert the year of publication in brackets. Moreover, remember that if both the author‟s surname
and year of publication occur directly in the textual discussion, you do not need to add any
parenthetical information.

The APA System‟s reference list is organized alphabetically, just like it is in the Harvard and the
MLA System. However, there are many differences between these referencing styles. For
example, when using the APA System or the MLA System, the second and subsequent lines of
the entries on the reference list need to be indented, whereas that is not the case when using the
Harvard System. Furthermore, when using the APA System and the Harvard System, the year of
publication can be inserted in brackets after the author‟s name, where as when using the MLA
System this information is added right at the end of the entry without brackets. It is therefore
clear that the three systems do not share the same approach to punctuation.

An example of the APA Referencing System

In the text:
Essays continue to play a significant role in the academic (Richards, 2003)
Or
Peck and Coyle (1999) tackle writing problems from the students’ perspective.
In the reference list:
Peck, J., & Coyle, M. (1999). The Student’s Guide to Writing: Grammar Punctuation and
Spelling. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 1999.

47
It is very easy to get the referencing systems mixed up and make mistakes. Thus, it is important
that you choose and use one referencing system. Some academic subjects dictate which
referencing system you should use. Hence, it is essential that you consult your course handbook
or a member of staff. Each system has its own detailed specifications which you need to follow
consistently. A lack of consistency signals a sloppy approach to your work. Finally, it is worth
noting that there is a difference between reference lists and bibliographies. A reference list
should contain the works you have cited directly in the text and nothing else, where as a
bibliography can include sources which you have read, but not cited in the text.
Having given a brief description of each of the above referencing system and their specifications,
we will now focus, in some detail, on the Harvard system of referencing. It is important to note
that the Harvard system of referencing is very similar to the APA system of referencing. They
are both commonly used systems of referencing. Despite these similarities, there are subtle
differences in how the reference is written:
 The Harvard System uses “and” not “&” between multiple authors
 The publishers‟ name appear before the place of publication, separated by a colon (in
APA it is place of publication then publisher separated by a colon)
 The year of publication need not to be enclosed in parenthesis (………..) though it is on
some versions of Harvard.
 All major items are followed by commas and not full stops(as in the APA)

7.6 HARVARD SYSTEM OF REFERENCING

7.6.1 CITING REFERENCES IN TEXT

The two most common approaches to indirect referencing are:
1. Author – led citing
e.g. Peck and Coyle (1999) tackle writing problems from the student’s perspective
2. Information – led citing:
e.g. a recent research paper concludes that essays continue to play a very significant
role in academic (Richards, 2003)
However, if you include both the year and the author directly in the text, do not add
parenthetical information:

48
 3. In 2003, Richards concluded that essays continue to play a significant role in academic.
These three approaches to citing can all be described as indirect. They are indirect because they
show: a) that the author has understood what she read and b) that she has summarized the key
point and put it into her own words.
Generally this is the best way of citing references in-text because it shows that you have
understood what you read and that you are capable of paraphrasing, that is, accurately succinctly
presenting the information you read in writing.
The alternative to indirect referencing is direct referencing. If you take this approach, you
include the authors‟ words directly in your text. In other words, you quote their exact words. For
example,
 Peck and Coyle (1999,, p. vii) argued that “basic
correctness is vital but most of us also want to sound intelligent, mature,
sophisticated, even witty, when we write.”
 According to Peck and Coyle (1999, p. vii) “basic correctness is vital, but most of us
also want to sound intelligent, mature, sophisticated, even witty, when we
write.”
 In recent years, the traditional attitude towards writing has changed because “basic
correctness is vital, but most of us want to sound intelligent, mature, sophiscated,
even witty, when we write.”
If the quotation exceeds a couple of lines (i.e. more than 30 words), forget the quotation
marks and indent the whole block of text. For example:
Many students encounter problems with their writing. A common problem is
……………..that they fail to see how the basic rules of constructing sentences,
if followed with a degree of self awareness, can enable more intricate ideas to
be expressed in a very controlled and confident way. (Peck & Coyle, 1999, P.
15).

 Many students encounter problems with their writing. According to Peck and Coyle
(1999, p. 15), one of the most common problems is

………that they fail to see how basic rules of constructing sentences, if followed with a
degree of self awareness, can enable more intricate ideas to be expressed in a very
controlled and confident way.
When there are two or three authors for a reference, you include all their family names in your
in-text reference for example:
According to Cooper, Krever and Vann (2002) the use of this process leads to greater accuracy.
But if there are more than three authors for a reference you use „e t al‟ (Latin word for „and
others‟) after the first family name listed on the reference. For example:
49
This has been suggested by Sandler e t al (2002) in their first Australian study.
“Et al” is used for the first and every time you give an in – text reference for more than three
authors. However, all the authors, no matter how many there are, are listed in the reference list in
the same order that they are listed in the original reference.

7.6.2 SETTING OUT THE ITEMS IN A REFERENCE LIST USING THE HARVARD
SYSTEM
The main elements required for a reference are set out in this order:
Author, date, title, publication information

7.6.2.1 Example of a Book

The main elements required for a book are set out in this order:
Author, date, title publisher, place of publication
Note that the title is placed in italics or underlined and the elements are separated by commas

50
7.6.2.2 Example of an Academic Journal
The main elements required for a journal are set out in this order:

7.6.2.3 Example of an Electronic Publication

51
 7.7 EXAMPLES OF REFERENCING USING HARVARD
7.7.1 Books

Basic format for books: Author‟s family name, initial (s) year, title of book, publisher, place of
publication.

EXAMPLES OF REFERENCING USING HARVARD

Books

Basic format for books: Authors family, name, Initial(s) year, Title of book, Publisher, Place of publication.

Example An example of an in-text reference The entry in the reference list

Book with single author Escrit (2000) argues that... Escrit, S 2000, Art nouveau, Phaidon, London.
Book with 2 or 3 authors According to Cooper, Krever and Cooper, GS, Krever, E & Vann, RJ 2002, Income
Vann (2002)... Taxation: commentary and materials, 4th edn,
OR Australian Tax Practice, Sydney, NSW.
It has been argued (Cooper, Krever &
Vann 2002) that...
Book with more than 3 As suggested by Sandler et al. (1995, Sandler, MP, Patton, JA, Coleman, RE, Gottschalk,
authors p 14)... A, Wackers, RJ & Hoffere, PB 1995, Diagnostic
nuclear medicine, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore.
Book with n author As shown in networking essentials Networking essentials plus (2000), Microsoft press,
plus (2000)... Redmond, Washington.
Book with no date This has been emphasised by Seah Seah, R n.d, Micro-computer applications, Redmond,
(n.d.) when... Washington.
Electronic book Trochim (2000) maintains that... Trochim, WM 2000, The research methods
knowledgebase, 2nd edn, viewed 14 November 2000,
http://www.socialresearchmethods.mey/kb/index.htm
2nd or later edition of a Several characteristics support this Derham, F 2001, Art for the child under seven, 7th
book (Derham 2001, p. 46) and ... edn, Australian Early Childhood Association,
Watson, ACT.
Translated book Popularity of the novel Les Infants Cocteau, J 1961, Les infants terrible, trans. R
Terribles increased after translation Lehmann, Penguin, London.
(Cocteau 1996)
Edited (ed.), revised Walpole (ed. 2001) questions whether Walpole, M (ed.) Tax administration in the 21st
(rev.) or compiled century, Prospect Media, St Leonards, NSW.
(comp.)book
Edited book with more ...key diagnostic tools (EDS Sandler et Sandler, MP, Patton, JA, Coleman, RE, Gottschalk,
than 3 authors al.1995) A,Wackers, FJ & Hoffer, PB (eds) 1995, Diagnostic
nuclear medicine 3rd edn,Williams & Wilkins,
Baltimore.
One volume of a multi- It has been implied (Einax 1995) Einax, J 1995, Chemometrics in environmental
volume set of books that... chemistry: Applications, vol. 2, Handbook of
environmental chemistry, Springer, Berlin.
Encyclopaedia or Chilvers (1998, p. 225) demonstrates Chilvers, I 1998, „Funk art‟, in The Oxford

52
Dictionary-with author that... dictionary of 20th century art, Oxford University
Press, Oxford, p. 225.
Encyclopaedia or The Hutchinson encyclopaedia (2001) No entry is required in the reference list because you
Dictionary- no author defines ethics as.... have the name and date of the encyclopaedia or
dictionary as in-text reference.
Book sponsored by Deni Green Consulting Services Denni Green Consultancy Services 2001, Capital
institution, corporation (2001) has compiled... idea: realising value from environmental and social
or other organisation performance, Denni Green Consultancy Services,
North Carlton, Victoria.
Chapter in an edited In conclusion, Cicourel (1999) Cicourel, AV 1999, „The interaction of cognitive and
book emphasises... cultural models in health care delivery‟, in Talk,
work and institutional order: discourse in medical,
mediation and management settings, eds S Sarangi &
C Roberts, Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin, pp. 183-224.

7.7.2 Journal articles

Basic format for journal articles: Authors family name, Initial(s) year, „Title of article,‟ Title of the journal, vol
and issue numbers, page range.

Example An example of an in-text reference The entry in the reference list

Journal article with single author This procedure has received support O‟Hara, MJ 2000, „Flood basalts,
(O‟ Hara 2000, p. 1548) and ... basalt floods or topless bushvelds?
Lunar petrogenesis revisited‟, Journal
of Petrology, vol. 41, no. 11, pp.
1545-1651.
Journal article with two or three Williams, Sewell and Humphrey Williams, RA, Sewell, D &
authors (2002, p. 18) acknowledge... Humphrey E 2002, „Perspectives in
OR ambulatory care. Implementing
It has been acknowledged (Williams, problem-based learning in ambulatory
Sewell and Humphrey 2002, p. 18) care‟, Nursing economics, vol. 20, no.
that... 3, pp. 135-141.
Note: If the article is accessed using a
database (e.g. Ebsco, Academic
Science Direct) there is no need to
refer to the database in the reference.
Journals which have an electronic
form may be accessed using different
databases and these can vary from
library to library.
Journal article with more than three The fact that alpha-bungarotoxin Chang, L, Lin, S, Huang, H & Hsiao,
authors isotoxins are not derived from edited N 1999, „Genetic organisation of
mRNA‟s (Chang et al. 1999, p. 3971) alpha-bungartoxins from Bunguarus
suggests that ... multicinctus (Taiwan banded krait):
evidence showing the production of
alpha-bungartoxin isotoxins is not
derived from edited mRNA‟s‟,
Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 27, no.
20, pp. 3970-75.
Note: the use of italics for Bungarus
53
 multicinctus is scientific convention
with species and genera.

Journal article with no author Such a strategy is already in use „Building human resources instead of
(„Building human resources instead of landfills‟ 2000, Biocycle, vol.41,
landfills‟ 2000) and ... no.12, pp.28-29.
Journal article from an electronic Garcia, P 2004, „Pragmatic
journal comprehension of high and low level
language learners‟, TESL-EJ, vol.8,
no. 2, viewed 2 December 2005,
http://berkeley.edu/TES-
EJ/ej30/a!.html.
Journal article accessed using an Carpenter and Feroz (2001) link this Carpenter, VL & Feroz, EH 2001,
electronic database idea with... „Institutional theory and accounting
rule choice: an analysis of four US
state governments decisions to adopt
generally accepted accounting
principles‟, Accounting,
Organisations and Society, vol. 26,
no. 7-8, pp. 565-596.

7.7.3 Electronic publications

Basic format for electronic publications:

Author‟s family name, Initial(s) year date, Title of document or website, date viewed, <URL>.

Example An example of an The entry in the reference list

in-text reference
Electronic book Trochim (2000) Trochim, WM 2000, The research methods knowledge base, 2nd edn,
maintains that... updated 2 August 2000, viewed 14 November 2001,
http://socialresearchmethods.net/kb/index.htm.
Journal article ...and this has been Garcia, P 2004, „Pragmatic comprehension of high and low level
from an electric established by language learners‟, TESL-EJ, vol.8, no. 2, viewed 2 December 2005,
journal Garcia (2004) http://berkeley.edu/TES-EJ/ej30/a!.html.
who... Note: if the article is accessed using a database (eg Ebsco, Academic,
Science direct) there is no need to refer to the database in the reference.
E-journals may be accessed using different databases and these can vary
from library to library.
A World Wide The Department of Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous affairs
Website Immigration and 2004, Canberra, viewed 7 March 2004, http://www.immi.gov.au/.
Multicultural and
Indigenous affairs‟
website (2004) has
details of ...
Document on This is clarified by desJardins, Mn.d, How to succeed in postgraduate study, Applied
World Wide Web desJardins (1998) Ecology Research Group,University of Canberra, viewed 26 April 2001,
who identifies ... http://aerg.canberra.edu.au/jardins/t.htm
Document on An overview of Lung Cancer 2004, msn Health, viewed 12 June 2004,
World Wide Web lung cancer was http://content.health.msn.com/condition_center/lung_cancer/default.htm.

54
 with no author provided in Lung
Cancer (2004)
and...
Document on This is clarified by DesJardins, Mn.d, How to succeed in postgraduate study, Applied
World Wide Web DesJardins (n.d) Ecology Research Group, University of Canberra, viewed 26 April 2001,
with no date who identifies ... http://aerg.canberra.edu.au/jardins/t.htm.
Document on In discussing the Mp3-mac.com 2003, what is Mp3?, viewed 15 October 2003,
World Wide Web issues related to http://www.mp3-mac.com/Pages/What_is _Mp3.html.
without an Mp3s (Mp3-
author but with a mac.com 2003)
sponsoring body the...
Document on If a resource from
World Wide Web the www. has no
with no author or author and no date
no date you may need to
reconsider whether
it is suitable source
of academic work.
Electronic thesis Price (2000) has Price, K 2000, „Exploring what the doing does: a post structural analysis
(ADT collection) argued that ... of nurses‟ subjectivity in relation to pain‟, Department of Nursing and
Midwifery, PhD thesis, University of South Australia, viewed 10 May
2004, Australian Digital Theses Project,
http://www.library.unisa.edu.au/adt-root/publicadt-SUSA-20030501-
145110/index.html
Media release on The Minister Pirelli, A (Minister for Transport and Regional Services) 2003, CASA
the World Wide confirmed this approves new safety measures, media release, 1 April, Department of
Web (Pirelli 2003) in a Transport and Regional Services, Canberra, viewed 14th April 2003,
media release http://www.dotrs.gov.au/media/pirelli/archive/2003/apr_03/a16_2003.htm
issued in the same
week that the
questions were
raised in Parliament
Discussion lists, Patterson (2001) Patterson, S<patters@rockets.com.au> 2001, „Something‟s got to give‟,
newsgroups acknowledged this list server, 29 January, National Association of Sceptics, viewed 8
in a posting on the February 2003, http://www.nsa.net.au/listserv/
...
Email Davenport Emails are dealt with in the same way as personal communications. The
confirmed this by document is mentioned in the text but no entry is given in the reference
email on 1 august list. It is important to get permission of the person being referred to before
2003. mentioning them.
Computer A program was MathWorks 2001, MATLAB, ver. 6, computer program, The MathWorks
program developed Inc., Natick, MA, USA.
(MathWorks 2001)
to ...

7.7.4 Special publications and materials

Basic format for Special publications and materials: Authors family name, Initial(s) year, „Title of item‟,
description of item, publisher, place of publication.

55
Example An example of an in-text reference The entry in the reference list

Conference paper It has been shown (Hills 2000) that... Hills, QG 2000, „Relative timing of
deformation, metamorphism and
mineralisation within the Willyama
Complex, New South Wales‟, in
Proceedings of the 14th Victorian
Universities Erath Sciences
Conference, Geological Society of
Australia, Melbourne, pp.38-42
Newspaper article (with author) As Ionesco described (2001) in his Ionesco, J 2001, „Federal election:
article... New Chipp in politics‟ Advertiser 23
October, p. 10.
Newspaper article (no author) ...in the Advertiser (23 October 2001, Advertiser 2001, ‘Federal election:
p.10). new Chipp in politics’, 23 October,
p. 10.
Government report Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
Commission (1997) considered commission, 1997, Brining them
that................ home: report of the National Inquiry
into the Separation of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Children from
their Families, (R. Wilson,
Commissioner), Human Rights and
Equal Opportunity Commission,
Sydney.
Patent Ultimately Tadayuki, Kazuhisa Atushi Tadayuki, O, Kazuhisa, Y &
(1999) took out a patent in Japan in Atsushi, N 1999, Hard butter
1999 composition and its production,
Japanese Patent 99-78710.
Video, DVD or television recording The processes involved have been They did it their way 1998, video
well documented (they did it their recording, BBC for the Open
way, 1998) University. Or if it is a Broadcast
television program it would be:
They did it their way 1998, television
program, SBS television, Sydney, 5
May.
Radio program The recent broadcast of the War of the The war of the Worlds 2006, radio
Worlds (2006) did not cause the program, ABC National, 17 March.
panic that resulted from the original in
1986
Pamphlet or brochure Additional resources are identified in Online resources, publications,
the pamphlet ....(Online resources, training 2001, Australian Copyright
publications, training 2001) Council, Redfern, NSW.
Compact disk (CD) & Audio The original broadcast (War of the War of the worlds 1999, Mercury
cassette Worlds 1999) in 1983 is said to have Theatre On The Air, audio CD, Radio
caused mass panic amongst listeners Spirits, ASIN: B00002R145.
Standard Ultimately the Standard Association Standard Association of Australia
published a standard covering colour 1996, Colour Standards for general
in chocolate in 1996 (Standard purposes: Chocolate (AS 2700S-1999
Association of Australia 1999). (X64), Standards Australia, North
Sydney.
56
Personal communication It has been confirmed by Seow (2003, For personal communications such as
pers.comm.3 July) that this practice is conversations, letters, emails and
widespread. faxes, the document is mentioned in
the text but no entry is given in the
reference list. It is important to get
permission from the person being
referred to.
Thesis Pope (1996, p. 78) argued exactly Pope, JJ 1996, “The nature and origin
this....... of magnetite – rich zones in the
Mount Fort Constantine Volcanic,
adjacent to the Ernest Henry Cu-Au-
Co deposit, NW Queensland‟, MSc.
Thesis, University of Leicester.
Unpublished report Such habitats have been studied Sinclair, J, Knight, G & Merz, R
extensively by, for example, Sinclair, 1999, „Video transect analysis of
Knight and Merz (1999) subtidal habitats in the Dampier
Archipelago‟, Museum of WA
Unpublished conference paper ...and Wolff (2000) has argued this Wolff, L 2000, „Corporate compliance
point at some length. and human rights in Japan,‟ paper
presented at the Australasian Law
Teacher‟s Association Conference,
University of Canberra, 20-5 July.
Document on microfiche Richard (2001) suggests that...... Richard, P 2001, Towards the goal of
full employment: trends, obstacles
and policies, microfiche, International
LABOUR Office, Geneva,
Educational Resources Information
Centre, Washington, ED 477814.
Thesis on microfiche Dance is seen as having an important Dominiak, KM 1998, The role of
educational role (Dominiak 1998) dance making for the older adult,
microfiche, MappSci. Thesis, Texas
Woman‟s University, Microform
publications, University of Oregon

Source:

Commonwealth of Australia 2002, Style manual for authors, editors and printers, 6th edn, rev.
Snooks & Co., John Wiley & Sons Australia, Brisbane

57
ASSIGNMENT 2

1. Discuss in detail the rationale behind referencing.

2. What is plagiarism? When does one commit it? Discuss the reasons why plagiarism should
not be tolerated.

3. Compare and contrast the following system of referencing:

a) The MLA and the Harvard

b) The Vancouver and the APA

4. Show how you would cite the following works in the reference list using the Harvard system
of referencing.

a) Book with single author

b) Book with more than three authors

c) Book with no date

d) Journal article with single author

e) Conference paper

f) Newspaper article with author

DUE DATE: 30/07/2012

58
 UNITS 8
8.0 LISTENING TO LECTURERS AND NOTE TAKING
OBJECTIVES: At end of this unit, you should be able to:
1. Demonstrate skills for being a good listener
2. Take notes from an oral source such as a lecture without any problems.
3. Listen for both non-verbal cues such as facial expression, hand and body signals and
Phonological ones such as voice change in volume, speed etc,
4. Explain the major principles that govern note taking
5. Distinguish between sentence and note outlines.

8.1 INTRODUCTION
At University lectures are one of the main methods of teaching. It is, therefore, important that
students are taught skills that would bring about effective listening. Listening to a lecture is
particularly difficult since a listener, unlike a reader, cannot control the flow of information and
hence his processing of it. A reader can vary his reading speed, can stop, reflect or re-read, but a
listener is at the mercy of the speaker. There is usually no means of stopping a lecturer to ask for
clarification, as for most lecturers this would be breaking customary rules.

8.2 LISTENING TO LECTURES

A lecturer may use various signals from the audience, such as their facial expression or gaze, to
interpret how well his message is being understood, and a sensitive lecturer will adapt his
message on receiving any signs of lack of comprehension.
All, too often, however, his phrases such as Any question? Or is that all right? Are not genuine
and do not invite a response from the students; in reality, they are used as makers to initiate a
conclusion and the beginning of a new section in the lecture.
Lectures do, however, contain a number of useful features which will assist comprehension.
Firstly, there is the use of intonation and pausing to indicate the beginning and end of various
sections. Stress is also used to indicate the part of the message that is to be interpreted as new or
important information. Often stressing will indicate the speaker‟s attitude towards something
which is being said, for example; „this may be true’ – which indicates that the speaker feels it is
very unlikely.
59
As another aid to comprehension, lecturers often repeat or rephrase what they have said so you
should listen out for these repetitions which may be word for word repetitions, synonyms or
explanatory statements introduced by „that is’, „in other words.‟ additionally, the lecturer may
slow down in pace to indicate the most important points. Other lecturers speak more loudly in
order to indicate the most important points. They may even change their intonation (rise and
fall of voice) to denote important points. It is, therefore, important that you listen out for these
phonological cues. A third aid to comprehension is the lecturer`s use of diagrams and
drawings, which are often made while talking, to illustrate a particular point. These are non-
verbal features of lecturing and within this category can be included the gestures and movements
of the lecturer himself who will often reinforce important points of information by using hand
movements.

You should also look out for the various signaling devices that a lecturer uses to guide his
audience through the lecture. He will want to signal for example, that he is about to begin a new
topic. This may be introduced like this: Right (marker) what I would like to do now is
……………. (a clear sign of change of topic)
A simpler way of introducing a topic is simply to state it: Thus; Right. Social policy. Sometimes
a lecturer will ask a rhetorical question to introduce the topic.
Thus: Well, just what were the causes of the revolution?
and then got to develop the answer. The end of a topic will also be signaled, perhaps by using
therefore and by using anaphoric this or that.
So those were the problems associated with industrialization in the nineteenth century
These signaling devices are of great significance to any student attending a lecture. You should,
therefore, listen out for them.

8.3 GENERAL SKILLS FOR EFFECTIVE LISTENING

8.3.1 Give your full attention on the person who is speaking. Don‟t look out the window or at
what else is going on in the room.
8.3.2 Make sure your mind is focused, too. It can be easy to let your mind wander if you think
you know what the person is going to say next, but you might be wrong! If you feel your mind
wandering, change the position of your body and try to concentrate on the speaker‟s words.
60
8.3.3 Let the speaker finish before you begin to talk. Speakers appreciate having the chance to
say every thing they would like to say without being interrupted.
8.3.4 Let yourself finish listening before you begin to speak! You can‟t really listen if you are
busy thinking about what you want to say – next. “Try to think more about what the speaker is
trying to say than about what you want to say.” (Stanton 2004 p. 26)
8.3.5 Listen for main ideas. The main ideas are the most important points the speaker wants to
get across. They may be mentioned at the start or end of a talk, and repeated a number of times.
Pay special attention to statements that begin with phrases such as “My Point is …… “Or” the
thing to remember is…”
8.3.6 Ask questions. If you are not sure you understand what the speaker has said, just ask. It is a
good idea to repeat in your own words what the speaker said so that you can be sure your
understanding is correct.
8.3.7 Give feedback. Sit up straight and look directly at the speaker. Now and then, nod to show
that you understand. At appropriate points, you may also smile, frown, laugh or be silent. These
are all ways to let the speaker know that you are really listening. Remember you listen with your
face as well as well as your ears!

8.4 NOTE TAKING

Note taking is the practice of recording information captured from a transient source, such as an
oral discussion or a lecture. Notes of meeting are usually called minutes. The format of the initial
record may often be informal and /or unstructured. One common format for such notes is
shorthand which can allow large amounts of information to be put on paper very quickly. In fact,
the general principle in note taking is to reduce the language by shortening words and sentences.

8.4.1 SIGNIFICANCE OF NOTE TAKING

Note taking is an important skill for students, especially at the college or University level. In
some contexts, such as college lecturers, the main purpose of taking notes maybe to implant the
material in the mind. It also helps to capture information for later study and review. Further, note
taking helps you concentrate on what the speaker is saying and to provide you with a summary in
note form so that you can write up your notes in full later. Furthermore, note taking helps you to
focus and learn during class time. Taking your own notes will promote deeper understanding of
the content of the lecture.
61
8.4.2 HOW TO TAKE NOTES IN A LECTURE
 First of all, you must determine what is important for you. The first piece of information
you receive is the title of a lecture. This is perhaps the most important single piece of
information of the whole lecture, so you should make sure that you write it down in full.
 Secondly, listen to direct or indirect signals from the lecturer that tell you what is
important, for example, he or she may say, “This is important, write it down,” or “Make
sure you get this down.” Or he or she may make indirect signals such as pausing before
saying something important, or saying it slowly, loudly or with greater stress.
 You should also listen for repetition. When the lecturer repeats a point, go back to your
first notes and add in new details or information
 Summarize important ideas – you can use words that are not used by the lecturer to
restate in shorter form what he or she is saying.
 Concentrate on the important words – listen for the words called content words (usually
nouns, sometimes verbs, adjectives or adverbs) that give the important information
 Omit unimportant words- such words are called form or functional words and do not
always have meanings in themselves such as auxiliary verbs (e.g be, have, do);
determiners (e.g. a, the, some); pronouns (I, he, they, there, it, that, which, when etc); and
prepositions (at, on, in, etc)
 Write in short phrases rather than complete sentences
 Use symbols or signs – some examples of these are;

Therefore
 statement is correct
X statement not correct
 Use abbreviations such as
e.g. for example
i.e. that is
etc etcetera; and so on
cf. compare
viz Namely

62
 NB. Note
dept. department
Lang. language
Excl excluding
Note that there are two types of abbreviations namely; conventional and personal abbreviations.
Conventional abbreviations are those abbreviations that are widely used and are intentionally
accepted while personal abbreviations are those an individual person comes up with to aid him
take his notes as long as he can remember what they stand for.

8.4.3 OUTLINING
While notes can be written freely, many people structure their writing in an outline. An outline is
the general plan of the material to be presented in a speech or a paper. The outline shows the
order of various topics, the relative importance of each, and the relationship between the various
parts. A common system of outlining consists of headings that use Roman numerals, letters of
the alphabet and Arabic numerals at different levels.

8.4.3.1. ORDER IN AN OUTLINE

There are many ways to arrange the different parts of a subject. Sometimes a chronological
arrangement works well. At other times a spatial arrangement is best suited to the material. The
most common order in the outlines is to go from the general to the specific. This means that you
begin with a general idea and then support it with specific examples.

8.4.3.2. THESIS STATEMENT OR SUMMARIZING SENTENCE

All outlines should begin with a thesis statement or summarizing sentence. This thesis
sentence presents the central idea of the paper. It must always be a complete, grammatical
sentence, specific and brief which expresses the point of view you are taking towards the
subject.

8.4.3.3 TYPES OF OUTLINES

The two main types of outlines are the topic outline and the sentence outline. In the topic
outline the headings are given in single words or brief phrases.
In the sentence outline, all the headings are expressed in complete sentences.
63
 8.4.6.1 RULES FOR OUTLINING
1. Subdivide topics by a system of numbers and letters followed by a period. Example:
I
A.
1.
2
a
b
II A
B

2. Each heading and subheading must have at least two parts

3. Headings for parts of the papers of speech such as introduction and conclusion should not
be used.
4. Be consistent. Do not mix up the two types of outlines. Use either the sentence or topic
outline, but not both.

a) Topic outline
TOPIC: Choices in college and Africa
THESIS: The decision I have to make in choosing college courses, depend on large
questions. I am beginning to ask myself about my life‟s work.
I. Two decisions described
A. Art history or chemistry
1. Professional considerations
2. Personal considerations
B. A third year of French?
1. Practical advantages of knowing a foreign language
2. Intellectual advantages
3. The issue of necessity
II. Definition of the problem
A. Decisions about occupation
64
 B. Decisions about a kind of life to lead
III. Temporary resolution of the problem
A. To hold open a professional possibility; chemistry
B. To take advantage of cultural gains already made : French

b) Sentence outline
Thesis: The decision I have to make with respect to choosing college courses in the near
future
I. I have two decisions to make with respect to choosing college courses
A. One is written to elect a course in art history or in chemistry
1. One time in my life, I planned to be a chemical engineer professionally.
2. On the other hand. I enjoyed art and plan to travel and see more of it.
B. The second decision is whether to continue a third year of French beyond the basic
college requirement.
1. French must be useful both in Engineering and travel.
2. Furthermore, I am eager to read good books which are written in French
3. How necessary are these considerations in the light of other courses I might
take instead.
II. My problem can be put in the form of a dilemma involving large questions about my
whole future.
A. On the one hand I want to hold a highly trained position in lucrative profession
B. On the other hand I want to lead a certain kind of life, with capacities for values
not connected with the making of money.
C. OUTLINING USING A DIFFERENT NUMBERING SYSTEM
Thesis: The adoption of a 13 month calendar would create serious disadvantages.
1. It would require large scale conventions to the new system
1.1 All dates in existing books would have to be changed.
1.2 All contracts would have to be re dated
2. It would be expensive
2.1.1 Monthly statements and payrolls would have to be prepared 13 times a year instead
of 12 times
2.1.2 The cost of insuring business property would go up.
65
 2.1.3
8.4.3.6 .HOW TO IDENTIFY INFORMATION WHEN OUTLINING FROM A PASSAGE
(MAKING NOTES FROM A PASSAGE)
8.4.3.5.1 Development of ideas – In every piece of writing, information is put in a sequence.
For example, the writer would ask a question and then provide an answer. Furthermore,
information is arranged in a systematic manner. For example, simple to difficult, familiar to
less familiar.
8.4.3.5.2 Paragraphs – Each paragraph has a point /idea. These are found inside a paragraph
through topic sentences.
8.4.3.5.3 Transitional markers: These are words that give direction as one moves on from one
paragraph to another or from one point to the other or from one step to the next. For example;
8.4.3.5.3.1 In addition (this means more of the same is coming)
8.4.3.5.3.2 Indeed, of course (to emphasize a point already made)
8.4.3.5.3.3 As a result, consequently (to indicate cause and effect)

EXERCISE

1. Write an article of about 200 words on „How to make notes in a lecture; for publication
in a University handbook.

2. Discuss the Salient features one needs to look out for when listening to a lecture

3. What is an outline? Explain the difference between a topic and a sentence outline

66
 UNIT 9
9.0 READING SKILLS
OBJECTIVES: At the end of this unit, you should be to:
1. Distinguish between the content page and the index of a book
2. Explain what is involved in the following reading techniques: scanning, skimming and
detailed reading.
3. Discover the importance of reading in an academic situation

9.1 INTRODUCTION
Reading is the recognition of the printed or written symbols which serve as stimuli to the recall
of meanings built up through the reader‟s experience. In short, the reading process involves both
the acquisition of meaning intended by the writer and the reader‟s own contribution in the form
of interpretation, evaluation and reflection of these meanings. Reading is a very important skill to
a University student. As you may be aware, assessment at University is done through
assignments and tests. Both assignments and tests demand that a student demonstrates a thorough
knowledge of reading skills. These skills are very critical to the answering of assignments and
test questions.

9.2 PURPOSES FOR READING

It is important to define a reader‟s purpose in coming to a text as this will dictate the skills and
strategies to be adopted by the reader and the level of comprehension he is operating at. For
example, anybody who reads for academic purposes will certainly need reference or library skills
such as the use of catalogues in a library, looking up topics in an index, the use of dictionaries,
encyclopedias and other works of reference. (Kennedy and Bolitho, 1984)

Stanton (2004) identifies three basic purposes for reading as follows:

 Pleasure – this is where you read for sheer pleasure and enjoyment. For example,
reading an interesting story from a magazine, newspaper or novel.
 Information – In this type of reading, you are interested in getting facts about life
in general. “It covers everything from recipes to nuclear physics; from
instructions on forms to guidance on operating machines or gadgets.” (P. 174)
67
  Judgment – In this type of reading, the interest is on other people‟s ideas and
opinions so that you come to your own opinions and conclusions. It calls for
critical evaluation of arguments put forward.

9.3 READING TECHNIQUES

There are basically three main techniques used in reading namely; scanning, skimming and
detailed reading.

9.3.1 SCANNING
Sillars (2007:118) defines scanning as “the process of looking quickly through a text to find one
particular piece of information. “Strictly speaking, scanning is not reading at all, but it is an
essential part of the reading process”. A practical example of scanning is when you look through
a telephone directory to find specific information. This could be a particular name of a person or
place.

9.3.2 SKIMMING
Skimming, on the other hand, is the process of looking through a passage quickly so as to gain an
idea of its overall meaning. When skimming words are not noted individually but the general
impression of the passage is gained. For example, when you look down a column in the
telephone directory for a name, you do not need to read all the words you glance over; you
simply skim through so as to identify priorities – where to read more slowly. As you move your
eyes from left to right during the skimming process, it is important to look for certain
expressions which will act as clues to direct your attention to particularly important parts of the
passage. These are expressions such as; in conclusion, consequently, the most important feature,
therefore etc.

As a reading technique, skimming is very important as it gives you an idea whether the passage
/book is worth reading at all, and if so what it is all about. In order to get the main ideas of the
passage or book you should “look for the internal skeleton, for synopses and summaries, for
topic sentences in paragraphs, for headings and italics which may emphasize key points.”
(Woolcott and Unwin, 1983:151)

68
In order to skim through a given passage in an efficient manner, you should look out for sign
posts. These sign posts can either be visual signals or verbal ones. Sign posts are signals which
indicate to the reader what is to follow. The following are examples of visual sign posts:
 Words and phrases underlined
 Words written in italics
 Words written in bold face type
 Lists using bullets, as in this example
 Lists using bullets, as in this example
 Lists using numbers or lettering using (a,b……)
A part from visual sign posts, there are verbal sign posts. These are signal words which suggest
to the reader what is to follow. For example, “first” should prompt you to be on the look out for
the “second” later in the text; “therefore” may introduce an important conclusion of what has
gone before.
It is important to note that these signal words determine the pace of your reading. They act rather
like traffic signals telling you when to slow down or speed up. They can be classified as follows:
Sign posts words
 Slow down words – These words signal that you should slow down because a change in
ideas is about to occur:
However, but nevertheless
Although, despite rather
Yet in spite of on the other hand
 Keep – going words- These words signal that there is going to be more of the same:
Furthermore and moreover
Also more, more than that
In addition likewise similarly
 Here-in-comes words – These words signal that a summary or conclusion is about to be
stated:
Therefore consequently thus
In conclusion so then
Accordingly
Adapted from Stanton (2004 p.187)

69
9.3.3. DETAILED READING
This kind of reading, as the name suggests, requires you to read something in detail. For
example, when you are studying a report or reading a textbook. The main characteristic feature
of detailed reading is that it is done slowly and that concentration is on whole sentences rather
than individual words. This kind of reading is necessary for the crucial documents in business
life such as contracts and other legal documents. Detailed reading demands very close, analytical
reading. Other documents which may demand detailed reading include:
 Research and development reports chronicling the growth of new programmes.
 Market research reports from specialists agencies.
 Relevant section.
 Financial projections in publications such as the clearing banks, reviews or specially
commissioned reports on economic trends.
Commenting on detailed reading, Sillars (2007:P.119) gives the following advice:
While reading, you should take care to distinguish between fact
and opinion. This can generally be done by checking whether
evidence is provided in support of a particular point. The source
of any statistics should always be acknowledged, either in the
text or in a note at the foot of the page or at the end of the text.

9.4 THE CONTENTS PAGE

The contents page of a book is a list of chapters which appears at the front of every book. Some
contents pages will show only the title of each chapter found in a book while others will show
both the titles and a list of subheadings. The contents page is very important to the reader for it
enables him or her to gauge what the book is all about, and thus whether or not it is relevant to
his/her research.

9.5 THE INDEX

This is an alphabetical listing of all the major topics covered by the book, together with the
numbers of the pages on which they appear. Like the contents page, an index is very important
for it can save you a considerable amount of time when researching, since it enables you to find
specific references to a topic without having to read through the whole work. You need to apply
the scanning technique in order to find the required information from both the contents page and

70
the index. It should be noted also that the index is not an alternative term for the contents page.
The two are different and they cannot be used interchangeably.

EXERCISE
1. What are the following and when would they be used.
a) Scanning
b) Skimming
c) Detailed reading
2. Explain the difference between a contents page and an index.

3. Write an article on the importance of reading, for inclusion in your company‟s staff
journal or your college magazine. It should be about 300 words in length and show, in a
vivid readable style, how reading is an essential part of communication.

71
 UNIT 10
10.0 SUMMARY SKILLS
OBJECTIVES: At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
1. Outline the steps to consider when summarizing a passage
2. Explain the importance of summary skills in real life situation
3. Differentiate between content words and non-content words.
10.1 INTRODUCTION
A summary is an abridgement expressing the main ideas of a text passage through reported
speech. A successful summary is not an exposition of the writers‟ own opinion, but a distillation
of the essential points in the original text. Summarizing skills are very important and are used in
many different contexts at work. For example:
i) Telex messages
ii) Minutes
iii) Telephone messages
iv) Telegrams
v) Note making /taking
When summarizing a text, the following should be omitted:
- Illustrations, examples and analogies
- What is there to entertain or persuade
- What is there simply to catch the reader‟s attention

10.2 IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE WHEN SUMMARISING A TEXT

When summarizing a text you should take note of the following three points which characterize
any good summary:
a) A summary should answer the question that has been asked.
b) Summaries are shorter than original texts
c) They contain only the main ideas of a text
d) They are in reported speech
e) The points are joined/connected through the addition of sequential markers.
Use the above characteristics of a good summary to summarize the following text:

72
I am a Taiwanese man, but I have lived in Canada for several years now. I am surprised at how
Canadian society respects the rights of women, both at work and home. Personally I believe
women in Canada are better off than women in Taiwan. However, some of my female friends in
Canada miss the good old days when women were treated in a different way. You see, in the
past, gentlemen followed different rules of behavior. They would open the doors for ladies, pull
out the chairs for ladies to sit down, stand up when the lady left the table, and offer to pay the bill
at restaurants. Now, however, most Canadians believe that men and women should be
considered equal. For example, women now generally have to pay their own meals. (133 words)

MODEL ANSWER
This text describes the experience of a Taiwanese man who has lived in Canada for several
years. He considers Canadian women better off than Taiwanese. However, he notes some
Canadian women feel nostalgic about the days when they received special courtesies. For
example, formerly men opened doors for women or paid for their meals. At this time, most
Canadians endeavor to treat men and women equally. Women today therefore are expected to
cover the cost of their own meals (78 words).

10.3 THE SUMMARISING PROCESS

The summarizing process follows the following key steps:
1. Identifying the key points of a text
2. Paraphrasing key points at sentence level
3. Transforming sentence-level paraphrase into reported speech
4. Adding sequential markers
5. Creating an introductory sentence (optional )

STEP 1: Identify the key points of a text

As a student, it‟s important that you develop the skill of distinguishing relevant points from the
irrelevant ones. For example, when you are reading for academic purposes in the library, you
should have the ability to select relevant points from a given text book and then summarize them
in your own words. In most English prose, the key points of a text passage can be found in the
first sentence of each paragraph.

73
STEP 2: Paraphrasing key points at a sentence level.
It must be mentioned, here, that every successful summary is both an interpretation and
paraphrase. It is an interpretation because rewriters must decide what parts of an original text are
salient. It is also a paraphrase since the wording of the selected key points invariably differ from
the original. Paraphrasing is an important part of the summarizing process since it allows
rewriters adjust the text to the interests and reading level of a target audience.

STEP 3: Transforming sentence –level paraphrases into reported speech.

This is the simplest part of the summarizing process. It involves a mechanical transformation of
text passages into the third person, past tense forms. Consider the following examples:

Original text:
I am a Taiwanese man, but I have lived in Canada for several years now. I am surprised how
Canadian society respects the rights of women……………

Transformation into Reported speech

The author is a Taiwanese man, but has lived in Canada for several years now. He was surprised
at how Canadian society respects the rights of women……………

STEP 4: Adding sequential markers

Sequential markers are also referred to as sign post words. They suggest to the reader what is to
follow. The following are some of the example of sequential markers: first, next, in addition,
finally, lastly, moreover, in conclusion etc. These sequential markers are usually associated with
longer summarizes, short ones may not need them

STEP 5: Creating an introductory sentence

This step is optional. It depends on the nature of the summary being considered. Some extended
summaries are complex enough to merit the addition of an introductory sentence at the head
which tells readers what the passage is about. In most cases, such introductory sentences follow
predictable patterns. For example:
 This is an article about……………

74
  This passage reflects the opinion of………….
 This story expresses the thoughts of

10.4 THE SKILL OF BREVITY AND RELEVANCE

Summary, at whatever level, attempts to develop two main skills and these are skills of relevance
and brevity. The skill of relevance has to do with selecting important information from the less
important one. In other words, it aims at developing the ability to select relevant information
from the irrelevant one. In a lecture, for example, you need to distinguish essential information
from that which is not essential and then write it in note form. The same skill is required when
taking minutes in meetings.

The ability to shorten a longer discourse without losing its meaning is what is known as the skill
of brevity. In order to achieve this, one needs to have a thorough understanding of the difference
between CONTENT and FUNCTIONAL or NON-CONTENT words. Content words are those
that have semantic content. In other words, they are able to stand on their own and have meaning
where as functional words do not have meaning of their own. Nouns, verbs (but not auxiliary
verbs), adjectives, adverbs are what constitute content words. Non content words are
conjunctions, prepositions (most of the time), auxiliary verbs, pronouns (most of the time),
articles, the verbs “to be” and “to have.” It is the content words that are often used when one is
summarizing a text. Consider the following letter:

Dear Mr. Masters,

There is now some urgency to finalize the Paish Limited contract. I shall be at Heathrow airport
for a short while on Wednesday 16th November during the stop over of my flight from Rome to
New York. Will you please meet me there so that we can conclude this business? My Alitalia
Flight 627 is due to arrive at 16:50 hours. Please let me know whether or not you will be able to
meet me. I very much hope that it will be possible.
Yours sincerely,
Robert Walters

The above letter could be condensed into the following telex message:

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Urgent we finalize details Paish Limited contract. Arriving Heathrow Alitalia flight 627 sixteen
fifty hours, Wednesday sixteen novemeber. Pls confirm that you can meet me there during stop
over only.
Regards Walters.

The message above can further be condensed into the following telegram:

URGENT YOU MEET ME TO FINALISE PAISH CONTRACT DURING STOP OVER

FLIGHT ALITALIA 627 HEATHROW SIXTEEN FIFTY HOURS SIXTEEN NOVEMBER
STOP PLEASE CONFIRM
WALTERS.

EXERCISE

1. Discuss the importance of summary skills in real life situations.

2. With clear examples, explain the difference between content words and functional words.
How does the understanding of the two help one summarize a given passage?

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REFERENCES

Argyle, Michael.. (1988). Bodily Communication (2nd ed) Madson: International University
Press.

Bovee, C.L. & Thil,, J.V (1992). Business Communication Today. New York: MacGraw. Hill.

Burnett, M J. & Dollar, A. (1989). Business Communication Strategies for Success. Houston,
Texas: Dane

Drucker, Peter. F. (1977) People and Performance. New York: Harper College Press.

Ekman, P. (2003) Emotions Revealed. New York: Owl Books

Hargie, O. & Dickson, D. (2004) skilled interpersonal communication: Research, Theory and
Practice. Hove: Rontledge.

Hogan, K., Stubbs, R. (2003). Cant get Through 8 Barriers to Communication. Grenta, LA:
Pelian Publishing Company.

Hybels, S. & Weaver, L.R (1988) Communicating Effectively, Second Edn. New York:
Random House.

Kennedy, C. & Bolitho, R. (1984). English for Specific Purposes. London: MacMillan

Little, P (1977) Communication in Business, 3d edn. London. Longman Group Limited.

Mills, G & Walter, A (1986). Technical Writing, 5th edn. New York: Holt Rinehart and
Winston.

Murphy, A & Peck, C(1980) Effective Business Communication London: Longman Group
Limited.

Post 2012. ‘Hungary President Pressured to quit over plagiarism row; 30th March, P. 19

Sillars, S (2007) Success in Communication. London: John Murray

Stanton, N. (2004) Mastering Communication, 4th edn. New York: Palgrave MacMillan
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White, C.J. (2005) Research. A Practical Guide. Pretoria: Ithuthuko Investments.

Woolcott, L.A & Unwin, W.R (1988) Mastering Business Communication. Basingstoke:
MacMillan.

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UNIT 11
11.0 ORAL PRESENTATION

OBJECTIVES: At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

1. Prepare an oral presentation without difficulties

2. Appreciate the importance of visual aids when making an oral presentation

3. Deliver successful oral presentation

4. Deal with the problem of nervousness when giving an oral presentation

11.1 INTRODUCTION

Presentations are brief discussions of a focused topic delivered to a group of listeners in order to
impart knowledge or to stimulate discussion. They are similar to short papers with an
introduction, main body and conclusion. Sillars (2007:93) further defines a presentation as “the
modern, business equivalent of the formal lecture, in which one person talks to a group of others
about a topic of business interest.” Because presentations are formal, they must be prepared and
delivered with considerable care.

11.2 PREPARATION

Preparation is the key to giving an effective presentation and to controlling your nervousness.
You should think about what you want to achieve: do you want to inform your audience , inspire
them to think about your topic, or convince them of a particular point of view? Once you have
answered these questions, you can tailor your presentation to the content that will interest them.

In addition, you should know your topic well. Good preparation and the realization that you are
expert on that particular topic than you will have time to present. This will allow you to compare
a good introduction, to distill out the main, most important points that need to be made, and to
finish with a strong conclusion. The above information on preparation can be summarized thus:

- Know your topic and brainstorm it. Become an expert

- Learn as much about the topic as you can to boast your self – confidence
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 - Think about your audience. What background knowledge do they have about your
topic? This will help you to know how much detail to go into and what kinds of things
you may have to define

- Prepare an outline of topic. Bullet or number the main points.

11.3 VISUAL AIDS

A good presentation will often make use of visual aids. This will help your audience to
understand your presentation better since people learn visually as well as orally. Particularly if
your accent is different from your audience‟s accent, it can be very helpful to let them see your
key words.

11.4 TYPES OF VISUAL AIDS

11.4.1 Chalkboards – These are the oldest teaching aid. They are good in that they allow you to
write down key words or demonstrate concepts quickly. The disadvantage of chalkboards is that
they are often hard to see. If you use them, remember to write in large, legible handwriting and
avoid talking to the board- turn round and face the audience when you have something to say.

11.4.2 Marker boards- There are like chalkboards but use felt marker pens on a plastic board.
They are usually smaller than chalkboards, and are best used for presentations to small groups.

11.4.3 Flipcharts – A flip chart is like a large notepad placed on an easel. A fact marker is used
to write on one of the sheets, and when the sheet is full it can be flipped over to reveal a new one
beneath. One advantage of flip charts is that they can be prepared in advance and then revealed
to the audience. Flip charts, however, can only be used successfully with groups no larger than
15 or 20.

11.4.4 Overhead Projectors – These project an image from a transparent sheet on to a screen or
wall. They have several advantages: They are the easiest and most reliable form of visual aids.
Transparencies can be prepared in advance, often with overlays- sheets which can be added on
top of a basic sheet to give further information or subsequent parts of a diagram.

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Overhead projectors, however, do have disadvantages. Small writing will be illegible; the motor
for cooling fan maybe noisy; and unless the screen is properly aligned, the image may well be
distorted.

When using overhead projectors, take note of the following:

- Use bold type face, and a minimum of size 16 font.

- Use no more than seven or eight main points on words on overhead (overheads that
have too many words on them are no use at all).

- Give your audience time to take notes from your overhead.

- Make sure your audience can see the overhead screen. (don‟t stand directly in front
of the screen)

11.4.5 Slide projectors – these are very good for high – definition reproduction of image –
photographs of a new product, for example, or if situations relevant to safety training. Make sure
that the projectors works properly and that you know how to insert the slides correctly.

11.4.6 Power Point

You can use power point software to produce very professional overheads, or to make a
computer-based presentation. You should, however, remember that power point may look great,
but if the technology goes wrong you may be very embarrassed. It is a good idea to point out a
hand out, or have some overheads as a back up just in case. Sometimes students are tempted to
spend more time on producing power points graphics than on the actual talk. Remember – if your
talk is poor, no amount of fancy graphic will save it!

11.4.7 Handouts

Handouts provided structure. They can provide supplemental material, references, a glossary of
terms, and serve as a record of the presentation. The handout should be attractively laid out and
inviting to read.

A handout should be 1-2 pages long and consist of :

 Your name
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  Title of course

 Date of presentation

 Title of your presentation

 Brief abstract (50 word summary of your presentation)

 A brief outline of your presentation including the major points.

 A bibliography of references used to inform the presentation.

11.5 DELIVERING YOUR PRESENTATION

11.5.1 INTRODUCTION

In the introduction, you need to capture your listener‟s attention. There are various ways to
introduce your topic. Sillars (2007:95) suggest the following:

You could begin with a joke; with a story that seems irrelevant but which turns out to be closely
related to your topic; by asking a question which you will answer during the presentation; or by
saying what you would like to cover in the time available.

The introduction is extremely important. It gives audience members their first impression of you.
Furthermore, the introduction lets your audience know if you have confidence, if you know what
you are talking about, and if you have prepared your material.

Another important job of the introduction is to arouse audience curiosity and interest – so that
people will listen to the speech with full attention.

Make sure you state your purpose in the introduction; for example;

„I m going to talk about……………….‟

„This morning I want to explain…………‟

You should also present an outline of your talk; for example;

„I will concentrate on the following points; first of all ………….Then…………will lead to

……..And finally…………‟
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11.5.2 MAIN ODY

The main body lies between the introduction and conclusion. In this part of your presentation
present your main points one by one in logical order. Pause at the end of each point (give people
time to take notes, or time to think about what you are saying). You should make it absolutely
clear when you move to another point. For example:

„The next point is that……….‟

„Okay, now I am going to talk about…….‟

„Right. Now I would like to explain………….‟

„However, it is important to realize that ……‟

Furthermore, you should use clear example to illustrate your points. Additionally, you should use
visual aids to make your presentation more interesting.

11.5.3 CONCLUSION

The conclusion is equally important for it enables the audience to have a clear summary of
everything you have covered. It is also important not to let the talk just fizzle out. Make it clear
that you have reached the end of your presentation. Summarize the main points again using
phrases like:

“To sum up………….”

“so in conclusion

“ok, it recap the main points…..”

Restate the purpose of your talk, and say that you have achieved your aim:

“I think you can now see that …..”

“My intention was ……, and it should now be clear that….”

Finally, you should thank the audience, and invite question:

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11.6 TIPS ON DELIVERY

 Begin your presentation by telling your audience what your topic is and what you
will be covering. Audiences like to have a guide post.

 Avoid reading your remarks

 Dress neatly and appropriately. The rule of the thumb is to dress one level nicer.
Than the audience will be dressed.

 Do not wear a hat of any kind

 Speak in a clear heard in the back row. Never ever mumble

 Stand up straight, don‟t slouch or drape yourself around the podium. Don‟t be afraid
to move round. Moving around is good, it causes the audience to pay attention

 Never apologize to your audience for the state of your knowledge or your degree of
preparation. The audience wants to have confidence in you. You are the authority, do
nothing to undermine your authority.

 Make frequent eye contact with the audience. Really look at the audience as you
talk to them. Engaging them directly with your eyes transfers a bit of energy to them and
keep them and keeps them focused on your content. Making eye contact shows that you
are in charge of the room.

 Of you use slides or power point avoid the tendency to speak to the screen instead
of speaking to the audience be so familiar with your visual aids that the only reason you
look at them is to point something out.

 Never turn your back on the audience and try to avoid walking in front of a
projector.

 Adhere quickly to your time limit

 At the conclusion of your presentation ask for questions. Encourage questions with
your eyes and body language. Respond to questions politely and briefly.

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  At the end of your presentation, summarize your main points and give a strong
concluding remark that reinforces why your information is of value.

 Show some enthusiasm

11.6 EQUIPMENT TIPS

 Work out details with equipment before the day of your presentation

 Know how to operate the equipment you choose to use.

 If you are using power point, have a back up copy on a disk

 Consider making overhead transparencies of your power point slides in case there is
a problem with the technology

 Consider making point duplicates of your slides or transparencies in case there is a

problem with electricity or bulbs

11.8 DEALING WITH NERVOUSNESS

To make sure that your nervousness does not become a problem, here are some things to
consider:

 Smile! Your audience will react warmly to you if you smile and at least look
relaxed

 Treat your audience like friends

 Breathe deeply. It will calm you down and help to control the slight shaking that
you might get in your hands and your voice.

 Accept nervousness for what it is- part of the preparation for speaking and it is a
good think. It heightens your senses and gets your blood pumping. A good preparation
will increase yourself confidence.

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  Slow down! When people are nervous, they tend to get confused easily. So your
mind may start to race, and you may feel panicky. Make use of pauses; force yourself to
stop at the end of a sentence, take a break, and think before you continue.

EXERCISE

1. Discuss in detail how visual aids can enhance your presentation

2. How can you overcome the problem of nervousness during a presentation

3. Explain the importance of a well organized introduction in making the

presentation successful.

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