ACADEMIC REFERENCING

DEFINITION

When writing work such as an essay, dissertation, article etc, an academic is expected to make
reference to other people / scholars’ ideas or work. This is done in order to, among other things,
strengthen their piece of work. These ideas from other scholars should be acknowledged or
referenced.

A reference is a detailed bibliographic description of the item/ piece of work from which one
gained their information, e. g the author of the ideas and the date of publication of the ideas. This
is the brief citing, in –text and these should be given in full at the end of one’s work in a
reference list.

Academic referencing is acknowledgement that one has used other scholar’s ideas in one’s own
work. This should be done whenever one quotes, paraphrases or summarises someone else’s
ideas, theories or data.

Thus academic referencing is the practice of referring to other people’s work in the body of a
written text. Information from books, journals, magazines, the internet, newspapers, conference
papers, TV / radio programmes, dissertations / theses, should be acknowledged.

PURPOSES OF REFERENCING

References to other people’s ideas are made and acknowledged in order:

1. To acknowledge authorship of the material in question.

2. To show evidence of background reading.
3. To support one’s arguments and to establish one’s position by showing it in the context
of other writers.
4. To give credit to the concepts and ideas of other authors.
5. Academic referencing helps to authenticate the writer’s work.

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 6. Acknowledgement of other people’s ideas provides the reader with evidence of the
breadth and depth of one’s reading.
7. Referencing and acknowledgement of other people’s ideas is done to support
controversial issues.
8. Academic referencing shows academic maturity.
9. Referencing helps to criticize other scholar’s views.
10. It helps to avoid plagiarism.
11. It allows the reader to identify the source of a particular idea/ point in one’s work.
12. It allows the reader to trace and retrieve the cited sources.

PLAGIARISM

- Is defined by DeMontfort University student regulations as “the significant use by a

student of other people’s work and the submission of it as though it were his or her own,
directly or indirectly”.
- It is also copying and pasting of text and images without saying where they came from.
- Plagiarism is also not showing when a quotation is a quotation.
- It is also summarization of information without showing the original source.
- It is also changing of a few words in a section of text without acknowledging the original
author.

Soles (2010:48) says plagiarism is “ … the failure on the part of the writer to recognize the work
of others”. The Anglia Ruskin University year book (2006) refers to it as the passing off of the
work of others as your own.

REFERENCING WAYS

There are two ways of bringing in / incorporating ideas from other scholars into one’s work
which are:

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a) The direct quotation

The exact words used by the scholar being cited can be brought into one’s essay / assignment by
making use of the author / scholar’s surname, the year when the idea (s) were published and the
page number where the citation is found in brackets, followed by the words in quotation marks ,
e.g: Henderson (2005:88) believes or asserts, or argues, or says, or is of the opinion/ view that “
the acknowledgement of another person’s work in your work is called a citation”.

b) The paraphrase / indirect quotation

To paraphrase means to state another person’s words in your own words and style of writing.
Here the surname of the author of the ideas being quoted is used, followed by the year when the
ideas were published. Page number and quotation marks are not included, eg, According to
Henderson (2005) a citation is an acknowledgement by writers whenever they borrow ideas from
some other authors or Henderson (2005) indicates that…,says that ,argues that…,asserts that…
etc.

REFERENCING MODELS / SYSTEMS / STYLES(REFERENCING CONVENTIONS)

There are several referencing models (types) systems/styles which vary according to discipline.
These are:

1. The Harvard referencing model / system / style.

2. The American Psychological Association (APA) referencing model.
3. Chicago /Turabian/ Modern Languages Association (MLA) and Cambridge referencing
4. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards (IEEES) referencing
model/ system/ style.
5. Vancouver referencing model/system/style.

THE HARVARD REFERENCING MODEL/ SYSTEM/ STYLE

The Harvard referencing model/ system/ style contains author- date references within the text
( in-text referencing). These are the references made to other scholars’ ideas (citations) inside the
paragraphs/ sentences of one’s text (research paper). This information in the text is supplemented
by a list of sources, normally listed at the end of the research paper with sufficient bibliographic

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details to facilitate the identification of the works cited in the text. This list is referred to as end-
text references/ a list of references. So Harvard referencing is done in two ways-in-text (inside
the research paper) and end-text (after completing the research paper). The Harvard referencing
system / model or style is also known as the alphabetical name-date system.

IN-TEXT REFERENCING USING HARVARD

This is when the writer of an essay/ dissertation / article (Research Paper) identifies the author (s)
he/she uses in his/her research paper to support, among other reasons, his/her own arguments.
These citations (direct quotations and paraphrases ) are placed within sentences and paragraphs
so that it is clear what information is being quoted and whose it is.

a) Citing one author in-text using Harvard

When citing/ quoting from one author, the surname of the author is written, followed by the year
of publication and page number for a direct quotation or just the surname of the author and year
of publication for a paraphrase. e.g According to Henderson (2005:88) “a recent study
investigated the effectiveness of Google scholar in finding medical research” or according to
Henderson (2005) the effectiveness of Google scholar was investigated in a recent study.

b) Citing two authors in-text using Harvard

Surnames of both authors are written, in the order in which they appear on the source,
followed by the year of publication of the ideas and page number in brackets for a direct
quotation or just surname of the author and the year of publication in brackets for a
paraphrase , eg Arrami and Garner (2008) point out that….

c) Citing 3 or more authors ( multiple authors) List all names when referring to the
source for the fist time eg Mandiki, Moyo and Gondo (2007) say…..

When citing the source for the second or third time in –text the surname of the first author
on the source is written followed by the abbreviation “et al” meaning “and others”, the year
of publication and page number in brackets for a direct quotation or the surname of the first
author, et al and year of publication only for a paraphrase, e.g Mandiki et al (2007) believe

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that social acceptance of carbon capture and storage is necessary for the introduction of
technologies.

d) Citing works by associations, corporations, government agencies in text using

Harvard

The names of groups that serve as authors (corporate authors) are usually written out each
time they appear in a text accompanied by abbreviations which will be used in subsequent
citations. Eg.

The National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH, 2006) has discovered the drug to control
psychosis.Or According to The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ,2016)…

e) Citing sources with no author in text

If a source has no author, use the title of the source, which should be underlined when
handwriting or italicized or written in bold when typing e.g The book College Bound Seniors
(2007) states that….

f) Citing sources that have no year of publication

For sources with no year of publication, try by all means to find the date. If that fails, write
the surname of the author and the abbreviation nd in brackets in place of the date. This means
‘no date’ e.g Jones (nd) believes / says that……

g) Citing online/ internet sources

Where a work is published online, if the author and year of publication can be found on the
document itself, then the author’s surname and the year can be used as a reference in the text
the normal way, e.g: Coxhead (2009) states that….Where there is no author use the website
address, e.g http:// www.cs.bham.ac.uk/pxc/refs.html states that...

h) Citing a work described in another work(Secondary Sources)

When an author quotes/ cites another author and you wish to cite the original author you
should first try to trace the original item. If this is not possible, however, acknowledge both
sources in the text but only include the item you actually read in the reference list. e.g: if

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 Jones discusses the work of Smith it will be either : a) Smith (2005) as cited by Jones (2008)
says / argues/ asserts… or Smith’s 2005 study ( cited in Jones 2008: 156) shows that…

i)

If an author has published more documents in the same year on the same subject distinguish
between them by adding lower-case letters , e.g : in recent studies by Smith (1999a, 1999b,
1999c)…

j) Citing information ( almost the same / same) found in more than one source

If you find information in more than one source, you may want to include all the references to
strengthen your argument. In which case cite all the sources in the same brackets, placing them
in order of publication (earliest first). Separate the references using a semi colon (;) e.g several
writers ( Jones 2004; Biggs 2006; Smith 2008) argue that…

REFERENCES LIST = END – TEXT REFERENCING USING HARVARD

References cited in the text of a research paper must appear in a reference list. This list provides
the information necessary to identify and retrieve each source. The reference list is made up of
those sources actually referred to in the text. This is a single list of references which should be
given at the end of a research paper, alphabetically arranged by author’s surname, initial (s) year
of publication, source title, city (place) of publication and the publishing company. Consistence
is very essential in the use of punctuation marks.

RULES FOR END-TEXT REFERENCING (APPLIES TO ALL REFERENCING

MODELS)

1. End-text references are written on a fresh page.

2. End- text references are alphabetically ordered using surnames of the author (s)
3. End-text references are not numbered.
4. Skip a line after each complete reference.
5. Do not write anything under the surname and initial (s) of the first author.
6. Underline book/ source title if you are handwriting and italicize if you are typing

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END-TEXT REFERENCING OF VARIOUS SOURCES USING HARVARD- THE
REFERENCE LIST

a) A book by one author

e.g Agatha, S. (2005) Women on the job, Toronto: Heath and Company.

b) A book by two authors

e.g Chung, F. and Ngara, E. (1985) Socialism, Education and Development, Harare: Zimbabwe
Publishing House.

c) A book by 3 or more authors

e.g Gumbo, L.; Moyo, M.; Shumba, S. and Zhou, Z. (1999) How students Fail, Gweru: Mambo
Press.

d) An Edited book

e.g Shumba, M.D. (Ed) (1985) How to write a good Assignment, Harare: Longman.

e) An article in an edited book

e.g Moran, M.J. (2005) “ Engineering Thermodynamics” in Kreith, F. and Goswami, D.Y. (Eds)
The Handbook of Mechanical Engineering: Second Edition,
London: Penguin Books.

END-TEXT REFERENCING OF ARTICLES OTHER THAN BOOKS USING

HARVARD.

f) Journal Articles

e.g Mellers, B.A. (1999) “ Choice and the relative pleasure of consequences”, Psychological
Bulletin, 16 (5), pp 910-934.

g) Newspaper Articles

Moyo, L. (1998) “16000 Miners Killed in South Africa”, The Sunday Mail, 6 September, p.9.

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Newspaper article written by a titled reporter

e.g The Sports Editor (2014) “ World cup fever grips Nation” H-Metro, 6 June, pp 10-11

(Note that this should be incorporated in the alphabetically ordered references as normal)

h) Unpublished reports

e.g Zacquett, I. (2000) “The Human Rights Movement” ( Unpublished) Department of Law
University of Zimbabwe , Harare.

i) Thesis/ Dissertation

Shumba, N.Z. (2003) “An investigation into the problems faced by black women in schools”
(Unpublished Thesis) MSU, Gweru.

j)Internet sources

Internet sources that have authors and years of publication should fall within the other
alphabetically ordered references as normal.

Online Article:

e.g Ekudu, G. (2004) “ Walking Made Easy,” at http://www.nhs.uk.walking (Accessed

31/08/12).

Online Journal:

Eg Chiber, P. (1999) “Foreign Ownership and Profitability”, Journal of Law, 42(2) pp209-238
@

http://www.home.process.com (Accessed 20/07/13).

Online Book:

Simons, N. (2007) A Short Course in Soil and Rock Slope Engineering, London: Thomas

Telford Publishers, @http://www.mylibrary.com (Accessed 25/07/12).

k) Sources that have no author

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The word Anon (Short for anonymous) is used in place of author name

Eg:Anon (1998) “ Aids”, Journal of Health , 16 (7) pp 21-30.

l) Sources with no years of publication

The abbreviation ‘nd’, meaning ‘no date’is used in place of year of publication,

e.g Piemonte, A.L. (nd) “ Ebola Virus” in Angel, w. and Lorenzo, T.N. (Eds) The Deadly
diseases in the world: Third Edition, Chicago: Chicago University Press.

The end-text references should be arranged alphabetically, so using the above sources the order
would be: Agatha…..

Chiber….

Chung….

Ekudu……

Gumbo…..

Mellers…

Moran….

Moyo….

Piemonte….

Shumba, M.D..

Shumba N.Z…..

Simons…

The Chidyusiku commission….

The sports editor….

Zacquett……

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 Anon….. ( books/ sources with no authors come last)

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA) REFERENCING MODEL /

SYSTEM / SYLE

This refers to the rules and conventions established by the APA for documenting sources used in
writing a research paper. The APA is similar to the Harvard model save for two variations or
differences in the reference list where after writing the year of publication , one should put a full
stop and for books the publisher comes before city of publication e.g

Dietsch, B.M. (2006). Reasoning and writing well, McGraw Hill: New York.

e.g Ncube , C. (2013). “The Aids Pandemic,” The chronicle, 7 June, p.10.

e.g Anon (2014). “Violence”, Journal of war, 5 (1) pp 21-30.

DEFINITION OF TERMS USED IN ACADEMIC REF

1. Indention

This should be done when a direct quotation is more than three lines long. The writer has to
leave space on either side of the page and write the direct quotation in the middle of the page:

e.g

There is no use of quotation marks here

2. Ellipsis

These are three spaced dots (…) to indicate omission of certain words in a direct quotation.

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END-TEXT REFERENCES OF VARIOUS SOURCES – HARVARD IMAGES (S) OR
DIAGRAM (S) WITHIN A BOOK

Where the image cited from a book is not the work of the author, additional reference to the
work should be made as follows:

Image: Artist (Yr), Title of the work, in (where found, e.g in a book/ museum) in: Author/ Editor
of book (Yr), Title, Place of Publication: Publisher e.g Masolino, T. (1427) “ The Temptation
of Adam and Eve” (Painting) in : Bruce- Mitford, M. (1996) The Illustrated Book of Signs and
Symbols, London: Dorling Kindersely OR

Diagram: Mintzberg, H. (1979) “The basic parts of organizations- Minzberg’s Model”

(Diagram) In: Cole, G.A. (2004) Management Theory and Practice: Sixth Edition, London:
Thomson

Conference papers e.g

Gibson, E.J. (1977). “The performance concept in building”, in: Proceedings of the 7 th CIB
Triennial Congress, Edinburgh September 1977, London:
Construction Research International, pp. 129-136.

Live performance a) Dance

e.g Composer/ choreographer (Yr of Premiere) Title, Company (optional) location and date
seen).

Ashton, F. (1948) “Cinderella”, Royal Opera, London, 13 Jan 2004.

Play

Title, Author (Yr of performance) directed by company (optional) (location, Date seen):

“An Inspector Calls”, by Priestley, J. B. (2009) Directed by Dalndry Stephen (Arts Theatre
Cambridge, 11 May).

Video/ film broadcast

Film: Title (Yr) of Media Originatot (e.g director) place of production: production co// e.g:

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“Rebel without a cause” (1983) Film, Directed by Nicholas Ray<USA, Warner Brothers.

A television or radio broadcast should also include the date and time of broadcast and the
episode no// where possible:

Title (Yr) Type of media, Originator (e.g channel) exact date and time of broadcast

e.g “Dyslexic children” (1999) Tv Channel 4 , 24 July, 1900hrs

or Doctor Who (2008) Episode 8, “Silence in the library”, TV BBCI , 31 May , 1900hrs

or Book of the week (2008) Three Atlantic Ocean , Radio, BBC Radio 4, 21 July , 0945hrs

Individual contributors or interviewees:

e.g Brown, G. (2008) Interview in: Today Programme, Radio, BBC Radio 4,15 May , 0810hrs

Online Film

Screen Name (Yr) Title of film , available from: web address (Date Accessed)

e.g Los Angeles Opera (2008) “Tristan and Isolde”, podcast ( online video) Available at: http://
www.youtube.com/watch = agqaail ( accessed 03/04/08).

Song(s)

e.g Matavire, P. (2003) “Ma U”, Matavire Mbune, Vol 1, Harare: Grammar Records.

That is, name and surname of the singer, year of release, Song name, album name, volume (if
necessary) and city of launch then recording studio.

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CHICAGO/ TURABIAN/ CAMBRIDGE REFERENCING MODELS / SYSTEMS/
STYLES

These models make use of footnotes or endnotes for their in-text referencing. These are little
numbers that are inserted just above the last letter of the last word in a direct quotation or
paraphrase.

When direct quoting or paraphrasing using Chicago/ Turabian/ Cambridge one thus makes use of
the author (s) surname followed by the direct quotation/ paraphrase and the little number.

FOOTNOTES

When one decides to use footnotes one quotes, directly or indirectly putting the little numbers at
the end of each citation chronologically until there is just enough, space on the particular page
for the full publication details of the quoted document. Thus footnotes are written at the bottom
of the page where they appear as exemplified:

Banda states that violence is good…1

Njanji and Oferi on the other hand argue that violence is very bad for a country’s development…
2

These are supported by Richards who says “……………” 3

FOOTNOTES

1. J, Banda , “ Violence”, Journal of war 2 (1) 2010 p 10.

2. T, Njanji and W,Oferi, Strife, Mambo Press , Gweru, 2011, p 5.
3. R,S, Richards, Conflict: Third Edition, College Press, Harare, 2012,p50.

Njanji and Oferi also say that……………………4 ……….. They go on to say……… 5

Saidi is of the opinion that…….6

……………………………………………… Zindi on the other hand asserts that……………7

FOOTNOTES

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 4. T,Njanji and W, Oferi, Strife , p6.
5. Ibid.(Meaning ‘as above’ -ie Njanji and Oferi quoted again)
6. U, Saidi, “ Violence is bad”, The Sunday Mail, 6 June , 2011 , pp 6-7.
7. Z, Zindi, “ Boter Apathy, “ in Bruno, D and Nicholas S,P (Eds) Elections in Zimbabwe,
Zimbabwe Publishing House, Harare, 2013, p10.

Continue quoting and numbering and writing full details of the footnotes at the bottom of the
page on which they appear until the essay / assignment/ document is finished, then on a fresh
page, compile the end-text referencing of the sources in the footnotes. These should be
alphabetically ordered starting with author surnames as follows:

References

Banda, J. “Violence”, Journal of war, 2 (1) 2010, p.10

Njanji, T and Oferi, W, Strife, Mambo Press, Gweru, 2011.

Richards,R,S, Conflict: Third Edition, College Press, Harare, 2012.

Saidi, U, “ Violence is bad”, The Sunday Mail, 6 June, 2011, pp 6-7.

Zindi, Z, “Voter Apathy, “ in Bruno, D and Nicholas S,P (Eds) Elections in Zimbabwe,
Zimbabwe Publishing House, Harare, 2013.

FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A SOURCE:

 Relevance
 Time of publication
 Authorship
 Publisher

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ACADEMIC/ESSAY WRITING

Introduction

McNamara et al (2010:58) point out that “writing well is a significant challenge for students and
of critical importance for success in wide variety of situations and professions”. Students are
expected to write well and it should be understood that:

Writing is a very complex skill. Reif-Lehrer (1992) observes that communication through
writing involves a very complex relationship between the writer and the reader who are each
trying to elicit something from each other.

 Lecturer/reader wants to gain information and understanding into the way of thinking and
level of understanding of the student/writer.
 He she is the authority and the professional reader of the academic document produced
by the student.
 Student/writer-has one chance, one impression to make the reader understand the
argument.

Characteristics of university writing

 It is generic, that is, what may be considered logical in one discipline may be illogical in
another both in terms of information presentation, style and content. This also explains
why different referencing conventions are prescribed.

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 Essays might ask one to evaluate a quotation in light of what one has studied, analyse
and assess the significance of an event or theory and write about a particular theme on
aspects covered in a module.
 Essays also give one the opportunity to demonstrate the ability to think critically about
the themes and materials of the course
 They enable one to make one’s own assessments of those themes and conflicting
interpretations of them.

 The student – lecturer academic relationship is established through basic tools such as the
essay. The lecturer is able to assess whether student has understood, whether student is
following the course, whether student has grasped the disciplinary content of one’s
studies.
 In essay writing one needs to support one’s assessments using evidence from the texts
lectures and discussions.
 One also needs to show how well one can connect the various materials of the course to
the central themes of the course.

Definition: Essay

 Sinfield and Burns (2004) see the term ‘ essay’ as having been derived from the
Latin word ‘ exagium’ which means ‘ presentation of a case’.
 Following Sinfield and Burns (2004) a student is expected to make a case/present a
case/ argument rather than make an assertion or assumption when writing an essay.
 Payne and Whittaker (2006) define an essay as an argument /thesis for which students
adopt a particular stance and in support of which they present evidence. The
following is observed by Payne and Whittaker (2006:317)
…the objective when writing an essay is to convince

your reader that your particular standpoint is valid by

presenting researched argument based on evidence from

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 authoritative sources.

 Presenting a case therefore requires academic evidence which the student gets from
various academic sources (and demonstrates through in-text referencing).
 When called to write an essay one selects what is permissible based on the demands of
the topic.
 Sinfield and Burns (2004:141) conclude by saying that ‘essay writing is designed to be
heuristic – you are supposed to learn through all the processes involved in the
generation of a written assignment”.

CHARACTERISTICS

Essays are:

 Made up of paragraphs
 Written in continuous form
 Have no subheadings
 Usually short and dealing with a very specific section, unit or topic area.

ESSAY STRUCTURE

An essay has five basic components. These components are: the Topic, the Introduction, the
Main Body, the Conclusion and Referencing.

 Pre-Writing:

Essay Topic-Topic Analysis, Brainstorming, Research and Drafting

 According to Dvorack (2007) the Topic is the initial TEXT that establishes or seeks
to establish semantic boundaries of disciplinary content signaled by context.
 It is a key to what one chooses/ selects from the researched ideas, facts etc.
 It allows the writer to gather ideas, i.e evidence from various sources

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  When one gets a topic one should break it up into key terms and phrases, define the
key terms, understand the demands of the Topic and figure out what sort of research
is required
 Brainstorming follows.This is when one jots down as many points as possible on the
topic from one’s mind.
 One then carries out research using books and other credible academic sources, taking
note of the bibliographical details of the sources for referencing purposes.
 One then writes several drafts, linking points from brainstorming with those from
research and arranging points in order of importance. The drafts will lead to the
writing of the final draft made up of the following components:

The Introduction

 The first paragraph of an essay.

 The student- writer tells the professional reader HOW he/ she is going to tackle the topic
and how the essay is structured.
 The introduction tells the reader communicatively whether or not the subsequent essay
will answer the topic at hand.
 This is the paragraph which may stipulate what the writer wants to present/ argue on. One
can present ‘methodology’ or theories/ perspectives to be used to argue.
 The introduction establishes the context of situation as well as context of culture (what is
to be read in a text type).
 It allows reader to focus on specific issues in the presentation of argument.
 The last sentence of this paragraph should contain a transitional hook to link with the first
paragraph of the main body.
 The introduction should be brief but bringing out how the essay/research paper will
handle the topic.

The Main Body

 Answers the topic by developing a discussion.

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  It is made up of a series of paragraphs that carry different ideas all of which have the
same goal of answering the topic.
 Consists of all sub ideas that prove the point of argument.
 It comprises of well –structured academic paragraphs.
 In the main body there is a demonstration of knowledge of the material read.
 There is also exposition and provision of evidence from authoritative sources (in-text
referencing).
 The last sentence of each paragraph should contain a transitional hook to link to the next
paragraph.
 One paragraph should contain only one point expanded.

The Essay conclusion

 This paragraph rounds off the essay.

 It summarises the thesis developed in the introduction and body of the essay.
 In the conclusion the writer draws the essay together and proves that they have answered
the whole question.
 It is a paragraph in which the writer reiterates main arguments and restates main points
raised and discussed in the body.
 A final effort is made to convince the reader that the thesis has been established as a
reliable conclusion.
 No new ideas should be raised in the conclusion.
 It is a final statement at gives the reader signals that the discussion has come to an end. It
might be a ‘call to action’ in a persuasive paper.

Referencing

After concluding the research paper, in which references were made to ideas of other authors,
one compiles the list of references on a fresh page, following rules for end-text referencing.

Organizing information in an essay

Paragraphing

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A paragraph is a group of related sentences that carry the same idea (Soles, 2007). A paragraph
has three basic components discussed below:

a. The Topic sentence (whose purpose is to introduce the main idea/ point to be discussed in
that particular paragraph).It is a general idea which will be supported by examples,
statistics, ideas from research etc.
b. Supporting sentences/Developers (whose aim is to support the introduced idea. These are
normally references, examples, statistics, visuals or diagrams etc)
c. Clincher or closing statement (this is a sentence with a dual role. It closes discussion of
the idea/ point at hand and prepares the reader for the forthcoming sub-idea or new idea
in the next paragraph.

Things to note

 Definition of key terms ( best handled in the second paragraph)

 Judgement ( paragraph (s) just before the conclusion)
 Edit work by considering the idea of DRAFTS i.e come up with 1 st Draft , 2nd Draft, Final
Draft
 Check with your respective lecturers whether essay should be typed or handwritten ( also
seek clarity on specifications e.g font type, size , spacing etc)
 REMEMBER TO MEET YOUR DUE DATES IN TERMS OF SUBMITTING THE
ESSAYS.
 Start working on your essays rather early; do not wait until the last minute.
 Engage your lecturers where you have no clarity on the topic.
 Go through all comments and seek the audience of your lecturer when your essay has
been marked and returned to you.

CONCLUSION

In this session we found as essay as a presentation of an argument in writing. We also discussed

its five basic components noting the three components of a paragraph as well. The five
components of an essay noted are the topic or question, introductory paragraph, body made up of
a series of related paragraphs, a concluding paragraph and lastly reference list. a paragraph it was
also established that is should have a topic sentence which introduces an idea to be discussed,

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supporting sentences usually references, examples and visuals where applicable, and lastly the
closing statement has a dual role of closing the discussion of the idea at hand and prepares reader
for the forthcoming point. It is hoped that this session has provided a foundation on which you
are to develop your essay writing skills.

REPORT WRITING

Definition

 Reports are a standard part of business writing and are situationally defined, i.e what
is included in a report, the type of report written and the organization of a report is
determined by the situation that gives rise to the report. Despite their variety, however,
all reports have one thing in common, they are a description of a task, project or
research activity either at its completion or at some midpoint to recount and to
summarise one’s actions.
 Lesikar and Flatley (2003:273) say “a business report is an orderly and objective
communication of factual information that serves a business purpose.”
 Little (1997) says a report is a document providing an account of something witnessed
or examined or work carried out or an investigation together with conclusions.
 Business reports assess a situation, analyse and suggest ways of improving.
 Reports are a highly structured form of writing often following conventions that have
been laid to produce a common format.
 They vary in their purpose yet all of them will require a formal structure and careful
planning, presenting of material in a logical manner using clear and concise language.
They can be short or long, formal or informal.

21
PURPOSES OF REPORTS IN ORGANIZATIONS

 Reports are written in order to :

a. reflect, develop or introduce new systems
b. to recommend a course of action
c. for decision making
d. for accounting purposes
e. to assess performance
f. to participate in business endeavors
g. to inform
h. to ascertain why things happen as they do

Classification- reports on be classified by

a. content i.e subject matter and circumstances that prompt the report
b. medium of presentation i.e is it an oral or written report
c. frequency of production i.e is it weekly , monthly, quarterly , bi- annually or yearly.
d. Length – ( how long)
e. Form ( research)

TYPES OF REPORTS

1. General report
- Circumstances which give rise to a general report are usually general.
- They have no strict planning for them to happen.
- In the operations of organisations there are circumstances or situations pertinent to the
operations of the organization that may happen, as such the organisation will require
information on such happenings.
- A general report contains the following elements
a. The front matter which consists of the letter or memo of transmittal, title page or cover
sheet, table of contents and the executive summary or abstract
b. Introduction

22
c. Methods or methodology
d. Facts and discussions including visuals
e. Conclusions
f. Recommendations

2. Progress reports
- This looks at the project either in the middle of the project or at any other relevant
stage in order to inform or provide the foundation for decisions
- It forces one to produce or establish a work schedule to work with or allow
evaluation.
- Progress reports are used in education to check leaner progress and by funders of
projects to assess how a grant was used or to evaluate the progress of a project
- A progress report contains the following elements:
a. Frontmatter which is made up of the letter or memo of transmittal, title page or cover
sheet, table of contents and the executive summary or abstract
b. Introduction
c. Methods or methodology
d. Facts and discussion which include past work, present stage and future work as well as
visuals
e. Conclusions
f. Recommendations

3. Feasibility Report
- This investigates the task requirements and determines whether or not it is worthwhile or
feasible to develop the system.
- It is an analysis of the validity of an idea especially in its initial stages.
- It answers the question, should we proceed with the proposed project idea?
- It is an exercise that involves documenting each of the potential solutions to a particular
business problem or opportunity.
- It can be undertaken by any type of business, project or team - is a critical part of the
project life cycle.

23
- The purpose of a feasibility report is to identify the likelihood of one or more solutions
meeting the stated business requirements. In other cases when one is not sure whether
one’s solution will deliver the outcome one wants, then a feasibility report will gain that
clarity.
- If one or a company wants to venture into a new business it has to first carry out a
feasibility study which aims to rationally and objectively uncover the strengths and
weaknesses of an existing business or proposed venture and the resources required to
carry out the project.
- It may involve approaches such as cutting costs, assessing a new location or developing
a new technological system.
- It assesses the supporting data and reasoning of each plan and provides
recommendations of which plan to implement
- A feasibility report contains the following elements:
a. Front matter which includes Letter or Memo of Transmittal, Title page or cover sheet,
Contents page and Executive Summary or Abstract.
b. Methods or methodology
c. Introduction
d. Criteria
e. Facts and Discussions which should include alternatives or options and evaluation well
as visuals
f. Conclusions
g. Recommendations

4. Empirical Research report

- This is one in which one gathers the most important information from the primary
sources such as the field or laboratory
- It focuses on why certain things happen
- An empirical research report contains the following:
a) Front matter
b) Introduction
c) Objectives

24
 d) Literature review
e) Facts and discussions and visuals
f) Conclusions
g) Recommendations

INFORMATION CONTAINED IN EACH OF THE ELEMENTS

1. The letter or memo of transmittal

- A report cannot contain both of these but a report that is to be sent outside a particular
organization will be accompanied by a letter of transmittal whereas a report that is to
be distributed within the company or organization will be accompanied by a memo of
transmittal.
- Quite often reports have a memo or letter of transmittal which identifies the report and
explains the key points
- The memo or letter can also describe the situation at gave rise to the report.
- Do not worry about the report and the transmittal documents containing the same
information, they will because reports and their transmittal documents are often
separated as they move from reader to reader.
- In addition, the different sections of a report need to stand alone so the memo or the
letter will be on its own page which is the first page of the report.

2. Title page or coversheet

- It is the second page of the report
- It bears the title of a report, author’s names and designation, name of organization or
person for whom the report has been written.
- The title should be brief, straight forward and factual usually capturing the exact
issue it is addressing

3. Table of contents
- A report should be written making use of headings and sub-heading so this section
lists the different sections of the entire report
- It shows which information is on which page

25
 - It serves to guide readers and direct them to the exact area where specific
information is located within the document
- It is compiled last even though it is page 3 of the report so leave page 3 blank and
fill it in after completing the report when you know what information is on each
page.

4. Executive summary or Abstract

- This is a brief summary of the entire report
- An Abstract should be one paragraph long while an Executive summary is made up of
quite a number of paragraphs
- Both are summaries and serve the purpose of informing the reader on key factual
information contained in the report. As such only one of the two should be written per
report.
- They each include a short statement of the main task, methods used in collecting data,
conclusions reached and any major recommendations.
- They are usually written last after the conclusions and recommendations, just before
the contents page even though they are on page 4 of the report. So leave it blank and
fill it in after the other sections of the report.

NB: The 4 items described above form what is referred to as the Front matter of all
reports

THE REPORT MAIN BODY

5. Introduction
- This is just a paragraph giving background information or highlighting conditions
which gave rise to the report
- One might want to state the objectives of the report
- It may also explain why the report is needed including the terms of reference (what
the report is all about), aims, definitions of key terms etc.

6. Methods or Methodology
- In any investigation there are methods which are used to gather data.

26
 - These should be listed without giving any further explanation as the explanation will
have been given in the Executive summary or Abstract.
- Methods usually enable the reader to determine the reliability of one’s facts and
conclusions
- These include questionnaires, interviews, visual observations, archival research etc.
7. Facts , discussions and visual
- This section makes up the main body of the report
- Facts are the actual findings organized logically into sections or subsections. They are
the evidence of research
- The discussion is the interpretation of the facts or findings from an author’s point of
view.
- At this point one seeks to explain why the situation was the way at was found
- Some of the facts are presented in word or text form and some in the form of visuals
- These are diagrams or graphics such as pie charts, line graphs, bar graphs , maps ,
pictures, histograms, gannt charts etc.
- These diagrams will show the part of the report which cannot be written in word or text
form.
- The visuals should be labeled (titled) and should have a key explain what is what.

CRITERIA

- This is a measure or standard that is used to come up with the best alternative or options-
what considerations are made to come up with the best alternative etc.

Evaluation

- This is analysis of the alternatives or options

- Name the alternatives and weigh the advantages or disadvantages of each of them.

Conclusions

- These arise naturally from evidence presented in the previous sections

- They are the convictions which one gets after interpretation of data one gathers

27
 - This could also be viewed as one’s own opinion based on the discussion and all
statements must be substantiated by the given data.
- Conclusions here must not be understood in the same way as the conclusion in an essay
where a restating of a major point is done.
- Conclusions here are one’s convictions or understanding after an experience with the
data.
- They should link with findings and should flow naturally from evidence and arguments.

Recommendations

- This is a brief statement or a set of what should be done or should not be done next.
- It directs the reader on what course of action to take next.
- Be specific and present them in bullet form.

Appendix

- If the writer made use of certain information which is normally not found in standard
reports such should come under the appendix
- That information is referred to as peripheral matter which should be properly numbered
and attached at the end of the report.

NB: If the report made use of secondary sources ( if some information was borrowed from other
sources) then a reference list should be compiled at the end.

VISUALS/ GRAPHICS

- Anything which presents facts in a visual form is called a graphic material. For that
purpose materials such as graphs ( bar and line), diagrams, flow charts , pie charts, bar
charts, scatter diagrams etc.
- Graphics give a visual representation of facts such as being a brief explanation of some
development or situation.
- It presents material in a different form which can be read at one glance.

28
 - The essential quality of graphics or visuals is that it usually shows a growth or decline
of an item in relation to the other
- In visuals complex facts and figures can be much more easily absorbed
- Visual presentation adds impact to the information
- Visuals enable quicker understanding due to their simplified format they enable
comparisons to be made and recognized easily
- Audiences are more likely to be interested in a chart or diagram than a long explanation
or lots of words hence the saying that an ‘image is worth more than a thousand words’.

TYPES OF VISUALS

1. Tableted data
- Tables present data in an immediate and carefully ordered way but they rely on the
reader to interpret the data shown on them. This often means that the full significance of
the data is not always immediately obvious until it has been carefully studied

LINE GRAPHS

- They are useful to show comparisons or indicate trends. Two set figures are used that is
the horizontal scale or x- axis from left to right and the vertical scale or y-axis from top
to bottom.
- Two or more items may be shown on the same graph by using contrasting lines or
different colours.

BAR CHARTS

- These compare one item to another or several items to another, or items over time,
identify values or show frequency.
- Bar charts may be displayed vertically or horizontally can be made up of single or
multiple bars
- They are used for showing comparisons.

GANTT CHART

29
 - A Gantt chart is used to show the comparison between work which has been scheduled
and work which has actually been accomplished in relation to time.

WORK PLANNED PERIOD

1. Clearing the land J F M A M J J A S O N D
2.Seeding
3.Harvesting

PIE CHART

- Pie charts are often used when its necessary to show the relationship of parts to a whole
- It is preferable not to use too many segments in the pie otherwise the impact could be
last
- Shading may be separated from the remainder of the pie
- Pie charts are used to show one thing at a time
- When constructing a pie chart one starts from the 12 o’clock point following the
clockwise direction and it should have at most seven (7) wedges
- Pie charts are calculated in percentages-100% and not more or less in total.
- Other visuals include pictograms which show information represented in the form of
figures or symbols
- Maps and diagrams are also effective visual aids as well as cartograms and flow charts
- All the visuals should have a key showing what is what on the visual or explaining the
different items represented and each visual should have a title for example ‘Map
showing Mutikizizi village’.
- Pie charts are in percentages which should add up to 100% not more not less.

Structure of a Memo
MEMORANDUM( For a Report that is to be circulated within a particular
organization/company)

To: the CEO (Mtilizisi Enterprises)

30
From: The Projects Manager (Mtikizizi Enterprises)

Date: 10 October 2016

Subject: Report on Mtikizizi dam construction

Body: Write what the report is all about. What has necessited the report ( e.g this should be abt
½ to ¾ to a fall page . Not more

Skip one line

Sign off e.g

Dobbie Maushe ( Projects Manager Mtikizizi)

Structure of a Letter of Transmittal

Letter of Transmittal (For a Report being sent outside one’s organization or company)

Sender’s Address
P.Bag 707
Mtikizizi
10 October 2016

Recipients title and address e.g

The manager
Kitsiyatota Enterprises
P.Bag 9020
Kitsiyatota

Salutation , e.g Dear Sir/ Madam

Re: Report on Mtikiziz dam construction
Body – Write what the report is about, that is, what has necessitated the report. Not more than 1
page long.

31
(Sign off)
Yours faithfully
Dobbie Maushe ( Projects manager Mtikizizi Enterprises)

REPORT WRITING TOPICS

1. You carried an empirical study. Write an appropriate report.

2. You are the projects coordinator for an impending project. After carrying out a
feasibility study write an appropriate report.
3. Midway through the implementation of a particular programme you are asked to report
on the progress. Write an appropriate report for your manager.
4. After completion of a particular project you are to account to your donors. Write an
appropriate summative report on the project.
5. There was collective job action at your place of work. Property was damaged in the
strike. As the manager on the ground write an appropriate report for senior management.
6. You are the current SRC present at MSU. The students at MSU have many challenges,
chief among them accommodation. You carried out a survey to elicit the student’s views.
Write an appropriate report to be presented to the authorities.
7. Think of your specialist area and the reports that you may be expected to write as part of
your key result area. Explain and then illustrate with a specific example.
8. Image you are through with your work related learning. Write an appropriate work
related learning report for the university ( department)
9. You have been chairperson of the Medical Doctors Association for the past 10 years.
Women have been using the contraceptive pill. Cases of death and reproductive disorders
have been reported as side effects of the drug. The following are the statistics recorded:

Year No of deaths No of reproductive disorders

2000 50 210

2002 100 250

32
2004 120 300

2006 140 380

2008 200 420

2010 300 450

Using the above statistics, write a report to be presented to the National Medical Board and make
appropriate recommendations. The evidence provided by the statistics should be reflected in at
least 2 visuals which should complement your report.

10. You are an officer with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife and have been
asked to prepare an appropriate report for a national newspaper on how the department
is controlling the elephant population in one named national park through culling. Use the
following statistics as the basis of your report.

Year Population

1995 20 000

1998 1900

2003 1800

2007 1700

The target population is 1400 to 1600. The elephants produce successfully every year in the
event of no poaching.

11. Imagine that you are the head of department in a troubled organization. Using the
following notes and any of your own, write a general report to the company’s managing
director
 Exodus of the employees
 45% drop in provision of services / products
 Losses
 Stakeholders and public mistrust

33
 Huge blow on the image of the organization resulting from the industrial action
12. “ Much of the business communication in organisations is concerned with presenting
facts in order to influence/ inform decisions. In light of the statement, write a feasibility
report to the management of a company which needs to decide whether or not to open a
new branch in another town.
13. As the project manager of a hostel construction project, write a progress report on the
project.
14. Your organization is working on a project in one of the country’s rural areas. Write a
progress report on the project.
15. Following a boom in the fast food sector, your organization based in Kwekwe decides to
expand and establish a branch in Gweru. Write a feasibility report on the most suitable
site for your new branch to be opened in Gweru.
16. Your firm makes either sports equipment or cosmetics. Recently your company driver
was involved in a serious accident while delivering the largest stock you had to your
biggest client, resulting in loss of business for your organization. Write a suitable report
as requested by your executive director.
17. You are the representative for your visiting class. Write a report to the librarian on the
challenges that visiting students meet when visiting the library . Suggest ways of solving
the problems.

34
LISTENING SKILLS

“Because listening is twice as hard as talking, we were given two ears and one mouth” (Kline,
1996).

INTRODUCTION

Listening is another mode of learning at University which is of great importance as attested by

the above quotation. Listening is an active process (Hough, 1996:36) and as such effective
communication requires skills. “A skill involves certain fundamental learnable techniques”
(Severin et al , 1993). Listening is not inborn – we do not become competent as a listener
because we inherit the capacity from our parents. We learn to attend to, analyse and comprehend
messages directed towards us just as we learn other skills. Communication is a two-way process,
an activity and not a onetime event. The listener’s role is as central to the communication process
as the speaker’s role. The speaker turns listener while listener turns speaker.

WHAT IS LISTENING?

35
The Longman Dictionary of contemporary English defines “to listen” as “to pay attention to
what someone is saying or to a sound that you can hear”

According to Steinberg (1994) to understand listening we have to distinguish it from hearing.

She finds listening as “a mental skill which can be developed” while hearing is “a passive
process- a physical act of receiving sound noise or aural stimuli” (Steinberg, 1994: ). Baker et al
(1979:77) define listening as “the selective process of attending to, hearing, understanding and
remembering”. Thus a human being is born with the ability to hear unless one’s physiological
make up can be described as a clinical disorder of deafness. Hearing is genetically endowed but
listening requires some mental effort or mental development for it to be realized.

From an applied linguistics point of view listening:

Involves making sense of the spoken language, normally accompanied by other sounds
and visual input, with the help of our relevant prior knowledge and context in which we
are listening. (Lynch and Mendelsohn in Schimitt (ed) 2002:193).

Central to the above definition are ‘attention to speech’ and ‘non-verbal cues’ that denotes and
enhance the meaning of the spoken language.“ the spoken language” is any message
communicated in the same language shared by both speaker and listener. “prior knowledge”
means the existing knowledge to the subject under discussion or existing knowledge that
informs the message. “Context” becomes the environment in which the message occurs
including binding relationships to such.

Thus Lynch and Mendelsohn’s definition alludes to the fact that listening is the making of
meaning out of message communicated within a communication chain in a specific context. The
ultimate goal is to provide understanding and comprehension especially by the listener. Mental
effort and concentration are needed in developing listening skills by virtue of the fact that “
listening intently involves total concentration ( Eales and Whitehead, 1995:13). De fleur et al
(1993) adopt a non-technical definition of listening. They view it as behaviour and define it as:

An active form of behaviour in which an individual attempts to maximize their

attention to, and comprehension of, what is being communicated through

36
the use of words , actions and things by one or more people in their
immediate environment (De Fleur et al 1993:102)

They go on to stress that in listening there’s monitoring of the non-verbal as well as the
contextual aspects of messages. The definition explains the listening process:

THE LISTENING PROCESS

Sensing and attending

KEY
Understanding interpretation
A-Aural sounds
Remembering B- Feedback

Processing

Thus listening has a number of stages which are:

Stage 1- Receiving

This is reception of ‘noises’ surrounding one or that are active in a given context. This can also
be internal or external stimuli. Internal can be something urgent to be completed (assignment),
some pain in the body or hunger. External stimuli involves words spoken ( by lecturer) or printed
on paper or events occurring around us.

Stage 2- Understanding and Interpretation

This is based on other factors such as culture, profession, interest, status, level of intellect,
language common to participants in the communication chain etc.Verbal and non-verbal symbols
are crucial here.

Stage 3 – Remembering

37
The message is either temporarily or permanently stored in the human memory bank for
immediate or future use.

Stage 4- Processing

The message is processed based on the listeners’ level of intellect, status etc . Processing leads to
responding to the message. Steinberg (1994:71) asserts that “ you complete the process of
listening by providing feedback to the speaker”. Feedback (B) consists of all the verbal and
non-verbal cues consciously and unconsciously as well as being environmentally conditioned.
Feedback makes it clear to the communicator or speaker that the listener / speaker has sensed/
attended (heard) the message, understood, interpreted and evaluated it in relation to all the
stages. Feedback is proof that one has been actively listening.

PLAN FOR EFFECT LISTENING

BEFORE THE LECTURE

Pre-reading / research of material on topics to be covered in coming lecture/ tutorial. Punctuality-

lateness affects both late comer and the others (be punctual), synchronization of stationery and
other lecture requirements. Comfortably position yourself.

DURING THE LECTURE

- Attend to the lecture with ears as well as eyes ( eyes-to speaker’s body language)
- Attend to your own feelings/ reactions to the message
- Withhold personal judgments based on presenter’s dressing, accent, mood / attitude
towards group or class.
- Focus on content not delivery
- Avoid emotional involvement, be objective and open minded (Ueland, 1992).
- Avoid distractions – do not let the mind wander or be distracted by what is happening
around you. Dress appropriately for the weather.
- Maintain eye contact with presenter /lecturer so that you will be fully involved, however,
let it not be staring continuously.

38
BARRIERS TO LISTENING

Anything unwanted in the flow of a message from the speaker to the listener and back to the
speaker as feedback constitutes distractions.

Eales and Whitehaed (1995) divided distractions into Internal and External (IDs and EDs). IDs
are heavily embedded in the listener’s psyche and physiology. IDs are the things that happen
within a person and hinder the listening process.EDs are those factors that may not be in the
immediate control of the listener such as the weather, noises etc. EDs in most cases affect more
than one person (ringing phone, etc)

IDs

 Tiredness
 Sickness
 Hunger
 Feeling anxious / anxiety
 Stress
 Day dreaming
 A need to be somewhere else -provide solutions to each of the IDs and Eds.

EDs

 Physical noise
 Lack of privacy
 Poor handwriting
 Cultural differences

A barrier is any condition in the context or personal to the listener, which functions to reduce
accuracy in communication (De Fleur et al 1993:113). Noise interferes with the transmission and
comprehension of a message.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HEARING AND LISTENING

HEARING

39
Linguistically it involves the reception of the sound noises from the air. Sound noises have
multiple sources and are unlimited. In hearing there is an implication that sound waves have been
received and are capable of being received for further processing. Hearing is passive and
unconscious (involuntary).

LISTENING

Involves thinking about, understanding and evaluating what is heard. It is an active decoding of
sound noises meaningful or purposeful to the receiver. The sound noises are received in order to
have a positive purpose or function to the receiver Baker et al (1979:1997) see listening as
involving evaluation and responding to what has been communicated.

 Listening involves the ‘heart’ which means emotions are involved

 It is limited to a particular functional environment.
 It is complex as it also involves the eyes, heart and the ear.
 It is an active and conscious act as such it requires special training.

TYPES OF LISTENING

There are 2 major types of listening – Active listening and Passive listening. Other aspects fall
below the two.

1. ACTIVE LISTENING

Here the receiver absorbs all that is being said and also makes an attempt to verify all he
has been listening to. The aspects of active listening are:

a. Informational listening
This is usually done when attending to lectures, instructions and comments in class. It
demands that one attends to specifics as well as distinguish one piece of information from
another in order to attend to more pieces of information. Listening for information is
typical of academic situations it is the ability to understand and assimilate factual
information, which is, listening to instructions, to a lecture, to authorities.

40
 b. Evaluative listening

Evaluation and decision making is its intended purpose. Information should occur before any
evaluation with these points in mind:

 How believable is the speaker?

 Is he highly competent to talk about the topic
 How much support is given for the arguments raised?

c) Empathetic Listening

Part of the emphasis in this type lies on ability of the receiver to match his perception with those
of the sender. An attempt is made to decipher the meaning of the statement in relation to the
perceptions and experiences of the sender. It also involves ‘empathy’ where one projects one’s
own personality for another for better understanding. It is listening to understand feelings and
emotions for others. Putting oneself in other people’s shoes.

d) Participative listening

As long as there is some kind of activity in the form of participative contribution from the
receiver, there can rarely be any kind of miscommunication. This state can be achieved when
questions are asked in response to the statements made by the sender since words have different
meanings for different people.

2. PASSIVE LISTENING

In passive listening all that is said is heard but not really absorbed. Absorption of the spoken
words comes only where there is ‘sharpening’ and ‘assimilation’. In passive listening there is no
invasion on the thought process or an onslaught of ideas which could change the trend of
thinking. In passive listening the listener should be held primarily responsible for the lapse in the
listening on the part of the receiver.

The other aspects of passive listening are:

41
a) Pseudo listening
When engaged in this type of listening one appears as though they are listening and
engaged in all the right external behaviour but allowing the mind to wander.

b) Marginal listening
Provision of too much information can lead to information overload. As a result listening
tends to get hampered. One listens to the entire presentation merely because one is
expected to do so. The most common factor which can be attributed to this kind of
listening is fatigue or boredom. The respondent resects a barrier through which he allows
information to seep only in bits and pieces. As a result partial or marginal information
can be retrieved if the situation demands or the need so arises.

c) Projective listening
The responses of the receiver are in a state of “ restful alertness”. While listening the
receiver tries to view and absorb the contents of the presentation within his own frame of
reference. Projective listening is an attempt by the listener at viewing the world or view
point of the interactant from a limited personal perspective.

42
NOTE TAKING

5.4 WHY MAKE NOTES

Notes help students throughout their study at college, one can refer to his or her notes quickly
rather than going back to the original text or trying to remember what a text was all about. Payne
and Whittaker (1999) assert that notes aid understanding and learning that is one cannot
remember much of what was read unless they recall and review regularly. Making notes in one’s
own words aid retention of the material in your memory. By summarizing theoretical
approaches, arguments and ideas in note form, one gains a better understanding of their strength
and weakness. When making notes it is important that one aims to understand the material rather
than taking down word for word what is said or written. Notes also help to aid concentration
since more of it is required when taking down notes than when one is reading or listening, it
forces you to pay attention. In summary notes help

 To remember key points

 To use information in assignments
 To make a follow up in some way and

43
  To understand the topic

WHEN AND WHERE TO MAKE NOTES

NOTES ARE MADE:

 In meetings at work
 In lectures
 When someone is reading and
 In discussions , tutorials and seminars

WAYS OF MAKING NOTES

According to Payne and Whittaker (1999) there are two ways of writing notes which are
sequential or linear and pattern.

TYPES OF NOTES

SEQUENTIAL/ LINEAR NOTES

Sequential notes are the most common way of presenting notes. Burns and Sinfield (2005) assert
that making linear note involves taking down what is written line by line. It also involve
listening or reading and then recording in one words the relevant information in the sequence as
the original material is presented. Linear notes are an advantage to a student who can write fast
and they can be quite information packed and can give a comforting feeling. According to Payne
and Whittaker (1999) linear notes can be made as a summary or outline notes.

SUMMARY NOTES

These are a summary of what has been said or read but put in one’s own words. They are a
shorter version of the original. To make summary notes one picks out the main points or ideas.

OUTLINE NOTES

Key words and phrases are noted. The notes maybe sequentially numbered or there is the use of
headings, subheadings and indention for clarification and it makes the easy to follow.
44
DISADVANTAGES OF LINEAR NOTES

 You can take down so much information such that you feel swamped by it.
 You take so many notes and may never have time to read them again.
 If you cannot write really fast you may end losing track and may start to panic and miss
more information.
 If you leave things out you may feel that you are a failure.
 All the information looks the same hence it is difficult to focus on specific points.
 You can be trapped by the way that the lecturer has presented the information and one
might find it difficult to think about the topic in any other way.
 It is a very passive form of note taking and one hardly uses their brain. It only utilize
half the brain ( in Buzan’s terms – left brain logical ) rather than right brain creative)
hence according to Burns Sinfield (2004) note taking becomes a boring and monotonous
process rather than an exciting one.

NUCLEAR/ PATTERN NOTES

 Defer ordering and prioritize information

 Encourages short notes
 Create distinctive notes
 Encourages active learning since the process utilizes the whole brain

According to Sinfield and Burns (2004) pattern notes have the following advantages

 They encourage a key word system

 Encourages short notes
 Students actively reduce information to keywords as they go or as they subsequently
revise their notes. This means that one has to think about their notes.
 Such notes are short and there for usable.
 One does not need to be able to write fast but just have to be able to learn to think
 Notes are not in hierarchical order you can arrange them in your own order.
 Each set of notes looks distinct from other set of notes, making them more memorable.
 Information is more easily located within these notes

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  Buzan (1999) argues that this is an active and creative note taking system that utilizes the
whole brain and thus prompts more learning.

SUCCESSFUL NOTES

According to Sinfield and Burns (2004) successful notes should have the following

 Source- if one is in lecture – title , lecturer’s name and date publisher

 Key words, key points, examples , names and new ideas
 Headings which capture key sections
 Some structure- this includes things that make the notes easy to read and these include
patterns, numberings , arrows and highlighting.
 Should also have things that link the notes to the course aims and outcomes and
assignments
 Good notes should also have mnemonic triggers that make the notes memorable for
example cartoons, colors, and illustrations.
 Good notes should also provide a section for further reading for example names
highlighted in the notes or gathered in a specific place.

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READING

DEFINITIONS

Many authorities have come up with various definitions for the term reading. According to Smith
(1977:09) reading is “essentially a process of gleaning meaning from printed symbols” Dearborn
and Anderson (1977) define reading as a controlled form of talking in which the words on the
page are substituted for the usual stimuli of speech. It is one of the key elements to successful
study. Mckee (1977:09) provides another definition “the process of reading consist of carrying
out three major tasks” :

i) Identifying and recognizing printed words quickly and accurately

ii) Arriving at an adequate understanding of the meaning intended by the writer

iii) Making use of the meaning arrived at”

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Reading is a multi-faceted skill. It is a receptive skill and in language, receptive skills are
concerned with the understanding of anything written or spoken. Wingard and Abbort (1981)
assert that normally reading is a silent and individual activity since the writer’s intention was
that text should be read not heard. On the other hand. Tichapondwa (2000:42) posits that “
reading is a holistic act involving the process of constructing meaning from the text”. It is a
complex skill requiring the coordination of a number of interrelated sources of information. In
reading learners can take time to reflect on the form and meaning of language they are dealing
with as it is part of the learning process. Reading is a fundamental aspect of academic work,
hence the learner has to be able to read for different purposes and acquire knowledge through
various reading skills.

TYPES OF READING

In present day society the quest for information is of paramount importance. Those who read can
be well informed and this enables them to keep up to date with modern development in industry
and commerce and can consult right sources of information for their requirements. The type of
reading one engages in depends on the purpose of reading. Reading is the key to new
experiences and enrichment of life, that is, through reading we can have access to free
information on what is happening around us and can add our own views. We will look at the two
types of reading one can undertake:

RECREATIONAL READING

This is reading for pleasure. Reading is one of the most pleasurable ways of learning new
experiences of others, which is through reading magazines, newspapers, etc. Through reading the
learner can be in touch with different societies and imaginative adventures and experiences.
However, for the reader to enjoy reading, the article being read should be readable. Readability is
of prime importance when reading for pleasure. Factors which influence readability are
legibility, interest and ease of understanding through pleasant and attractive styles of writing.
According to Chalk (1948) it is the sum total of all those elements. Within a given piece of
printed material that affects the success which a group of readers have with it. This success is
the extent to which they understand it, read it at optimum speed and find it interesting. Another

48
effect to pleasurable reading is dyslexia which is a reading disability that produces the
misperception of letters during reading and writing, unusual difficulty in sounding out letters,
spelling problems and confusion between right and left, Feldman (2005). This can affect
meaning of material being read and hence brings no joy to the reader.

FUNCTIONAL READING

This is reading undertaken to obtain information necessary to tackle a specific problem. There is
need for the reader to acquire or develop skills to locate and process information quickly and
efficiently. In functional reading, retrieval of information is of particular importance. Functional
reading is undertaken to obtain information for a specific purpose, e.g for an examination,
assignment, research presentations e.t.c.

The aspect of readability is also of paramount importance in functional reading. Skilled reading
is an essential prerequisite to academic study in functional reading, the reader has to find
information systematically and easily depending with the readability of the text being read. The
reader can only be actively engaged in reading when material being read makes him/her stay
alert, creates questions and answers within the reader. Functional reading should lead to critical
thinking and provide answers or solutions to specific questions.

READING STRATEGIES (METODS)

At University/ College, you are not expected to read everything with the same degree of
intensity. There are different reading strategies/methods one may adopt depending with the level
of comprehension one wants to acquire, they are:

 Background reading
 Skimming
 Scanning
 Intensive reading
 Extensive reading

BACKGROUND READING

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It is the pre-course reading which can provide an overview of the topic and help identify
framework of more details to come. It is the skeleton type of reading without much detail, is
done quickly at a steady and easy pace and in a fairly relaxed and receptive frame of mind. The
reader locates general views and background information rather than detailed and specific
arguments , theories, models and perspectives. It is meant to give the reader the big picture of the
topic to be studied.

SKIMMING

This is fast reading with eyes running down the page very rapidly. It is meant to give a general
impression of the author’s meaning. It involves searching through a text or article very quickly
by reading the first and last paragraphs and noting other cues such as the introduction and
summary or conclusion. It can be done when superficial knowledge is needed or a rough idea of
the subject is required. The reader may skim for no particular information before reading the
text in detail, going through headings, names of people, unusual features, and capitalized words
in a newspaper etc. This can be done when researching as the reader has to skim through a text or
article before making a decision to read it thoroughly, discard it or use it for assessments.

SCANNING

This also involves running your eyes over a text, but looking for particular information or facts.
The reader reads very rapidly, searching for specific points. You can read the introduction and
conclusion in detail and then speed – read other parts. The reader only reads what is necessary in
order to acquire specific essential details. Other materials that can be scanned include graphs,
maps, pictures etc for summarized details. This provides the learner with moderate level of
information about the subject to be read. It enables the reader to identify new terms and try to
find meanings before detailed reading.

INTENSIVE READING

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This is essential for thorough reading , for analysis , comparison , evaluation etc. It can be
carried out in stages for effective results to be obtained, skimming the materials to gain an
overview of the chapter, book or article, then read in detail for understanding of information as
well as relating to the subject overally. It requires a formal method such as SQ3R method which
stands for:

Survey, Question, Recite/ Recall, Review, Read

These five components will be explained below: -

i) Survey

Material is surveyed to get a general view of what is in the text. It helps the reader to find out the
objectives of the text, index layout etc.

ii) Question

This second course of action in intensive reading requires you to formulate questions that enable
you to actively engage the text.

iii) Read

At this stage the reader has to actively engage the text in two or even three rapid but searching
readings of the text. This enables you to answer questions formulated above and you do so by
making notes.

iv) Recall/ Recite

Make an effort to recall main points of what you have already read. This can be done at the end
of a chapter or at frequent intervals. This is the most vital part of the process as it enables the
reader self testing to find out how much you can recall from your reading.

v) Review

This stage involves going back to revisit the chapter or article you have just attempted to recall to
check if you recited details correctly. It gives the reader room to make additions or changes if
there is need to.

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CRITICAL READING

This builds upon the other three types of reading and is evaluative. The reader has to make
judgments by weighing incoming information with the existing knowledge already in the mind.
There has to be a distinction of fact and opinion. A critical approach to reading requires the
reader to engage a text in a dialogue manner. In this process the reader has to analyze, evaluate
and hypothesize in order to be able to shape own pre-existing ideas into some new perspectives.
This is not all about getting answers to questions but using them as an avenue to arrive at
meanings that are embedded within the text.

READING AND STUDY SKILLS

A college or University student can use reading competence to advance studies. Reading is one
of the essential components of study skills and can be used to acquire higher educational
qualifications. In your quest for information there are four basic reading and study skills you
must attempt to master. These are:

 Location of information
 Retention of information
 Organization of information

LOCATION SKILLS

This involves use of indicators used in texts such as authors preface, table of contents, index of
names and many more. These are pointers which need to be gone through carefully as they
determine your subsequent and the extent of your research.

RETENTION SKILLS

Apply SQ3R which has been explaining above. This is an advanced technique recommended to
students at a higher level of learning.

ORGANIZATION SKILLS

This involves laying out information located in a logical and orderly manner. It entails note
making and sequencing of notes.

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EVALUATION SKILLS

Read information with a critical mind so as to pass judgment of the authors competency in
writing. Make distinctions between facts and opinions.

LEVELS OF COMPREHENSION IN READING

Reading without comprehension is valueless because one has to understand what is read in order
to benefit from it. There are four levels of comprehension readers must be familiar with and
these are:

i) Literal

This is the first level of gaining literal meaning of the story or text from the printed words. It
calls for straight forward answers and uses simple questions such as

ii) Inferential

At this level the reader has to be a bit more attentive to the text in order to draw conclusions on
what might have happened. The reader has to infer and make conclusions on information that has
not specifically been stated in material read. It uses why questions.

iii) Critical

It requires the reader to put him/ herself of those in the text. It is a level of empathy it uses the
what..image questions , for example , what could I have done if I was in the same situation.

iv) Creative

At this highest level of comprehension, the reader is free to put forward own thoughts or ideas in
relation to what has been read.

References

Bearne, E. (1999) Use Of Language Across The Secondary Curriculum, London: Routledge.

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Dale, E. And Charles, J.S (1984) A Formula For Predicting Readability In Educational In
Educational Research . Bulletin No 27 Pp 11-12.

Feldman, R.S. (2006) P.O.W.E.R Learning:Strategies For Success In College And Life, New
York: McGraw Hill .

Moyle, D. (1977) Teaching Reading , Edinburg :Holmes Mcdaugall.

Smith, M.W. and Wilheim, J.D. (2002) Reading Don’t Fix No Chexy’s : Literacy In The Lives
Of Young Men, London: Routledge.

Sullivan, T. (1979) , Cambridge , National Extension College .

Tichapondwa, S.M. (2000) Intensive Communication and The Teaching Learning Process,
Gweru: Mambo Press.

Toft, D. (2005) Master Student Guide To Academic Success,New York :Houghton Miffin.

CURRICULUM VITAE

What is Curriculum Vitae?

Latin word for ‘the course of one’s life’ usually shortened to CV.
This is a comprehensive statement of your biographical, professional, educational
background. It also includes other activities to denote character
It is extremely important that your CV effectively communicate the range and scope ,
highlighting areas of strength

PURPOSES OF A CV

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 This is a foundation of any application for employment, funding , awards, fellowships or
grants
Provides the basis for annual / or employment reviews by your employer.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CV

Comprehensive
Neat formal
Customized
Lengthens as you establish yourself professionally ( e.g an undergraduate like you 2-4
paged document that grows as you progress along a chosen career path.
Information presented logically in sections

CV VS RESUME

Resume is not comprehensive , it is a snapshot ( usually two pages in length )

Focuses more on professional qualifications , achievements and projects done.
Aims at demonstrating fitness for a particular position or type of work
Focuses on individual’s strongest selected professional qualifications.

DESIGNING YOUR CV

Project a trajectory of your professional life from the time you began your career
Arrange information in reverse chronological order i.e listing the most recent
accomplishments first in each section.
Tailor the CV to a particular purpose to highlight your strengths as they apply.
Be logical , precise and make readers screen you ‘in’
Rethink presentation and arrangement of information on your CV for each audience
Irrelevant text e.g vacation photos, personal narratives etc. may turn off your readers.

FORM AND STYLE

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 Content usually determines length however aim for a tightly constructed, succinct and
efficient presentation of your credentials
There is no excuse for typographical errors in your CV because careless errors send a
very bad message
Proofread and ask others to proof read for you
Be clear in both in form and content
Use unambiguous , concise descriptive language that facilitates speedy processing of
critical information
Create an organisational hierarchy and apply it consistently throughout your CV.

ELEMENTS OF A ‘GENERAL’ CV

By general, we mean that it is not tailored to a specific purpose

Title heading ‘curriculum vitae’ commonly used on front page.
Keep dates to the right as opposed to listing them first in your sections
Use boldface, italics and spacing to highlight information, but be consistent and sparing
in your use.
Your CV should be laser-printed in black on white bond paper.
NB: overuse distracts readers and defeats your purpose

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COMMUNICATING THROUGH GRAPHS

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this unit you will be able to

 Read and interpret graphs , tables, pie grams etc

 State the reasons for choosing visual presentation of information
 List the main forms of visual presentation and describe each one of them
 Choose the best method for presenting different types of information.

THE APPEAL OF VISUAL PRESENTATION

 Complex facts and figures can be much more easily absorbed

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  Visual presentation adds impact to the information
 It enables comparisons to be made and recognized easily
 Audiences are more likely to be interested in a chart or diagram than a long explanation
or lots of words
 Charts or diagrams can easily be transferred onto overhead transparencies for
presentation to large groups.

METHODS OF PRESENTATION

To ensure effectiveness of the presentation, it is important to select the most appropriate method.
There are many ways in which information can be presented.

 Tabulated data
 Line graphs
 Bar charts
 Gantt charts
 Pie charts
 Pictograms
 Maps and diagrams
 Cartograms
 Flowcharts
 Visual planning boards
 Computer graphics

TABULATED DATA

Table present data in an immediate and carefully ordered way , but they rely on the reader to
interpret the data shown on them. This often means that the full significance of the data is not
always immediately obvious until it has been carefully studied

Perception in humans

Category Percentage contributed

Sight 75%

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 Sound 3%
Touch 6%
Hearing 13%
Smell 3%

LINE GRAPHS

Line graphs are useful to show comparisons or indicate trends. Two sets figures are used –the
horizontal scale (or x axis) from left to right, and the vertical scale ( or y axis) from top to
bottom. Two more items may be shown on the same graph by using contrasting lines or different
colours.

BAR CHARTS

Bar charts may be displayed vertically or horizontally and can be made up of single or multiple
bars. They are used for showing comparisons.

GANTT CHARTS

A gantt chart is used to show the comparison between work which has been scheduled and work
which has actually been accomplished in relation to time.

PIE CHARTS

Pie charts are often used when it is necessary to show the relationship of parts to a whole. It is
preferable not to use too many segments in the pie, otherwise the impact could be lost. Shading
may be separated from the remainder of the pie.

PICTOGRAMS

A pictogram shows information represented in the form of figures or symbols. The value of each
figure is indicated by either the size or the number of figures shown. Pictograms are usually
interesting and easily understood.

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MAPS AND DIAGRAMS

Maps can be an effective visual aid ( consider the weather forecast maps shown on television)
maps and diagrams may also be sent out to delegates of a conference or to customers showing a
new company’s location. Such maps have obvious advantages over the written word.

CARTOGRAMS

A cartogram is a special kind of map which is used to give information about the distribution of
people or things within a country or region. Things which may be depicted clearly in a cartogram
are, for example, the density of population in China , the number of dog owners in Britain.

FLOWCHARTS

A flowchart is a diagram showing a sequence of decisions or instructions involved in a process

e.g in the manufacturing industry. Flowcharts are often used in business to work out the stages
of writing a computer programme. However , they can also be very valuable in highlighting the
separate steps or procedures involved in a sequence of events. It is often useful to construct a
flowchart when faced with the task of achieving a new objective or simplifying a procedure. This
process is useful in encouraging logical thought.

VISUAL PLANNING BOARDS

Visual planning boards can be built up to show virtually any information-from a simple plan
showing staff holidays to a complex plan showing activities of a company over 12-month period,
featuring a number of variables. Visual planning boards offer flexibility and ease of updating.
They enable future trends to be plotted, changes to be foreseen and realistic forward planning to
be made.

COMPUTER GRAPHICS

Most managers are very busy and they welcome information being presented to them in the form
of high quality graphics – as charts, graphs, maps, coloured tables, and so on. These are visually
attractive and easily interpreted.

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WHAT IS’ GRAPHIC MATERIAL”?

It is anything which presents facts in a visual manner. For this purpose we use material such as
graphs, diagrams, flowcharts, pie charts, bar charts, scatter diagrams and others.

Why do we use this type of material?

It gives a visual representation of facts as such being a brief explanation of some development or
situation. It presents material in a different form which can be read at one glance.

The essential quality of graphic material is that it usually shows a growth or decline, or one item
in relation to another.

An interesting approach is by taking the same set of fact or figures and presenting them in
different graphic ways.

The following diagrams illustrate the growth of student numbers at a certain university

HOW DOES ONE READ GRAPHIC MATERIAL?

Remember it is used to give information at one glance, like what is the trend of sales over the last
five months? With one quick look one will be able to see what is happening with the sales, as in
the following line graph:

DIFFERENT GRAPHS THAT YOU MAY ENCOUNTER

1. The bar chart shows the number of units (quantity) in relation to another aspect, like time,
people, terms , etc.
2. A table presents information in columns and rows, making possible a variet

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ORAL COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION

The word communication was derived from the Latin word ‘communis’ which means common.
Pearson et al (2008:10) say the word Communication ‘…comes from the Latin word ‘
communicare’ which means to make common or to share.” When we communicate we are trying
to establish commonness with one another. Communication occurs when a message has been
decoded and understood, ie there should be some common ground/ experience (in terms of
language and culture) for the message to be understood.

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Communication is the relaying of messages or ideas from the sender to the receiver through a
medium. It is exchange of information and understanding between the sender and the receiver
and the inference of meaning between the individuals involved. According to Pearson et al
(2008) communication is the process of using messages to generate meaning. It can only be said
to be successful when the reaction by the receiver is that which the communicator intended.
Effective communication takes place with shared meaning and understanding. It is a process by
which people create and manage meaning.

There are two major communication models: the linear and interactive models. Linear models
assume that language is simply a vehicle of sending messages. In Shannon and Weaver’s (1949)
Linear model there is transmission of information from the sender to the receiver.
Communication is controlled by the sender. Interactive models focus more on complex
communication processes. In this model both sender and receiver are important they send
information back and forth.

ORAL COMMUNICATION

It is communication by word of mouth and is face to face communication

The oral communication process

The process can be simplified to the existence of a speaker and a receiver or an audience. It is a
dynamic process which is fluid and ever changing in nature. Dynamism implies that
communication is flexible and continues. Communication being a process requires the existence
of at least two people that is, the sender and the receiver.

The sender/ source

 Conceives or thinks of an idea

 Gives it shape
 Conveys the idea

The receiver

 Receives the idea

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  Tries to understand it (decodes)- translates verbal or oral aspects of messages into a form
that can be interpreted. This is subject to social values and cultural values that may not be
understood by the sender
 Finally takes an action which may be either to store it or send back a message to the
original source or take any other action required by the sender.

The channel/ Medium

It is the means by which a message moves from the source to the receiver of the message. A
message moves from one person to another travelling through a medium or channel.

Feedback

This is the receiver’s verbal and non-verbal response to the source’s message. Even no response
(silence) is feedback.

Lasswell (1948) says one way of describing the communication process is by breaking it down
various questions as follows:

1. Who? Sender or transmitter

2. Says what? Message
3. In what channel or medium?
4. To whom? The receiver
5. With what effect? Impact/ feedback

 Communication is a circular and dynamic process as messages move back and forth
between the sender and the receiver
 The sender speaks while the receiver listens
 The receiver answers or reacts by providing feedback in the form of a message while
the other person listens. Feedback can be verbal or non-verbal, internal or external. It
allows the sender to adjust his/ her message in order to be more effective. Without

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 feedback there would be no way of knowing if meaning has been shared or if there
has been effective communication.
 The sender and the receiver exchange roles, the receiver becomes the sender and the
sender becomes the receiver as messages are sent back and forth. This can be
illustrated by the diagram below.

Osgood and Schramm (1951) came up with the circular model after developing Shannon and
Weaver’s 1949 linear model. Both participants are involved in encoding, interpreting and
decoding and there should be feedback

The linear model of communication ( Shannon and Weaver) :

Message
Sender Receiver
(Channel/ medium – speech)

The Circular model (Osgood and Schramm):

Message

Sender Message Receiver

(Channel/ medium ( Speech)

Feedback

Non-Verbal communication

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In Oral Communication there is monitoring of the non-verbal. There is no way people can
communicate orally without exhibiting non-verbal cues.Thus Oral Communication and
non-verbal communication work hand in glove.

Non-Verbal Communication is the use of wordless messages to convey meaning. Defleur

(1992:69) defines it as “the deliberate or unintentional use of objects, actions , sound, time and
space so as to arouse meanings in others” Farrant (1982) calls it body language. It is any message
sent or received independent of the written or spoken word. It includes such factors as use of
time , space and distance between persons when conversing, use of colour, dress, walking
behaviour, posture, sitting position, seating arrangements, office location and furnishings.
Experts say non-verbal communication is responsible for up to 60% of a message being
conveyed. From our handshakes to our hairstyles, non- verbal details reveal who we are and
impact on how we relate with other people. However non-verbal behaviour varies between
cultures. Human beings tend to rely more on non-verbal cues.

Non- verbal Cues and Oral Communication (Functions of Non-verbal cues in Oral
Communication)

Non-verbal cues play an essential role in Oral communication. Non-verbal communication can
reiterate the spoken word, contradict the message, accent or emphasize, substitute and
complement the spoken word. Good speakers use these non- verbal elements to their advantage
in interpersonal conversations and public or mass communication. Contradictions usually happen
accidentally when what you are saying is not in agreement with your non-verbal reaction e.g
saying ‘ I am really interested in this topic whilst yawning.” Sending contradictory messages can
make the speaker seem untrustworthy.

Non-verbal communication reinforces verbal messages through accenting whereby a verbal

message is cemented or emphasized with a non-verbal element. This can create trust and
credibility if the two are constant with one another. Non-verbal communication can even replace
words. This is when we substitute the verbal message with non-verbal elements, e.g waving
instead of saying good-bye and nodding one’s head in agreement. It also complements, repeats
and regulates verbal messages. When non- verbal cues and verbal messages complement, they
add meaning to each other. This is when the two are used hand in hand to clarify meaning.

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Almost everything we say is accompanied by non-verbal actions, expressions and other
behaviors that supplement or reinforce the meanings contained in our talk. For example when
giving instructions we always accompany them with body movements.

Elements of Non-verbal communication (Body parts and other objects and situations that
communicate Non-verbally)

Body language analysis is subjective, easily misinterpreted and highly dependent on the context
and cross cultural differences.

Facial expressions

The face conveys a wealth of information. Facial expressions reveal various emotional states.
They can regulate and provide feedback during the communication process. The most frequently
studied are expressions of happiness, fear, anger, surprise, sadness, disgust and others. Smiling is
a powerful cue that transmits happiness, friendliness, warmth, liking and being approachable.
Most emotions are similar throughout the world. This therefore means that our emotions can be
communicated to others through facial expressions.

Eye contact / oculesics

It is concerned with the way we look and how we look during interaction. Neil (1992:88) refers
to the study of eye contact as oculesics. People use their eyes to show their degree of interest or
openness as they communicate. It helps regulate the flow of communication by signaling the
beginning and end of the conversation. Constant eye contact is perceived as a signal of
confidence, attentiveness and warmth. People tend to avoid eye contact when discussing
sensitive or negative topics.

Gestures

These are deliberate movements and signals such as waving, pointing and using fingers to
indicate numeric values. Gestures involve movement of body limbs such as hands, legs, arms etc

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to convey messages. Humans speak with words as well as gestures. Neil (1991) and Defleur
(1992) say the study of body movements which include gestures, posture, facial expressions and
eye contact is called kinesics. Gestures are meant to capture the attention of listeners as well as
emphasize and clarify points. They make the conversation interesting and facilitate
understanding. If you fail to gesture while speaking, then you are boring and stiff.

Posture / stance

The way one stands and walks can communicate volumes about a person. Walking with
confidence and standing with one’s head high implies a positive image. Standing upright and
leaning forward indicatse that one is approachable, receptive and friendly. This is because
interpersonal closeness results when you and the audience face each other. Speaking with your
back turned or looking at the floor or ceiling shows lack of confidence and lack of interest.
Walking slowly with sloping shoulders, eyes down and withdrawn shows a negative image.

Kinesics is categorized into 5 types i.e

1. Emblems-signs used to refer to certain words and interpretations e.g non-verbal cues or
body movements that do not require verbal accompaniment.
2. Regulators – non-verbal signals that maintain the flow of a speech during conversation,
regulate and are used as feedback e.g raising one’s hand during a speech to say a point or
ask a question.
3. Illustrators – non-verbal cues that accompany or reinforces verbal messages. It’s basically
use of gestures e.g motion of hands/ arms during a speech or dancing when talking about
dance or jumping up and down. You can nod your head to say no or stroking your
stomach to show you are hungry etc.
4. Adapters –hand arm and leg / foot movement used to reduce stress or relieve boredom. It
involves manipulation of the body eg licking, picking, holding, pointing etc. it also
involves posture, stance and step. Slumped posture indicates that you are fatigued.
5. Affective displays – these are facial expressions used to display emotions e.g smiling.
One should watch people’s behaviour to see if they are happy, angry, upset etc.

Dress / appearance

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When one communicates it is difficult to separate them from their message hence dressing and
appearance play a crucial role in communication. Defleur (1992) asserts that dress and
appearance can be used to communicate social views, political views and religious views. In
Western countries dressing in nude ways is acceptable whereas in African countries it is an
abomination and is associated with indecency. Choices of colour, clothing and hairstyles are a
means of non-verbal communication. Different colours can evoke different moods and can also
alter our physiological reactions, judgments and interpretations. Dress can also show one’s
profession, beliefs and who the person is and his/ her capabilities.

Paralanguage/ paralinguistic features

It refers to the vocal but non-verbal dimension of speech. It is an indication of such vocal
elements as tone, pitch, rhythm, timbre, loudness and inflection and vocal quality as well as
hesitations. It enhances or reduces believability. These vocal cues are linked in our minds with a
speaker’s characteristics, emotional state, personality, gender and even credibility. If you speak
in a monotone, listeners view you as boring and dull.

Proxemics/ Distance/ Space

It refers to the communicative function of space. Cultural norms dictate a comfortable distance
for interaction with others. Invading the other’s space may cause discomfort. According to Hall
(1966) proxemics is the study of human kind’s perception and use of space. Moore (2010) asserts
that personal space or distance describes the immediate space surrounding a person, while
territory refers to the area which a person may lay claim to and defend against others. One’s
treatment of space is influenced by such factors as status, culture, context, subject matter, sex,
age and positive or negative cultural orientation or perception of the other person. There are
basically four major proxemics as identified by Hall (1959, 1966),

1. Intimate space / distance

Ranges from skin contact to about 18 inches e.g people hugging, holding hands or
standing/ sitting side by side, kissing, touching, embracing etc. People in intimate
distance share a unique level of comfort with one another. It shows affection and gives
comfort and protection.
2. Personal distance

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 Ranges from 18inches to 4feet. It is usually between good friends and family members. It
is used during casual conversations and respects the human tendency to stake out
personal territory usually referred to as untouchable space.
3. Social distance
Ranges from 4feet to 12feet used for interaction among acquaintances used most often to
carry out business in work places under formal conditions. The higher the status the
greater the distance.

4. Public distance
Ranges from 12feet up to more than 25feet. It most used when talking to strangers or for
public speaking e.g in churches, lecture halls, courtrooms, rallies etc.

Proximity can demonstrate aggression when the speaker is too close or fear when the speaker
draws back.

Touch/ hapatics ( tactile communication)

Touch communication may communicate a variety of meanings, for example positive affects,
playfulness, control, ritual etc. Touch avoidance refers to human desires to avoid touching and
being touched by others. People tend to touch those they like. Touch can be used to communicate
affection, familiarity, sympathy and other emotions. It is perceived as positive, pleasurable and
reinforcing. Heslin (2005) identifies five types of touch-playful, control, ritualistic, task related
and unintentional touch.

Time Communication/ Chronemics

Refers to the messages communicated by our treatment of time. It refers to how people organize
and use time and the messages that are created because of their organization and use of it.
Cultural time focuses on how our culture defines and teaches time with the difficulties created by
the different meanings people have for different time terms. There are monochronic and
polychronic individuals.

Monochronic

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These are people who stick to one event at a time. They are mechanical, time conscious and view
time as a commodity. For them time is money and should not be lost because once lost cannot be
recovered. They use time wisely by doing things on correct time and they follow their
schedules. They are well known for being punctual and lack of punctuality for them is explained
off as African time.

Polychromic

They have a more relaxed attitude towards time and do not keep time as realized through failure
to meet appointments, meetings and some important/ special events. Africans have a leisurely,
related and less rigorous scheduled lifestyle. They are said to be polychromic because they can
manage more than one activity or event at a time rather than following a strict sequence. They
are emotional time conscious and time in a more holistic and perhaps circular form. They think
of time as a renewable resource and do things basing on their own time.

The way an individual perceives and values time, structure our time and react to time is a
powerful communication tool. Time perceptions include punctuality, willingness to wait and
interactions. Use of time may affect one’s lifestyle, daily agendas, speed of speech, movements
and how people are willing to listen. Time can be used as an indicator of status, e.g the boss can
call for an important meeting in the midst of a busy working day but an ordinary worker would
have to make an appointment to see the boss.

ORAL PRESENTATIONS

A presentation is a formal talk delivered to an audience. A successful presentation should always

be designed for a particular audience. Thus when making a presentation it is important to analyze
the audience in terms of their socio, political or economic background. Audience analysis is
imperative when one is making a presentation. One needs to know the size (number), age,
gender, level of education, cultural background, language, status of the people one would be
presenting to. The above considerations will help the presenter in the planning and delivery of
the presentation. One also needs to ensure that they have all the necessisary equipment and other
aids. One also needs to dress appropriately and properly. Also know the venue and sitting
arrangements beforehand. When the presentation starts one needs to first greet the audience,
introduce one-self so as to establish one’s authority on the subject. Speak clearly audibly,

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politely using appropriate register (choice of words) and eloquently, maintaining eye contact
with the audience without making them feel intimidated. Maintaining eye-contact ensures that
the audience keeps focused on the presenter and they feel persuaded to listen to you.

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