Academic writing

• Academic writing


  Clear, concise, focused, structured and backed up by evidence. Its purpose is to aid the reader's understanding.
• Academic writing


  • Formal tone and style, but not complex and does not require the use of long sentences and complicated vocabulary
• Forms of academic writing

  • Notes
  • Essay
  • Paper
  • Dissertation
  • Thesis
  • Report
• Notes


  Written records of the main points from a lecture or a written source for the personal use of the student
• Report


  Used to present and discuss the results of an experiment, survey or other research activity conducted by the student
• Report sections


  • Introduction
  • Literature Review/Background
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
• Project


  A piece of research in which the topic was chosen by the student, undertaken individually or in a group
• Project sections


  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Literature review
  • Methodology
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusions and recommendations
• Essay


  Any form of written work normally comprising 1000-1500 words, with the topic given by the lecturer
• Dissertation


  A long piece of writing normally done for the award of a PhD degree
• Thesis


  A piece of writing prepared for a Masters degree
• Academic paper


  A general term used for any essay, report, presentation or article of an academic nature
• General format of short essays

  1. Introduction

  2. Main Body

  3. Conclusion
• Format of longer essays and reports

  1. Introduction

  2. Main Body

  3. Literature review

  4. Case Study

  5. Discussion

  6. Conclusion

  7. References

  8. Appendices
• Format of dissertations and journal articles

  1. Abstract

  2. List of contents

  3. List of tables

  4. Introduction

  5. Main Body

  6. Literature review

  7. Case Study

  8. Findings

  9. Discussion

  10. Acknowledgements

  11. Conclusion

  12. References

  13. Appendices
• Using the active voice helps avoid unnecessary words and phrases that can clutter up your writing.
• Communication


  The act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviours to express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc. to someone else
• Communication


  A process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behaviour
• Communication


  The process by which meaning is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs and behaviours
• Communication process


  • It is an activity, an exchange or even a set of behaviours that is ongoing
  • It is cyclical, repetitive and continuous
  • It does not have a beginning, an end or a fixed sequence of events
  • It is not static or at rest, it is moving
• Elements of the communication process

  • Source
  • Message
  • Medium
  • Destination
  • Feedback
• Source


  The individual who initiates communication
• Message


  The words, symbols and behaviours which constitute the content of the communication process
• Medium


  The means used to convey the message
• Destination


  The individual or individuals to whom the message is directed or targeted at
• Feedback


  The verbal or non-verbal response to the message received from the sender
• Intrapersonal communication


  Communication that occurs within oneself
• Interpersonal communication


  Communication that occurs between two or more people
• Differences between intrapersonal and interpersonal communication

  • Intrapersonal: occurs within oneself, individual, when an individual wants to plan, reflect, understand themselves more, uses the mind, diaries, audio recordings, concerned with thought and analysis
  • Interpersonal: occurs between two or more individuals, when one wants to communicate with others, uses phone, letters, computers, concerned with exchange of ideas
• Verbal communication


  The use of words to convey a message, including written and oral communication
• Non-verbal communication


  The processes of sending and receiving information without the use of words, including use of time, personal space, body movement, eye contact, touch, and paralanguage
• Forms of non-verbal communication

  • Chronemics (use of time)
  • Proxemics (personal space)
  • Kinesics (body movement, gestures, facial expressions)
  • Oculesics (eye contact)
  • Haptics (touch)
  • Vocalics (use of voice/sound)
  • Appearance (use of environment, clothing, artifacts)
• Public communication


  Communication where the source transmits the message to a large group of receivers who give verbal and non-verbal feedback
• Mass communication


  Communication where the source transmits information to a large unseen audience through a mass media format
• Differences between public and mass communication

  • Public: information conveyed personally by the sender, the sender is the focus, uses verbal and non-verbal media, audience is a large group of seen receivers
  • Mass: information conveyed through mass media, the message is the focus, uses mass media, lacks immediate feedback but has improved with technology, audience is a large group of unseen receivers
• Four language skills needed by communicators

  • Listening
  • Speaking
  • Reading
  • Writing
• Productive language skills


  Speaking and writing
• Receptive language skills


  Listening and reading
• Barriers to effective communication

  • Physical barriers
  • Psychological barriers
  • Physiological barriers
  • Language/Linguistic barriers
  • Transmission barriers
  • Prejudice
• Physical barriers


  Environmental or natural conditions that prevent communication from taking place effectively, such as noise, overload of information, distance, time, poor lighting, poor ventilation