Communication Skills Dr. Maisara Mohyeldin Gasim Chapter 1 Essays and Reports.

Communication Skills

Dr. Maisara Mohyeldin Gasim

Chapter 1

Essays and Reports



Essays and reports

Today’s Objectives:By the end of this lecture students will be able to:

a) understand what writing an assignment involves.b) identify their strength and weaknesses;c) consider the functions of essays and reports;d) develop writing skills.



A report is any informational work (usually of writing, speech, television, or film) made with the specific intention of relaying information or recounting certain events in a widely presentable form.



An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author.



Reports and essays: key differencesReports Essays

Reports often originate from outside the academic world: they are typical of writing required for the world of work.

Essays originate in academic settings: they are rarely used anywhere else.

Essays and reports have different structures

Essays and reports have different structures



Reports Essays

Reports often present data and findings that you have collected yourself, for example through a survey, experiment or case study, or by applying theory to your workplace.

Essays focus on analyzing or evaluating theory, past research by other people, and ideas. They seldom present the findings of newly conducted research.

Reports and essays: key differences



Reports Essays

A report is divided into separate, headed (and sometimes numbered) sections and sub-sections.

Essays do not usually have sections; they flow as a continuous piece of writing.

A report may contain tables, charts and diagrams.

Essays do not usually include tables, charts or diagrams




Reports Essays

Reports usually include descriptions of the methods used (e.g. ‘I observed’)

Essays should not refer to the method used in arriving at conclusions.

The description in a report often includes comment on how the research could be improved and extended.

Essays are not usually reflective about the process of researching and writing the essay itself.

Reports often include recommendations for action.

Essays do not include recommendations.




Essays and reports: similarities

Both use formal academic style Have some form of introduction, main

body and a conclusion Contain critical analysis Are well structured and presented



Identifying key concerns

Your feelings about writingThink for a moment about your reasons for studying this unit. Is it perhaps because you don't understand what is expected of you in your assignments, or that you aren't clear about how to improve? What are your feelings about your writing skills? What previous experience have you had (if any) of essay or report writing?



Activity 1

You might find it helpful to write down your thoughts at this stage in your Learning Journal and keep them for future reference. You can look back on them at another time and see if they have changed in any way.



The purpose of writing

1. to meet the assessment requirements of my course;

2. to demonstrate my understanding of particular topics to my tutor;

3. to check that my writing is at the right level for my course.



Ways to improve your language

Interact with as many different people as possible.

Make an effort to always speak English even with friends.

Learn language in ‘Chunks’ Watch TV, read in English. Make sure you have a good English/English

dictionary.

Engineering Mechanics

Dr. Maisara Mohyeldin Gasim Mohamed

Technical and specific language

Use technical language and words specific to your discipline where appropriate.

However, it is wise to avoid convoluted phrases and terms when writing about general information.



What is the point of academic writing? The substance of academic writing must

be based on solid evidence and logical analysis, and presented as a concise, accurate argument.

Academic writing can allow you to present your argument and analysis accurately and concisely.



Why is the following text not a good example of academic style? Today being fat is totally bad for your

health. About 30,000 fat people die every year in the UK and loads more fat people die in the USA. By 2005 more people will die of being fat than smoking and it doesn’t have to be this way, this could easily be prevented, couldn't it?



Answer

The number of deaths per year attributable to obesity is roughly 30,000 in the UK and ten times that in the USA, where obesity is set to overtake smoking in 2005 as the main preventable cause of illness and premature death.



How can you make writing impersonal?

What is writing in the first person? What is impersonal writing? Can you give an example of impersonal

writing?



Be Impersonal

In many academic disciplines, writing in the first person is not acceptable as it is believed to be too subjective and personal. Many tutors prefer impersonal language to be used in assignments.



Writing in the first person

First person sentences use the pronouns ‘I’ and ‘we’. For example:

We have considered... I suggest that... I have observed...

These can be transformed into-



Impersonal sentences

Consideration has been given to... The suggestion is made that... It has been observed that...



Types of reports

• Can you think of any reports that you have read ?



When are reports produced?

• Often after a project or investigation.

• Projects/Investigations can be practical

• Or literature based



Academic reports

• A report presents the results of an investigation.

• Reports are highly structured forms of writing.



Standard Reports

• Title• Abstract/ Executive Summary/Overview• Introduction• Background/Scene Setting• Literature Review• Method• Results/ Analysis



• Discussion.• Recommendations.• References ( using an appropriate system)• Bibliography.• Appendices.



Basic Framework for a research report

• Preliminaries- The title Acknowledgements List of contents List of figures/tables

• Introduction - The abstract Statement of the problem



Main body

• Main body- Review of the literature Design of the investigation Measurement techniques used Results



End sections

• Conclusion – Discussion and conclusion• Summary of conclusions

• Extras – Bibliography Appendices



What do these terms mean?

• Please note: many reports will contain different or additional features.



Title Page

• A title is very important!• An article title is the large heading displayed

above the content of any article. The title indicates what the article is about and distinguishes it from other articles



Abstract

A brief summary of the entire report, generally around 150 - 200 words.

Write the abstract after you have written the report.



Introduction

• Provide a context for the report.

• States the purpose of the report.

• Indicates what the report will cover.



Literature Review

• Not needed in a standard report- but required for thesis/dissertation

• Critical evaluation of literature on topic or issue of study

• Identify gaps in subject area

Methodology, results, discussion

• Methodology summarises what you did.

• Results describes what you discovered, observed, etc, in your observations and experiments.

• Discussion - discusses and explains your findings and relates them to previous research.



Conclusion, recommendations

• Conclusion - sums up the main points of the report.

• Recommendations - suggestions for future action..



References, appendices

• References (Harvard or Vancouver)

• Appendices - An appendix contains material which is too detailed to include in the report.



The structure of essaysAn essay consists of:• An introduction that contextualizes (gives some background information about) the issue and that ‘signposts’ what the essay is going to cover.• The body of the essay, divided into paragraphs that each deal with a different aspect of the issue. Most of the paragraphs in the body of an essay should be linked – one idea should ‘flow’ into another.• A conclusion that summarizes the main points made in the essay.• A bibliography (or reference list).



Review

• Academic writing is formal in style and there are a number of conventions to follow.

• Once you have completed your first few assignments, you should become more familiar and confident with this style of writing.



• Reports are highly structured forms of writing and differ from essays.

• The features of reports vary, but some common features have been introduced.

• The report writing style should be concise and formal.



References

• COTTRELL, S. The study skills handbook. Second edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan; 2003.

• JORDAN, R.R., Academic Writing Course: Study Skills in English. Second edition. Harlow: Pearson Education; 1990.

Communication Skills Dr. Maisara Mohyeldin Gasim Chapter 1 Essays and Reports.

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