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COMMUNICATION SKILLS

COMS 1010

August 2012

Centre for Professional Development and Lifelong Learning

UNIVERSITY OF MAURITIUS

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COMMUNICATION SKILLS

COMS 1010

COURSE MANUAL

Centre for Professional Development and Lifelong Learning

UNIVERSITY OF MAURITIUS

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CONTRIBUTORS

Communication Skills, COMS 1010 was prepared for the Centre for Professional

 Development & Lifelong Learning, University of Mauritius. The Pro-Vice Chancellor-

Teaching & Learning- acknowledges the contribution of the following course authors

 from the Faculty of Social Studies and Humanities: 

Mrs M Auleear Owodally

Mrs C Chan-Meetoo

Ms M Paroomal

The course authors are grateful for the comments provided by Assoc. Prof. D. Gokhool,

Faculty of Law and Management.

August 2012

All rights reserved. No part of the work may be reproduced in any

form, without the written permission from the University of

Mauritius, Réduit, Mauritius. 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THE COURSE

Unit 1: Introducing Communication C. Chan-Meetoo

Unit 2: Effective Use of English M. Auleear Owodally

Unit 3: Writing Skills M. Auleear Owodally

Unit 4: Non-verbal Communication M. Paroomal

Unit 5: Informative Speeches;

Speeches on/for Special Occasions

M. Paroomal

Unit 6: Modes of Speech Delivery;

Presentation Aids

M. Paroomal

C. Chan-Meetoo

Unit 7: Persuasive Speeches M. Paroomal

Unit 8: Perception and Listening Skills M. Paroomal

Unit 9: Business and Technical Writing M. Auleear Owodally

REFERENCE LIST

ASSIGNMENT FILE

SAMPLE EXAMINATION PAPER

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 HOW DO I USE THE COURSE MANUAL?

Take a few minutes to glance through the entire manual to get an idea of its structure.

 Notice that the format of the different units is fairly consistent throughout the manual. For

example, each unit begins with an OVERVIEW,  and LEARNING OUTCOMES

sections.

The OVERVIEW  provides a brief introduction to the unit and provide perquisite skills

and knowledge you will have to possess to proceed successfully with the unit.

You should then read the LEARNING OUTCOMES. These objectives identify the

knowledge and skills you will have acquired once you have successfully completed the

study of a particular unit. They also show the steps that will eventually lead to the

successful completion of the course. The learning objectives also provide a useful guide

for review.

WHERE DO I BEGIN?

You should begin by taking a look at the TABLE OF CONTENTS in the MANUAL.

The table provides you with a framework for the entire course and outlines the

organisation and structure of the material you will be covering. The Course Schedule 

indicates how you should allocate your workload and what you should be working on in

each week to be ready for the respective tutorial. You should stick to the Course Schedule

to ensure that you are working at a steady space and that your workload does not pile up.

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Proposed*Course Schedule (COMS 1010)

Session Student’s Workplan Tutorial

01 Read Unit 1 Introduction to module

02 Read Unit 2 Discuss Unit 1; submission of topic for

mock essay (Assignment 1)

03 Read Unit 3. Do Assignments in Unit 3,

Parts 1, 2,3

Discuss Unit 2

04 Do Assignment in Unit 3, Parts 4,5 Discuss Unit 3

05 Read Unit 4. Do Assignment in Unit 3,

Part 6Submit Assignment 1 (Portfolio) 

Discuss Unit 4

06 Read Unit 5 Discuss Unit 5

07 Prepare/ Practise for Assignment 2 Assignment 2 due

08 Read Unit 6 Discuss Unit 6

09 Read Unit 7 Discuss Unit 7

10 Prepare/ Practice for Assignment 3 Assignment 3 due11 Read Unit 8 Assignment 3 due

12 Read Unit 9/ Work out Activities 1-3 Discuss Unit 8

13 Read Unit 9 work out activities 4-5 Discuss Unit 9

14 Revision Revision

15 Revision Revision

* Any change will be communicated by your respective tutor in class.

YOUR TUTOR

A one and a half hour tutorial class will be held as specified in the Course Schedule . Refer

to the course schedule to check the unit(s) you must prepare before  attending your

tutorial.

Remember that a tutorial class is not a formal lecture and to make the most of tutorial

classes, it is vital that students come prepared in the way indicated below:-.

  Preparation required:

  studying the course notes and readings for the relevant unit.

  working through the activities which are sprinkled throughout the units. Your

response to these activities will be discussed during the tutorial.

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Your tutor will keep a close watch on your progress and any difficulties you may have,

and provide you with whatever assistance you may need in the tutorial class.

 Note that tutorials are also opportunities for you to discuss your views and ideas with

your fellow classmates. The feedback you get from the tutorial sessions can further enrich

your comprehension of certain concepts and you can influence the way others think about

a certain issue too. So feel free to discuss the answers to the activities with your peers and

the tutor.

NOTE:

For this module you are required to submit/present three assignments.

Refer to the Assignment File for more information.

ASSESSMENT

  COURSE GRADING SCHEME:

Continuous Assessment: 50 marks

Examinations: 50 marks

 

CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT:

Assignment 1 (Written Assignment Portfolio) - 20 marks

Assignment 2 (Speeches on/for Special Occasions) - 10 marks

Assignment 3 (Informative Speech) - 20 marks

  FINAL EXAMINATIONS:

  Scheduled and administered by the Registrar’s Office

  A two-hour paper at the end of the Semester.

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STUDY TIPS

Much of your time in the course will be spent reading. Your comprehension and

assessment of what you read are likely to be best if you heed the following tips:

1. Organise your time. It is best to complete each assigned reading in one sitting.

The logical progression of thought in a chapter/unit can be lost if it is interrupted.

2. Be an active reader. Use question marks to flag difficult or confusing passages.

Put exclamation marks beside passages you find particularly important. Write

short comments in the margins as you go. For example, if you disagree with an

author’s argument or if you think of examples which counter the position

 presented, note your opinions in the margin.

If you prefer to leave your book pages unmarked, you can make your notations on

“post-it-notes”.

3. Read critically. You must evaluate, as well as appreciate and understand, what

you read. Ask questions. Is the author’s argument logical? Are there alternatives

to the author’s explanations or to the conclusions drawn? Does the information fit

with your experience?

4. Take notes. If you make notes on an article or chapter right after finishing it, you

reap a number of benefits. First, note-taking allows you an immediate review of

what you have just read. (You will find that this review helps you recall

information). Second, it gives you an opportunity to reassess your flagged or

margin comments. Finally, it gives you a second shot at deciphering any confusing

 passages.

5. Review your scribbling! Whether or not you make separate notes on your

readings, review your flags, underlining and marginalia. Study closely those

 passages you considered significant or difficult.

6. Write down your ideas in a course journal. As you progress through the

course, the new information you absorb will stimulate new thoughts, questions,

ideas, and insights. These may not be directly related to the subject matter, but

may be of great interest to you. Use these ideas to focus your personal

involvement in this and other courses.

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7. Your ability to explain the subject matter to others is a good test of your true

comprehension of the material. Try explaining the material you are learning to

others, classmates or friends, without resorting to jargon. Even if some of them

are not directly involved with the techniques discussed in this course, many of the

concepts may be of interest to them.

8. Activities found in units will not be marked. We strongly recommend that you

do not skip any of them. They will help you prepare for the graded assignments.

 Now, it’s time to get to work. Good luck and enjoy the course! 

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UNIT 1 INTRODUCING COMMUNICATION

Unit Structure

1.0  Overview

1.1 Learning Outcomes

1.2 What is Communication?

1.3 Models of communication

1.3.1 Linear or Bull’s Eye Model

1.3.2 Circular Flow or Ping-pong Model

1.3.3 Harold Lasswell’s Model

1.4 Information Theory

1.4.1 Source/Encoding/Transmission

1.4.2 Receiver/Decoding/Destination

1.4.3 Message, Channel and Code

1.4.4 Sources of Noise and Interference

1.4.5 Feedback

1.5 Aspects of Communication

1.6 The Levels of Communication Process

1.6.1 Intrapersonal Level

1.6.2 Interpersonal Level

1.6.3 Intragroup and Intergroup Levels

1.6.4 Institutional Level

1.6.5 Public Communication

1.6.5.1 Mass Communication

1.7 A Few Points to Remember

1.8 Answers to Activities

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1.0 OVERVIEW

This unit focuses on the question: "What is communication?"  

We consider the elements present in communication, the types of flows of communication,

functions of communication and various levels in communication.

1.1  LEARNING OUTCOMES

After having completed this unit, you should be able to do the following:-

1. 

Define communication;

2.  Describe and explain the process of communication;

3.  Distinguish the elements of communication;

4.  Identify the various functions of communication;

5.  Isolate the various levels at which communication occurs;

6.  Apply knowledge gained to analyse your interaction with others in different types of

situations;

7.  Apply knowledge gained to analyse communication situations that you may witness in

your academic, professional and social lives.

1.2  WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?

"We cannot not communicate"  

(Paul Watzlawick) 

"No man is an island, entire of itself"

(John Donne)

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"Communication" is today a very fashionable term that has emerged with what we like to

call the "information society" or "knowledge-based society". It is also of common opinion

that communication is THE skill that gives people an edge. The meaning of this magic

word, communication, is hard to pin down. What is communication?

Communication is a functional prerequisite of society and culture. It is an important

determining agent for social organisation, personality building and cultural occurrences

that make up our social fabric. Communication is therefore everywhere and occurs all the

time. This is what the two authors quoted above meant. We cannot NOT communicate!

This piece of information may puzzle you if you think that communication is only about

written and spoken words. You will however learn later that communication can be non-

verbal and non-vocal. Our gestures, eyes, tone of voice, as well as our silences convey

something! Illustrations, drawings and pictures also are vectors of meaning.

Communication = sharing of meanings

Communication can be broadly defined as a "sharing of meaning". In fact, the word

"communication" is derived from the Latin verb "communicare", which means: "be in

connection with". "Communication" also belongs to the same family of words as

"community".

In communication, there is a sharing of meanings among persons or other entities. Those

meanings may be transmitted through:

 

a linguistic form (through a structured language)

  a symbolic form (e.g. the   pictogram means ‘phone number’

irrespective of the language we are using).

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Conventions to avoid confusion

Colin Cherry (1957) defines communication as “a sharing of elements of behaviour or

modes of life, by the existence of rules”. He introduces the idea of rules and social

conventions that give us a common set of signs and symbols to be used for transmitting

and assigning meanings. These rules help us ensure that we are on the same wavelength

and prevent possible misinterpretations.

All the words that exist in language are the result of a social agreement as there is no

direct connection between these words (both in their oral and written forms) and the

things or ideas they designate.

For example the word "dog" bears no resemblance whatsoever with the domestic animal!

It is a pure matter of chance that people have chosen this set of letters (D-O-G); it could

have been any other chain of characters. As a matter of fact, different languages have

different signs for the same notions. French speakers use the word "chien" for dog,

Germans use "hund " and in Creole we use "lisien"!

(Note: There are a few exceptions where the words used do have some kind of

connection with the things or concepts they designate. For example, some words are

onomatopoeic, i.e., they imitate the sound designated as in ‘the cuckoo’, the “cock-a-

doodle-do”).

Activity 1

Form groups of 5 to 6 persons. Each group will invent new words and set up their own

codes to communicate amongst themselves. The various groups may then try to

communicate.

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1.3  MODELS OF COMMUNICATION

 Now that you have learnt that communication is a sharing of meanings made possible by

the existence of conventions, let us look at simple theoretical models of communication.

Models help us organise our knowledge and give us a more comprehensible approach to

 phenomena that occur around us. However, bear in mind that each of the following

models is just an attempt to explain communication. Each model sheds light on the process

of communication from a different angle. The models that we have used are amongst the

most popular ones that are used to teach communication at this level. They are, of course,

non-exhaustive…

1.3.1  Linear or Bull's Eye Model

The Linear or Bull's Eye model is the simplest one used in Communication Studies. It

describes communication as a one-way flow between two actors (a sender and a receiver).

Below is a diagram that illustrates the Bull's Eye model.

Diagram 1.1

Messa e

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An example where communication is linear in its flow is found in the following illustration.

The writers of this manual are sending messages to you through this manual. Manual

writers are therefore acting as senders of information and you are acting as receivers.

Activity 2

Identify at least two communication occurrences that fit into the Bull's Eye model.

1.3.2  Circular Flow or Ping-pong Model

The circular flow or ping-pong model of communication describes a situation where there

are series of interactions between senders and receivers. As the ping-pong metaphor

suggests, the actors take turns to send messages to each other. The idea of feedback and

retroaction is here incorporated, as opposed to the Bull's Eye model. The initial sender of

a message becomes a receiver as soon as his/her counterpart responds.

Diagram 1.2

Sender Receiver 

Course

writersStudents 

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Ping-pong communication occurs everyday in conversations, meetings, brainstorming

sessions. When you communicate with your friends, the ping-pong ball keeps coming back

and forth between you and the others.

Another image that is also used to describe non-linear communication is the spiral of

communication:

Diagram 1.3

1.3.3  Harold Lasswell's Model

Harold Lasswell, an American social scientist in the 1940’s, came up with a series of 5

questions that help in identifying the major elements in communication.

"Who says What to Whom through What channel, with What effects?"

This simple easy-to-retain formula is also known as the 5W's. Each of those W's indicates

an important aspect of every communication occurrence:

  Who says? the sender

  What? the message /content / topics

 

To Whom? the receiver

  Through What channel? medium /means /languages

  With What effects? modification /transformation of opinions, attitudes,

 behaviour, whether intended or not (effect on receiver)

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You may as well add a sixth W:

  Why? functions / purposes (intentions of sender)

 Note that the effects of the message on the receiver may not be identical to the effects

intended by the transmitter. For example, you will definitely not receive and interpret this

manual 100% as the course writers intend you to…

Here, the transmitters' intention is pedagogical (transmission of knowledge and therefore

incremental change in your knowledge). But, the results are not guaranteed due to

reception barriers such as lack of concentration, boredom, daydreaming ormisinterpretation (refer to section 1.4.4).

1.4  INFORMATION THEORY

During World War II, two American AT&T telecommunications engineers, Claude

Shannon and Warren Weaver, worked on what became known as the Information Theory.

They used physics, mathematics and engineering concepts to develop the theory which

they explained in a paper entitled The Mathematical Theory of Communication  in The

 Bell System Technical Journal.

Information theory deals with the quantitative study of information in messages and the

flow of information between senders and receivers. It was initially developed to separate

noise from information-carrying signals. The objective was to measure the volume of

signals that could pass on a line during a certain amount of time. Social theorists later used

this model to develop simplified versions that describe the communication process:

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You will note that Diagram 1.5 differs from diagram 1.4 mainly in that it introduces the

element of ‘Noise Source’, which we will discuss later.

Let us now have a look at each of the elements presented in the diagrams.

Channel of information

Source encoder transmitter channel receiver dec oder 

Message Message 

Signal Received

Signal 

Informatio

n source  Transmitter Destination 

Receiver 

Noise

Source 

Diagram 1.4

Diagram 1.5

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1.4.1  Source / Encoding / Transmission

Source, encoder and transmitter are three elements that belong to the "initialisation" stageof the communication process. They were lumped into the notion of 'sender' in section

1.3.1.

The Source

The source is the initiator of the process: he or she wants to transmit thoughts, ideas and

feelings to his or her counterpart who thus becomes the receiver.

Encoding

Encoding refers to the activities that a source goes through to translate thoughts, ideas

and feelings into a form that may be perceived by the senses. For example, before

speaking, an individual has to use his/her brain to select words and sentence structures

from his/her personal database to carry the message. Naturally, different encoders have

different skills in choosing the most appropriate codes for communicating. This accounts

for differences in people's communication skills!

Transmission

Transmission refers to the action of using physical channels to get the message across to

the receiver. In the above-mentioned example, after having encoded the message, the

speaker will have to use his vocal organs to emit sound signals and thus pronounce the

words and sentences of the message. The encoding / transmission process might also take

 place over various stages. For telephone conversations, the speaker encodes thoughts into

words and the telephone mechanism transforms the sound waves into electrical variations

along the line to the receiving telephone.

  If we try to isolate the notions of source / encoder / transmitter in the process of

writing up for this manual, we can say that the message contained in this manual

originates from various sources: numerous readings done by the manual writers,

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their previous experience in teaching Communication Skills, their own reflections

and original ideas.

  Encoding  is done in the writers' brains as they try to select the most appropriate

vocabulary, sentences and format to impart their knowledge to you.

  Finally, transmission of the message is ensured by the physical action of drawing

symbols from the Roman alphabet on paper with the help of ink, i.e., typing out the

words, sentences and paragraphs on the pages of this manual so that you can read

them.

Activity 3

Look for advertising inserts in newspapers and try to identify the source, the encoder and

the transmitter of these commercial messages.

1.4.2  Receiver / Decoding / Destination

Just like Source / Encoding / Transmission were lumped into the idea of 'sender', the items

Receiver / Decoding / Destination were broadly categorised under the heading of 'receiver'

in section 1.3.1.

The Receiver

The receiver is the target of the message. It might be a specific individual or multiple

receivers. The receivers can be specifically targeted by the source as in one-to-one

communication or they might choose willingly to act as receivers in the case of a message

addressed to a large anonymous crowd (e.g. an audience for a TV show). Note that the

source and the receiver(s) may be in each other's immediate presence or may be separated

 both in space and time (e.g. a book written last century, a pre-recorded TV programme).

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Decoding

Decoding is the reverse of encoding and refers to the activities that translate or interpret

 physical messages into a form that has eventual meaning for a receiver.

The Destination

The destination is the ultimate entity that receives and stores the message sent.

  To carry on with the applied example used in section 1.4.1, your eyes are acting as

receivers for the visual information sent to you in this manual. Your eyes detect

forms that have been drawn with ink on paper to represent signs of the Roman

alphabet. Therefore, your eyes are acting as the receiving  device in this

communication event.

  When these visual messages (sequences of signs on paper) have reached your

 brain, you now have to decipher or decode  the message and come up with the

meanings of the succession of English words, sentences and paragraphs. You thus

go through different stages: identify the code used (which language?), and grasp

the meaning of the message (What are we 'talking' about? What are the main ideas

 being conveyed?).

  Finally, you store the data that you have decoded in a section of your brain for

further use. That section of your brain that specialises in memorisation is therefore

the physical destination of the message.

1.4.3  Message, Channel and Code

The Message

The message is the actual physical product that the source encodes. In oral

communication, our speech is the message. In written communication, the words and

sentences that are put on paper are the message. The message can be addressed to one

specific individual ('one-to-one' or 'many-to-one' communication) or to multiple receivers

('one-to-many' or 'many-to-many' communication).

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The Channel

The channel refers to the physical way the message travels to the receiver. For example,

sound waves carry words that are spoken and light waves carry visual messages such as

written text, illustrations, pictures. Some messages use only one channel of

communication (e.g. written text). Others may cumulate various channels. For instance,

movies use both visual (moving images on screen, titles) and oral channels (soundtracks

transmitted by the movie theatre's speaker systems).

The Code

The code refers to the systems of signs (available language or symbolic forms and

associated rules governing their use) that are used to transmit the message. In language,

the vocabulary level and the sentence structures chosen make up the code. A sign can be

defined as the minimal unit of meaning in a code (a word, a pictogram, an element of body

language).

In fact, there are different levels of code. Before trying to convey ideas to our counterpart,

we have multiple possibilities in terms of codes. To impart communication skills to you,

we might have decided to make a film instead of a manual! We would then be using the

cinematographic code that combines multiple codes (body code, oral codes, written

codes).

You will find that it is difficult to isolate the code from the channel. To be clearer, let us

say that the channel is a physical medium whereas the code is a set of signs that is used

within the channel to convey meaning.

1.4.4  Sources of Noise and Interference

 Noise is an item that interferes with the delivery of the message and that can impede the

communication process. Because of noise and interference, the message that is decoded

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 by the receiver will not be an exact replicate of the original message that was encoded or

the signal carrying the message will not even reach the receiver altogether!

We can categorise noise under four broad headings:

1. 

Mechanical noise

Mechanical noise usually occurs when a physical device is used either to encode or

decode the message or both. In this case, there is a problem with the physical medium

itself. For instance, in a telephone conversation, the apparatus or the physical lines of

communication may be faulty. As a result, the sound waves being transmitted over

the telephone line may be unclear so that the message is distorted.

2.  Semantic noise

Semantic noise occurs when different people have different meanings for the same

words and phrases. Misunderstandings thus arise because of multiple meanings

assigned to the same words and phrases. This kind of situation (called "quiproquo" in

French) is often exploited in theatre plays and movies for comic or tragic purposes.

3.  Environmental noise

Sources of noise may be completely external to the communication process. For

example, in a public place like a restaurant, the other people surrounding you and

your counterpart may be so noisy that you cannot even hear each other. This is

known as environmental noise.

4.  Internal noise

Internal noise occurs inside the mind of the receiver. The latter may not properly

receive, decode and store the data sent because of a number of internal barriers such

as selective attention, selective distortion and selective recall.

Selective attention refers to the fact that the receiver cannot pay attention to all the

stimuli or the receiver focuses on something other than the communication at hand.

You have certainly experienced this situation in class during a lecture or a talk. In this

case, your daydreaming interferes with the proper reception and decoding of

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messages sent to you by your lecturer. Of course, you would have to make sure this

happens as rarely as possible!

Selective distortion occurs when receivers twist the message to hear what they want

to hear. People often have set attitudes and expectations about what they will hear orsee due to stereotyping, prejudices and bias. They will thus distort the message

received so that it fits into their belief system.

Selective recall happens because people will retain in permanent memory only a small

fraction of the messages that reach them.

1.4.5  Feedback

Feedback refers to those responses of the receiver that may alter and shape the subsequent

messages of the source. The receiver becomes the new source and vice versa. This

explains the communication spiral as discussed in section 1.3.2.

Feedback is important as it allows the source to adjust and attempt a change in some

elements of the communication process to satisfy the demands of his addressee. Feedback

also acts as a regulator in the case of sources of noise that interfere with the transmission

of the message.

For instance, in the case of semantic noise, the receiver's reactions, which make up the

feedback, will give an important hint to the initial sender. Thanks to the receiver's

feedback (e.g. raised eyebrows, puzzled reply), the sender may understand that the

message did not get across properly. As a result, he/she may reformulate the initial

message to discard misunderstandings.

Feedback is very important to communication because it lets the

 participants in the communication setting see whether ideas and feelings

have been shared in the way they were intended.

(Weaver, 1949)

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 Note that feedback can be negative (e.g. raised eyebrows showing disagreement or

confusion, strong reply, or even wearing a completely bored expression on the face!) or

 positive (e.g. smiles, nods, assents).

Feedback can also be immediate (on the spot) or delayed (due to time or spaceconstraints).

1.5  ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATION

Murielle Saville-Troike is a researcher whose theories are also helpful in understanding

communication. In her book The Ethnography of Communication published in 1982, she

identified the following as being ten aspects that are interesting to analyse in

communication events:

1. The genre or type of event (e.g. joke, story, lecture, greeting, conversation).

2. The topic or referential focus (what is the overarching theme?).

3. The purpose  or function, both of the event in general (e.g. sensitisation of the

 public on a specific issue) and in terms of the interaction goals of individual

 participants (e.g. your goals in the tutorial sessions may be to learn a few tips from

your tutor to improve your communication skills).4. The setting, including location, time of day, season of year and physical aspects of

the situation (e.g. size of the room, arrangement of furniture). The setting may

have a bearing on the communication style that you adopt. For instance, lecturers

might not communicate in a Lecture Theatre in the same way that they

communicate in a small classroom.

5. The participants, including their age, sex, ethnicity, social status, or other relevant

categories and their relationship to one another.

6. The message form, including both vocal and non-vocal channels and the nature of

the code which is used (e.g. which language and which variety?).

7. The message content, or surface level denotative references (what are the ideas

 being communicated?).

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8.  The act sequence, or ordering of communicative speech acts, including turn taking

and overlap phenomena.

9.  The rules of interaction, or what properties should be observed (e.g. students, as

a rule, will not interrupt lecturers in a whimsical fashion!).

10.  The norms of interpretation, including common knowledge, the relevant cultural

 presuppositions, or shared understandings which allow particular inferences to be

drawn about what is to be taken literally.

1.6  THE LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION PROCESS

Levels of communication process refer to the level of complexity on which communication

occurs, mainly in terms of number of people involved. Channels used, message structures

and opportunity for feedback vary according to the number of people involved, the degree

of formality, the setting, the goals pursued.

1.6.1  Intrapersonal Level

Intrapersonal communication occurs within a single person. It is an internal process of

‘self-communication’ and processing of information within one’s brain. This level of

communication involves the encoding and formulating of a message and the thinking

 process. Before communicating with others, intrapersonal communication is vital.

Examples are thought processes, diary entries, and notes to oneself that help personal

reflection and organisation.

The intrapersonal level refers to the processing of information on an

individual basis (for instance, attention, perception, comprehension, recall

and learning). The possible effects are on knowledge, opinion and attitude.

(McQuail, 1987)

Intrapersonal communication also integrates things that make up our self, our feelings and

the way we perceive our individual selves. The individual here is the sender and the

receiver. Messages circulate inside our brain with instant feedback. In fact, we can say that

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individuals hold private conversations within their own mind. The content of the messages

may be positive (self-congratulation) or negative (remorse). The outcome of intrapersonal

communication may, as well, have an impact on interaction with others.

1.6.2  Interpersonal Level

Interpersonal communication refers to communication occurring between and amongst

 persons. It is often one-to-one but it may include more than two persons. Interpersonal

communication is characterised by immediate feedback. It is often based on some shared

feature of daily life: something we have in common such as our environment, interests,

needs, activities, beliefs. Communication between and communication within a happy

couple are examples of interpersonal communication on a very intimate basis. Some people are endowed with very good interpersonal skills, meaning that they can easily

interact with other people.

Good interpersonal skills require a high level of self-awareness. Understanding your

 personal style of communicating will help you create and maintain good relations with

others.

There are three basic communication styles:

1.  Aggressive Style:  The communicator constantly interrupts, exaggerates, blames,

makes demands or uses sarcasm. Voice volume can be very high and thus difficult

to bear for the counterparts. Other people's feelings are not rated very high with

the aggressive person.

2.  Passive Style: The person is constantly hesitating or apologising and usually says

nothing or easily gives in. Often, the person avoids eye contact and speaks in a shy

or timid voice, or mumbles.

3.  Assertive Style: The individual speaks clearly and firmly, using "I" statements, and

shows respect for self and for others. He or she uses an upright confident body

 posture and a pleasant, firm voice for communicating with others.

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The assertive style is the one to strive for. However, very few people are all one or

another style. In fact, the aggressive style is vital in some cases, for example, during

emergencies (for rapid decision-making). Passiveness can also help, for example, when an

issue is minor or when there are highly emotional situations demanding that we stay calm

and take the time to regain perspective.

Activity 4

Identify your interpersonal styles with the help of the checklist on the following page. Be

honest with yourself!

CHECKLIST OF COMMUNICATION STYLES 

1.  Mottos and Beliefs

 I have rights and so do others." Believes self and others are valuable.

 "Don't make waves" and "Don't disagree"

 "I'm always right and others are just fools."

2.  Communication Style

 Interrupts and monopolises attention, poor listener.

 Active listener, expresses self directly, honestly and checks on others feelings. Indirect, always seems to agree, doesn't speak up.

3.  Characteristics

  Apologetic, self-conscious, doesn't express own feelings, allows others to make

decisions for self.

 Domineering, bullying and patronizing.

 Confident, trusts self and others, non-judgmental, sense of humour.

4. 

Behaviour Bossy and puts others down - know-it-all attitude.

 Self-effacing, complains without taking action, never takes sides in conflicts.

 Consistent, fair, just, operates from choice.

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5.  Non-verbal Cues

  Direct eye contact, open and natural gestures, varied rate of speech, interested

facial expression.

 Critical, loud, yelling tone of voice with fast, clipped speech.

  Nods head often as if pleading, downcast eyes, low voice volume, rapid pace

when anxious; slow and hesitant when doubtful.

6.  Verbal Cues

 "What are my options?" "What alternatives do we have?"

 "You must (should, ought better)."

 "I can't..." "You have more experience than I do."

7.  Confrontation and Problem-Solving

 Operates from win/lose position, Must win arguments.

 Sullen, withdrawn and silent, agrees externally, while disagreeing internally.

 Negotiates and compromises.

8.  Feelings Felt

 Enthusiasm, even tempered, sense of well-being.

 Anger, hostility and frustration. Powerlessness, wonders why doesn't receive credit for good work.

9.  Effects

  Forces compliance with resentment and provokes alienation from others or

counter-aggression.

 Others know where they stand, increased self-esteem and self-confidence.

 Slowly loses self-esteem and builds dependency relationships.

- Aggressive Style

- Passive Style

 - Assertive Style

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1.6.3  Intragroup and Intergroup Levels

Intragroup  level refers to communication occurring amongst members of a group of

 persons. Inside a group, there may be various flows of communication on a 'one-to-one'

 basis or 'one-to-many' basis, depending on the size of the group and on the implicit rulesthat are followed.

Within a small-group communication  uses the same channels as for interpersonal

communication are used with almost immediate feedback. However, as there may be

multiple receivers, messages need to be more structured, especially when specific goals are

targeted. Settings also tend to be more formal. Intragroup communication occurs within

family circles, clubs and associations. Facilitating factors for fruitful interaction are: similar

 backgrounds, similar levels of skill in writing / speaking / reading.

Intergroup communication refers to communication amongst different groups, i.e. when a

group communicates with another one.

For example, an association writes to another one to ask for their collaboration as a

charity initiative.

1.6.4  Institutional Level

Institutional or organisational communication refers to the sets of communication flows

occurring within an organisation or institution (including firms, non-profit organisations

and governmental bodies).

Formal vs. Informal communication

In the internal communication flow of organisations and firms, there are at least two types

of communication:

  Formal communication

This communication follows the lines of the firm's chart. The communication flows

downwards (from managers to subordinates) and seldom upwards (from employees to

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employers). Formal downward communication leaves little room for feedback from

employees.

  Informal communication

Informal communication entails no written documents. However rigid the structure,

there will always be an informal network of information and communication inside an

organisation. The main characteristic of informal communication is that there are no

traces for record; the communication somehow has no permanent character, except in

the minds of people. In fact, the more rigid an organisation is, the more chances there

are that informal communication will develop with the rapid circulation of rumour and

hearsay. This type of communication is essentially horizontal as compared to the

vertical flow of communication imposed by hierarchical status.

1.6.5  Public Communication

Public communication refers to very formal communication, usually on a 'one-to-many'

 basis. It may be face-to-face (e.g. a public talk in a specific location) or transmitted

through a mass medium (e.g. a minister's speech covered by the television news bulletin).

This type of communication usually entails a highly structured message in a formal setting.

There is limited opportunity for feedback as audiences are bigger and individuals become

anonymous listeners / viewers / readers. Delivery also tends to be very formal (e.g. louder

voice for oral communication).

However, the communicator may sometimes decide to change the above parameters for

 public communication. For instance, a public speaker in a room may encourage listeners to

 become more active in order to obtain immediate feedback and inject more dynamism in

the interaction. In this case, the communicator needs to have the following qualities: good

coordination skills, excellent ability to manage crowds, capacity to process and adjust to

feedback information very rapidly.

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1.6.5.1 Mass Communication

The expression Mass Communication was coined around the 1930's. ‘Mass’ denotes great

volume, range or extent. Here, the mass refers to large numbers that are scattered

(geographically), anonymous (unknown to one another and to the communicator) andheterogeneous (variety of persons). Mass communication therefore differs very much from

the interpersonal level of communication in that it occurs at national or societal level.

"Mass communications comprise the institutions and techniques by which

specialised groups employ technological devices (press, radio, films, etc.) to

disseminate symbolic content to large, heterogeneous and widely dispersed

audiences".

(Janowitz, 1968)

The ‘technological devices’ referred to here are commonly known as mass media and they

comprise the press, television, radio, billboards, cinema and increasingly, the Internet.

Those media nowadays form part of all industrialised and developing societies.

Activity 5

Under what category of level of communication would you place the following examples

of communication?

i.  The Prime Minister’s address to the nation on television on the occasion of

Independence and Republic Day.

ii.  A telephone conversation between two close friends.

iii.  A letter sent by the Financial Manager of a company asking employees to reduce

wastage of stationery.

iv.  The mental notes a student makes to the following week’s revision schedule.

v.  A commercial firm’s advertising spot on radio.

vi. A brainstorming session between five students who form part of a team for a project

competition.

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vii. The conversations two colleagues have during lunch to share the latest “who dates

whom in the office” news.

1.7 A FEW POINTS TO REMEMBER

  Communication is a complex ongoing phenomenon, which can be analysed from

multiple points of view (e.g., type of flow, categories of elements involved, number

of actors, level of complexity, etc.). These points of view are not mutually

exclusive.

 

Communication is a process rather than a series of steps, implying that there is no

clear beginning or end.

  We cannot NOT communicate.

1.8 ANSWERS TO ACTIVITIES

Activity 2

Examples of Bull’s Eye Communication:

  Anonymous letters.

  A director who is on the move (no fixed address or telephone number) and sends

instructions to be carried out.

Activity 3

Source / Encoder / Transmitter in adverts:

 

Source   The commercial firm is initiating the communication process to

advertise its products or services.

  Encoder   Often, a communications or advertising agency is paid for encoding

the message, i.e. formulating the textual and the graphic aspects of the message.

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Examples of advertising agencies in Mauritius include Cread, Circus, Maurice

Publicité, Impressions, etc. In many cases, they put a small signature in a corner of

the insert.

  Transmitter  The newspaper’s advertising department acts as transmitter of the

message as it is paid for placing the insert inside the pages of the newspaper.

Activity 4

 - Aggressive Style

 - Passive Style

 - Assertive Style

Activity 5

Levels of Communication Process:

i.  The Prime Minister’s address to the nation on television on the occasion of

Independence and Republic Day.  Mass Communication. Public Communication

on Mass Media. Formal Speech.

ii.  A telephone conversation between two close friends.   Interpersonal

Communication (intimate nature).

iii.  A letter sent by the Financial Manager of a company asking employees to reduce

wastage of stationery.   Institutional Communication. Formal & downward (top

to bottom).

iv.  The mental notes a student makes to the following week’s revision schedule.  

Intrapersonal Communication. Thought processes.

v.  A commercial firm’s advertising spot on radio.  Mass Communication. Use of

Mass Medium (TV).

vi.  A brainstorming session between five students who form part of a team for a

 project competition.  Intragroup Communication.

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vii.  The conversations two colleagues have during lunch to share the latest “who dates

whom in the office” news.   Interpersonal Communication. Institutional but

Informal (rumour & hearsay).

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UNIT 2 EFFECTIVE USE OF ENGLISH

Unit Structure

2.0  Overview

2.1 Learning Outcomes

2.2 World Englishes

2.3 Registers

2.4 Style

2.4.1 Written/Spoken Style

2.4.2 Writing Styles

2.5 Vocabulary

2.5.1 Tools Needed

2.5.2 Choosing the Right Word

2.6 Grammar

2.6.1 Verb Tenses

2.6.2 Concord

2.6.3 Active/Passive Voice

2.6.4 Punctuation

2.7 Sentence Structure and Synthesis

2.8 English Usage and Academic Writing

2.8.1 Writing Impersonally

2.8.2 Make Tentative Statements

2.8.3 Adopt the Appropriate Attitude

2.9 A Few Points to Remember

2.10 Answers to Activities

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2.0 OVERVIEW

This Unit will encourage you to see English as a versatile language which is used around

the world and which has various functions and various domains of use. Moreover, the Unitwill consider the areas of grammar that are problematic and suggest ways to improve your

style – both written and spoken. This Unit will focus on the style required for written

assignments, dissertations, and why not, academic papers!

 Note that some materials have been borrowed from the COMS 1010- DE manual

 developed in January 1997 by the following persons:

 Mr K J Bheenick

 Ms R Kasenally

 Mrs P Hookoomsingh

2.1 LEARNING OUTCOMES

After having completed this unit, you should be able to do the following:-

1. Be sensitive to different varieties of Englishes;

2. Analyse the flexibility of the English language;

3. Use the relevant tools to better your English;

4. Avoid the common pitfalls of grammar;

5. Use vocabulary judiciously;

6. Develop skills to express yourself suitably in English.

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2.2 WORLD ENGLISHES

“Whan that Aprill with his shoures sote

The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote,

And bathed in every veyne in swich licour,

Of which vertu engendred is the flour.”

G.  Chaucer “The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales”

“I want one of my sons to join these people and be my eyes there. If there

is nothing in it you will come back. But if there is something there you will

 bring home my share. The world is like a Mask, dancing. If you want to

see it well you do not stand in one place. My spirit tells me that those who

do not befriend the white man today will be saying had we known

tomorrow.” [my underlining]

Achebe “Arrow of God”

‘ English’: does that not sound grand? Do you not feel that it is something stable and

unchanging? a complete entity?

But anyone who compares a text written in English in Medieval England to a text written

in English in contemporary Africa, or compares a legal document to a poem realises that

‘ English’ is a vague, but convenient term, which we use to refer to a language that has

 been spoken and written over the past 14 centuries by people in different parts of the

world for different purposes .

English was born in England in the 6 th  century when invaders from Germania came to

England speaking their own  dialects. These dialects were influenced by Scandinavian

languages, French, Latin, Greek, amongst others, and developed into what has become

today, an international language.

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The British empire and consequently, the English language spread with colonisation.

English became the official language in many of the colonies, this often at the expense of

the indigenous languages.

Despite the gradual disappearance of the British empire, English did not lose its status. It

remained the main language in ex-colonies like America, Canada and Australia as those

who spoke English had social, economic and cultural power, thus ensuring the survival of

the language. In other ex-colonies, like India for instance, English was retained as an

official language because of its neutrality vis-à-vis the other indigenous languages which

have ethnic affiliations.

As English was developing simultaneously in different geographical locations and as

English was in contact with different languages and cultures, different Englishes emerged.

Some of those Englishes, like American English, are standardised. American English has

its own spelling system, which is different from British English, and it has its own

dictionary. Other Englishes, like Indian English, have their specificity and have become

 popular via the media. Each variety differs in terms of pronunciation and vocabulary and

more rarely, in terms of grammar.

The ‘English’ which is popular in Mauritius is British English because we were a British

colony and we still sit for British exams. But with the world becoming a global village due

to developments in the media, those differences are becoming less and less apparent for us

and we tend to mix British and American English. This tendency should be avoided

especially when writing in a formal style as we need  to be consistent.

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Some obvious differences between American and British English are shown as follows:

British spelling American spelling British word American word

Colour Color Got Gotten

Honour Honor Lorry Truck

Programme program Nappy Diaper

analyse analyze lift Elevator

centre center disc Record

defence defense petrol gas

 paediatrician pediatrician coach bus

Although we should not mix varieties when writing a text, we should be true to the

original texts when quoting materials. For instance, if we are quoting from an American

author, we should be careful to spell as he/she does in his/her text.

2.2  REGISTERS

Registers are a special case of a particular kind of language being produced by a social

situation. For instance, the kind of language used in a medical pamphlet is different from

the kind of language used in a legal document. The two differ in terms of

  vocabulary – a specialised jargon for medicine and law

  grammar – the grammatical structures of a legal document will be more complex

than in the pamphlet  

  structure of text – each paragraph in the legal document will contain a central

idea that will have been unambiguously  phrased, even though the meaning

might appear obscure to the common reader  

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The two texts are different because each has its own communicative purpose. The first

aims to inform a general audience, while the second one is geared towards a more

restricted audience in a very specific setting – a court room for example.

Activity 1

Consider the two texts below and analyse the ways in which they differ in terms of

vocabulary and grammar, and structure of text. Bear in mind the communicative purpose

of each text.

I. INCOME TAX ACT 1995

19.  Expenditure incurred on interest in the production of income

(3)  The Commissioner may refuse to allow a deduction on expenditure

incurred as interest where he is satisfied that –

a.  The interest is payable to a non-resident who is not

chargeable to tax on the amount of the interest; or

 b.  The interest is not likely to be paid in cash within a

reasonable time.

II. LETTER TO MY GIRLFRIEND

Dearest Sweetie,

Just a short message to say: I  U

Waiting 4 the minute when I’ll see U

  and ,

Sunil

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You will realise that your field has its own ‘register’ and you will learn to use the language

appropriate to your subject – technical vocabulary, grammatical constructions, text

structures – by observing what is being used in books and articles from your own field.

2.3  STYLE

Style is the way in which something is said, done, expressed or performed . Everyone has

his own particular style, but one’s style often has to be bent to suit the topic, the purpose

and the audience. We communicate in totally different manners when we are at home,

speaking to our parents and when we are at the office, writing a report for the bank

manager.

In the following subsections, we will consider some elements of style. These may help

you when you communicate.

2.3.1  Written/Spoken Style

Spoken style and written style differ in that the former involves at least two people

exchanging discourse at one point in time while written discourse allows time for thinking

and rewriting. This fundamental difference affects and determines the form of both styles.

As far as sentence structures are concerned, spoken style favours short sentences while

written style longer sentences. Furthermore, spoken style allows for omissions like

 pronouns and auxiliary verbs at the beginning of sentences, while written style does not.

Finally, spoken style tends to accept contractions and colloquialisms like  don’t, a lot, 

 mate which written style is more cautious in using. Because the spatio temporal context

of both styles are different, spoken style differs significantly from written style.

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2.3.2  Writing Styles

Writing styles vary significantly depending on the context of the writing process as well as

the aims and objectives of the writing activity. We will now consider four writing styles

that are often used in communication:

  Narrative style is used when writing fiction, biographies, autobiographies, history

 books, travel books and television documentaries, to mention but a few.

 It was a calm night and I was studying in my room. I smelt something

burning and heard some noise. Looking out of my window, I was shocked

at the sight. A house nearby had caught fire, the flames were leaping out of

the windows, screams could be heard in the darkness of the night. I ran out

of my room to wake up my parents. I telephoned the fire brigade before we

all rushed out of the house.

 Narrative paragraphs may also appear in analytical essays to illustrate an idea. However,

it is fairly rare to use a narrative style in academic writing. Descriptive, analytic and

argumentative styles are used more, often within the same piece of writing. That is why

we have chosen three extracts from the same research article which exemplify the 3 styles

mentioned above.

  Descriptive style –  descriptions represent in words our sensory impressions

caught in a moment of time. In much descriptive writing, visual imagery

 predominates. Descriptive passages are commonly used in essays to support

analysis.

In the following example, a descriptive style is used for the methodology part of the

research article. 

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Seventy-three adult subjects (aged 17 to 55) were tested. The subjects were

members of the eight classes in ESL (the first four levels of each of two

 programs) at Queens College, New York. One Program, the English

 Language Institute program, is an intensive all day program for foreign

students preparing to study in American colleges, and the other, the

Continuing Education Program, is a four hour per week adult education

course. Generally, the adult education subjects had more exposure to

 English outside the classroom. The subjects were also classified as Spanish

or non-Spanish speaking.

Bailey, N., Madden, C., & Krashen, S. D., 1974,

“Is there a ‘natural sequence’ in adult second language learning?”,

Language Learning, vol. 24, pp 235-243.

  Analytic style: analysis (literally separating into parts) is not only the source of

writing that seeks to explain, it is also a way of thinking, a way of arriving at

conclusions (generalisations), or of discovering how conclusions are reached.

Analytic writing presupposes detective work: the writer, like the detective, looks

at evidence, finds clues, pursues the trail from one place to the next to find out

something. 

There was a significant correlation between relative accuracies of function

words for Spanish and non-Spanish speakers (r=.926, p

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“Is there a ‘natural sequence’ in adult second language

learning?”,

 Language Learning, vol. 24, pp 235-243.

  Argumentative style - This style of writing usually requires you to give your ideas

on a certain topic by discussing a certain point of view. Once you have analysed

data, or a problem, you need to give your conclusion. One cannot be too definite

in a conclusion as someone is always there to challenge what has been said. That

is why one needs to argue before giving one’s conclusion.

 Despite the differences in adult learners in amount of instruction, exposure to

 English, and mother tongue, there is a high degree of agreement as to the

relative difficulty of the set of grammatical morphemes examined here,

supporting Hypothesis 1. This result, in conjunction with error analysis

research, indicates that adults use common strategies for second language

learning. In addition, if relative difficulty corresponds to order of

acquisition as implied by de Villiers and de Villers’ (1973) results with

children, this result also suggests a common order of acquisition for functors

in adults.

Comparison with Dulay and Burt’s data reveals that relative accuracy in

adults is quite similar to the relative accuracies shown by children learning

 English as a second language for the same functors, supporting Hypothesis

2.

Bailey, N., Madden, C., & Krashen, S. D., 1974,

“Is there a ‘natural sequence’ in adult second language

learning?”,

Language Learning, vol. 24, pp 235-243. 

Activity 2

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Refer to the article given to you by your tutor at the beginning of the semester. Analyse

how the different writing styles have been used. 

2.4  VOCABULARY

2.4.1  Tools Needed

Whenever you are writing English, you need:

(i)  A good dictionary: it provides information about thousands of words and helps

you understand them and use them correctly.

Suitable dictionaries for native speakers of English are, among others: Shorter

Oxford Dictionary, Concise Oxford Dictionary, Chambers, Collins English

 Dictionary, Penguin English Dictionary, Webster International Dictionary

(American English). 

Dictionaries which are aimed at  second language learners of English are: The

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English and   The Longman

 Dictionary of Contemporary English

(ii)  A good translating dictionary (English/French):  for instance, The

 Robert/Collins or Harraps. Sometimes you have to use a translating dictionary if

you know a word in French but not its equivalent in English. Note, however, that

it is advisable to check the English word in the English dictionary as some words

can be used in specific contexts and some words have connotations. Think of the

French word ‘aimer’ - the translating dictionary gives us two English words: ‘like’

and ‘love’ and you will agree that they have quite different connotations.

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(iii)  A thesaurus  – it is important to vary your vocabulary as it makes a text less

 boring to read and it allows you to find the precise word needed. As in the case of

the translating dictionary, if you decide to use a word which you are not familiar

with, it is better to check the word in a dictionary - there are words which will fit a

context but not another one. For instance freedom and liberty are synonyms but

you can say “I am at liberty to say what I want’ but not “I am at freedom to say

what I want”. A thesaurus that you might want to use is:  Roget’s Thesaurus of

 English Words and Phrases. 

(iv)  Grammar books  - for you to verify grammatical rules. Cassell’s Students’

 English Grammar and A University Grammar of English are interesting works to

consult in case of doubt.

Activity 3

Consider the following words and see whether the individual words have the same

connotations:

1. 

friend, boyfriend, young man, lover

2.  dine, eat

3.  upbringing, conditioning, brainwashing

4.  antiabortion, pro-life, pro-abortion, pro-choice

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2.4.2  Choosing the Right Word

Words are like clothes. Clothes serve a function: covering the body; words have a

function: communicating a message. But clothes are also cultural symbols, so are words.

Lorry and truck mean the same thing, but the recipient knows that the former is a British

speaker while the latter is an American speaker. The social aura accompanying a word

contributes to its connotations. The choice of words is thus central in the image that one

wants to project of oneself.

  Precision

We all understand thousands of words, but the never-ending challenge is to use those

words with precision. For communication to be effective, it is crucial to choose the

word which best suits the purpose, and that has the desired influence / the required

impact on the reader. If we take the word ‘nice’ for example, it is one of those words that

can fit in, in many contexts. But it is a vague word and it could be replaced by more

 precise words depending on the situation. That is where a thesaurus comes in handy.

Consider these two sentences:

- 

He feels uncomfortable at the whole situation.

-  He feels guilty for having disturbed his father.

The former is vague and the latter specific.

  Avoid bombastic words

Although one should aim at being as precise as possible when choosing words, one should

 be careful about falling into the trap of using big, bombastic words which you think will

impress. Simplicity is often clarity. Where you can, use everyday words as you want to

express ideas clearly rather than impress your readers, with the risk of antagonising them.

Writers who rely on inflated language are usually trying to dress up ordinary ideas to make

them look more important than they really are, so that the reader will be impressed. Most

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readers, however, recognise the trick and regard writers using such a language with

suspicion.

  Words to be avoided

Regionalisms are words that are associated with certain regions of Britain or America.

For instance, the expression “a bony lass” is an expression used in the north of England

meaning “a pretty girl”. But the expression would be quite unfamiliar to anyone who has

not been to the north of England.

Colloquialisms are words and expressions that tend to be used in spoken English only:

 ain’t, gonna, cos, folks are acceptable in spoken English but not in formal writing.

Slang words are words that have originated in a given cultural group or subgroup. They

are often short lived and carry a strong connotation on group membership. Examples of

slang of college or university students are pro, econ, cram, poly, the pits.

Clichés are trite expressions mechanically reproduced, like for instance,  first and

 foremost, slowly but surely, short but sweet, D-day arrived.

Think of your target audience when using specialised jargon. Will your audience

understand the technical terms you are using or are you obscuring your message by

overloading your assignment with technical terms?

  When you are writing the first draft of an assignment, write freely, follow your

flow of ideas

 

When you are rewriting your assignment, take the time to use the most appropriate

word!

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Activity 4

Fill in the right hand column of this table with simpler, more direct words. Possible

answers are found at the end of the Unit.

Abatement/abate

Absence of

Accede to

accelerate

acknowledge

aforesaid

ascertain

cognisant

comprises

Due to the fact that

henceforth

hereunder

In lieu of

notify

Subsequent to

2.5  GRAMMAR

2.5.1  Verb Tenses

Early in your writing/speaking process, establish a ‘base’ tense and shift away from it only

for a good reason. Keep to the same tense. You should choose one of the columns in the

table below and stick to it.

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ACTIVE VOICE

PAST PRESENT FUTURE

SIMPLE Wrote Write/writes Will write

PROGRESSIVE Was/were writing Am/are writing Will be writing

PERFECT Had written Have/has written Will have written

PERFECT

PROGRESSIVE

Had been writing Have/has been

writing

Will have been

writing

PASSIVE VOICE

PAST PRESENT FUTURE

SIMPLE Was/were written Is/are written Will be written

PROGRESSIVE Was/were being

written

Is/are being written

PERFECT Had been written Has/have been

written

Will have been

written

PERFECT

PROGRESSIVE

Note: the cells that have been left empty indicate that those forms are very rarely

used although you can form the passive.

  When you speak, you will usually use the active voice. It is when you write academic

 papers that you use the passive voice.

  When you speak, you can use contracted forms like don’t, won’t, shan’t , but when

you write you should avoid using the contracted forms and use do not, will not, shall

not.

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2.5.2  Concord

Agreement verb/subject is an area full of traps. The following exercise will help you

remember some of the exceptional rules about concord.

Activity 5

Do the following exercise. Discuss your answers with your friends and find the

grammatical rule governing each case. Your tutor will then give you the correct answers

and the grammatical rules.

1.  The conditions of service (is, are) desirable.

2.  Father, as well as mother (is, are) at home.

3.  Do you think that Rs 5 million (is, are) a large sum?

4.  Either you or I (are, am) lucky.

5.  Three quarters of

the marbles (is, are) lost.

the sugar (is, are) finished.

6.  His advice (is, are) always good.

7.  The public (is, are) wild with the Prime Minister.

8.  Beans and peas are good value. The former (is, are) cheap and the latter (is, are)

expensive.

9.  It (is, are) time to go home.

10. There (is, are) a cat in the kitchen, there (is, are) sugar in the pot, there (is, are) a lot

of apples in the fridge and there (is, are) some flour in the jar.

11. Each child in the school (is, are) questioned. Every child (is, are) scared.

12. Billiards (is, are) becoming more popular.

13. Brussels (is, are) a great place to visit. (Athens, Naples)

14. The man, who is walking down the road, (is, are) my teacher.

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2.5.3  Active/Passive Voice

Passive Voice is used when one wants to emphasise the act rather than the doer, or when

one does not want to disclose the identity of the doer. The Passive is a useful voice to use

especially in academic writing which requires writing to be as objective and detached as

 possible. Different ways of forming the Passive are:

1.  Passive without agent: in this case, the agent is vague or unknown, the main

interest is on the action and not on the doer, you want to state facts:

Active- They speak English all over the world.

Passive - English is spoken all over the world.

Active- Someone can easily collect quantitative data

Passive- Quantitative data can be collected easily.

2.  Passive with agent: if you want to emphasise the act/product rather than the doer.

Active- Keats wrote a poem

Passive- A poem was written by Keats

Ask yourself whether you can use the active voice in this case.

3.  Passive with ‘to-infinitive’- verbs like ‘claim, understand, think, believe’ are

followed by the infinitive when in the passive voice:

Active- People say that cats have seven lives.

Passive- Cats are said to have seven lives

Active- They assumed that the questionnaires had been filled in.

Passive- The questionnaires were assumed to having been filled in.

4.  The passive using the ‘it is’ form – statements in the active voice that contain

‘there is’ are introduced in the passive by ‘It is’

Active- People fear that there will be another world war.

Passive- It is feared that there will be another world war.

When writing for academic purposes, you are generally required to be as objective as

 possible. You can use the above grammatical constructions to achieve this goal.

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Activity 6

Put the following sentences in the Passive voice.

1.  People will forget the scandal in time.

2.  Beethoven composed this piece of music after he had become deaf.

3.  The natives believe that evil spirits cause illnesses.

4.  They say that there is a lot of food in the oceans.

5.  In some countries they deny women the right to vote.

6.  They fear that all the passengers in the ship drowned.

7.  Circumstances forced him to act that way.

8.  They know that drastic changes have been made in the Police.

 Note that

  we usually use the active voice in oral communication;

  we tend to use the passive voice in written assignments, including academic writing.

2.5.4  Punctuation

In brief, here are cases where the different punctuation marks should be used.

CAPITALISATION:

-  The first word of a sentence/phrase or a direct quotation

-  Statements after a colon if it is a formal rule, a direct quotation or it is introduced

 by a single word.

- 

 Names and adjectives derived from them (where appropriate): people, places,

organisations, subjects, brand and trade, months and days of the week:

 Linguistics 

-  Title of people, acronyms:  Mrs, UNICEF  

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-  To introduce an explanation of previous statement:  He could not contact them:

his phone was out of order.

THE DASH:

-  To indicate a break in the flow of a sentence:  It was reported that forty people-

maybe more – died in the plane crash.

-  Emphasis: I heard a mournful sound – a sound that sent shivers down my spine.

-  To replace a colon when introducing a list of things or to explain a previous

statement.

Activity 7

Punctuate the following text:

the abstract should be written concisely in normal rather than highly abbreviated english

the author should assume that the reader has some knowledge of the subject but has not

read the paper thus the abstract should be intelligible and complete in itself particularly it

should not cite figures tables or sections of the paper the opening sentence or two should

state the objectives of the investigation it is also desirable to describe the treatment by one

or more such terms as brief exhaustive theoretical experimental and so forth the body of

the abstract should indicate newly observed facts and the conclusions of the experiment or

argument discussed in the paper it should contain new numerical data presented in the

 paper if space permits otherwise attention should be drawn to the nature of the data in the

case of experimental results the abstract should indicate methods used in obtaining them

for new methods the basic principle range of operation and degree of accuracy should be

given the abstract should be typed as one paragraph its optimum length will vary with the

nature and extent of the paper but it should not exceed 200 words

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2.6  SENTENCE STRUCTURE AND SYNTHESIS

The basic and most common sentence structure in English is subject+ verb/complement

pattern.  But this is by no means the only way of building sentences . There are othergrammatical constructions which, when used, add to the richness of your style. Here are a

few examples:

1.  Examples of inverted sentences:

By the tree stood my bicycle.

By the tree my bicycle stood.

2.  Elimination of the relative pronoun:

The thieves took the bags which contained the money.

The thieves took the bag containing the money.

This is a point which we should bear in mind.

This is a point to bear in mind.

3.  Combination of sentences

We stood on the balcony. We could see the whole park.

Standing on the balcony, we could see the whole park.

4. Look for words that are irrelevant and superficial:

There’s a light on the scoreboard that flashes on and off.

The scoreboard light flashes on and off.

5.  Use strong verbs:

In a cautious manner the car went round the corner.

The car negotiated the corner.

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Activity 8

The following exercise aims at making you conscious that there are different ways of

writing the same sentence. Try rewriting the sentences by using the word suggested in

(b). An example has been worked out for you.

a. She is not old enough to enter the contest.

 b. (young)

  She is too young to enter the contest.

1a. It is likely that the experiment will fail.

1b. (May)

2a. He became manager after a year at the firm.

2b. (promoted)

3a. He fired when he saw the signal.

3b. (seeing)

4a. Although his mother disapproved of it, he became a singer.

4b. (Despite)

5a. Both experiments failed.

5b. (Neither)

Your ability to join sentences and paragraphs also helps in making your assignment

interesting! There should be a flow within your paragraphs as well as between

 paragraphs. Your ideas should not appear disjointed. Choppiness in your way of writing

will act as a barrier to understanding.

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Example:

1a. No one was watching. The thief first made sure of this. He climbed up a drainpipe.

He climbed up to a window on the first floor. He succeeded in entering the house through

the window. He was not observed.

1b. Having first made sure that no one was watching, the thief climbed up the drainpipe to

a first floor window, through which he succeeded in entering the house unobserved.

Activity 9

Do the same thing as in 1b above for the following examples:-

2a. The bubonic plague raged in England during the Middle Ages. The name given to it

was “The Black Death’. It carried off thousands of the population. In some cases, it

exterminated whole towns and villages.

2b. ‘The Black Death’…, carrying…and …exterminating…

3a. Fleet Street was once famous for its coffee houses. Men used to meet there. They

were prominent in the literary world. It is now synonymous with journalism and English

national newspapers. It takes its name from the Fleet Stream. This used to run from

Hampstead. It ran down into the Thames at Blackfriars.

3b. Fleet Street, once…where men… and now… , takes…

To help you in your task of joining sentences, here are a few link words/phrases that you

may find handy when writing:

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 Adding points:

Another possibility is that…

In other words,…

It should be emphasised/noted that…

And, and so, furthermore, further along, in addition, besides, incidentally, by the way, also,

again, above all, too, as well as…

 Alternative:

Alternatively, apart from this, conversely, so far as…

Comparing:

In sharp contrast to x, y is not…

Likewise, similarly, in the same way, in like manner, as, just as…

Concluding:

All things considered then…

Events show us that…

In general/short…

It seems clear that…

To put it crudely/simply…

To sum up…

Contrast:

Aside from this, or, or else, otherwise, yet, though, however, nevertheless, despite this, on

the other hand, in fact, as a matter of fact, actually, instead, rather, on the contrary…

 Enumeration:

First, furthermore, finally, first…second…third, to begin/start with…in the second

 place…moreover,

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 Exemplifying;

Another example of this may be that…

More detailed studies show that…

This was typified by…

For example, for instance, in particular, specifically, that is, to illustrate…

 Explaining:

A general explanation remains difficult to find

As a result

Partly for this reason,

The tendency for x…

This applies especially to…

This in turn means that…

Place:

 Nearby, here, there, next to, opposite to, under, beyond…

 Result:

So, therefore, as a result of, consequently, accordingly, because of…

Summary:

To sum up, in short, briefly, in brief, on the whole, as has been said, in sum, indeed…

Time:

Then, next, after, just then, at the same time, previously, before that, finally, at last…

  When you are writing, make sure to vary the length of your sentences. If all your

sentences are short, it gives the impression that you have not fully mastered the art

of writing. If all your sentences are long, then it becomes difficult to read you.

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Short sentences are usually very effective when you have written several long

sentences. Short sentences can be used to emphasise on a point.

2.8 ENGLISH USAGE AND ACADEMIC WRITING

When you write an academic paper, there are certain conventions that you are expected to

follow. Some of them are closely linked with the way in which language works.

2.8.1 Writing Impersonally

  When you are writing for academic purposes, an objective or neutral tone is

expected from you. You want to avoid using the pronoun ‘I’ and the phrase ‘In

my opinion’ as far as possible. There are different ways in which you can achieve

a sense of objectivity when writing:

  Using the pronoun ‘one’ is an option when writing impersonally. Examples of

common phrases with ‘one’ are:

One could envisage

One could argue

One might expect

One could seriously question….

‘One’ is a third person singular pronoun like ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘it’ therefore it will call

for a final ‘s’ for the present tense.

  Another way would be to use the pronoun ‘we’. “We’ is more effectively used if

you wish your reader to identify with your viewpoint. It has the effect of carrying

your reader with you as you develop your argument, it may also have as effect to

convince your reader of your view poi