Effective Communication Skills: Mastering the Art of Clear and Confident Expression

UNIVE RSITY OF MINES AND TECHNOLOG Y (UMaT), TARKW A




FACULTY OF INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SCIENCE (FIMS)

DEPARTMENT OF TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION


Lecture Notes On

COMMUNICATION SKILLS II
(SD,MA,PG,RP,CH 158)




Course Lecturer:


Elizabeth Konadu Mills Abbey
JUNE, 2023


LECTURE ONE


1

, INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SKILLS II

Lecture Objectives
By the end of the lecture, the student will be able to:
 State the scope and nature of the course
 State the expected results.
 State the instructional and assessment method

Course Aims and Objectives
Communication Skills II is the second part of Communication Skills I, code named 158.
The course generally aims at making students:
 Write good paragraphs;
 Write good academic essays;
 Improve on their use of language;
 Employ the proper mechanics in writing academic essays;
 Edit their own essays; and
 Finally, write good references in essays.
Expected Results
At the end of the course, the student is expected to:
 Write paragraphs that have unity, coherence, completeness and good order;
 Write good academic essays in their various fields of study;
 Write correct references in their essays.

Course Outline

Lecture One
Introduction to the course
Lecture Two
Paragraph Writing
 Definition of a paragraph,

 The Controlling Idea .
Components of a Paragraph: -
The topic sentence
The major support sentence
The minor support sentence

Ways of developing the Paragraph
The deductive method
The inductive method
Comparison and Contrast
Definition
Classification
Cause and Effect
Factual details
Examples
2

, Anecdote
Combination of Methods
Paragraph organisation
The introduction
Main body/Sentences of development
Summary sentence

Lecture Three
The Essay
 Choosing and limiting the topic
 Finding a topic
 Writing the outline to the essay
 Writing the introduction to an essay
Types of introduction:
The narrative introduction
The expository introduction
The thesis statement
Types of Essays
Argumentative
Expository
Explaining “how”
Explaining “what”
Explaining “why”
Narrative essays
Descriptive essays
Editing the essay
 Editing for Correct punctuations
 Editing for correct spelling
Lecture Four
Style
• Registers
• Spelling
• Punctuations
• Editing

Lecture Five
Documentation (Referencing in academic essays)
 What is referencing?
 Reasons for using a referencing system
 Harvard referencing
UMaT referencing
 Referencing in the text
 Compiling a reference list

3

,  Works Cited
 Bibliography
Instructional Methodology
 The course will be conducted through lectures, class discussions, and
presentations by individual students and groups.
 Tutorials will be used to give students the opportunity to practice the skills they
have acquired.
 Lateness to lectures and in submission of assignments will not be entertained.

Assessment
Students’ Assessment is in two parts:
1. Continuous Assessment
2. End of Semester Examination
Continuous Assessment, which carries 40% of the total marks, will comprise marks from
tutorial work, class tests, quizzes and group presentations.
 Attendance is also awarded marks as part of Continuous Assessment, so students
should make it a point to attend all lectures and tutorials since attendance will be
taken.
 End of Semester Examination is the main examination and therefore takes 60% of the
total examination marks.




REFERENCES




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