business communication

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MODULE 1.2MODULE 1.2

Exploring Your Writer’s Voice

Introduction:

At a postgraduate level, the focus of studies is in understanding

information, critically evaluating it and applying it to demonstrate

knowledge. These skills should be reflected in academic writing in such a

way that the topic is clearly set and fully addressed, backed up by wide

research and critical thinking, and presented in the appropriate manner.

Locating Reliable Academic ResourcesLocating Reliable Academic Resources

The process of academic writing relies on information literacy. This is the

ability to conduct research, recognise and locate reliable resources,

evaluate them accurately, and effectively use them in analysis and

synthesis before writing the first draft. Generally, the following are

considered as reliable sources,

Scholarly, peer-reviewed articles or books

Trade or professional articles or books

Books at the university library, magazine articles and newspaper

articles from well-established publishers

Non-partisan agencies and organisations, as well as government

websites

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Official statistics, documents, publications

To determine the reliability of a source one must know who the author is

and assess their credibility, whether the content is substantial and

supported by evidence, and how current the information is. If the source

is lacking in currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, or purpose, it might

not be suitable for use in academic writing.

Summarising, Paraphrasing and SynthesisingSummarising, Paraphrasing and Synthesising

Summarising involves explaining the main points of a text in a concise

version. Long descriptions, minor details, and examples are omitted to

create an overview of the topic. Summarising text requires careful

reading to find key ideas which are then re-written in a shortened form.

Nonetheless, the meaning of the original text should not change and any

citations will need to be referenced.

Whereas in summarising the aim is to condense text, in paraphrasing,

the idea or information from the original author is interpreted and

restated in other words. Often the paraphrased form is simpler and

more succinct than the original but not necessarily. Again, when

paraphrasing other people’s work the actual meaning of the information

must not change and students must use citation to indicate where the

idea originates.

Synthesising refers to bringing together findings from a range of sources

in order to group and present common ideas or arguments. Unlike

summarising and paraphrasing, which only uses one author's ideas at a

time, synthesising combines ideas from more than one text or source. In

addition, combining information and ideas demonstrates the student

has read widely and selectively on the topic and is able to support their

arguments with evidence from multiple sources, as well as use and cite

them correctly.

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Writing a ParagraphWriting a Paragraph

The key to good academic writing is writing effective paragraphs.

Paragraphs can, and often do, exist independently united through a

central idea, or topic sentence. Each paragraph should contain one idea

that is developed through related sentences; a paragraph is structured

as follows,

1. Topic sentence

A topic sentence is usually the first sentence of the paragraph and

highlights the main idea. It acts as an introduction to what will be

discussed and defines the focus of the paragraph.

2. Supporting sentences

The topic sentence is followed by sentences that explain, illustrate

and develop the main idea further. These sentences are called

supporting sentences or statements because they expand that

main idea and provide supporting information in the paragraph.

3. Concluding sentence

Each paragraph should end as strongly as it began. The last

sentence should round off the argument developed within that

paragraph, or provide a transition into the next.

ReferencingReferencing

Referencing is a way of giving credit to others and to show where the

original information is found. Furthermore, referencing is imperative

when summarising, synthesising, paraphrasing, or directly quoting an

author. Also, referencing pictures, graphics, tables, figures, graphs or any

images from other sources is expected when writing academic reports

and essays.

Each reference must appear in two places:

In-text reference: each time in the text when the source is used

Reference list: listed in full, in the reference list at the end of the

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assignment

Torrens University uses the APA 6th style of referencing – a guide can be

found here: 2016.9 Condensed AWG APA 6th.pdf

References:References:

Laureate Australia. (2018). Academic Writing Guide – APA 6th Edition [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://laureate- au.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?

course_id=_20163_1&content_id=_2498847_1&mode=reset

Morley-Warner, T. (2010). Academic writing is... – A guide to writing in a university context. Australia: CREA Publications.

University of Georgia. (2018). Finding Reliable Sources: What is a Reliable Source? Retrieved from http://guides.libs.uga.edu/c.php? g=571070&p=3936511

Essential Resources:

Sankaran, N. (2016). 6 Reasons Why Citation of Sources

is Important When Writing. [Blog post]. Retrieved from

https://falconediting.com/en/blog/6-reasons-why-

citation-of-sources-is-important-when-writing

Besides avoiding plagiarism there are multiple other reasons to

use referencing. This article lists six of them explaining how proper

referencing enhances the quality of your work.

University of Minnesota. (n.d.). 11.4 Strategies for

Gathering Reliable Information. Retrieved from

https://open.lib.umn.edu/writingforsuccess/chapter/11-

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4-strategies-for-gathering-reliable-information/

A comprehensive overview of how and where to find useful

resources, how to evaluate their quality.

QUT. (n.d.). Evaluating resources. Retrieved from

http://studywell.library.qut.edu.au/pdf_files/RESEARCH_EvaluatingResources.pdf

This document contains tips on how to evaluate the quality of

sources, including their reliability, authority, validity, accuracy, and

timeliness.

The Grimsby Institute. (n.d.). Paraphrasing. Retrieved

from

https://grimsby.ac.uk/documents/quality/skills/paraphrasing-

study-tips.pdf

Short overview on the differences between paraphrasing,

summarising and quoting, and how to write them.

Ashford University. (n.d.). How to Write a Good

Paragraph: A Step-by-Step Guide. Retrieved from

https://awc.ashford.edu/PDFHandouts%5CHow%20to%20Write%20a%20Good%20Paragraph_final.pdf

A step-by-step guide to writing effective academic paragraphs.

Learning Activity:

Learning Activity 1: Discussion Forum – Self-Check QuizLearning Activity 1: Discussion Forum – Self-Check Quiz

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Take the self-check on Blackboard (Student Resources ->

Academic Skills -> Introduction -> Do – What do you

already know?)

To complete the quiz, go to the Student Resources page or

click here to scroll to the bottom of this page then click on

the "What do you already know?What do you already know?" quiz link.

Post your score with commentary on the Discussion Forum and

discuss with other students.

To participate in the Discussion Forum, click here to scroll

to the bottom of this page then click on the "Module 1 -Module 1 -

Discussion ForumDiscussion Forum" link.

Learning Activity 2: Discussion Forum – FakeLearning Activity 2: Discussion Forum – Fake

NewsNews

Read the latest media survey results on

http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/7641-media-net-trust-june-

2018-201806260239

According to the Roy Morgan survey almost half of all Australians

distrust social media. Do the results surprise you? Why do you

think nearly 50 % of respondents do not trust social media and

what is your view on the issue?

Share your thoughts on Module 1.2 discussion forum and discuss

further with other students.

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To participate in the Discussion Forum, click here to scroll

to the bottom of this page then click on the "Module 1 -Module 1 -

Discussion ForumDiscussion Forum" link.

Note:Note: The Learning activities above are not part of summative/graded

assessment; however they are designed to prepare you for incremental

graded assessment and expand your learning.

These activities encourage a community learning experience between

peers, and provide opportunities for facilitators to offer formative

feedback, throughout a module, to the student cohort.