Purposive Communication UNIT 4 PDF

4 | Purposive Communication 40 UNIT 4: COMMUNICATION FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES 4.0 Intended Learning Outcomes a. Identify the parts of a business letter; b. Appreciate business and academic texts by writing a sample from a given...

4 | Purposive Communication 40 UNIT 4: COMMUNICATION FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES 4.0 Intended Learning Outcomes a. Identify the parts of a business letter; b. Appreciate business and academic texts by writing a sample from a given situation; and c. Write a brief academic paper using appropriate tone, style, conventions and reference styles. 4.1. Introduction Unit 4 highlights communication in two settings – business and academic settings. Effective verbal and nonverbal communication skills are valuable in the workplace and in an educational institution. Some companies spend a lot of money to train their employees on how to effectively communicate. Good communication skills go beyond conversations, but employees must know how to communicate well in written reports and emails. Understanding the benefits of effective communication helps companies place a focus on developing a workforce that is able to communicate within the firm and with customers, vendors and international business partners (Ariola, 2018). On the other hand, communication skills are essential for the successful future career of a student. 4.2 Topics/Discussion Task: Write one paragraph, in any style you prefer, speculating about what it would be like to go out on a date with someone who talks like an academic paper. Describe both the experience and the person: What would he or she talk about? How would he or she talk? What place or places would you go to or visit? What would you eat during that date? End by speculating about whether or not this would be an enjoyable experience.  4 | Purposive Communication 41 4.2.1 Communication for Work Purposes Professional Purpose One purpose of professional writing is to record important workplace information, for example, via minutes of a meeting, secretarial notes, and official documentation of proceedings. Another purpose is to give or ask for information form people within the company via memos, outside the company via business letters, or either of the two via professional reports. Another purpose is to persuade readers to take action—pay a fee, buy something, accept changes, give someone a job, etc.; this purpose can be seen in professional proposals, marketing or pro- motional materials, and job application. Genres of Professional Writing Each type of document follows specific generic conventions which are, simply put, conventions for the formatting, layout, and contents of the document, and contents of the document. For example, business letters and memos are two of the most common forms of professional correspondence. But how do these two differ? Letter – a document that conveys information to a member of one organization from someone outside of that organization. Memo – (short for memorandum) is a document written by a member of an organization to one or more members of the same organization. A. Business Letter A letter is a form of external communication. It is formed to contain: Inside address—The inside address is the receiver’s address. It includes the name of the person you are writing to, followed by the person’s home address or by the person’s business title, department (if applicable), company name and company address. Signature line—You have to write your complete name on the first line. You indicate your designation on the next line. Contact information—It includes contact number and email address. Standard formulas of openings and closings—It is called the salutation and complimentary close. The standard salutation format consists of the word ―dear‖ followed by the title  4 | Purposive Communication 42 (Mr., Ms., Dr., Prof., etc.) of the addressee or recipient, his or her last name, and a colon. Conventional complimentary closes for business letters today are: Sincerely, Respectfully, Best regards, Kind regards, Yours truly. It is best to find out what writing mechanics are followed by a company, one is applying to or joining, but students may also look for general guides to mechanics online, which usually include the following tips: Spell out acronyms at first mention; afterwards, use the acronym, for example, “The University of the Philippines (UP) prides itself on excellence. UP students are…” Spell out symbols such as ampersands, for example, “and” not “&” In general, spell out numbers from one to nine as words, and write the rest as figures B. Memorandum A memo which is internal communication, immediately gives the date, the addressee and sender, and the subject of the memo in a standard format. There is no need for a salutation, complimentary close, and a signature block (Bantugan, 2018). Pattern of Memo Heading: To: (this is/are your recipients and their titles if applicable) From: (your complete name with a job title) Subject: (in one word or phrase, write the main idea of your memo)  4 | Purposive Communication 43 Date: (write the complete date) Format: First, the date and inside address should be provided, the latter including the contact per- son’s name and position, as well as the company name and its address. Like in other business letters, the salutation should begin with the word ―Dear,‖ followed by the appropriate courtesy title (e.g., Mr., Mrs., Dr., Prof., Atty., Engr., Hon., etc.) and a colon. In the first paragraph, the applicant should immediately state an interest in the specified position. The first paragraph should be kept short—no longer than a page or half a page. In the second paragraph, consider the question as to why you are the perfect fit for the company. You may as well give reasons, for example, background, as to his/her suitability as a candidate. In the third paragraph, consider the question as to why is the company the perfect fit for you. The qualifications should be supported with concrete an specific details, such as highlights from the applicant’s résumé.  4 | Purposive Communication 44 The Cover Letter Source: https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/522558362982866590/ The applicant’s interest in the company should be emphasized further with details that call attention to the fact that he/she knows the firm, field, or industry well. In the closing paragraph, there should be a request for an interview or some form of follow-up action. It helps to provide contact information or mention the option of calling or sending an email to arrange an interview at a convenient time for both parties. The complimentary close should be formal (e.g., “Sincerely,” “Respectfully,” or “Very truly yours”)  4 | Purposive Communication 45 The Résumé Source: https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/509047564136699852/ A résumé is a document attached to a cover letter to serve as a persuasive summary of your qualifications for employment. (Manzano, 2018). There are three main types of résumé: Chronological résumé – traditional and most accepted format; items are listed in reverse chronological order, with the most recent work or schooling firs; names, dates, and places of employment are listed, education and work experience are grouped separately. Functional résumé – focuses on the skills and talents developed by the applicant and does not emphasize job titles, employer names, and dates. This is used when there are gaps in the writer’s work or study history, when such experiences are not that relevant for the position for which he/she is applying, and when the writer wishes to combine experiences from paid jobs, activities, volunteer work, and courses to show the extent of his/her experience in a particular area. Chrono-functional résumé – a combination of the two types: if chronologically lists job history and education but also allows the applicant to highlight  4 | Purposive Communication 46 certain marketable qualifications. This is used by fresh graduates who have some job experience and by those who are returning to work or are changing careers. A résumé is an important tool for your job search because it offers a page or two where you can display your top skills and qualities. However, a resume is much more than that. Resumes help employers make hiring decisions and help you get your first interview. Résumés, usually accompanied by customized cover letters, get sent to employers to deter- mine your eligibility and qualifications for a job. Employers use resumes to get a deeper under- standing of candidate skills, strengths and experience. Your resume should reflect achievements, awards, education, experience and any other outstanding accomplishments that align with your career path and goals. And your resume is your first point of con- tact with the employer and sets the tone for subsequent steps such as first interview, second interview, pre-screening and on- boarding. 4.2.2 Communication for Academic Purposes Academic writing refers to a particular style which is clear, concise, focused, structured and backed up by evidence. Its purpose is to aid the reader’s understanding. It has a formal tone and style, but it is not complex and does not require the use of long sentences and complicated vocabulary (University of Leeds, n.d.). Each subject discipline will have certain writing conventions, vocabulary and types of discourse that you will become familiar with over the course of your degree. However, according to Uychoco, et al. (2018), there are some general characteristics of academic writing that are relevant across all disciplines A. Specific and Clear Language Academic writing should not sound pompous. Pompous language obscures meaning, as given in this example (Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star): Scintillate, scintillate, globule aurific Fair would I fathom thy nature specific Loftily perched in the ether capacious Strongly resembling a gem carbonaceous. (Rocco & Hatcher, 2011) One should write in the register or style of academic writing. This means following the rules of Standard English, avoiding usages that are considered ungrammatical or non- standard and colloquial or conversation and informal contexts.  4 | Purposive Communication 47 Conversational Shortcuts / Contractions: I’m for “I am” kinda for “kind of” sorta for “sort of” don’t for “do not” wanna for “want to” Informal / Non-Standard Usage More Formal / Precise Equivalents alright, a lot, result to, discuss about, cope all right, a lot, result in, discuss, cope with up with (non-standard, informal, or unique (acceptable usages in Standard written to certain varieties of English English) good – as in “good” book (imprecise) Entertaining, insightful, interesting, instructive (precise) can’t, won’t, I’ll, she’s, didn’t Cannot, will not I will, she is, did not (conversational, speech-based contractions) (spelled out as two words) gonna, gotta (conversational / speech- Going to, have to (spelled out) based contractions Anyways, bored to death, major downer Anyway, extremely bored, depressing (conversational/informal) (more formal/precise/uncluttered) I got here late; she got out of the office, he I arrived here late; she left the office; he got a call; they got gas (overused imprecise received a call; they laded gas or they verb) refueled (more specific alternatives) ASAP, BTW, SOP (acronyms that may not as soon as possible, by the way, standard be universally known) operating procedure (spelled out) UP, ADMU, DLSU (acronyms for University of the Philippines, Ateneo de institutions) Manila University, De La Salle University (spelled out the first time they are used, but later may be substituted with acronyms) hit the sack, loo, and comfort room sleep, toilet or bathroom (more widely (expressions from American English, understood usages) British English, and Philippine English) lol, afk, #feels (informal internet or text laugh out loud, away from keyboard, no messaging language) reply necessary, a wave of emotions (spelled out or explained)  4 | Purposive Communication 48 At other times, non-English terms may appear in the paper for purposes of discussion, in which case, these should be italicized or placed in quotation marks, as well as defined. Here are two examples, one with a technical linguistic term and the other with a Filipino term: 1. “You need to shift your register, or the style of your language, to suit the person or audience you plan to address.” [“Register” is defined via the underlined phrase.] 2. “The expression pabebe, which refers to someone who is talking in a baby-like manner in order to appear or sound cute, has recently risen in popularity.” [“Pabebe” is explained, in the absence of a direct translation, via the underlined phrase] B. A Balanced and Credible Voice In academic writing, this means doing away with emotive punctuation marks like exclamation points, whether single (!) or multiple (!!!), and dramatic ellipses (…) used as a way of trailing off. Emoticons or emojis, which in the Internet speak and text messaging are meant to convey facial expressions, do not have a place in academic writing. Many students believe that writing “I” in an essay is somehow wrong, but this is not true for all types of academic papers. In some disciplines, one has the choice of writing more formally either using the third person point of view (e.g., “This researcher believes that”), or in what Professor Lynn Bloom calls the “Middle Level” of language. This is “somewhat less personal” than the informal level, and while it allows the use of personal pronouns like I and you, “the author’s personality and reactions are more subdued in an academic paper because the focus of the reader should be on the subject of the paper. At times, whether to use or avoid “I” becomes a matter of taste when either the professor of the course/discipline allows the use of personal pronouns in required papers. However, overuse of expressions such as “I think,” or “I believe,” may clutter the paper and may not even be necessary. Cluttered Writing vs. Tighter Writing Cluttered Writing: I found the Dulaang UP play Haring Lear (King Lear) to be not just entertaining but also insightful because I felt the Tagalog translation effectively and humorously conveyed the spirit of Shakespeare’s original dysfunctional family. To a contemporary Filipino audience.  4 | Purposive Communication 49 Tighter Writing: The Dulaang UP play Haring Lear (King Lear) was not just entertaining but insightful because the Tagalog translation effectively and humorously conveyed the spirit of Shakespeare’s original dysfunctional family to a contemporary Filipino audience. Writer-Focused vs. Focus on the Subject Writer-focused: Our group conducted a survey on 100 university of the Philippines freshmen to find out their opinions on the new academic calendar. Focus on the subject: A survey was conducted on 100 university of the Philippines freshmen to find out their opinions on the new academic year. C. Socially and Culturally Relevant Topics One final important myth to debunk is that academic papers deal with topic that are likely to bore both the writer and the reader. In reality, student writers are often allowed to select their own topics within a more general area specified by the teacher, the course, or the discipline. Academics often identify their research interests, that is, subjects or questions that they are eager to engage with and study. Later, when they have studied more on these subjects, these research interest become areas of expertise. A student should begin by considering the topics that are particularly interesting and relevant for him/her. These are topics s/he would like to find out more about. It is also essential to consider such topics or research areas in light of their social and cultural significance. The following questions are helpful: Does their significance extend beyond writer’s personal stake in them? Do they matter to larger contexts like one’s local community, the larger religion, the nation, a group of countries, the world? Academic papers are read by members of the academic community – professors, fellow students, future students, and other scholars – as well as researchers outside the community, like journalists, entrepreneurs, lawyers, etc. What students write should, therefore, be both interesting and useful to this larger community, and it is the writer’s task to help them to better understand the topic or to see it in a new way.  4 | Purposive Communication 50 Referencing Sources You never start from scratch when you write an academic or a research paper (report, dissertation, article, etc.): inspiration and some ideas always come from other works and you build upon them to create new knowledge. Whenever you do this, it is mandatory to cite and reference those sources. Why? It gives credit to the authors you have cited It helps the readers to locate the cited sources It respects the copyright laws It allows you to act in an honest and responsible way (you're being ethical!) If you don't proceed this way you might be charged of plagiarism which is a severe crime. It not only shows you don't know how to behave ethically but it means you have infringed copyright (Biblioteca, 2020). Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of someone else as your own without proper acknowledgment of the source. When you work on a research paper and use supporting material from works by others, it's okay to quote people and use their ideas, but you do need to correctly credit them. Even when you summarize or paraphrase information found in books, articles, or Web pages, you must acknowledge the original author (UC Santa Cruz, n.d.). What is a citation? A citation identifies for the reader the original source for an idea, information, or image that is referred to in a work. The citation must be done in either situation: if you paraphrase (which is to explain in your own words an idea from other author), or if you make a transcription (which is to use an original extract from another's author source, placing it between inverted commas). Any time you directly quote, paraphrase or summarize the essential elements of someone else's idea in your work, an in-text citation should follow. An in-text citation is a brief notation within the text of your paper or presentation which refers the reader to a fuller notation, or end-of-paper citation, that provides all necessary details about that source of information. In the body of a paper, the in-text citation acknowledges the source of information used. At the end of a paper, the citations are compiled on a References or Works Cited list. A basic citation includes the author, title, and publication information of the source.  4 | Purposive Communication 51 Source: Lemieux Library, University of Seattle Citation Styles A. APA (American Psychological Association) APA is the style of documentation of sources used by the American Psychological Association. This form of writing research papers is used mainly in the social sciences, like psychology, anthropology, sociology, as well as education and other fields (Georgie State University, 2020). APA style emphasizes the author and the date of a piece of work; Chicago, which is widely used for history and economics; Vancouver, which is used in medical and scientific papers. Reference list (Bibliographic entries are alphabetized under the heading "References."): Citing Books (For books, the following should be listed, in this order: authors' or editors' names; date of publication; book title; edition (if other than first); place of publication; publisher's name):  4 | Purposive Communication 52 Perkins, K. A., Conklin, C. A., & Levine, M. D. (2008). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for smoking cessation: A practical guidebook to the most effective treatments. New York: Routledge. In-text citation formats: (Perkins, Conklin & Levine, 2008) Perkins, Conklin, and Levine (2008) found.... Subsequent citations, 3 to 5 authors: (Perkins et al.) For citations with six or more authors, include only the first author's last name and et al. for in-text citations. In-text citations for articles are essentially the same as for books. Edited book Heilbrun, K, Goldstein, N. E. S., & Redding, R. E. (Eds.) (2005). Juvenile delinquency: Prevention, assessment, and intervention. New York: Oxford University Press. Chapter in book: Palmer, E. J. (2008). Criminal thinking. In D. Carson, R. Milne, F. Pakes, K. Shalev, & A. Shawyer (Eds.), Applying psychology to criminal justice (pp. 147-165). New York: John Wiley. For more information about APA style, you may visit these links: https://www.iup.edu/writingcenter/writing- resources/research-and-documentation/apa-style/what-is-apa-/ https://www.citationmachine.net/apa/cite-a-book https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/a pa_style_introduction.html B. MLA (Modern Language Association) MLA stands for the Modern Language Association, which is an organization that focuses on language and literature. MLA refers the style for preparing scholarly manuscripts and student research papers. It concerns itself with the mechanics of writing, such as punctuation, quotation, and, especially, documentation of sources (College of San Mateo, 2020). Citing Books (The author’s name or a book with a single author's name appears in last name, first name format.) The basic form for a book citation is:  4 | Purposive Communication 53 Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date. *Note: the City of Publication should only be used if the book was published before 1900, if the publisher has offices in more than one country, or if the publisher is unknown in North America. Ex: Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. MacMurray, 1999. In-text citation formats: Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263). Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263). Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263). For more information about MLA style, you may visit these links: https://libguides.collegeofsanmateo.edu/ld.php?content_id=524 52490 https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/ mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_gui de.html https://style.mla.org/category/behind-the-style/ A. Make a cover letter and a resume. Imagine yourself as a fresh graduate who will be applying for Teaching I position on your chosen elementary/high school educational institution in your municipality. The following are the guidelines: Follow the format shown in page 45 of this module. Paper size: A4; Font Style and Size: 12, Times New Roman; Margin: Normal Provide a passport size ID picture on your resume Convert your file to PDF format: 1st page: cover letter; 2nd page: resume (either one to two page-resume only) For instructor’s use:  4 | Purposive Communication 54 Adopted from: https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/411235009700833783/ B. Write a “documented essay” (an essay or an academic paper which you incorporate information—facts, arguments, opinions—taken from the writings of authorities in a particular field). You may look for samples of documented essay online. Use APA style in your citation. For instructor’s use: Adopted from: https://www.slideshare.net/jordanlachance/ewrt-2-research-paper-rubric  4 | Purposive Communication 55 4.3 References Book: Ariola, Mariano M. (2018). Purposive Communication. Library Services & Publishing Inc. Bantugan, Ramon M., et al. (2018). Purposive Communication. St. Andrew Publishing House. Manzano, Brendalyn A., et al. (2018). Purposive Communication for College Freshmen. St. Andrew Publishing House. Santos, M.L. & Uychoco, M.T. (2018). Communication for Society: Purposive Communication. Rex Bookstore. Online Sources: Biblioteca (2020). Referencing Sources. https://feup.libguides.com/internationalstudents Lachance, J. (2016). Ewrt 2 research paper rubric. https://www.slideshare.net/jordanlachance/ewrt-2-research-paper-rubric University Library (2014). Citing sources. https://guides.library.ucsc.edu/writing/cite_sources 4.4 Acknowledgment The images, tables, figures and information contained in this module were taken from the references cited above.