Purposive Communication Module Contents 1

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CHAPTER

Understanding the 21st Century Communication

This part will help you:

 Demonstrate mastery in elucidating the nature, elements, and


functions of verbal and non-verbal communication in various and
multicultural contexts.
 Observed how communication plays its part in cultural and global
issues
 Respond through written or oral communication reflecting
challenges of diverse and multicultural communication.

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Lesson
Communication Processes, Principles and Ethics
Our goals
 Explain the principle and process of communication and the ethical
considerations in communication.
 Apply communication skills in resolving problems, better understand new
concepts and aid in your profession.
 Illustrate a slogan about your understanding on communication process
and as aids for people in communicating effectively

Engage yourself!!!
1. Why do people communicate?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
2. Imagine a world without communication.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
3. Why do miscommunication and misunderstandings happen?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Initializing

Communication is inevitable. Our need for self-expression leads us to communicate not only
our thoughts but also our feelings. Communication may be done verbally or non-verbally. A simple
yawn from a member of the audience in a public speaking engagement is a non-verbal message
sent to the speaker. On the other hand, a phone call inquiring about a certain product is an example
of a verbal message.

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Communications is fundamental to the existence and survival of humans as well as to an
organization. It is a process of creating and sharing ideas, information, views, facts, feelings, etc.
among the people to reach a common understanding.

Concept Grounding

Communication is understood as the process of meaning-making through a channel or a


medium. It comes from the Latin “communicares”, meaning to share or to make ideas common.
The connection that encompasses interaction among partakers is at the center of your learning of
communication.

The Components of Communication Process

Communications is a continuous process which mainly involves three elements viz. sender, message,
and receiver. The elements involved in the communication process are explained below in detail:

1. Source
The source of information is called sender. The sender or the communicator
generates the message and conveys it to the receiver. The sender is the encoder of message
and this may be anyone: an author of a book, a public speaker, or even a traffic enforcer.

2. Message
The message is the reason behind interaction. It is the meaning shared between the
sender and the receiver. Messages take many forms. They could be through poems, songs,
essays, news articles, road signs and even symbols.

3. Channel
The channel means by which message is conveyed. It is the medium, mean, manner
or method through which a message is sent to its intended receiver. The basic channels are
written (hard copy print or digital formats), oral or spoken, and electronic and multimedia .

4. Receiver
The receiver is the person who receives the transmitted message. The "receiver" is
the listener, reader, or observer—that is, the individual (or the group of individuals) to
whom a message is directed. The receiver is also called the "audience" or decoder. It is
expected to listen or read carefully, to be aware of different kinds of sender to jot down
information when needed, to provide response and to ask questions for clarification.

5. Feedback
In any communication scenario, a feedback is essential to confirm recipient
understanding. Feedbacks are expressed in varied forms. A simple nod for a question or
verification is considered a feedback. Thus, feedback may be written, spoken or acted out.

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6. Environment
The place, the feeling, the mood, the mindset and the condition of both sender and
receiver are called the environment. The environment may involve the physical set-up of a
location where communication takes place, the space occupied by both the sender and the
receiver, including the objects surrounding the sender and the receiver.

7. Context
Context involves the expectations of the sender and the receiver and the common
shared understanding through the environmental signals.

8. Interference
It is also known as barrier or block that prevents the effective communication to
take place.

Kinds of interference
a. Psychological barrier are thoughts that hamper the message to be interpreted
correctly by the receiver.
b. Physical barrier includes competing stimulus, weather and climate, health and
ignorance of the medium.
c. Linguistic and cultural barriers pertain to the language and its cultural
environment. Words may mean another in different cultures.
d. Mechanical barriers are those raised by the channels employed for
interpersonal, group or mass communication. These include cellphones, laptops
and other gadgets used in communication.

The Nine Principles of Effective Communication

Michael Osborn (2009) claims that communication must meet certain standards for
effective communication to take place.

1. Clarity
It makes speeches understandable. Fuzzy language is absolutely forbidden, as are
jargons, cliché expressions, euphemisms and doublespeak language.

2. Concreteness
It reduces misunderstandings. Message must be supported by facts such as research
data, statistics, or figures to achieve concreteness. Abstract words must be avoided.

3. Courtesy
Courtesy builds good-will. It involves being polite in terms of approach and manner
of addressing an individual.

4. Correctness
Glaring mistakes in grammar obscures the meaning of a sentence also the misuse
of language can damage your credibility.

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5. Consideration
Message must be geared towards the audience. The sender of a message must
consider the recipient’s profession, level of education, race, ethnicity, hobbies, interest,
passion, advocacies, and age when drafting or delivering a message.

6. Creativity
Creativity in communication means having the ability to craft interesting message in
terms of sentence construction and word choice.

7. Conciseness
Simplicity and directness help you to be concise. Avoid using lengthy expression
and words that might confuse the recipient.

8. Cultural Sensitivity
Today, with the increasing emphasis on empowering diverse cultures, lifestyles and
races and the pursuit for gender equality, cultural sensitivity becomes an important
standard for effective communication.

9. Captivating
You must strive to make message interesting to command more attention and better
responses.

Ethical Considerations in Communication

Ethics is a branch of philosophy that focuses


on issues of right and wrong in human affairs.
Ethical Communicators:
 Respect audience.
 Consider the result of communication.
 Value truth.
 Use information correctly.
 Do not falsify information. By:Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Firming up

1. Illustrate the communication process through a diagram.


2. Identify possible communication blocks in the following situations:
a. A written letter of complaint
b. Interaction between a nurse and a patient in pain
c. Songs with figurative language.

Concretizing

1. List various channels you commonly found in the school. Which channel(s) do you find
most effective? And Why?

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Reflecting

In this lesson, I learned that to be an effective communicator,


I_______________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
__________

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Lesson

Communication and Globalization

Our goals
 Write a reaction paper on communication challenges in a global
atmosphere and methods for effective and ethical global
communication.
 Create a two-minute informative video about communication and
globalization.

Engage yourself!!!

www.brighthubpm.com/resource-management

1. What is the image saying about the world today?


________________________________________________________________________

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2. What do you think has contributed to the easy access and exchange of information
these days? Why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Initializing
Globalization is the communication and assimilation among individuals, ethnicities, races,
institutions, governments of various nations supported by technology and compelled by
international trade. Due to globalization, the more you become exposed to diversity, the valuing
of the uniqueness or differences in gender preferences, color, age, religious affiliation, ethnicity,
education, social and economic status and political beliefs.
Globalization is not a new process or concept. Years before the advent of technology,
people had been purchasing and selling each other properties, goods and other objects of certain
value.

Concept Grounding

Globalization is a process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and


governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided
by information technology. This process has effects on the environment, on culture, on political
systems, on economic development and prosperity, and on human physical well-being in societies
around the world.
Communication has since been increasingly global, and blurring national boundaries. The
ability to communicate effectively in a global setting can be a challenge. Hence, to effectively
communicate in a global context, a general understanding of the differences in conducting
communication from one country to another of from one culture to another helps avoid
miscommunication.
People’s background and experiences influence their view of the world and the values,
beliefs and behavior patterns assumed to be good. The following are possible cultural barriers to
effective communication in a global environment.
1. Cultural relativism
2. Lack of knowledge of other’s culture
3. Discrimination and harassment
4. Language differences

To get the desired outcome or response, the above barriers must be properly addressed. It
is the responsibility of the parties involved in the communication process to eliminate the possible
hindrances in their exchange. The goal of effective global communication is to achieve
communication that gets the desired response leading to harmonious connections. Krizan (2014)
suggests these strategies to become an effective communicator.

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1. Review communication principle
2. Analyze the message
3. Be open and accept other cultures
4. Consider language needs

Firming up

1. Watch the video “Wiring a Web for Global Good”


(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7rrJAC84FA). In a form of reaction paper, answer
the following questions:
a. What global issues have emerged because of miscommunication?
b. How can effective communication and language use contribute to the creation of a
truly global society?

Reflecting

In this lesson, I learned that to be a global communicator,


I_______________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
__________

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Lesson
Local and Global Communication in
Multicultural Settings
Our goals!!!
 Determine culturally-appropriate terms, expressions, and images
(sensitivity to gender, race, class, etc)
 Adopt cultural awareness and sensitivity in communication ideas
 Cite example on how to enhance one’s ability to communicate with people
from diverse cultures.
 Create a three-to-four-minute presentation about various cultural modes of
communication of a certain country

Engage yourself!!!
1. Why do you think cultural conflict exist?
______________________________________
______________________________________

2. Do you find yourself superior to other culture?


Why yes? Why not?
_____________________________________
_____________________________________

3. What do you think are the communication barriers


across cultures?
____________________________________
____________________________________ https://www.tes.com/lessons/GKzVE
____________________________________ ExFx4CEvw/unit-1-intercultural-
communication

Initializing
As generations passed by, globalization has become evident because of the easier access
communication across cultures. You encounter people with diverse cultural backgrounds. Such
interactions occur in social, educational, political and commercial settings. Hence, because of

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global communication, it is imperative to understand intercultural communication for us to
enhance our intercultural awareness and competence. Intercultural competence is essential for us
to live harmoniously despite our differences in culture.

Concept Grounding

Global Community refers to people or nations of the world, considered as being closely
connected by modern telecommunications and as being economically, socially, and politically
interdependent.

Cultural Awareness
It is knowing that there are multiple different cultures based on religion, ethnicity,
nationality, and other factors that have different attitudes and outlooks.

Cultural Sensitivity
It involves accepting those differences without insisting your own culture is better, or
everyone should do it your way. ( Sherman, 2018)

Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity Guidelines


1. View human differences as positive and cause for celebration;
2. Have a clear sense of your own ethnic, cultural, and racial identity;
3. Be aware that in order to learn about others, you need to understand and be prepared
to share your own culture;
4. Be aware of your own discomfort when you encounter differences in race, color,
sexual orientation, language, and ethnicity;
5. Be aware of the assumptions that you hold about people of cultures different from
your own;
6. Be aware of your stereotypes as they arise and develop personal strategies for
reducing the harm that they cause;
7. Be aware of how your cultural perspective influences your judgments about what
appropriate, normal, or superior behaviors, values, and communication styles are;
8. Accept that in cross-cultural situations, there can be uncertainty, and that uncertainty
can make you anxious. It can also mean that you do not respond quickly and take the
time needed to get more information;
9. Take any opportunity to put yourself in places where you can learn about differences
and create relationships; and
10. Understand that you will likely be perceived as a person with power and racial
privilege (or the opposite), and that you may not be seen as unbiased or as an ally.

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Intercultural communication refers to interaction with people form diverse cultures (Jandt,1998)

Forms of Intercultural Communication (Jandt,1998)

1. Interracial communication- communicating with people from different races


Interethnic communication- interacting with people of different ethnic origins
2. International communication- communicating between representatives from different
nations
3. Intracultural communication- interacting with members of the same racial or ethnic
group or co-culture

Improving Intercultural Communication Competence

The following guidelines may help you enhance your ability to communicate effectively
across cultures ( Gamble and Gamble, 2008).

1. Recognize the validity and difference of communication styles among people.


2. Learn to eliminate personal biases and prejudices.
3. Strive to acquire communication skills necessary in a multicultural world.

What is gender sensitivity?

It refers to the aim of understanding and taking account of the societal and cultural factors involved
in gender-based exclusion and discrimination in the most diverse spheres of public and private life.

What is gender-sensitive language?

It is the realization of gender equality in written and spoken language. - it is attained when
women and men and those who do not conform to the binary gender system are made visible and
addressed in language as persons of equal value, dignity, integrity, and respect.

Gender-neutral words

 ancestors, forebears (instead of forefathers)


 Artifical, manufactured (instead of man-made)
 Average/ordinary person (instead of common man)
 Chair, chairperson, coordinator (instead of chairman)
 Courteous, cultrues (instead of ladylike)
 First-year student (instead of freshman)
 Flight attendant (instead of stewardess)
 Human resources (instead of manpower)
 legislator, representative (instead of congressman)
 Mail carrier, letter carrier, postal worker (instead of mailman, postman)

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 people, human beings (instead of mankind)
 person, individual (instead of man)
 Police officer (instead of policeman)
 Solidarity (instead of brotherhood)
 To operate, to cover, to staff (instead of to man)

Firming up

In what specific ways you can enhance your ability to communicate with people from diverse
culture?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Concretizing

1. According to Confucius “Human beings draw close to one another by their common
nature, but habits and customs keep them apart.” Do you agree or disagree? Explain your
stand.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Reflecting

In this lesson, I learned that global communication in


multicultural settings helped me realize
that_____________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
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________________________________________________
________________________________________________
____________
Lesson
Varieties and Registers of Spoken and Written
Language

Our goals!!!
 Apply the varieties and registers of spoken and written language in the
proper context.
 Determine culturally-appropriate terms, expressions, and images
(sensitivity to gender, race, class, etc.
 Adopt cultural awareness and sensitivity in communication of ideas

Engage yourself!!!
Imagine and act: How do you greet your best friend? Your mother? Your teacher? And
lastly your school dean?
Do your ways of greeting these people vary?

Initializing
The spoken mode if often associated with everyday registers while the written mode is
strongly associated with academic registers. However, this is not always true. For instance, in
everyday communication, face-to-face conversation are usually supplemented by text messaging.
In academic contexts, significant forms of oral communication are used along with written
communication. Significantly, both everyday and academic communications are characterized by
multi-modality or the use of multiple modes of communication, including spoken, written modes
and images, music, videos, gestures and etc.

Concept Grounding

A. Varieties of Spoken and Written Language

Lin (2016) presents the following nature of language variation as prescribed by most linguists
based on the ideas of Mahboob (2014).
1. Language varies when communicating with people within (local) and outside (global) our
community.
2. Language varies in speaking and in writing.
3. Language varies in everyday and specialized discourses.

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Mahboob (2014) identifies eight different domains in which language varies depending on
the combinations of different values on the three dimensions (field, tenor, and mode) of the context
of communication.
The first domain includes language variations that reflect local usage done in one local
language or multiple local languages depending on the context. They vary in the following ways:

1. Local everyday written


This may include instances of local everyday written usage found in the
neighborhood posters (e.g. a poster looking for bed spacer).

2. Local everyday oral may occur in local communication among neighbors in everyday in
everyday, informal and local varieties of languages.

3. Local specialized written


An example of local specialized written usage can be found in the publications and
web sites of local societies such as the Baguio Midland Courier.

4. Local specialized oral involves specialized discourses. For example, in a computer shop
in the neighborhood, specialized local usage can be found (e.g specialized computer
game-related vocabulary is used.)

On the other hand, the other four domains involve global usage. These four domains
in language usage differ from the first four domains since they refer to context of language
usage where participants need to communicate with people not sharing their local ways of
using language.
They are as follows:
a. Global everyday written avoids local colloquialisms to make the text accessible to
wider communities of readers. This can be found in international editions of
newspapers and magazines.
b. Global everyday oral may occur in interactions between people coming from different
parts of the world when they talk about everyday casual topics.
c. Global specialized written expands to as many readers internationally, hence the non-
usage of local colloquial expressions (e.g international research journal articles)
d. Global specialized oral occurs when people from different parts of the world discuss
specialized topics in spoken form (e.g paper presentation sessions in an international
academic conference).

Firming up

1. In what situations are the local and global varieties of spoken language used?
2. What registers are appropriate to such situations?

Reflecting

Journal writing. Why is it important to use appropriate varieties and registers of language in
certain communication context?

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Lesson
Evaluating Messages and/or Images of Different
Types of Texts Reflecting Different Culture
Our goals!!!
 Analyze media messages and/or images using Key Concepts of Media Literacy
Framework
 Create a multi-modal advertisement of a cause-oriented event
 Evaluate multimodal texts critically to enhance receptive (listening, reading,
viewing) skills
 Convey ideas through oral, audio-visual, and/or web- based presentations for
different target audiences in local and global setting using appropriate registers
 Adopt awareness of audience and context in presenting ideas

Engage yourself!!!
1. Analyze the advertisement below.

Source: http://atlantablackstar.com/2013/11/19/9-racist-ads-commercials-that-pronote-negative -images-of-


black-people/5/

 Generate questions and idea about the message conveyed by the advertisement.

Initializing
The key concepts of media literacy framework serves as a basis for developing a critical
understanding of the content of mass media, the techniques used and the impact of these
techniques. Also, the key concepts of media literacy can be very helpful in the construction

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of media texts for different purposes. The term “text” includes any from of written, spoken
or media work conveying meaning to an audience. Text may use words, graphics, sounds,
and images in presenting information. It may be also be in oral, print, visual and electronic
forms.

Concept Grounding

Know the linguistic landscape!

It is the "visibility and salience of languages on public and commercial signs in a given
territory or region" (Landry and Bourhis 1997:23) . It refers to thing that one can see that do not
necessarily need words to express the thought.

Example:

billboards signages

traffic regulations

Official signs are produced with a top down discourse.

Signs produced by individual or a group but not officially


recognized and has a bottom up discourse.

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What is Geosemiotics?

Geosemiotics is the study of the social meaning of the material placement of signs in the
world. By signs, we mean to include any semiotic system including language and discourse
(Scollon & Scollon, 2003; in Mooney & Evans, 2015)

Example:

https://405manila.org/2019/03/20/2019-national-womens-month-celebration-dilg_mc2019-42/

Four (4) Kinds of Signs


1. Regulatory
It indicates authority and is official and legal prohibitions.
Example:

2. Infrastructural
It labels things or directs for the maintenance of a building or any infrastructure
Examples:

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3. Commercial
It advertises of promotes a product, an event, or a service in commerce.
Examples:

4. Transgressive
It violates (intentionally or accidentally) the conventional semiotics or is in wrong
place.

Examples:

What is a Graffiti?
Graffiti is an unsanctioned urban text (Carrington, 2009; in Mooney & Evans, 2015). It
conveys power and control to the person or group behind the production of graffiti.
It is a way for disempowered people to make a visible mark, to disrupt the landscape that
is increasingly occupied by the increasingly powerful.

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Know the Online Landscape!
Online communication refers to how individuals or organizations communicate with each other
through the internet. It happens via email, live chat, online forms, comments on websites, VoIP,
instant messaging, social media sites, forums, and through other channels.

Netizens
 These are people who go online. The term netizen is an abstraction of the words in internet
and netizens.
 Netizens are metaphorically considered as the citizens of the virtual world .

Examples of Online Landscapes

a. YouTube - is an American video-sharing platform headquartered in San Bruno, California,


USA.

b. Twitter - is an American microblogging and social networking service on which users post
and interact with messages known as TWEETS. It provides opportunities and resources for
making choices in how we create a personalized linguistic and semiotic landscape (Gillen
& Merchant, 2013; in Mooney & Evans, 2015).

c. Memes - is a term given to any posts, language or photo that has an uptake to a social,
moral, or political idea that most of the time seems funny. - are contagious patterns of
cultural information that get passed from mind to mind and directly generate and shape the
mindsets and significant forms of behavior and actions of a social group. Memes include
such things as popular tunes, catchphrases, clothing fashions, architectural styles, ways of
doing things, icons, jingles, and the like (Knobel & Lankshear, 2007; in Mooney & Evans,
2015).

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Key Concepts of Media Literacy (Center for Media Literacy, 2005)
Key Concepts Guide Questions in Media Text Analysis
1. All media messages are What is the message of the text?
“constructed.” How effectively does it represent reality?
How is the message constructed?
2. Media have embedded values and What lifestyles, values and point of view are
points of view. represented in the text?
Who or what is missing?
3. Each person interprets message What message do you perceive from the text?
differently. How might others understand it differently? Why?
4. Media have commercial, What is the purpose of the text?
ideological or political interests. Who is the target audience of the text?
Who might be disadvantaged?
Who created the text and why?
5. Media message are constructed What technique are used and why?
using creative language having its How effective are the techniques in supporting the
own rules. messages or themes of the text?
What are other ways of presenting the message?

Firming Up

1. Analyze one advertisement and one example of online landscape using the key concept
questions as guide.
2. Make a personal and text connections.

Concretizing
Picture Analysis:
Sad Reality of the World 2020|Deep
Meaning Images

a. Analyze the content of the picture.


b. Present your image evaluation through oral presentation.

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CHAPTER

Communication Aids and Strategies Using Tools


of Technology

This part will help you:


 Design presentation aids; and
 Use technology in communicating effectively.

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Lesson 1
Preparing Multimedia Presentation
Our goal!!!

 Create a multimedia presentation showcasing one’s culture .

Engage yourself!
1. Watch the video “The world’s worst research presentation”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGqp4-bZQY).
Write an impression about the video.
2. Analysis (Group Discussion)
a. What makes the presentation the worst?
b. In what ways can the presentation be improved?

Initializing

In today’s digital society, communication is mediated using technology. For


communication to be more effective, it is imperative to know how technology works, what
purposes it can serve and how it can be used efficiently and effectively used to achieve specific
goals in the communication process.

Concept Grounding
In preparing multimedia presentations for various communication purposes, it is important
to consider the following:

A. Characteristics of Multimedia Presentations


1. Multimedia presentation are visually oriented (displayed on a monitor or projected onto
a screen).
2. The allow users to use different modalities such as:
a. Text
b. Graphics
c. Photographs
d. Audio
e. Animation
f. Video

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Specific features of computer-based presentations

 Custom navigation (linking) between slides, to other media and to the Internet
 Can be made into hard copy printouts or transparencies.
 Can be uploaded to the Web

B. Steps in Making Effective Multimedia Presentations

 Know the purpose of the presentation.


 Know the audience.
 Gather information.
 Use a variety of resources such as:
a. Textbooks
b. Digital resources
i. Photographs
ii. Scanned images
c. Internet
 Do not forget to cite sources.
a. Write the author’s name, title of the work and date of publication.
b. Include the website or Web page address of the source.
c. In general, non-profit educational use of online materials for a lecture qualifies as
fair-use but it is better to ask the author’s permission to use such materials.
d. Always have a full bibliographic reference for all citations.
 Organize the information.
a. List the main points.
b. Have only one main idea per slide.
c. Present ideas in a logical order.
d. Place important information near the top.
 Check technical issues.
a. Contrast
 Dark text on light background
 White text on dark background
b. Use only one design and color scheme throughout the slide presentation
c. Avoid clutter.
d. Avoid patterned or textured backgrounds.
e. Use large font size (minimum of !8 pts)
f. Use font that are easy to read. Don’t use fancy fonts.
g. Don’t use more than two types of fonts.
h. Avoid too much text. Don’t use the presentation as your notes.
i. Use no more than 3 or 4 bullets per slide.
 Be creative
a. Use transitions and animations to add interest.
b. But don’t overdo it!

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Firming up

In what ways can the different forms of communication (intrapersonal, interpersonal, small
group, public and mass) be enhanced with the aid of technology?

Concretizing

Feature one of your cultural practices through a multimedia presentation. Observe the
guidelines for creating multimedia presentations.

Reflecting!

From this
I realized that…..
lesson,

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

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Lesson 2
Preparing Pecha Kucha Presentation
Our goal!
 Present a Pecha Kucha about one’s regions.

Engage yourself!

Watch a video presentation at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP3Znm3LNLA then


answer the following questions:

1. With the number of minutes, was the presenter able to show comprehensively his trip?
2. How was the trip presented?

Initializing

A Pecha Kucha presentation is a format that uses 20 slides or images that are displayed for
20 seconds each. The slides will move automatically as the presenter is speaking. This format
ensures that the speaker is concise, keeps the presentation moving, and gets through all of their
content. This presentation is very helpful to keep track of the time.

Concept Grounding
Watch how to make a Pecha Kucha presentation at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9zxNTpNMLo “Creating a Pecha Kucha Presentation Using
PowerPoint”

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Remember:

1. Open the power point. Select blank layout or simply press CTRL N or command N.
2. Duplicate the blank slides. Make sure that you have 20 blank slides.
3. Select all the slides (you can use CTRL A). Make sure to remove the check mark “on
mouse click” then modify the transition speed to 20 seconds.
4. Insert and resize images.
5. After saving the Pecha Kucha presentation, check the speed of transition. Make sure
that the saved speed for all slides in 20 seconds.
6. Practice your narration with the Pecha Kucha presentation. You can record your
narration in the power point presentation.

Firming up
Using a graphic aid, illustrate how to create a Pecha Kucha presentation.

Concretizing
Make a Pecha Kucha presentation about the best thing/event in your region.

Reflecting!

With the lesson on Pecha Kucha, I realized that


________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

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Lesson 3
Blogging
Our goal!
 Create a blog promoting one’s unique culture and
tradition

Engage yourself!!!
1. Have you ever written a blog? If yes, what was the subject of your blog?
2. Is blogging the same with essay writing?
3. How should you make your blog interesting to readers?

Initializing

In today’s digital world, blogging has become one of the effective ways of communicating
and networking among students, professionals, businessmen, public officials, etc. In other words,
blogging has become an indispensable medium of communication. In the same manner, blogging
can be used effectively for academic purposes. According to Richardson (2006), the use of blogs
has been an engaging and effective way to promote writing skills of primary students, particularly
when student peers provide feedback to the blog.

Concept Grounding

What is a Blog?

A shortened form of weblog, blogs are personal journal websites on which a user can type
an entry and add images, videos and links to other websites. Usually, readers of a blog can post
comments.

Similar with essay writing, there are effective ways of introducing a blog. Read Michael
Pollock’s blog at https://www.michaeldpollock.com/open-your-blog-post/

28
Remember to:

1. Be short and direct.


2. Ask a thought-provoking question.
3. Ask a multiple-choice question.
4. Share a shocking fact or statistic.
5. Share something personal.
6. Withhold a compelling piece of information
7. Refute conventional wisdom.
8. Lead with a success story.
9. Start with a reader’s question.
10. Share a quote.

Firming up

1. If you are going to introduce yourself through a blog, how will you make the beginning
appealing to your readers? Write your own examples (at least two) of an interesting
introduction to your blog.
2. Peer critiquing. Choose a partner and let him/her give a feedback on your sample
introduction.

Concretizing
1. Feature a tradition that is unique in your own community through a blog post.

Reflecting!

Journal writing through a short blog.

Guide Question: How can you use blogging to promote harmonious


interpersonal relationship with people in your own circles (friends,
family, church, etc.)?

29
CHAPTER

Communication for Various Purposes

This part will help you:

 Demonstrate mastery in obtaining, providing and disseminating


information.
 Present ideas persuasively using appropriate verbal and non-verbal cues.

30
Lesson 1
Informative, Persuasive and Argumentative
Communication
Our goal!!!
 Create a public service announcement regarding the environmental disaster
preparedness employing the concepts of informative, persuasive and
argumentative communication.

Engage yourself!
1. What have you observed on the news, commercials and essays you usually read?
2. How do you think writers make their works interesting for the readers?
3. List the things you like most in your favorite story or poem you’ve read.

Concretizing
Communication is made for numerous purposes. The way messages are crafted depends
highly on the intention of the sender.

In a supermarket, a sales agent makes sure that the way a product is promoted gets consumers
buying. A news anchor delivers information in such a wat that all the facts are clearly stated doing
away with words that may cause confusion. On the other hand, a criminal lawyer must design his
arguments supported by facts to convince the judge and the jury.

Concept Grounding

Informative Communication

It involves giving than asking. As an informative communicator, you want your receivers
to pay attention and understand, but not to change their behavior. By sharing information,
ignorance is reduced, or better yet, eliminated. The informative value of a message is measured by
how novel and relevant the information is or the kind of understanding it provides the receivers.

31
Osborn (2009) purports that informative communication arises out of three deep
impulses:
1. We seek to expand our awareness of the world around us.
2. We seek to become more competent.
3. We have an abiding curiosity about how things work and how they are made.
When preparing for an informative exchange, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is my topic noteworthy to be considered informative?


2. What do my recipients already know about my topic?
3. What more do they have to know?
4. Am I knowledgeable enough of my topic to help my receivers understand it?

Persuasive Communication

It is an art of gaining fair and favorable consideration for our point of view.

a. It provides a choice among options.


b. It advocates something through a speaker.
c. It uses supporting materials to justify advice.
d. It turns the audience into agents of change.
e. Asks for strong audience commitment.
f. It gives importance to the speaker’s credibility.
g. It appeals to feelings
h. It has higher ethical obligation.

Argumentative Communication

It relies heavily on sound proof and reasoning. The nature of proof has been studied since
the Golden Age of Greece and has been improved through time. According to Aristotle, logos,
ethos, and pathos are the three primary forms of proof. In our time, whoever, many scholars have
confirmed the presence of the fourth dimension of proof, mythos, which suggest that we respond
to appeals to the traditions and values of our culture and to the legends and folktales that embody
them.
Lucas (2007) claims that to avoid defective argumentation, the following must be avoided:
1. Defective evidence
a. Misuse of facts
b. Statistical fallacies
c. Inappropriate evidence
2. Defective Patterns of reasoning
a. Evidential fallacies
i. Slippery slope
ii. Confusing facts with opinion

32
iii. Red herring
iv. Myth of the mean
b. Flawed proofs
c. Defective arguments

Firming up

1. What is the difference between an informative communication and a persuasive


communication? Which do you think is more challenging in terms of preparation and
delivery?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. In a table, list essential preparations when communicating to inform, to persuade, and to
argue.
To inform To persuade To argue

3. What ethical considerations must one bear in mind when informing, persuading or arguing?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

33
Lesson 2
Public Speaking
Our goal!
 Compare and contrast the difference modes of delivering a
speech
 Deliver effectively a message to an audience

Engage yourself!
Do these statements apply to you? Answer Yes or No.

1. I am excited at the thought of speaking in public.


2. I see myself speaking in public often in the future.
3. I think I can be a very good speaker.
4. The thought of public speaking terrifies me.
5. I would avoid speaking in public as much as I can.
6. No amount of practice can make me a better speaker.

Items 1,2, and 4,5 determine your public speaking anxiety. If you answered items 1 and 2
with a Yes, you probably have a low anxiety. If you answered items 4 and 5 with a Yes, you most
probably have a high public speaking anxiety. Item 3 and 6 determine your attitude toward public
speaking. If you answered item 3 with a yes, you have a growth mindset. If you answered item 6
with a yes, you have a closed mindset.

Do you agree or disagree?


1. “Your ability to communicate with others will account fully 85% of your success in
your business and in your life.” -Brian Tracy
2. “90% of how well the talk will go is determined before the speaker steps on the
platform.” – Somers White
3. “Only the prepared speaker deserves to be confident.” – Dale Carnegie
4. “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.” – Mark Twain
(re-evaluate your answers after the reading engagement.)

You have probably delivered a speech before an audience once, twice, or thrice in high
school in the forms of reporting, research presentations, or creative presentations or you might
have read biblical passages in church. How did the experience make you feel? If the experience
made you wish to speak more in public or made you confident of yourself, then you belong to the
few who do not fear public speaking or who have overcome it.

34
According to the most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two
is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go
to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than delivering the eulogy. -Jerry Seinfield
Fear of public speaking is, therefore, common to most people, but despite this fact, many
have turned public speaking into their ticket to success. Brian Tracy phrased this idea in his
statement below.
“Your ability to communicate with others will account for fully 85% of your success in
your business and in your life.”
What apparently matters is your reaction to fear of public speaking. How should you handle
fear? Mark Twain suggests: “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear- not absence of fear”.
Your awareness of your fear of public speaking is a good starting point. With your
awareness, you acknowledge that you need to take actions to overcome that fear.
You might also need a strong reason to overcome that fear. While it is true that not all
professions require speaking skills, you must consider the fact that public speaking is an essential
skill in your academic life. Also, in many professions such as those in business, education, mass
media etc., public speaking skills are the requirement. In some other professions, public speaking
skills are an advantage. Most importantly, public speaking has long been a tool for activism that
paved way for social and political changes.
By this time, you must have decided that public speaking is highly relevant to your
academic, professional and personal life.

Initializing
1. By pair: Share your greatest fear to your partner.
The following questions will help you structure the mini-speech.
i. What is your greatest fear?
ii. Why do you fear such?
Have you taken actions to overcome your fear? What were these actions?

Concept Grounding

Public Speaking

It is a process of speaking in a structured, deliberate manner to inform, influence or


entertain an audience.
It (also called oratory or oration) is the process or act of performing a speech to a
live audience. Public speaking is commonly understood as formal, face-to-face, speaking of a
single person to a group of listeners. However, due to the evolution of public speaking, it is
modernly viewed as any form of speaking (formally and informally) between an audience and the
speaker. Traditionally, public speaking was considered to be a part of the art of persuasion. The
act can accomplish particular purposes including to inform, to persuade, and to entertain.

35
Speech
It is the term used refer to the body spoken expression of information and ideas. A speech
may be delivered in any of the following modes: read from a manuscript, memorized and delivered
extemporaneous or impromptu. The choice of mode of speech delivery is determined by factors
such as length of preparation, complexity of message, purpose, and occasion.

Reading from a Manuscript


This is appropriate when the speech is long and when details are complicated and essential
such as they need to be given completely. Reading is also appropriate when one is asked to deliver
a prepared speech on behalf of another speaker. Reading may pose the least challenge in public
speaking but the speaker may be tricked into thinking that no preparation is needed. When a
message is delivered through reading, the force, naturalness, and eye contact may be diminished
because the eyes have to travel from page to the audience and vice versa.

Memorized Speech
This requires a speaker to commit everything to memory. This method is excellent for short
messages although it is also used for long pieces in oratorical, declamation and other literary
contests. Just like a read speech, a memorized speech also poses challenge in naturalness. The
worst experience one could have is delivering a memorized speech is to forget the lines and fail to
shift smoothly to another mode of delivery.

Extemporaneous Speaking
This may have short or a long preparation. The speaker may use an outline to guide him
through his speech to achieve better organization and to avoid leaving out details. But unlike
reading, extemporaneous speaking necessitates the speaker to formulate his sentences while he is
speaking. Extemporaneous is a method that most lecturers and teachers use. A good
extemporaneous speaker must be spontaneous.

Impromptu
It means speaking at the spur of the moment. Since there is very minimal or no time for
preparation give for impromptu, the content and organization may suffer. Impromptu may not
deliver the best thought in the best way but brings out the most natural thing to say at the moment.

Firming up

A. Using the table below, compare and contrast extemporaneous speaking to/from
impromptu speaking by writing their differences in their respective columns and the
similarities in the middle column.

Impromptu Similarities Extemporaneous

36
Do the same for read and memorized speech.

Read Similarities Memorized

Concretizing
A. Read with animation a 2-3minute inspirational story.
Rubric for a read speech

Criteria 8-10 5-7 4-3 1-2


Eye Maintained eye Maintained eye Inconsistent eye Avoided contact
contact/connection contact with the contact most of the contact; somewhat with the audience;
audience throughout time, engaged engaged audience disengaged
the speech, engaged audience most of audience
audience throughout the time
the speech
Content Fully developed Developed Some understanding Vague sense of the
topic/idea with topic/idea with of the topic with topic or idea
unified substantial unified supporting few supporting
supporting details details details
Language use Excellent command Good command of Understandable Inaccurate words
of language, uses the language, language yet lacks and marked with
varied and accurate somewhat accurate accuracy and with grammar errors that
words to express and with few some grammar affect the message
ideas, and uses grammar errors errors
grammatically
correct expressions
Vocal clarity and Very clear and Clear and varied Somewhat clear and Monotonous and
dynamics appropriately varied voice varied voice lacks vocal clarity
voice

B. On your own
1. Prepare a topic outline of a highly relevant topic.
2. Deliver your extemporaneous speech.

Rubric for extemporaneous speech


Criteria 8-10 5-7 4-3 1-2
Content Fully developed Developed Some understanding Vague sense of the
topic/idea with topic/idea with of the topic with the topic or idea
unified substantial unified supporting few supporting
supporting details details details
Language use Excellent command Good command of Understandable Inaccurate words
of the language, the language language yet lacks and marked with
uses varied and somewhat accurate accuracy and with grammar errors that
accurate words to affect the message

37
express ideas, and with few some grammar
grammatically grammar errors errors
correct expressions
Spontaneity and Very natural and Natural and Somewhat natural Marked with long
naturalness spontaneous with spontaneous with with some awkward awkward pauses
appropriate pauses some awkward pauses
pauses
Vocal clarity and Very clear and Clear and varied Somewhat clear and Monotonous and
dynamics appropriately varied voice varied voice lacks vocal clarity
voice
Eye contact/ Maintains eye Maintain eye Inconsistent eye Avoids eye contact
connection contact with the contact most of the contact with the audience
audience throughout time
the speech
Relevance of the Very relevant and Relevant to the Somewhat relevant Of little relevance to
chosen topic useful to the majority of the to the majority of the audience
majority of the audience the audience
audience

A. On the spot

1. Pick from the teacher’s box a quote or a question. From either a quotation or question,
develop a minute of impromptu speech. You may explain, argue, support and/or illustrate
the quote you picked.

Reflecting

1. In what area of public speaking do you feel you need the most
improvement?
___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

38
Lesson 3
Making Inquiries
Our goals!
 Write effective letters of inquiry
 Create incident report template
 Provide information accurately

Engage yourself!
Do these statements apply to you?
1. I have effective techniques in seeking for information online.
2. I can easily ask for information from anyone.
3. I can easily start a conversation with other people.
4. I feel that people easily comprehend what I say.
5. I am confident I can write a formal inquiry letter.
6. I avoid writing letters as much as I can.
7. I would rather call people than write them.

Do you agree or disagree?


1. You need not observe the writing conventions in writing e-mails.
2. English is the best language for interviews.
3. Emails are informal.
4. Abbreviations are encouraged in emails.

You probably texted or called people to obtained information you needed several times
already. Did you get the information you needed? Did you use the same language and tone in all
your queries through phone calls and text messages?

You might have also received queries via text messages, conversations, and phone calls.
Were there times when you felt the language or the tone of the caller or message sender was
inappropriate? Were you able to provide the information sought satisfactorily?

Both obtaining and giving information are a part of our daily activities. Information provide
individuals basis for actions, plans, and decisions. An individual’s skill in finding information
helps him save time and make well-informed decisions, and actions. Likewise, giving information
effectively is of great help to others.

39
Initializing
Find someone in class who can provide or who can help you find information about the
following:
1. The most popular brand of cellular phone in class.
2. The most visited site in the city.
3. The number of children both last years.
4. The number of visitors of Baguio City or your city last year.
5. The place that recorded the coldest temperature in the Philippines.
6. The most in demand work abroad.
7. The most expensive course in the university.
8. The ten highest paying jobs in the world.
9. The most popular cuisine in the world.
10. Five jobs that you can apply for after finishing your course.
Verify your answers by finding reliable internet sources or individuals.

Concept Grounding

An inquiry letter is written a person needs more information about products, services,
internships, scholarships, or job vacancies offered by companies, associations, or individuals.
Often, inquiry letters are sent when a person has specific questions that are not addressed by the
general information available provided by brochures, websites, advertisements, classified ads, and
etc.
An inquiry may be also be in form of telephone or personal interview.
Depending on the immediacy and specificity of the need, one of these modes may prove
more responsive to your need.

Both interview and letter require correct and appropriate language use. Both require
correctness, conciseness, clarity of language, and courtesy. While letters require correctness of
spelling, punctuations, capitalizations, indentions, margins, etc., interviews require clarity of
words, correct pronunciation, intonation and pauses, spontaneity, pleasing personality, and
confidence.

Content and Organization of Letter of Inquiry


Just like any business letter, letter of inquiry has the following basic parts:
a. Heading or letterhead
b. Inside address
c. Salutation
d. Body of the letter
1st Paragraph: it provides a background of your inquiry such as how, where
and when you first learned of the information. State your purpose in one or two
sentences.
Middle Paragraph: this section should specify the information you are seeking
Final Paragraph: express your expectation from your addressee and thank him
in advance for his favorable action.

40
e. Complimentary close
f. Signature

Format
The format of an inquiry letter follows any of the following most commonly used formats:
full block, semi-block or modifies block.
The format below illustrates the basic business letter content using the full block format.

__________________
__________________
__________________

__________________
__________________
__________________
__________________

__________________:

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________.

________________,
________________

******************************************************************************

Emails Email is more frequently used now in inquiry emails. Emails


gained popularity because of speed and convenience. Generally, email
messages are less effective email communication. The formality than
letters, although there are still expectations for appropriate and
effective email communication. The formality is determined by the
sender’s familiarity and relationship to the receiver, the classification
and objective of the message to be sent, and the other factors that
shape the context of the communication.

41
In academic emails, for example, it is more appropriate to sound formal and professional.
The use of ‘wanna, gonna’, and abbreviations such as “tnx” and “gbu” and emoticons is
inappropriate. In other informal contexts, however, abbreviations and emoticons may be effective.
In academic and other more formal emails, correctness and other qualities that apply to business
letters should be observed.

For more effective email communications (and also letters), remember the following:
1. Be courteous. Courtesy does not only mean greetings, thanking, or using polite
expressions. It also means considering the feelings of the receiver, thus, the writer
needs to use the appropriate or positive tone.
2. Keep messages as concise and clear as possible.
3. Proofread a spellcheck before sending.
4. Provide a short but descriptive subject line. The subject line will help the receiver
readily identify the content type and the urgency of the message.

Although some parts of the email are optional, it is enabling to know all the other parts.
Below is the list of all the parts of an email. The style may vary depending on the systemn
you use.

From: Jose M. Dela Cruz (name of the person sending the email)
Sent: 11 April, 8:00AM (date and time)
To: Michelle D. Morales (name of the person receiving the email)
CC: Fe S. Lopez (other person receiving the email)
Bcc: Marie C. Tui ( another person receiving the email)
Subject: Entrance Examination Schedule (content of the email)
Attachments: Form 137 (document send separately, not included in the email(but attached)
Salutation: Dear Ms. Morales (greetings or opening)
Body of the email: (message)
Closing: Sincerely yours (ending)
Name: (email signature) (name and title)
Below the name of the sender, the following information may be included:
company and address, telephone number, URL or website address and social media link)

Interview
It is a type of purposive conversation. Interviews are classified into different types
according to purpose, but basic to all types of interview is to obtain desired information.
Interview requires real time for both the interviewee and the interviewer.
Whatever your specific purpose is, it is always advantageous to consider the following tips
in conducting an interview.

Before the Interview


1. Remember that if you are seeking for information from people (e.g. interview for
research), you are asking them a favor; thus make appointments with your interviewee
at their most convenient time.
2. Prepare the list of questions.

42
During the Interview
1. Be punctual
2. Wear appropriate attire
3. Observe good manners
4. Speak clearly and be attentive.
5. If you have follow-up questions, ask politely. Ask the interviewee to validate your
notes.
6. Allow the interviewee sufficient time to answer.
7. Rephrase questions to clarify vague points.
8. Acknowledge answers of the interviewee to assure him of your attention.
9. Graciously thank the interviewee for his time.

Parts of the Interview


The opening includes the initial contact of the interviewer and the interviewee. Rapport
should be established by creating positive impression. Although introduction might have been
done during the appointment, introduce yourself briefly.
The body includes several questions to achieve your specific objectives.
The conclusion includes expressing gratitude and hope of meeting the interviewee again
in the future.

Firming up
1. When is writing a letter of inquiry more advantageous than conducting an interview?
2. What can’t letter of inquiry achieve than the interview can?
3. What determines the appropriateness of attire in interviews?
4. What are the factors that determine the formality level of tone in emails, letter and
interview?
5. Do the principles of seeking information apply to giving information? Why?

Concretizing
One way of providing comprehensive information is by writing an incident report. Below is a
sample format of a security incident report. (format varies according to institute work place and
type of information.)

 Your task is to create a template for a customer incident report. Determine the type
of work place and all elements that apply. Print your template on a short bond paper.

Example:

SECURITY INCIDENT REPORT

Reported by:____________________ Date of Report:______________


Designation:____________________ Incident No.:________________
Signature:______________________

43
Incident Information

Incident type:__________________ Date of incident:_______________


Specific Location:_______________ Time of incident:______________

Person/s Involved: _________________________


_________________________
_________________________

Description of the Incident or Narration of the incident


________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________.

Witness/es (if available) _________________________


_________________________
_________________________

Police report filed? ____ Yes ____ No Police Precinct: _____________________________


Receiving Police Officer: _____________________
Contact No.:__________________________

Reflecting!

 Do I find the lesson relevant to my future career?


__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
______________________________________.

 Has there been a change in my attitude on writing and interview? What is it?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
____________________________________.

44
Chapter 4

COMMUNICATION FOR WORK


PURPOSES

This part will help you:


 Communicate ideas effectively using the different forms of
communication in the work field; and
 Demonstrate mastery of the key concepts to effectively and
ethically communicate in the chosen field.

Communication in the workplace is very important for companies


to work efficiently and be productive. Employees can experience increased
morale, productivity and commitment if they can communicate up and down a
company's communication chain.

45
Lesson 1
Communication for Journalist: Writing a Lead
Our goal!!!
 Identify the essential details of a lead; and
 Write a lead for a news article.

Engage yourself!
1. Write an opening paragraph for the most news that you have recently read or watched.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

2. As a budding journalist, how should you write the opening paragraph of your article?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

46
Initializing
1. Read the following lines. What essential details are capitalized in each lines?
a. President Rodrigo Duterte has assured Filipinos that they hold ownership over
Benham Rise. (Rappler, February 10,2018)
b. President Rodrigo Duterte said he will order the Philippine Navy to fire at those who
try to exploit the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). (CNN Philippines,
February 20,2018)
c. “Benham Rise is ours.” (Eagle News, February 10,2018)
2. How were essential details presented?

Concept Grounding
Writing the opening paragraph of a news article or the lead is one of the most challenging
tasks. The manner of presenting the lead may dissuade the readers from reading the entire
news article.
Perhaps, a traditional way of opening a news article is using the summary lead or the
straight lead (presenting the W’s and the H). other types of lead include question lead,
quotation lead, funny lead, anecdotal lead, and descriptive lead.

Whatever type of lead you decide to use, remember to:

1. Emphasize the most important details;


2. Be specific and concise; and
3. Use active verbs as much as possible.

How to write a lead sentence or paragraph:

1. Determine your hook.


Look at the 5 Ws and 1 H. Why are readers clicking on this content? What problem are
they trying to solve? What’s new or different? Determine which aspects are most relevant and
important, and lead with that.

2. Be clear and succinct.


Simple language is best. Mark Twain said it best: “Don’t use a five-dollar word when a
fifty-cent word will do.”

3. Write in the active voice.


Use strong verbs and decided language. Compare “Dog bites man” to “A man was bitten
by a dog” — the passive voice is timid and bland (for the record, Stephen King feels the same
way).

4. Address the reader as “you.”


This is the writer’s equivalent to breaking the fourth wall in theatre, and while some editors
will disagree with me on this one, I stand by it. People know you’re writing to them. Not only is it
OK to address them as such, I think it helps create a personal connection with them.

47
5. Put attribution second.
What’s the nugget, the little gem you’re trying to impart? Put that information first, and
then follow it up with who said it. The “according to” part is almost always secondary to what he
or she actually said.

6. Go short and punchy.


Take my recent lead for this Marketing Land post: “Freelance writers like working with
me. Seriously, they do.” Short and sweet makes the reader want to know where you’re going with
that.

7. If you’re stuck, find a relevant stat.


If you’re trying to be clever or punchy or brilliant and it’s just not happening, search for an
interesting stat related to your topic and lead with that. This is especially effective if the stat is
unusual or unexpected, as in, “A whopping 80 percent of Americans are in debt.”

8. Or, start with a story.


If beginning with a stat or fact isn’t working for your lead, try leading with an anecdote
instead. People absorb data, but they feel stories. Here’s an example of an anecdotal lead that
works great in a crime story: “It’s just after 11 p.m., and Houston police officer Al Leonard has
his gun drawn as the elderly black man approaches the patrol car. The 9mm pistol is out of sight,
pointing through the car door. Leonard rolls down his window and casually greets the man. ‘What
can I do for you?'” I want to know what happens next, don’t you?

9. Borrow this literary tactic.


Every good story has these three elements: a hero we relate to, a challenge (or villain) we
fear, and an ensuing struggle. Find these elements in the story you’re writing and lead with one of
those.

10. When you’re staring at a blank screen.


Just start. Start writing anything. Start in the middle of your story. Once you begin, you
can usually find your lead buried a few paragraphs down in this “get-going” copy. Your lead is in
there — you just need to cut away the other stuff first.

Here's a Few Examples of Good Leads or Blurbs

A little long but all 5 This evening at about 9:30 p.m. at Ford's Theatre, the President,
Ws & H while sitting in his private box with Mrs. Lincoln, Mrs. Harris and
Major Rathburn, was shot by an assassin, who suddenly entered
the box and approached behind the President.

CONTRAST lead - Less than 3 years ago, two college friends decided to build a
The contrast lead website to exchange their favorite videos.
draws contrast
between two opposite
extremes - tragedy

48
with comedy, past Today Your Tube is owned by Google and gets over 25 million
with present, age with unique visitors to the site each month.
youth, beauty with
ugly.

PICTURE lead - The Standing tall and straight, easy to smile, unfurrowed brow under
picture lead draws a glistening eyes, Mary told of her dramatic attitude change, having
vivid word picture of seen her business results turn around after bringing in a consultant.
the person or in the
story. The idea is to
have the reader see
the thing as the writer
saw it.
BACKGROUND High seas, strong winds and heavy overcast provided the setting
lead - This is the same for a dramatic mission of mercy in the North Atlantic on the first
as the Picture lead day of the year.
except it draws a vivid
word picture of the
news setting,
surroundings or
circumstances.
PUNCH lead - The The President is dead. Friday the 13th is over, but the casualty list
Punch lead consists of is still growing.
a blunt, explosive
statement designed to
surprise or jolt the
reader.
QUESTION lead - How does your website conversion rates compare to other sites in
The Question lead your industry?
features a pertinent
query that arouses the
readers' curiosity and
makes them want to
read the body of the
story for answers.
Make sure the
question is rhetorical,
cannot be answered
with a straight "no"
or "yes".

49
QUOTATION lead - "You really don't know what freedom is until you have had to
This lead features a escape from terrorist captivity", says Tom Dennon, an Air Force
short, eye-catching pilot stationed in Iraq.
quote or remark,
usually set in
quotation marks. Use
this only if the
quotation is so
important or
remarkable it
overshadows the other
facts of the story.

Firming Up

1. Write an acronym poem about what a budding journalist should remember in writing a
lead.
L-_______________________________________________________________
E-_______________________________________________________________
A-_______________________________________________________________
D-_______________________________________________________________

2. A. Bring four different newspaper in class. Make sure that these newspapers were published
on the same date. Choose a news article with the same topic from each newspaper. Cut out
the lead of your chosen news article. Paste them on a short bond paper.

B. Using a graphic organizer, illustrate the similarities and differences of the lead you
placed on the bond paper.

Firming Up

Choose two events that will be celebrated in your locality and write a lead about these
events.
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

50
Lesson 2
Communication for Teachers: Storytelling

Our goals!!!
 Describe pictures within a given time frame
 Tell a story effectively
***************************************************************
Engage yourself!
a. What makes the students enjoy the class?
b. What do the teachers exhibit in conducting lesson?

https://theconversation.com/the-dying-art-of-storytelling http://www.educationalleadership-
-in-the-classroom-93088
digital.com/educationalleadership/201809/MobilePage
dArticle.action?articleId=1419408

51
Initializing
As future teachers, it is essential that you hone your craft in leadership and teaching. You
need to be able to use the language when you explain, describe, retell, interpret, plan, and give
instructions and feedback. You need a good command of the language when you attempt to
develop the social language of your students for them to communicate effectively in various
activities like listening to stories, sharing information, following directions, solving a problem in
a conversational, and the like.

Concept Grounding
One of the responsibilities of teachers is stimulating their students’ imaginations and
understanding of the world. One approach that is commonly used is storytelling. Stories, according
to Aiex (1988), play significant roles in students; growth and through these, they would learn to
appreciate literature.
Storytelling is a powerful way if communicating and conveying emotion by improvisation
or embellishment. It is the art of using language, voice, movements, and gestures in order to reveal
images and elements of the story to an audience. This is often used by teachers, parents, and
professionals to elaborate or convey messages, to entertain, to educate, and to preserve culture.

Reasons why storytelling is recommended as a strategy for teaching:


1. Cooter (1991) and Bla (1998) forwarded that the excitement and drama of
storytelling provide a context that hold students’ attention. Stories are used to
motivate, create an immense interest, attracts, and promotes communication.
2. Stories are an enormous language treasure. Storytelling is one of the oldest arts
of telling morals and thousands of these stories have been created and passed
down. Many old stories are regarded as the models of language and treasures if
the culture, from which learners at various language levels and age groups can
find suitable stories to read and tell.
3. Storytelling provides a lively atmosphere and a real-life environment that
encourages the students to participate. When they listen to stories, they easily
can plunge into the plots and scenes and identify themselves among characters.

Firming up

1. Image Description: A number is assigned for each picture. Pick a picture and describe in
one minute the picture that corresponds the picture.

a. e.

52
b. f.

c. g.

d. h.

Concretizing

1. Tell-tale:
a. Think of words and draw a list of five words or phrases. From the five words or
phrases, come up with a story.
Example:
1. Mat, bat, cat, fat, rat
2. Annoying orange, angry birds, singing pig, praying mantis, Alice bliss
b. Use quotation as your grabber and restatement of the lesson or moral of your story
as your closing

53
c. You are given 5 minutes to prepare and 3 minutes to deliver.
2. Storytelling: Choose any folklore that you are familiar with. Make sure that the story can
be told in 3-4 minutes. Prepare any hand props, materials, or upper garments that you can
use to elaborate some situations in the story. Rehearse with appropriate nonverbal (facial
expression, gestures, movement, voice variety) to show animation in the delivery. Ask
someone to video your presentation.

Reflecting

Self-video feedback: watch your video (as if you are watching another person’s presentation) after
your presentation give a feedback to yourself objectively.

I observed that (things that effective in the presentation)


______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

I think it would have been better if (points for improvement)

_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

54
Lesson 3
Communication for Business and Trade
Our goal!
 Identify strengths and needed skills for improvement
 Construct personal and business SWOT analyses

Engage yourself!
a. Can business operate without communication? Why yes/not?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
________________________.

Initializing

In order to prepare you in the global work force, you must prepare yourselves to the
demand of the industry, and one way of achieving this is through enhancing your English
communication skills. As university students, you need to develop your expertise on how to sell
an idea in a product presentation, project proposal, and other opportunities of making networks
and connections in business. Enhancing your craft in oral presentation will make you succeed in
your future internships and future career.

Concept Grounding

A. Definition and Relevance

A SWOT analysis or matrix is a diagram that shows organization’s or person’s key


strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Doing this type of analysis, any
organization, corporation, or company can innovate or adapt new ways or strategies to put
itself better in the corporate world.

55
B. Internal factors VS. External factors
1. Internal factors are things that we can control. An example is when workers in a
company spend time and effort on fixing computer crashes. As a solution to this
problem, the employees could be trained or better software could be purchased.
2. External factors are things we cannot control. For example, is inflation rate of goods
due to government regulations.
C. Benefits of SWOT analysis
1. SWOT analysis identify any company or organization’s capabilities and resources.
Moreover, they also provide a look on the organization’s competitive environment.
2. Based on the result of SWOT analysis, the company can create a better marketing
strategy.
3. A SWOT analysis can create a new venture or new opportunities for the company
especially the ones that are not yet explored.
4. This can be an aid for the managers and directors reduce threats by understanding their
company’s current weaknesses.
5. This can be used by the people in a company as a planning technique.
6. Individuals who like to develop their careers can do SWOT analysis for identifies their
skills, opportunities, and abilities.
D. How to make SWOT analysis
1. Make sure that the analysis heads to the right path or direction by defining your
objective. If your study focuses on what matters, this will eventually provide you a
right strategy.
2. Focus on the internal and external factors.
a. Strengths. Identify the things that do better in your company rather than the
competition. Are the people familiar to your products or brand? What is your
competitive advantage? Which one from your internal resources is doing best
or the one that excels in all aspects of intellectual property or human resources?
b. Weaknesses. In what areas are your competitors outclassing your company.
What holds your business back? Are there any things you can avoid? Does your
business lack something? Or weakness? For example, it may not have enough
suitably-skilled workers. This is an area that you can control.
c. Opportunities. It can help your company grow. Can you turn any changes in
technology, laws, or society, for example, into an opportunity? Consumers
today are more aware of and interested in the quality of life.
d. Threats. Are there obstacles stopping your company from growing? What are
these rules, regulations, or technology that impede your business? Some aspects
of society may also represent obstacles. Is inflation rate a threat in business?

56
E. Matrix

Firming Up

1. Create a personal SWOT analysis.


Given the situation, plot the applicant’s SWOT in a matrix. You can make any graphic
organizer showing the relationship of the four elements.
Try to evaluate one organization (in school, business establishments, club).

Concretizing

1. Create your personal SWOT Analysis


Directions: Imagine you are going to apply as financial analysis, accountant or any
position you wish in a corporate world.
a. Assess yourself first by listing your potentials, capabilities, talents, skills, or skills
to improve in a draft.
b. Edit and proofread your work. Write in phrases.
c. Use a SWOT matrix to plot your own.
d. Present your output.

57
Reflecting

1. What are the challenges you encountered when you were doing the SWOT analysis
project? In what ways did these challenges make you a better person?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

58
Lesson 4
Writing Business and Technical Report

Our goal!
 Explain the classifications, parts, and types of reports
 Write a sample report applying the principles of report writing style

Engage yourself!
1. List the types of reports you usually do in school. How do you frame such reports?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. Bring old reports from the student council, government offices, companies, schools,
hospitals, and other organizations.
3. Draw a Venn Diagram to show the similarities and differences of school reports and
report that you brought.

59
Initializing

A. Report is a comprehensive document that covers all aspects of the subject matter of
study. It presents results of an experiment, investigate, research, or an inquiry to a
specific audience.
Business and Technical Reports
Classification Types Parts

Formal Progress Reports  Cover Page


Informal Sales Reports  Title Page
Personal Evaluation  Table of contents
Feasibility Reports  List of illustrations
Literature Review  Executive Summary
Credit Reports  Main
Informational Reports body/Findings/Discussions
Recommendations  Conclusions
Reports  Recommendations
Research reports  References/Sources
Case Study Analyses  Appendices

Concept Grounding

What is a Technical Report?

A technical report is a document written by a researcher detailing the results of a project


and submitted to the sponsor of that project." TRs are not peer-reviewed unless they are
subsequently published in a peer-review journal.

Technical report may contain data, design criteria, procedures, literature reviews, research
history, detailed tables, illustrations/images, explanation of approaches that were unsuccessful.

This may also be used to communicate information to customers, colleagues and managers,
and they are used to document the equipment and procedures used in testing or research and the
results obtained so that the work can be repeated if necessary or built upon.

Characteristics of a Report

1. It presents information not an argument.


2. It is meant to be scanned quickly by the reader.
3. It uses numbered headings and sub headings.
4. It is composed of short and concise paragraphs.

60
5. It uses graphic illustrations such as tables, graphs, pie, charts, etc.
6. It may have an abstract or an executive summary.
7. It may or may not have references or bibliography.
8. If often contains recommendations and/or appendices.

Report Categories

I. Informal Reports
 It functions to inform, analyze, and recommend.
 It may be in the form of a memo, financial report, monthly activities report,
development report, research, etc.
 It written according to an institution’s style and rules. Introductory and prefatory
parts are not required.
 It is used for conveying routine messages.

Types of Informal Reports

a. Progress report – written to provide information about the way a project is


developing.
b. Sales activity report – helps a firm to understand about the progress of the sales
people and also identify the shortcomings.
c. Personnel evaluation – used by an organizational to assess an employee’s
performance.
d. Financial Report – a present formal record of the financial activities of a business,
person, or other entities.
e. Feasibility report- assesses the viability of a new project; details whether or not a
project should be undertaken and the reasons for that decision; persuades or helps
the decision makers to choose between available options.
f. Literature review – conveys to the readers the work already done and the
knowledge and ideas that have been already established on a particular topic of
research.
g. Credit report – detailed report of an individual’s credit history prepared by a
credit reports based on that information, and lenders use the reports along with
other details to determine loan applicants’ credit worthiness.

II. Formal Reports


 It is an official report that contains a collection of detailed information, research,
and data necessary to make decisions.
 It is formal, complex, and used at an official level.

61
 It is often a written account of a major project.
 It may be in the form of launching a new technology or a new project line, results
of a study or an experiment, a review of developments in the field. Etc.

Types of Formal Reports

Type Characteristics Examples


Informational  Provides data, facts,  Results of a research on the
report feedback, and other types rise of HIV patients
of information without
analysis or
recommendations.
 Presents an update of an
operation, an information
or status of a current
research so readers can
understand a particular
problem or situation.
Analytical  It goes beyond just  Explanation of what causes a
Reports presenting results phenomenon.
 Analytical reports present  Presentation of results of a
results analyze those traffic study showing
results, and draw accidents at an intersection-
conclusions based on those the report explains what is
results. It attempts to means
describe why or how  Explanation of the potential
something happened and results of a particular course
explains what it means. of action
 Suggestion which option,
action, or procedure is best.
 Report writing on monthly
budgets, staff absentees and
so on,
Recommendation  This type advocates a  Using treatment X is more
Reports particular course of action. efficient than treatments Y
This usually presents the and Z. however, that does not
results and conclusion that mean that you will use
supports the treatment X as cost and other
recommendation. considerations might
recommend treatment Y.
Research Reports  Most widely used report  Writing a report on some
usually in university levels. product development.
 Report writing for your
competitor’s activities
Case Study  Includes real life examples  Widely used in university
Analysis Reports level competitions.

62
PARTS OF A REPORT

Parts Brief Description Contents Language


Characteristics
Title Page Name of the report  Name of the report in all caps Factual
(e.g FINAL REPORT)
 Receiver’s name, title, and
organization
 Team name and team members
 Date submitted
(month/date/year)
 The author/s and their
association/organization
 No page number on title page
Table of What you find in  Show the beginning page Factual
Contents the report number where each report
heading appears in the report
(do not out page number range,
just the first page number)
 Connect headings to page
numbers with dots.
 Heading should be
grammatically parallel
 Include major section headings
and sub-headings
 No page number on this page
Executive A summary of the  Should be no longer than one Factual, use of third
Summary report page. person, use of
 It provides the key passive verbs
recommendations and
conclusions, rather than a
summary of the document.
Introduction Background,  Briefly describe the context. Factual, use of third
problem, approach,  Identify the general subject person, use of
definition of matter. passive verbs
special words  Describe the issue or problem
used. to be reported on.
 State the specific questions the
report answers.
 Outline the scope of the report
(extent of investigation)
 Preview the report structure.
 Comment on the limitations of
the report and any assumptions
made.

63
Parts Brief Contents Language
Description Characteristics
Methods Methods or For all types of research provide: Factual, use of
procedures  Goal for each piece of research third person, use
which led to the (what is your of passive verbs
findings question/hypothesis?)
 Data source
For surveys give the number of
surveys distributed, how was it
distributed, how the population
was chosen.
For observations occurred.
Findings Results,  The goal is to supply proofs for Factual, use of
investigation, conclusions third person, use
research, and  Discuss, analyze, and interpret of passive verbs
calculation (don’t just give results, also say
what they mean- particular with
benchmarking)
 Remember to report on all your
research, including interviews
with client and personal
observations (discuss in
methodology too).
 Support your findings with new
evidence.
 Provide summary paragraph of
key findings and their
significance at end of section.
 Explain all graphs in writing.
 Arrange the findings in logical
segments that follow your
outline. Findings should be
presented in the same order as
discussed in methodology.
 Use clear, descriptive headings.
 Present “just the facts”, no
opinions, and no feelings
Conclusion Conclusion  Interpret and summarize the Transition
drawn from the findings signals such as
findings  Say what they mean it seems that, the
 Relate the conclusion to the results indicate
report issue/problem that, it is
 Limit the conclusion to the data
probable that,
presented; do not introduce new
material etc.
 Number the conclusion and
present them in parallel form
 Be objective: avoid
exaggerating or manipulating
the data

64
Parts Brief Contents Language
Description Characteristics
Recommendation Things that  Make specific suggestions for
should be done actions to solve the report
as a result problem
 Avoid conditional words such
as maybe and perhaps
 Present each suggestion
separately and begin with a
verb
 Number the recommendations
 Describe how the
recommendations may be
implemented (if you were
requested to do this)
 Arrange the recommendations
in an announced order, such as
most important.
Bibliography Books,
magazines,
journals, reports
and other
references used

Concretizing

1. Using a sample report, you utilized in the engagement part of the lesson, analyze how the
English language is used in terms of structure, tense, and voice. How does the language
differ from other forms of writing?
2. What is your advocacy right now? Who are your targets audience? Using the appropriate
type of report, make a write-up of your advocacy. Incorporate all the parts of the report.

Reflecting!

In this section on writing business and technical report, I learned that


______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

65
Lesson 5
Communication for Employment: The
Resume and Application Letter
Our goal!
 Know the importance of resume in seeking professional
career; and
 Write an effective and appropriate print and scannable
resume
 Construct a professional Application Letter
Engage yourself!
1. Describe yourself and your positive attributes to the class.
2. Make a persuading presentation highlighting the importance details about you as
student.

Initializing

In writing resume, you start by doing an inward assessment of yourself and by asking the
questions, “How can I encourage the employer to pay attention to my resume? And What kind of
resume should I use?”. These questions may be your starting point in fitting your qualifications,
skills, and experiences in creating your effective advertisement.

Concept Grounding

What is resume?

A resume is a formal document that a job applicant creates to itemize his or her
qualifications for a position. A resume is usually accompanied by a customized cover letter in
which the applicant expresses an interest in a specific job or company and draws attention to the
most relevant specifics on the resume.
It is a persuasive summary of your qualifications for employment used by a person to
present their background, skills, and accomplishments. Moreover, writing a resume and

66
application letter is writing an advertisement selling your skills, talents and abilities to the
employers who will likely sift through many applications to decide whom to grant an interview.
Thus, resumes and application letters require a level of care that few other documents do.

Types of Resume

1. Print resumes are printed on paper for prospective employers to scrutinize. They are
designed to emphasize key information using bold or italic typeface.
2. Scannable resumes are designed to be read by computers; hence, they are to be formatted
using single typeface or without italics or bold.

Print Resumes

Name in boldface

Objective tailored to specific


job sought

Work experience in
reverse chronology order

Format fill entire page

67
Scannable Resume

All information in as ingle


typeface, aligned on left margin

No underlining bold,
or italics

FEATURES OF A RESUME

1. Organization
There are different ways on how you can organize your resume depending on your
goals, experiences and qualifications. You can organize a resume chronologically,
functionally, or targeted.

a. Chronological resume is the general listing of all your academic and work
experience from the most recent to the oldest.

68
b. Functional resume is organized around various kinds of experience. If you wish
to demonstrate a lot of experience in more than one area and if you wish to
downplay dates, you may write this type of resume.
c. Targeted resume generally announces the specific goal up to top, just beneath your
name, and offers information selectively. You can show only the experience and
skills relevant to your goal.
2. Succinctness
A resume must be concise. Entries may not be written in sentences but should be
parallel. For instance, “organized inventory records” rather “I organized inventory
records.” For print resume, use action verbs (organized, designed, etc…) rather than nouns
(organizer, designer, etc…) to emphasize your accomplishments. For scannable resume,
use nouns rather than verbs as key words.
3. Comprehensiveness
A resume must present all important details that can gain the nod of the prospective
employer. In giving details, however, carefully choose the words that you use. You may
use the exact words in the advertisement provided that they really reflect your experiences
or qualification. Check all the information you provided-from the contact information
down the references. Make sure that all information is reflected correctly and that those
whom you placed in the references know that you placed them as sources of information
for your employment before sending the resume.
4. Design
The resume should be reader-friendly and be professionally packaged. For print
resume, use appropriate spacing, section headings, and uniform typeface for each heading.
Scannable resume, on the other hand, shall only have standard typeface.

What is Application Letter?


An application letter serves as a formal introduction of yourself to your prospective
employer. It goes with the resume, so you don’t have to give much information. It does,
however, have to make favorable impression so you can get an interview. This is achieved
through how the letter is written and presented.
Features of an Application Letter
1. Qualification
Make your interest clear, identify the position or the organization to indicate what
skills you possess that matches what the company is looking for.
2. Pleasing Tone
Go beyond simply stating your accomplishments. Through your words, you need
to demonstrate that you will be the kind of employee the organization wants.
3. Format
Follow the prescribed format. The most common is the block format shown in the
example provided.

69
Below is an example of an application letter which cites details that are specifically tailored to a
particular position.

Street address,
453 Mahogany Street
city, zip code,
Leonilla Hill, Bagiuo City 2600
date
June 28,2018

Recipient’s name Gilbert Reyes


and title, Director
organization, AB Investment
address 17 Upper Session Road
Baguio City
Salutation with a Dear Sir:
colon
I am writing to apply for the position of financial associate recently advertised at
Position identified Enigma Courier dated June 25,2018.

My experience as inventory clerk and office clerk trainee molded my intrapersonal


Match between and management skills. With the developed and acquired skills, I believed that I can
experience and be great help to the company. I enclosed my resume, which provides detailed
job description information about my qualifications.

Availability I will be more than willing to share my ideas with the opportunity to be interviewed.
You can contact me at my mobile number or email address.

Gratitude Thank you very much and I am looking forward to your reply so that we can further
discuss my application

Closing Respectfully yours,

3-4 lines space for


signature

Sender’s name, Miranda V. Robles


typed

Firming Up

1. Making a resume

a. Choose one job advertisement related to your field and make a print resume for that
position.
b. Create a scannable version and a print resume.
2. Write an application letter for the job you wanted to apply for.

70
Reflecting!

Answer the following questions briefly.

1. Now you have completed your resume, how much do you like it and why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. Site some instances when you need to pull this resume out.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. What did you learn in the writing process?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. Explain the relevance of the topic to your career.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

71
Lesson 6
Communication for Employment: The
Business Letters
Our goals!
 Use the right tone in persuading a prospective employer
 Identify the purpose and nature of business communication
 Write an effective business letter

Engage yourself!!!

Compare five employment advertisements.


a. What are the common qualifications employers are looking for?
b. What employment advertisement is relevant to your discipline or
industry area?
c. Do you have the qualifications required by the advertisement?

Initializing

The business people, by the nature of their jobs, use a form of written or printed
documents to get their ideas and thoughts across. These can be sent to give a positive
message, to give negative messages or apologizing, to place a straight or modified rebuy,
or simply to resign from the job in consideration (oops!).
Since they are written by serious people for serious business, they are rarely
informal. They may be polite, but not informal, and are formal to semi-formal (again,
rarely, but also depends on the type of the business). They convey a clear message and
therefore should leave no room for obscurity. So naturally, they become an important
carrier of useful information.
Writing for a business audience is usually quite different than writing in the
humanities, social sciences, or other academic disciplines. Business writing strives to be
crisp and succinct rather than evocative or creative; it stresses specificity and accuracy.
This distinction does not make business writing superior or inferior to other styles. Rather,
it reflects the unique purpose and considerations involved when writing in a business
context.
Business writing varies from the conversational style often found in email messages
to the more formal, legalistic style found in contracts. A style between these two extremes
is appropriate for the majority of memos, emails, and letters. Writing that is too formal can

72
alienate readers, and an attempt to be overly casual may come across as insincere or
unprofessional. In business writing, as in all writing, you must know your audience.

Concept Grounding

BUSINESS LETTER
It is a letter written in formal language, used when writing from one business organization
to another, or for correspondence between such organizations and their customers, clients and other
external parties.
They are used for different purposes; like placing orders, making inquiries’, making credit
request, requesting claims and adjustment, to apologize for a wrong or simply to convey goodwill.
etc.
Even today, they are very useful because it produces a permanent record, they are
confidential, formal and delivers persuasive, well-considered messages.

 Style of letter depends on the relationship between the parties concerned.

PARTS OF BUSINESS LETTER

The Heading
The heading contains the return address with the date on the last line. Sometimes it is
necessary to include a line before the date with a phone number, fax number, or e-mail address.
Often there is a line skipped between the address and the date. It is not necessary to type a return
address if you are using stationery with the return address already imprinted, but you should always
use a date. Make sure the heading is on the left margin.

Example:
Ms. Jane Doe
543 Washington St
Marquette, MI 49855
Tel:
Fax:
Email:
June 28, 2011

Recipient’s Address
This is the address you are sending your letter to. Be sure to make it as complete as possible
so it gets to its destination. Always include title names (such as Dr.) if you know them. This is,
like the other address, on the left margin. If a standard 8 ½” x 11” paper is folded in thirds to fit in
a standard 9” business envelope, the inside address should appear through the window in the
envelope (if there is one). Be sure to skip a line after the heading and before the recipient’s address,
then skip another line after the inside address before the greeting. For an example, see the end of
this sheet for a sample letter.

73
The Salutation
The salutation (or greeting) in a business letter is always formal. It often begins with “Dear
{Person’s name}.” Once again, be sure to include the person’s title if you know it (such as Ms.,
Mrs., Mr., or Dr). If you’re unsure about the person’s title then just use their first name. For
example, you would use only the person’s first name if the person you are writing to is “Jordan”
and you’re not sure if he or she is male or female.

The salutation always ends with a colon.

The Body
The body is the meat of your letter. For block and modified block letter formats, single
space and left justify each paragraph. Be sure to leave a blank line between each paragraph,
however, no matter the format. Be sure to also skip a line between the salutation and the body, as
well as the body and the close.

The Complimentary Close


The complimentary close is a short and polite remark that ends your letter. The close
begins at the same justification as your date and one line after the last body paragraph. Capitalize
the first word of your closing (Thank you) and leave four lines for a signature between the close
and the sender’s name. A comma should follow the closing.

The Signature Line


Skip at least four lines after the close for your signature, and then type out the name to be
signed. This often includes a middle initial, although it is not required. Women may put their title
before had to show how they wish to be addressed (Ms., Mrs., Miss).
The signature should be in blue or black ink.

Enclosures
If you have any enclosed documents, such as a resume, you can indicate this by typing
“Enclosures” one line below the listing. You also may include the name of each document.

Format and Font

Many organizations have their own style for writing a business letter, but here are some
common examples.

Full Block
The most common layout for a business letter is called a block format. In this format, the entire
letter is justified to the left and single spaced except for a double space between paragraphs.

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Modified Block
Modified block is another popular type of business letter. The body of the letter and the sender’s
and recipient’s addresses are left justified and single spaced. However, in this format, the date
and closing are tabbed to the center point.

Semi-Block
The least used style is called a semi-block. In it each paragraph is indented instead of left
justified.

Font
The standard font for business letters is Times New Roman, size 12. However, fonts that are
clear to read such as Arial may be used.

Sample Letter

{NOTE: your name goes only at the bottom}


Your Return Address (no abbreviations for Street, Avenue, etc.)
Your City, YO [your two letter state abbreviation] zip
Date (write out either like June 4, 2004 or 4 June 2004)

First and Last Name of the Person to whom you are writing
Address
City, ST zip

Dear Mr./Ms. Whomever:

In the first paragraph, introduce what you are writing about and what you want from them.
In the subsequent paragraphs, explain the nature of your problem and what they can do for you.
Be non-combative and straight to the point.
In the last paragraph, be sure to thank him/her for his/her time and efforts on your behalf. Also,
let them know that you will contact them or that they can contact you with any questions.

Sincerely yours,

{four spaces so that your signature may appear here}


Jane Doe

A business letter is not restricted to one page; the letter should be as long as it needs to be.

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TYPES OF BUSINESS LETTER
Business letters can be written between to an employer of the same company, by an employer to
his employee, can be written to the suppliers or other business partners, and of course to the
customers. There are different types of business letters:

Business-to-Business Letters:

Type Purpose and Definition


Letter of Appreciation Letter of appreciation is an expression of
gratitude to a person who granted the request
or initiate actions that benefits the sender.
By writing this letter to that person could result
in a potential long-term relationship and
goodwill? By expressing gratitude while
putting an effort to write it makes the person
on the other side feel good about themselves
and want to do the thing, if possible, more
sincerely, the next time for someone else. A
letter of appreciation is, therefore, a very
handy tool in the workplace, just as it is
elsewhere.
Letter of Acknowledgement A letter of acknowledgement, otherwise
known as a letter of receipt, is a fairly
common one in business dealings and a mark
of professionalism.
It can be a receipt of not just goods or
products. It can be the confirmation of the
receipt of documents. We have the Resume
Acknowledgement Letter that confirms the
receipt of the CV of an applicant. Similarly,
an Acknowledgement of Resignation
confirms that the firm has received the letter
from an employee, which he submitted before
resigning. Lastly, the letter which is about the
receipt of goods and other relevant
documents, is the Business
Acknowledgement Letter.
Cover Letter A cover letter is a one-page letter that is
presented with your resume. It includes a
brief introduction of yourself, the job or the
position you are applying for, shows that your
qualifications match with the qualifications
asked for, ends with a call of action, and most
importantly encourages to read the resume.

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Letter of Reference Reference letter, also known as
recommendation letter, is a letter that speaks
about a former acquaintance’s work
experience, expertise, personal traits and
skills, and/or academic performance. It is
written if you can speak positively about that
acquaintance, otherwise, it totally defeats the
purpose.
A reference letter is required in the process of
a candidate’s job search whether as an intern,
a volunteer, or a job applicant. This is because
it is his positive endorsement by someone,
you, who knows him and, therefore, is very
reassuring to the hirer.
Inquiry Letter A job inquiry letter is sent to the companies
that may be hiring in future, but at the
moment haven't advertised for job openings.
It is by this definition; such a letter is also
known as a letter of interest.
If your inquiry letter is commendable enough,
it can help you get noticed by even an inactive
employer. By inactive, I mean s/he may not
be a recruiting member, but you will still
stand a chance, and a better one too.
Letter of Termination A termination letter is a letter in which the
employers write about firing an employee.
The letter has in it the details of the firing and
any information that the employee to be fired
will need to know.
A termination letter is used for a couple of
reasons. It could be required by state or local
law to provide documentation of employee
termination. It can also be issued when you
believe the employee in question is ineligible
for employment.
Order Letter An order letter is usually written when you
need to assign orders for goods. It is quite
common and is written almost on a daily
basis. The language of the letter, however,
needs to be formal and the letter follows a
standard format, since the information is very
specific.
An order letter needs to pen down the terms
and conditions of the purchase. These benefits
both the involved parties. It generally contains
details such as product specifications, their

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quantities, a price that the parties have agreed
upon, the date of delivery, what to do in case
there occurs a late delivery, etc.
Business-to-Customer/Customer-to-Business Letters:

Letter of Apology It is a formal letter to apologize for a mistake


which is done unintentionally and reassuring
the authority about not to repeat that mistake
again and doing the job accurately next time.
If we make a mistake that can put our client’s
venture is in danger, it is a matter of business
ethics to take the responsibility and pursue the
necessary steps to correct our error.
Circular letter A circular letter or email is used when a
company needs to inform all its customers
about a change or important event happening
in the company. This could be a new address,
a change in the management, the opening of a
new factory, store or e-commerce website.
Letter of Complaint a written letter in which someone reports a
bad experience or situation. to complain: to
moan, to express dissatisfaction or a negative
opinion.
When writing a complaint letter you should:
describe your problem and the outcome you
want. include key dates, such as when you
purchased the goods or services and when the
problem occurred. identify what action you've
already taken to fix the problem and what you
will do if you and the seller cannot resolve the
problem.
Letter for Payment Collection A letter of collection is written
when payment is due, or it could be in case of
an overdue bill. Writing a letter to collect
payments from your customer is very
important. Ask for the payment simply and be
straightforward. Tell them you have included
the invoice as part of the email and how you
want to be paid. The conclusion is polite and
lets them know that you'd love to work more
with them in the future. This script also uses
the exclamation point very strategically.

Letter before Signing a Contract You will know your business is doing well
when the suppliers and other stakeholders will
take a positive interest in your company. It is

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evident that you will need to write contract
letters then. This will be the starting point of
an official relationship between you and the
other party concerned.
A contract letter is a letter between two
parties that is sent to confirm the early
negotiations between them, and a significant
document in case there are future disputes. It
can be the contract for buying a property,
hiring an employee, marker of the
distributable, etc. It is a written version of the
agreement that both of you have had in
acceptance of the terms and conditions in
doing business together.

Follow-up Letter A follow-up letter is a letter that consolidates


between you and the recipient a relationship
and sets the platform of continued
communication while referring to something
of the past. A follow-up letter can be a follow
up to a previous letter, a meeting, a job
application, an order confirmation, a contract,
etc.
Appointment Letter An Appointment Letter is a legally binding
document that confirms that an organization
has offered a position to an employee and
they have accepted the terms and agreement
in exchange for a salary.
Sales letter A sales letter is a piece of direct mail which is
designed to persuade the reader to purchase a
particular product or service in the absence of
a salesman.
The purpose of a sales letter is to persuade a
specific reader to purchase a service or
product. This is a persuasive letter, and must
both enhance the author's credibility while
also advertising the product or service.
Welcome Letter A welcome letter is a document provided by
you to new employees. Welcome
letters introduce key team members and
provide basic information to the new
employee to prepare them for their first day
on the job.
Goodwill letter A goodwill letter, otherwise known as a
goodwill adjustment letter, is written as a
request to remove a missed payment from

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your credit report. To wipe this black spot off
your white cloth, you’re at the total empathy
of the card issuer and there is no obligation on
the part of the reader to do as you ask. If you
can make a case and explain your situation,
only then it will work.

THE MEMORANDUM
The word “memo” is derived from the latin word “memorare” changed to “memorandus”,
and means “to state or to tell”. In an organization, it takes the form of a short official note that one
writes to a person or to several individuals such as members, faculty, head of offices, and the like.
Memos most frequently contain routine information.
Example:
 Announcements for diverse occasions.
 Changes of policies, procedures or processes.
 Confirmation of discussion, decisions and meetings.
 Submission of documents such as reports, data, research and results of survey.
 Recommendations
 Request for further information
 Solicitations for opinions
Though memos are less formal than business letters, they must be crafted in an effective
way. Adelheid Thieme in her presentation for Arizona State University claims that effective
memos must be:
a. Civilized
b. Concise
c. Coherent
d. Compelling
e. Correct

THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING


Official written records of a meeting’s proceedings are called minutes. They serve as an
official record, aids in refreshing memories of participants, supplies information to individuals
who were not present, and help prepare members for upcoming meetings. Unless law or policy
mandate that verbatim records be kept, minutes should be reports in summary form.
Minutes should succinctly and truthfully account all pertinent information that transpired
in a meeting. All motions and resolutions should be recorded word for word as presented.
Individuals presenting motions and resolutions should be identified by name in the minutes. It is
important to indicate that a motion was seconded but the name of individual the name of the
individual who seconds a motion need to be recorded. The outcome-approval or defeat-should be
included also.

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Sample of Minutes of the Meeting

Baguio City Association of Writers, Inc.


Second Officers’ Meeting
Heritage Conference Hall
February 14,2018
1:00-5:00 p.m
1. CALL TO ORDER
President Jose called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. on Febraury 14,2018.
2. ROLL CALL AND DETERMINATION OF QUORUM
A quorum was established. The following members were present: Maggie Jose, President;
Jude Sy, Vice President; Ana Li, Secretary; Annie Asan, Treasurer; Connie Magtanggol,
Member; Mark Kafagway, Member;Donna Belle, Member; Ann Caroy
Absent: Durlyn Egnim, Past-President, Guest: Beck Wakit, Butch Ibanes, and Chong Go
3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF JANUARY 15,2018 MEETING
Copies of the minutes of Jnauray 15,2018, Association meeting were distributed the members
prior to the February 14 meeting. The minutes were approved with one correction: page 3,
“…The selection of members for the sub-committee will be held during the February 15,2018
meeting..”
4. COMMITTEE REPORTS
Scholarship Awards
Ana Li, the secretary, announced that the organization will be granting two 20,000 Php
scholarship next year. Any student who will be studying Library Science at a university level
eligible to apply. Announcements and other pertinent documents will be sent to all members.
All application must be submitted by August 16,2018.
5. OLD BUSINESS
Articles for the organization’s yearly journal are due by June 19, 2018.
6. NEW BUSINESS
The organization’s website does not seem to attract individuals and lacks a sense of
creativity. A committee was formed to look into the possible ways of improving the website’s
aesthetics and content. Beck Wakit, the committee’s chair, has assigned Butch Ibanes to re-
design the website. The committee’s proposal will be forwarded to the board for approval.
7. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 5:00p.m

Prepared by:

Miggue P. Ruiz, Secretary

Firming Up

1. Which among the types of business letters are commonly applied in the workplace or for you as
professional? Select at least 3 and explain why?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

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2. Explain the significance of the “memo” and the “minutes” in the organization.
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Concretizing

1. Construct at the three business letters you find very relevant for you following the standards and
proper format in writing a business letter.
2. Watch the video of a simulation of a meeting (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
oXHq1KrBbQ). Listen carefully for details and make sure all pertinent information are correctly
documented. After watching the video, write a Minutes of the meeting.

Reflecting

In this lesson, I learned that business letters are….


_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

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CHAPTER

Communication for Academic


Purposes

This part will help you:

 Write varied academic papers using appropriate tone, style,


conventions and reference style.
 Present academic papers.

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Lesson 1
Avoiding Plagiarism
Our goals!

 Illustrate the difference and similarities of quotes,


phrases, and summaries.
 Write an acceptable summary and a paraphrase.

Engage yourself!
1. What would you feel if someone claims your ideas or work as his/her own?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________
2. What would you do to avoid such pilfering of idea?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3. Is borrowing acceptable in the intellectual field? Why or why not?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

Initializing

Because of the easy access of information from the electronic media like from the internet
and e-book, or from books and other reading resources many has been dependent on grabbing
information in making an academic paper. It is necessary to understand that information must not
be copied directly from its source. Avoid owning the ideas of others.
With the use of quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing and correctly cite the authorities or
source of the idea, plagiarism could be avoided. The tense of verbs and signal phrases depend on
the style (e.g APA, MLA) you used.

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Concept Grounding

What is Plagiarism?

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, to "plagiarize" means:


 to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own
 to use (another's production) without crediting the source
 to commit literary theft
 to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else's work and
lying about it afterward.

Quoting is copying the words of the author and intertwining these words to your own. Quoted
statements, which are incorporated at the beginning, middle, or end part of your paragraph are
enclosed in quotations marks and are identified with the author’s family name, year of publication,
and page number of the journal or book where the quoted statement was lifted from.

Paraphrasing entails using your own words and own style of writing to state another author’s
idea. You may use grammatical structure different from that of the original text. Paraphrasing
requires understanding the original text, setting it aside for you to write your own text, then going
back to the original text to check if what you have written brought out the meaning by the author.

Original text:
The activities scheduled on March 19, 2016 for the Strawberry Festival celebration were
called off because of the stormy weather.

Acceptable Paraphrase:
Due to the inclement weather, the March 19,2018 activities of the Strawberry Festival were
cancelled.

Summarizing, on the other hand, warrants the articulation of the important ideas of the original
text in with its factual meaning. Summarizing is defined as taking a lot of information and creating
a condensed version that covers the main points. An example of summarizing is writing a three or
four-sentence description that touches upon the main points of a long book.

A summary is a restatement of someone else's words in your own words. There are many different
kinds of summaries, and they vary according to the degree to which you interpret or analyze the
source. Some are pages long, while others are just one or two sentences. However, for all types of
summary, the writer is responsible for generally stating, in his or her own words, the main
information or argument of another writer.

Many student writers tend to quote when they should summarize material. Quote only when the
author expresses a point in a particularly telling or interesting language. Otherwise, simply
summarize. Use a summary to restate an entire argument. Use a summary to present information.

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Summary is more economical than quotation because a summary allows the writer more control
over the argument.

How to Summarize
 Read the original passage or text very carefully.
 Use a pencil to highlight or underline what you take to be the main point of the original
text, or make notes in the margins or on another sheet of paper.
 If you're summarizing an entire essay, outline the writer's argument.
 Now tell your audience what the original source argued.

Firming Up

Using a graphic organizer, illustrate the difference and similarities of quotes, phrases, and
summaries.

Concretizing

1. Read “The Legend of the Black Rice” then write a summary of it.
2. Read the following paragraph then write an acceptable paraphrase.
“ Language anxiety experiences, as the findings show, may be experienced cognitively,
physiologically, psychologically, physically, emotionally, or in combination. As a result,
it may sometimes be difficult to express through words the language anxiety experience
one wants to share. However, with the use of doodling, a non-verbal tool, the key
informants were able to clearly capture and share their experiences.
Doodling, therefore, may also be a potential tool in generating other experiences brought
about by a potential tool in generating other experiences brought about by a psychological
phenomenon or construct, although its application may not be generalizable.” (Siagto-
Wakat, 2017)

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Lesson 2

Writing a Research Proposal: The Topic


Proposal
Our goals!
 Identify research gap, research objective, and a research problem
 Write research objective and research problem.

A research entails a careful scientific investigation of a phenomenon through


synthesizing and analyzing research literatures in order to come up with a sound
problem and appropriate methodology to correctly gather data, organize, analyze,
and present the data or findings about this phenomenon.

Engage yourself!

Before formulating your research topic, let us first look at your relationship with research.

1. What do you feel about research? Doodle your answer and write a one-sentence description
of your doodle.

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2. Do you think research is important in your chosen field? Why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. Do you want to write more research articles? Why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________

Initializing

Research is defined as the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge
in a new and creative way so as to generate new concepts, methodologies and understandings. This
could include synthesis and analysis of previous research to the extent that it leads to new and
creative outcomes.
It is the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish
facts and reach new conclusions.
This definition of research encompasses pure and strategic basic research, applied research
and experimental development. Applied research is original investigation undertaken to acquire
new knowledge but directed towards a specific, practical aim or objective (including a client-
driven purpose).

Concept Grounding

Characteristics of Research
1. A systematic approach must be followed for accurate data. Rules and procedures are an
integral part of the process that set the objective. Researchers need to practice ethics and a
code of conduct while making observations or drawing conclusions.
2. Research is based on logical reasoning and involves both inductive and deductive methods.
3. The data or knowledge that is derived is in real time from actual observations in natural
settings.
4. There is an in-depth analysis of all data collected so that there are no anomalies associated
with it.

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5. Research creates a path for generating new questions. Existing data helps create more
opportunities for research.
6. Research is analytical in nature. It makes use of all the available data so that there is no
ambiguity in inference.
7. Accuracy is one of the most important aspects of research. The information that is obtained
should be accurate and true to its nature. For example, laboratories provide a controlled
environment to collect data. Accuracy is measured in the instruments used, the calibrations of
instruments or tools, and the final result of the experiment.

What are the types of research?

Following are the types of research methods:

Basic research: A basic research definition is data collected to enhance knowledge. The main
motivation is knowledge expansion. It is a non-commercial research that doesn’t facilitate in
creating or inventing anything. For example: an experiment to determine a simple fact.

Applied research: Applied research focuses on analyzing and solving real-life problems. This
type refers to the study that helps solve practical problems using scientific methods. Studies play
an important role in solving issues that impact the overall well-being of humans. For example:
finding a specific cure for a disease.

Problem oriented research: As the name suggests, problem-oriented research is conducted to


understand the exact nature of a problem to find out relevant solutions. The term “problem”
refers to multiple choices or issues when analyzing a situation.

For example, revenue of a car company has decreased by 12% in the last year. The following
could be the probable causes: there is no optimum production, poor quality of a product, no
advertising, or economic conditions.

Problem solving research: This type of research is conducted by companies to understand and
resolve their own problems. The problem-solving method uses applied research to find solutions
to the existing problems.

Qualitative research: is a process that is about inquiry. It helps create in-depth understanding
of problems or issues in their natural settings. This is a non-statistical method.

Qualitative research is heavily dependent on the experience of the researchers and the questions
used to probe the sample. The sample size is usually restricted to 6-10 people. Open-ended
questions are asked in a manner that encourages answers that lead to another question or group of
questions. The purpose of asking open-ended questions is to gather as much information as
possible from the sample.

The following are the methods used for qualitative research:

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1. One-to-one interview
2. Focus groups
3. Ethnographic research
4. Content/Text Analysis
5. Case study research

Quantitative Research Methods


Quantitative methods deal with numbers and measurable forms. It uses a systematic way
of investigating events or data. It is used to answer questions in terms of justifying relationships
with measurable variables to either explain, predict, or control a phenomenon.

There are three methods that are often used by researchers:


 Survey Research — The ultimate goal of survey research is to learn about a large population
by deploying a survey. Today, online surveys are popular as they are convenient and can be
sent in an email or made available on the internet. In this method, a researcher designs a
survey with the most relevant survey questions and distributes the survey. Once the researcher
receives responses, they summarize them to tabulate meaningful findings and data.
 Descriptive Research — Descriptive research is a method which identifies the characteristics
of an observed phenomenon and collects more information. This method is designed to depict
the participants in a very systematic and accurate manner. In simple words, descriptive
research is all about describing the phenomenon, observing it, and drawing conclusions from
it.
 Correlational Research— Correlational research examines the relationship between two or
more variables. Consider a researcher is studying a correlation between cancer and married
women have a negative correlation with cancer. In this example, there are two variables:
cancer and married women. When we say negative correlation, it means women who are
married are less likely to develop cancer. However, it doesn’t mean that marriage directly
avoids cancer.

Common Elements of a Research Report

1. Research Title
This presents the capsule of the study; hence, it should not be the first to be
written. It is recommended that a title should not be more than 12 substantial words.

2. Abstract
Generally, a research abstract consists of 150 to 250 words. It presents the
research objectives and research problems, methodology, summary of the findings and
conclusions or further implications of the study.
An abstract, which is written as a non-indented single paragraph, is followed by
three to six key words. The key words should not be found in the title or abstract.

3. Introduction
The introduction presents a comprehensive review of research literatures in
order to identify a research gap where the objective of the current research will be
anchored from. It also presents the research problems and significance of the study.
The introduction must vividly discuss all the important key terms of the research.

90
4. Methodology
The methodology must be carefully crafter according to the objective of the
study. A sound method leads to a solid finding. The methodology must
comprehensively present the research design, participants and locale of the study, data
gathering tools, data gathering procedure, treatment of the data, and research ethics
employed in the study.

5. Results/Findings and Discussion


This show the processed data and is presented according to the research
problems. A discussion follows after the presentation of the findings. While
corroborations are considered part of the discussions, these are supposed to be
presented moderately in order highlight the discussion of the findings and their
implications.

6. Conclusion and Recommendations


Conclusion are considered as the extension of the findings while recommendations
are considered extension of the conclusion.

7. References
References list the sources or authorities cited in the study. These are presented
according to the prescribed format of the institution or of the publishing companies.
Note that only those that cited on the research article should be listed on the references.

Creating your Research Title

Finalizing a research topic requires a lot of literature reading a lot of literature reading.
Here are important things you need to do.
1. Decide on a topic you want to research on. Make sure that the topic is not very broad nor
very narrow.
2. Search for as many research articles about your chosen topic as you can.
3. Make a summary of the research articles using repertory grid.
4. Evaluate the repertory grid. Figure out research gaps or areas of the topic that are not
explored. The research gap will be your basis in crafting your research objective and
research question.
5. If you have established your research gap and identified your research objective and
research questions, you may already formulate your research title.

Concretizing
1. Form a group with five members. Decide on a topic that you like to study.
Each member shall download reliable sources 10 peer-reviewed research articles about
the topic.

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2. Each member shall summarize the research articles following the repertory grid below.
Article Research Method Findings/Results Conclusion Recommendation Reference
No. objective Design Population
or and
Tech- Locale
nique
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

3. Examine the repertory grids of all the members of the group. Which areas of the topic are
most explored? Which are least explored?
4. Based on the least explored areas of the topic, identify the gap that you want to research
on then write a research objective and research problem/s.
5. Write a research title based on your answers in number 4.

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Lesson 3
Writing a Research Proposal: The Research
Introduction
Our goal!
 Write a research introduction

Engage yourself!
1. Your hobbies include reading about arts, nature, media, and different creative
innovations. You are tasked to write an essay about this hobby.
a. How should you start your essay?
b. What details will you mention?
c. Do you have to mention ideas from different sources? Why?

Initializing
Now that you have finalized your research topic, you are ready to write the first draft of
your research introduction.
Your introduction must present a comprehensive review of research literatures of the key
terms of your research title, establish the gap of your study and state the gap of the study. The
significance, however, may bot be always required by institutions or publishing companies.

Concept Grounding
In presenting your research introduction, consider the format of your institution or style
prescribed. You also have to consider your philosophical stance.
For the purpose of discussion in this lesson, let us look at one way crafting and presenting
a research introduction. You may start by evaluating the research gap, research objective, and
research problem/s you have identified in lesson 2. Make sure that the important concepts are
captured by your title.
Identify the key terms in your title then make a working outline using the key terms in your
title. Revise your outline as needed.

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Sample title:
Doodling the nerves: Surfacing language anxiety experience in an English language
classroom

Key terms: doodling, language anxiety, language anxiety experiences


Outline:
I. Language anxiety
A. Definition
B. Causes of language anxiety
C. Levels of language anxiety
II. Language anxiety experience
A. Effects of language anxiety
B. Manifestation of language anxiety
III. Establishment of the gap
A. Methods used in studies on language anxiety (since this was
the gap previously identified based on the repertory grid)
IV. Statement of the gap
A. Definition of doodling/doodles (the tool will be sued to
address the gap of the research)
B. Benefits of the tool
C. Studies conducted using the tool
V. Statement of the research objective
VI. Statement of the research problem
VII. Linking of the tool to the study

After finalizing the outline, write its meat using the data on your repertory grid.
Remember to quote, paraphrase, summarize and correctly write the citations. If needed,
search for more research articles to comprehensively presents a literature review of your
topic.
Writing the research introduction entails reading, re-reading, rewriting; hence, you
do not end up writing the research introduction in this lesson.

Firming Up
Using a graphic organizer, illustrate how to write a research introduction.

Concretizing
1. Evaluate your research title in lesson 2. Identify the key terms of your research title.
2. Write an outline based on your key terms.
3. Write your first draft of research introduction based on your outline.

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Lesson 4

Writing a Research Proposal: The Method


Our goal!
 Write the method of a research proposal

Engage yourself!
1. Which of the following would you most likely do to get information about an interesting
topic? Why?
a. Interview a knowledgeable person
b. Read online articles about the topic
c. Go to the library and borrow a book
d. Read magazines and other print documents about the topic
2.Among the different choices, which do you find most applicable in research?

Initializing
Remember that the data will answer your research problem depends on the method. No
matter how comprehensive and well-researched your introduction, gap, and problems are if there
is a problem on the method, the findings of the research may not be solid and reliable.

Concept Grounding

Research methodology is the path through which researchers need to conduct their
research. It shows the path through which these researchers formulate their problem and objective
and present their result from the data obtained during the study period. This research design and
methodology chapter also shows how the research outcome at the end will be obtained in line with
meeting the objective of the study.

Research Concepts

1. Research Approaches – Choosing the research approach – qualitative, quantitative


or mixed—depends on the research problem, experiences, and the audience or reader
to whom the research is intended (Creswell, 2003).
2. Research Designs. Example of research design or the strategy of inquiry are
experimental for quantitative; phenomenology, case study, grounded theory, and
narrative for qualitative; and sequential, concurrent, and transformative for mixed
method.

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The research design is intended to provide an appropriate framework for a
study. A very significant decision in research design process is the choice to be made
regarding research approach since it determines how relevant information for a study
will be obtained; however, the research design process involves many interrelated
decisions.

3. Research Techniques. Examples of research techniques are rating behaviors, field


observation, close-ended measures and open-ended measures (Creswell,2003)

Parts of the Research Method


Terms used in the method part of the research vary depending on the approach or design
used in the study or on the institution. When writing the sub-parts, always go back to the design
and approach of your study. Usually, the content of the sub-parts are as follows:
1. Design
This states the approach and design or the strategy or inquiry that will be used in
the study. A definition of the design according to an authority need be included. Explicitly
discuss on this part if you will be using triangulation.

2. Population and Locale


This is also termed as subject and study site or selection and study site. This part
presents the setting of the study, the number of respondents or key informants, the manner
of choosing the respondents, and the rationale behind the choice of the respondents and/or
the setting.

3. Data Gathering Tool


This is also termed as instruments, instrumentation, or data measure. It presents the
tool and the descriptions of the tools that will be used in gathering the data. Examples
include a validate interview guide that is based on a-prior-code (e.g. for phenomenology)
or a quantitative result (e.g sequential mixed method where quantitative data is gathered
first), tape recorder, video recorder, validated and reliability-tested survey/close-ended
questionnaire, or likert scale and its descriptions.

4. Data Collection Procedure or Data Gathering Procedure


This part presents how or the steps that will be followed in order to collect data for
the study. For instance, if you will be conducting four classroom observations, you need to
indicate that the first observation will not be recorded, because it may be a part of a
procedure to do away from “halo effect”. You may need to indicate the interval of the
observation, the minutes of the observation, etc. if you were to use sequential mixed
method, indicate which data will have to be collected first- quantitative or qualitative.
Should you be using triangulation, discuss on this part the sequencing of the gathering of
the data using the techniques or designs you have stated.

5. Data Analysis
This may also be termed data explication, mode of analysis or treatment of data.
This part shows how the data will be treated. It presents the process of systematically
applying statistical and/ or logical techniques to describe and illustrate, condense and recap,

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and evaluation data. In the survey research, for instance, formula that will be used in
treating the data or the range or quantitative interpretation of the Likert scale that is placed
in the tool need be indicated on this part. The categorizing, coding and thematizing steps
used for qualitative data need be explicitly described on this area. If you would employ
sequential mixed method, indicate how you would treat the quantitative data and the
qualitative data.

6. Ethical Consideration
This is one of the most important parts of the method for its address ethical concerns
in research. At times, this part is lumped with the data gathering procedure.

Firming Up
Compare and contrast research approach, research design, and research techniques.

Concretizing
1. Conduct an informal survey in the classroom.
For example: How many of your classmates used internet in the last 2 weeks?
 Researched
 Surfing social media accounts
 Meet online discussion
 Submit online requirements
 Other reasons
2. Decide how you’ll present and analyze your data.
3. After analyzing your data answer the following:
a. How did you analyze your data?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
b. In sum, what is the essence of the internet to most of your classmates based on your
gathered and analyzed data?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

c. In what way does your analysis manifest integrity?


_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

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Lesson 5
Writing a Literary Analysis
Our goal:
 Understand the used of literary analysis in evaluating literary pieces.
 Realize the essence of the literary text as literary analysis exposed its deep intentions.
 Write a literary analysis essay.

Engage yourself!
1. When reading a piece of literature, what details do you look for? Why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________.
2. How do you present the details of a literary piece that you like the most or that hate the
most?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________.

Initializing

When you read for pleasure, your only goal is enjoyment. You might find yourself reading
to get caught up in an exciting story, to learn about an interesting time or place, or just to pass
time. Maybe you’re looking for inspiration, guidance, or a reflection of your own life. There are
as many different, valid ways of reading a book as there are books in the world.

A literary analysis makes a point about a literary piece. It examines, questions and
evaluates a work of literature. The analysis may be on the plot, setting, characters, tone, theme and
etc.
Literary analysis involves examining all the parts of a novel, play, short story, or poem—
elements such as character, setting, tone, and imagery—and thinking about how the author uses
those elements to create certain effects.

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Concept Grounding
Literature broadly refers to any collection of written or oral work, but it more commonly
and narrowly refers to writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction,
drama, and poetry, in contrast to academic writing and newspapers.

Elements of Literature

These are some of the elements that can be the focus of a literary analysis.

Setting
Tone

Elements of
Literature

Theme Characters

Plot

Elements Definitions
Plot The series of events in the story-beginning, middle, end
Character (s) The people/animals in the story who carry out the action
Setting The where and when the story takes place
Theme The central belief of the story, usually something abstract that
unifies the whole pot like love, friendship, etc.
Tone The attitude that a writer has towards the subject.

Literary Criticism Approaches

Literary criticism is the comparison, analysis, interpretation and/or evaluation of works of


literature. It evaluates the value and merit of a literary work using certain parameters, approaches
or concepts in literature. Approaches to literary criticism are used as bases of literary analysis.

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LITERARY APPROACHES

CULTURAL APPROACH
Considers literature as one of the principal manifestations and vehicles of a nation’s or
race’s culture and tradition. It includes the entire complex of what goes under “culture” - the
technological, the artistic, the sociological, the ideological aspects, and considers the literary piece
in the total culture milieu in which it was born.
This approach in one of the richest ways to arrive at the culture of the people and one of
the most pleasurable ways of appreciating the literature of the people. It goes by the dictum
“culture teaching through literature”.

FORMALISTIC/LITERARY APPROACH
Also called “PURE” or “LITERARY” approach. The selection is read and viewed
intrinsically, or for itself; independent of author, age, or any other extrinsic factor.
This approach is close to the “art for art’s sake” dictum. The study of the selection is more
is more or less based on the so – called literary elements which is more or less boil down to the
literal level, the affective values, the ideational values, technical values, and total effects.
The literal level (subject matter)
The affective values (emotional, mood, atmosphere, tone attitudes, empathy)
The ideational values (themes, visions, universal truths, character)
Technical Values (plot, structure, scene, language, point of view, imagery, figure, metrics, etc.)
Total Effect (the interrelation of the foregoing elements)

MORAL AND HUMANISTIC APPROACH


The nature of man is CENTRAL to literature. The reader or teacher or critic more or less
“requires” that the piece present MAN AS ESSENTIALY RATIONAL, that is endowed with
intellect and free will; or that the piece does not misinterpret the true nature of man.
In these times of course the TRUE NATURE OF MAN is hotly contested, making literature
all the more challenging. This approach is close to the “MORALITY” of literature, to the questions
of ethical goodness and badness

HISTORICAL APPROACH
Sees literature as both a reflection and product of the times and circumstances in which it
is written. Man as a member of a particular society or nation at a particular time, is central to the
approach and whenever a teacher gives historical or biographical backgrounds in introducing a
selection, or arranges a literature course in chronological order, he is hewing close to this approach.

IMPRESSIONISTIC APPROACH
Literature is viewed to elucidate “reacting- response” which is considered as something
very personal, relative and fruitful. Unconditioned by explanations and often taking the impact of
the piece as a whole, it seeks to see how the piece has communicated.

PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH
Set in dizzying motion, principally, by FREUD, perhaps beyond his wildest expectations,
it considers literature as the EXPRESSION OF PERSONALITY of “Inner Drives” of neurosis. It
includes the psychology of the author, of the character, and even the psychology of creation. It has

100
resulted in an almost exhausting and exhaustive “psychological analysis” of the characters of
symbols and images, of recurrent themes, etc

SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH
Literature is viewed as the expression of man within a given social situation which is
reduced to discussions on economic, in which men are somewhat simplistically divided into haves
and haves not, thus passing into the “proletarian approach” hitch tends to underscore the conflict
between the two classes. The sociological approach stresses on social “relevance”, social
“commitment,” contemporaneity, and it deems communication with the reader important.

BIOGRAPHICAL CRITICISM
It views literature as a reflection of an author’s life and time or of the characters’ life and
times. It is necessary to know about the author and the political, economical, and sociological
context of his times in order to truly understand his works

FEMINISM CRITICISM
Literature may be interpreted as a battle of the sexes or a reaction or result of oppressive
patriarchy. Concerned with the impact of gender on writing and reading. Usually begins with a
critique of patriarchal culture. Concerned with the place of female writers. Concerned with the
roles of female characters within works.

READER-RESPONSE CRITICISM
Literature may be judged according to how the reader perceives it instead of what the
author intends. The text itself has no meaning until it is read by a reader. The reader creates the
meaning. Analyzes the reader's role in the production of meaning makes someone's reading a
function of personal identity. Recognizes that different people view works differently and that
people's interpretations change over time.

DECONSTRUCTIONIST CRITICISM
Texts must be read many times to be able to get the real meaning of a text. The texts can
have multiple meaning. Readers can have their own interpretation. Real meaning conceals in the
texts. Texts can be reinterpreted many times. Decoding of texts can be a difficult task to do.

MYTHOLOGICAL CRITICISM
Mythological critics explore the universal patterns underlying a literary work. This type of
criticism draws on the insights of anthropology, history, psychology, and comparative religion to
explore how a text uses myths and symbols drawn from different cultures and epochs. A central
concept in mythological criticism is the archetype, a symbol, character, situation, or image that
evokes a deep universal response

WRITING A LITERARY ANALYSIS

1. The introduction should capture the reader’s interest. You may use quotation, question,
vivid description, starting fact etc. as starter followed by an introduction about and a
summary of the literary piece. Lastly, your introduction must clearly state a thesis
statement.

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This thesis statement must be specified, arguable, and focused on any of the elements of
the literary piece. It may also be anchored on an approach. The approach may help you
construct a thesis statement.
2. The body is the development of the thesis statement. Each paragraph in the body has a
topic sentence that supports the thesis statement, and each topic sentence is elaborated
with evidence.
3. The conclusion should echo the thesis statement. It should not be presenting new ideas
which were not developed in the body.
4. The reference list entries cited in the literary analysis text.

Firming up

Using a graphic organizer, illustrate the concept of writing a literary analysis.

Concretizing

1. Read the short story “Footnote to Youth” by Jose Garcia Villa.


2. While reading, write comments about the characters, plot, etc. of the story and about how
you feel towards the story in general.
3. Using the comments, write a literary analysis of Footnote to Youth. You may use literary
criticism approaches and the other authorities to elucidate your claims. Do not forget to
cite your sources. Remember, your literary analysis need to have an introduction with a
clear thesis statement, body with the topic sentence and evidence, conclusion, and
reference.

Realizing

In this lesson, I learned that the literary analysis requires…..


______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
___________________________

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References

Bell, E. (2009). Lecture to Falmouth. Retrieved from


http://publicserviceblog.wordpress.com/2009/05/08/lecture-to-falmouth.

Bullock,R. (2009). Wiring the web for global good. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7rrJAC84FA

Johannesen, R.,Valve, K, & Whedbee, K. (2008) Ethics in Human Communication (6th ed).
Waveland Press,Inc. Longgrove,IL.

Wakat, Geraldine; Caroy, Analyn; Paulino, Freda; Jose, Magdalina; Ordonio, Mary Rose;
Palangyos, Amabel, Palangyos, Sheryll; Dizon, Elaine; Dela Cruz, Sao-an, Melony
(2018): Purposive Communication/PAFTE Project Write/OBE-&PPST-Based.
Published by LoriMar Publishing Inc. 2018

Online References:

https://tamu.libguides.com/c.php?g=604517&p=4189873
https://www.slideshare.net/RyanBuer/communication-for-various-purposes
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/resume.asp
https://www.nmu.edu/writingcenter/parts-business-letter
https://www.learngrammar.net/a/types-of-business-letters
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/5-most-effective-methods-for-avoiding-plagiarism/
http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/tips/summary/
https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/research/researchers/preparing_a_grant_application/d
est_definition_of_research
https://www.questionpro.com/blog/what-is-research/
https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_mastering-public-relations/s09-03-types-of-
research.html
https://www.intechopen.com/books/cyberspace/research-design-and-methodology
https://library.sacredheart.edu/c.php?g=29803&p=185928
https://www.sparknotes.com/writinghelp/how-to-write-literary-analysis
https://www.slideshare.net/JelmaPerico/literary-approaches-77285501

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