Relaxation Exercises

Hi Everybody,

I found these two MP3 clips from Hobart and William Smith Colleges very useful in helping students relax. Check it out!

Click here (about 9 minutes)

and here (about 15 minutes)

Four Types of Questions

•Yes / No Questions

•Open Questions

•Leading Questions

•Hypothetical Questions

I found this article online on how to handle the Q&A session - a great read (particularly from 184 onwards)!

Click here

Team Presentation

•

Introduce topic and team

•Be clear

•Do introduce full names and roles of team members

•Do state objective of presentation

•Do establish credibility

Ensure smooth flow

•Present in chronological and logical order.

Use sign-postings to help audience follow your presentation.

•Preview or Review each other to show integration in presentation

•Coordinate effectively

•

Be consistent (content / visuals - show group identity)

•Do demonstrate teamwork

•Do ensure seamless transition between speakers

•

•Do be confident of material you are in charge of

•

Strategies for Oral Presentation

A list of strategies you can use in your Oral Presentation:

• Statistics
• Examples
• Testimonies
• Quotations
• Metaphors
• Personal experiences, inspirational life stories
• Stories, anecdotes
• Acronyms
• Rhetorical questions
• Humour
• Signposting (eg. using transition words)
• Relating the topic to the audience’s needs and expectations
• Shocking or surprising audience
• Credibility
• Audience involvement
• Analogy

Also, check out this link that touches on business and professional presentations for engineers. 

Proposal

Below you will find the different sections in a proposal. This is just a sample for your reference - for use at your discretion. You may include/exclude sections where appropriate.

Sections
Prefatory Section
Proposal
Appended Section

Letter of Transmittal

Prefatory Section
Title page
Copy of Rfp
Letter of Transmittal (A letter that accompanies that report, but placed here for submission purpose)
Table of contents
List of illustrations
Personal Statements
Executive summary

Proposal
Introduction (Background)

• Problem statement
• Purpose statement

Body

• Proposed approach/solution
• Work plan (Technical section)
• Management section*
• Schedule*
• Cost estimate*
• Benefits
• Evaluation
• Methods/Procedure

* Where applicable/necessary

Conclusion

• Summary

Appended Section
Appendices (Appendix A, Appendix B and so on...)

• Survey Questionnaire
• Results from Survey
• Interview Questions
• Interview Transcripts
• Supporting documents
• Illustrations

Sources and References

• APA (American Psychological Association)

Specific Purpose Statements and Central Idea

Specific Purpose Statements 
What you hope to achieve
Strategic goal of speech

• Clear statement of specific purpose
• Help generate ideas
• Organise your thoughts

Central Idea
What the whole speech is about

Visual VS Verbal Distinction

Hi everyone,

Here's an example of Visual VS Verbal Distinction:

Speech text: Are you aware that a person's success is determined not by what he or she knows, but by how effective a communicator that person is? According to a research conducted by Standford Research Institute, the money a person makes in any project or endeavor is determined only 12.5% by what she or he knows in terms of technical knowledge and skills AND 87.5% by her or his ability to deal with a wide-range of people.

Student A:
Little distinction between content in speech and content on slide.
Slide cluttered - Would you care to read paragraph after paragraph of information on a slide? Information presented is very similar to information displayed on slide.

Student B:

Slightly better as there is a distinction between what the audience read and the information the presenter is going to share.
Also, key points are highlighted using bullets, and that makes for easier reading.
However, consider if this is the best/most effective way to share this particular piece of information.


Student C:
Speech text:
Does a person's success hinge on what he or she knows, or on how effective a communicator that person is? Standford Research Institute conducted a study to find out the extent of the importance of technical knowledge relative to interpersonal communuication, and some of you will be surprised at the results. Before I reveal the outcome of the study with you, I would like you to consider and make a guess how important technical knowledge and skills are in terms of a person's success as compared to interpersonal and communication skills?
(Very conversational, involves audience)

followed by next slide:
Speech text:
Well, it seems as if some of you are coming very close to getting the answer...

followed by next slide:
Speech text:
Yes, believe it or not, according to the research, the money a person makes in any project or endeavor is determined only 12.5% by what she or he knows in terms of technical knowledge and skills AND 87.5% by her or his ability to deal with a wide-range of people! In other words, if we are able to effectively communicate, we are already on our way to success! I saw some jaws dropped earlier when I flashed the figures, and it may sound amazing to some of you, hahaha - but ....(continue)
You will notice that in student C's slides, student C made use of diagram to illustrate her/his point. There is also a clear visual verbal distinction between what was said and what was shown on the powerpoint slides. Interaction with audience is aparent (involve the audience where appropriate), and information displayed is easy to understand.

Depending on your purpose for presentation and your intended audience, consider how you would make use of PowerPoint slides to effectively (and appropriately, of course) get your message across.

Using Numbers in your Proposal

Please refer to the following books if you would like to effectively use numbers when writing your proposal:

J.E. Miller, 2004. The Chicago Guide to Writing about Numbers. The Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing and Publishing. University of Chicago Press.

(You can find pages from the book here)

Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4: selecting the right tools when presenting numbers / principles
Chapters 5: quantitative comparisons
Chapters 6 and 7: creating effective tables and charts
Chapter 9: direction and magnitude for various types of variables

Writing Minutes

Narrative minutes are very detailed and record the individual names and views.
Resolution minutes record only the decisions reached and, very briefly, the reason for the decision.
Expanded resolution minutes are a compromise between the above two. It provides more information than just the decisions in the Resolution type of minutes, but leaves out the detailed recording of discussions in Narrative minutes by summarising them.

Writing the Notice of Meeting
The Notice of Meeting:
Day
Date
Time
Venue

Ex: The next meeting of the Audit Committee / Safety Committee / Ship Equipment Committee will be held on Friday 4 October 2017 at 9:00 a.m. in Meeting Room 1.

Writing the Agenda
Apologies for Absence
Minutes of Previous / Last Meeting
Matters Arising
Non-standard Items
AOB / Any Other Business (Matter)
Date and Time of Next Meeting

Citing Direct Quotations

Below you will find examples of how to cite direct quotations in APA style. This is the link to the examples:

Examples

According to Palladino and Wade (2010), “a flexible mind is a healthy mind” (p. 147). In 2010, Palladino and Wade noted that “a flexible mind is a healthy mind” (p. 147). In fact, “a flexible mind is a healthy mind” (Palladino & Wade, 2010, p. 147). “A flexible mind is a healthy mind,” according to Palladino and Wade’s (2010, p. 147) longitudinal study. Palladino and Wade’s (2010) results indicate that “a flexible mind is a healthy mind” (p. 147).

                                                 (obtained from "How to Cite Direct Quotations" by Timothy McAdoo)

Useful Links for Proposal Writing

Links to Purdue Writing Lab articles:

Effective Persuasion Presentation

Click here

Business Letters: Accentuating the Positives

Click here

Email Etiquette for Students

Click here

APA formatting and Style Guide

Click here

Purpose Statement and Problem Statement

Purpose Statement

• What you will do with the proposal


• Who will read the proposal


• Why the intended audience must read the proposal

Problem Statement

• Identify what you want to investigate about the problem / issue


• Reflect the aim of writing the proposal

Unit 08 -

Here's the workable links for (2) and (5) in Unit 08 Resource List:

(2) Thesis Statements:
https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/how-to-write-a-thesis-statement.html


5) How to Write a Statement of the Problem:
http://www.professorbwisa.com/v1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=111:how-to-write-a-statement-of-the-problem-in-four-steps&Itemid=1

APA Documentation Style

Check out these link: Click here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Here’s an excerpt from Penn State University (second link):

General Guidelines

In-text references should immediately follow the title, word, or phrase to which they are directly relevant, rather than appearing at the end of long clauses or sentences. In-text references should always precede punctuation marks. Below are examples of using in-text citation.

Author's name in parentheses:

One study found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic (Gass & Varonis, 1984).

Author's name part of narrative:

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic.

Group as author:

First citation: (American Psychological Association [APA], 2015)

Subsequent citation: (APA, 2015)

Multiple works: (separate each work with semi-colons)

Research shows that listening to a particular accent improves comprehension of accented speech in general (Gass & Varonis, 1984; Krech Thomas, 2004).

Direct quote: (include page number)

One study found that “the listener's familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 85).

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that “the listener’s familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (p. 85).

Note: For direct quotations of more than 40 words, display the quote as an indented block of text without quotation marks and include the authors’ names, year, and page number in parentheses at the end of the quote. For example:

This suggests that familiarity with nonnative speech in general, although it is clearly not as important a variable as topic familiarity, may indeed have some effect. That is, prior experience with nonnative speech, such as that gained by listening to the reading, facilitates comprehension. (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 77)

Works by Multiple Authors

APA style has specific rules for citing works by multiple authors. Use the following guidelines to determine how to correctly cite works by multiple authors in text.

Note: When using multiple authors' names as part of your narrative, rather than in parentheses, always spell out the word and. For multiple authors' names within a parenthetic citation, use &.

One author: (Field, 2005)

Two authors: (Gass & Varonis, 1984)

Three to five authors:

First citation: (Tremblay, Richer, Lachance, & Cote, 2010)

Subsequent citations: (Tremblay et al., 2010)

Six or more authors: (Norris-Shortle et al., 2006)

Citing Web Pages In Text

Cite web pages in text as you would any other source, using the author and date if known. If the author is not known, use the title and the date as the in-text citation (for long titles just use the first few words). Your in-text citation should lead your reader to the corresponding entry in the reference list. For sources with no date use n.d. (for no date) in place of the year: (Smith, n.d.). Below are examples of using in-text citation with web pages.

---

Web page with author:

In-text citation

Role-play can help children learn techniques for coping with bullying (Kraiser, 2011).

Reference entry

Kraizer, S. (2011). Preventing bullying. Retrieved from http://safechild.org/categoryparents/preventing-bullying/

---

Web page with no author:

In-text citation

The term Nittany Lion was coined by Penn State football player Joe Mason in 1904 (All things Nittany, 2006).

Reference entry

All things Nittany. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.psu.edu/ur/about/nittanymascot.html

---

Web page with no date:

In-text citation

Establishing regular routines, such as exercise, can help survivors of disasters recover from trauma (American Psychological Association [APA], n.d.).

Reference entry

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Recovering emotionally from disaster. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/recovering-disasters.aspx

The 7Cs and Reporting Verbs

Check out these links to learn about the 7Cs:

Click here, here and here.

This is a useful link on the use of Reporting Verbs:

Click here. 

Check out this link to better understand the difference between coherence and cohesion. 

Paraphrasing and Summarizing Examples

The following example on Paraphrasing is written by Jerry Plotnick, Director of the University College Writing Centre, University of Toronto:

Let’s look at examples of illegitimate and legitimate paraphrase, using the passage from Oliver Sacks’ essay “An Anthropologist on Mars” as follows:

The cause of autism has also been a matter of dispute. Its incidence is about one in a thousand, and it occurs throughout the world, its features remarkably consistent even in extremely different cultures. It is often not recognized in the first year of life, but tends to become obvious in the second or third year. Though Asperger regarded it as a biological defect of affective contact—innate, inborn, analogous to a physical or intellectual defect—Kanner tended to view it as a psychogenic disorder, a reflection of bad parenting, and most especially of a chillingly remote, often professional, "refrigerator mother." At this time, autism was often regarded as "defensive" in nature, or confused with childhood schizophrenia. A whole generation of parents—mothers, particularly—were made to feel guilty for the autism of their children.

What follows is an example of illegitimate paraphrase:

The cause of the condition autism has been disputed. It occurs in approximately one in a thousand children, and it exists in all parts of the world, its characteristics strikingly similar in vastly differing cultures. The condition is often not noticeable in the child’s first year, yet it becomes more apparent as the child reaches the age of two or three. Although Asperger saw the condition as a biological defect of the emotions that was inborn and therefore similar to a physical defect, Kanner saw it as psychological in origin, as reflecting poor parenting and particularly a frigidly distant mother. During this period, autism was often seen as a defence mechanism, or it was misdiagnosed as childhood schizophrenia. An entire generation of mothers and fathers (but especially mothers) were made to feel responsible for their offspring’s autism (Sacks 247-48).

Most of these sentences do little more than substitute one phrase for another. An additional problem with this passage is that the only citation occurs at the very end of the paragraph. The reader might be misled into thinking that the earlier sentences were not also based on Sacks.

The following represents a legitimate paraphrase of the original passage:

In "An Anthropologist on Mars," Sacks lists some of the known facts about autism. We know, for example, that the condition occurs in roughly one out of every thousand children. We also know that the characteristics of autism do not vary from one culture to the next. And we know that the condition is difficult to diagnose until the child has entered the second or third year of life. As Sacks points out, often a child who goes on to develop autism will show no sign of the condition at the age of one (247).

Sacks observes, however, that researchers have had a hard time agreeing on the causes of autism. He sketches the diametrically opposed positions of Asperger and Kanner. On the one hand, Asperger saw the condition as representing a constitutional defect in the child's ability to make meaningful emotional contact with the external world. On the other hand, Kanner regarded autism as a consequence of harmful childrearing practices. For many years confusion about this condition reigned. One unfortunate consequence of this confusion, Sacks suggests, was the burden of guilt imposed on so many parents for their child's condition (247-48).

This paraphrase illustrates a few basic principles that can help you to paraphrase more effectively:

• Refer explicitly to the author in your paraphrase. The passage above makes explicit right away that the ideas come from Sacks. Its indebtedness is signaled in a few strategic places. The single parenthetical note at the end of each paragraph is therefore all that is needed by way of citation. Referring to Sacks also strengthens the passage by clarifying the source of its ideas.
• Don’t just paraphrase. Analyze. In the paraphrase of Sacks, the decision to split the original passage into two paragraphs adds an analytical dimension: the new passage doesn’t just reiterate his points but lays out the two-part structure of his argument.
• Not all of the details from the original passage need to be included in the paraphrase.
• You don't need to change every word. For the sake of clarity, keep essential terms the same (e.g., autism, culture,children). However, avoid borrowing entire phrases (e.g., reflection of bad parenting) unless they are part of the discourse of your field (e.g., psychogenic disorder).

Here is a summary of the passage from "An Anthropologist on Mars":

In "An Anthropologist on Mars," Sacks notes that although there is little disagreement on the chief characteristics of autism, researchers have differed considerably on its causes. As he points out, Asperger saw the condition as an innate defect in the child's ability to connect with the external world, whereas Kanner regarded it as a consequence of harmful childrearing practices (247-48).

You may also wish to try the following exercise from the Purdue Online Writing Lab: 

Paraphrasing Exercise
Answers to Exercise

Rules on Quoting Authors

Check out this link and this link. 

Writing Effective Reflective Notes

Check out this link "Faculty of Public Health Tips onWriting Effective Reflective Notes" on writing effective reflective notes

Communicating through email

Check out this link of writing emails. I highly recommend this informative read.

Check out this link on Communicating through Email. It touches on the basics of emails writing.

You may also want to check out this link on the language used in formal, semi-formal, and informal emails.

"Defining reflection: Another look at John Dewey and reflective thinking" by Carol Rodgers

Please find the link to the article "Defining reflection: Another look at John Dewey and reflective thinking" by clicking here

7Cs in Writing

Hi Students,

Here are some examples/links that show you how you may write competently to meet your readers' needs by adhereing to the 7Cs.

Conciseness
If you can say "Now/then..." don't say "At this/that point in time..."
In other words, don't beat around the bush!

Click here

Eliminating redundant pairs, repetitive wordings, words you might do away with are some of the examples you will find in the article above.

Clarity
Writing with clarity = being clear, eliminating doubts, uniting ideas and using emphasis.
I found two good sites to share with all of you: Click here

Concreteness
Would saying this
"This will give us time to reach some meaningful conclusions"
be better than this
"This will give us enough time to determine our budget"

What about "Does Guerrilla Marketing create a positive impact?" compared to "Does Guerrilla Marketing increases revenue?"?

As best as you can, use facts, figures, statistics, details to support your writing.