101, STUDY SKILLS AND BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

LECTURE NOTES

A: STUDY SKILLS

NOTE TAKING AND NOTE MAKING

Before introducing ourselves to the skills of note taking and note making, let

us first quickly make a survey on some elements of listening, a skill which

normally precedes or accompanies note taking and note making.

What is Listening?

Is one of the communication skills which one should master, other skills are;

speaking, reading, and writing. Thus, listening is a receptive skill which

refers to the art of making one receive what another person is verbally

conveying.

Further more, listening is considered to be one of the most important part of

oral communication. As a student, you will spend almost 80% of your study

time listening to your lecturers, colleagues and others. Therefore poor

listening skill may affect the individual very badly at the college or

university as the maximum number of time is devoted to listening only.

However listening is not an easy task. Most people do not know how to

listen effectively. Effective listening involves more than just hearing-

which is a passive act, a mere reception of sound. Effective listening

requires the listener to be an active listener, who should be able to

understand, interpret, and evaluate what he/she hears in a meaningful

way.

Advantages of Effective Listening

i. Helps one to avoid misunderstanding.

ii. Helps one to save time.

iii. Enables one to be able to do things right the first time he/she

hears something.

iv. Problems are solved quicker by being an active listener.

v. Gives the listener the sense of self worth and interest to go on

listening.

On-going Tasks

1 What is the difference between “hearing” and “listening”?

2 List down four advantages of being a good listener and four

disadvantages of being a poor listener?

To Become an Effective (active) Listener

To become an effective or an active listener takes hard work, one must

actively do his/her part to make sure one get the most out of ones’ listening

experiences. The following are things or techniques that can make one an

active listener:

1. Set the Objective for Listening:

Before actual listening, one should ask himself/herself the objective for

listening. This has an advantage of giving one with a required concentration

to the speaker.

2. Prepare to Listen:

In order to hear and understand everything from the speaker, one must be

ready to listen from the beginning. This means arriving early, getting

sufficient rest, or finding out as much about the speaker’s topic before h/she

arrives.
3. Develop the Listening Process:

Before actual listening act, one has to develop a process for gathering,

managing and storing the information to be acquired. This include the note

taking and note making techniques as shall be discussed in details in the

next parts of this lecture series.

On-going Tasks

1 Briefly identify and discuss three things that can hinder ones listening

concentration?

2 Give vivid elaborations of how one can become an effective listener

Having made survey on listening skill and how to be become an effective

listener, now let us switch on Note taking and Note making. It should be

kept in our mind that, Note taking and Note making are important academic

skills that need to be acquired by students at the college or university.

Note Taking

Is the practice of writing pieces of information, often in an informal or

unstructured manner. One major specific type of Note-taking is the

practice of writing in shorthand, which can allow large amounts of

information to be put on paper very quickly. Notes are frequently written in

notebooks, though any available piece of paper can suffice in many

circumstances. Many different forms are used to structure information and

make it easier to find later.

Like reading, note-taking is a skill which must be learned and refined.

Almost invariably, note taking, or the lack of it, is a constant deficiency in

the study methods of many high school and college students. Learning the

ingredients of good note taking is rather easy; applying them to your own

situation depends on how serious you are in becoming a successful student.

Thus note taking basically is a means of recording the main points of

information during reading or during lecture sessions in such a way

that, it can be done quickly, and the recorded notes are clear and easy to

revise for later purposes, for instance during examinations.

Effective note taking should have a purpose, should be well organised, and

can be a time saving skill.

So taking notes should be brief, concise, logic or reasonable enough

Importance of Note Taking

Note taking is important in various ways as follows:

 It helps in recording information for future reference. No one can

remember every thing that he/she hears. People tend to forget what they

heard after sometime. Research shows that individuals can only recall

50% of what they hear and that 20-30% is incorrect. So it is good to take

notes.

 Taking notes enhances concentration on the topic or subject matter.

 It also enhances understanding of the subject matter. When you write the

information tend to be well comprehended unlike when you are just

reading. This is because writing involves extra thinking.

 Note taking helps in focusing on important points only when one is in the

lecture or reading a book etc.

 Note taking helps in refining some arguments when preparing an essay or

writing a report.

 It is essential for providing you with the necessary evidence to inform

and develop your argument.

 It promotes critical thinking.

 It improves writing skills.

 Notes taken provide the clearest and best indication of what the student

should encounter on the exam. It facilitates making revision when

preparing for exams

 Taking notes develops a sense of listening, allowing the reader to

recognize main ideas.

 Taking notes in class makes the student an active participant in the

learning process rather than a passive listener or daydreamer.

 Taking notes helps the student sort out important information—by

synthesizing and beginning the actual learning process the student is

actually making the material his own.

In the nutshell, the notes taken will become a study aid, an external

memory device, and an instrument to aid in review and recitation. This

process leads to long-term learning.

Five R's of Note Taking

1. Record. During the lecture, record as many meaningful facts and ideas as

you can. Write legibly.

2. Reduce. As soon after class as possible, summarize these ideas and facts

concisely. Summarizing clarifies meanings and relationships, reinforces

continuity, and strengthens memory. Also, it is a way of preparing for

examinations gradually and well ahead of time.

3. Recite/Recall. Now cover the notes, say over facts and ideas of the

lecture as fully as you can, not mechanically, but in your own words and

with as much appreciation of the meaning as you can. Then, uncovering

your notes, verify what you have said. This procedure helps to transfer

the facts and ideas to your long term memory.

4. Reflect. Reflective students distill their opinions from their notes. They

make such opinions the starting point for their own musings upon the

subjects they are studying. Such musings aid them in making sense out of

their courses and academic experiences by finding relationships among

them. Reflective students continually label and index their experiences

and ideas, put them into structures, outlines, summaries, and frames of

reference. They rearrange and file them. Best of all, they have an eye for

the vital-for the essential. Unless ideas are placed in categories, unless

they are taken up from time to time for re-examination, they will become

inert and soon forgotten.

5. Review. If you will spend 10 minutes every week or so in a quick review

of these notes, you will retain most of what you have learned, and you

will be able to use your current knowledge more effectively.

Note Taking From Lecture

Techniques for Note taking are skills which one must acquire so as to

help one to write brief but clear notes when listening to lecturers. There

are various techniques which can help in taking good notes from a lecture.

They involve the following:

1. Reading in Advance on the Topic

Since lecturers tend to provide course outlines, students are supposed to read

in advance about the topic. They can use books or internet. Reading in

advance can make a student follow the lecture very well and even

understand better.

2. Attending Classes Punctually

A student is supposed to attend lectures and arrive in the lecture room

punctually. Students who come late tend to miss some of the points during

introduction.
3. Effective Listening

Listening is an important tool in the learning process. Hence, during note

taking listening helps much in discovering the points from a lecture. Without

listening a students can not write good notes.

Effective listening involves paying attention to what a lecturer says at the

same time jotting down some main points. Listening differs from hearing

in that, hearing is a spontaneous process of perceiving the sound

without paying attention and even without understanding the meaning

of the sound. For example one can hear the cock crowing or the bird

singing without being able to understand what such sounds mean. In

listening a person pays attention deliberately in order to understand the

message.

4. Selection of Main Points

A student should also be able to discover or select points during lecture. The

clues/hints that can help a student in discovering points during the lecture

include:

 Change of tone/voice. Some lecturers change voices when mentioning

the points in order to make students jot them down.

  Facial expressions/gestures help in discovering points. Other lecturers

or speakers tend to emphasize their points through body movements.

Using their arms, legs or faces.

 Writing on the board. Lecturers write points on the board in order to

be jotted down by students.

 Use of signal words such as: firstly, secondly, moreover, furthermore,

additionally etc. These give a clue that a lecture is going to give a

point.

 Repetition of statements or sentences. Normally, sentences that are

repeated are points. They are repeated for emphasis in order students

can write them.

5. Brevity (came from the word brief)

When taking notes a student is supposed to be brief. He/she should be in

summary in order to keep pace with the speed of the lecturer. Writing all

details during lecture is not possible since the lecturer speaks at a higher

speed than that of writing. So, it is important to be brief.

Brevity in note taking can be achieved through the following

techniques:

 Ignore unnecessary words or sentences. For example greetings,

personal stories etc.

 Use abbreviations and acronyms: Abbreviations are like TCU, TTCL,

LLB, MPA, BBA, MU, KTM, PCB, CCM, N.B, CD, and so on.

Acronyms are like: CHADEMA, TANESCO, TANU, UNESCO,

TADEA, TAMWA etc.

 Clipping of some words. Ind. for independence; Prep for preparation;

Hist. for history; Com. for communication etc.

 Use of alternative words/paraphrasing. E.g. A person who influences

his power over other people due to his position (This is replaced by

the word a leader).

 Avoid repetitions

 Pick the main points only.

 Use of symbols and signs such as =, +, <, >, %, &, #, $ , ≠, , †, ‰, ↓,

↑, →, ↔, , 

 Use of bullets, numbers or letters to outline points instead of words.

Good Organisation of Notes (Layout of Notes)

The notes taken should be clear and usable. They should be well

organised for easy understanding. A key success to note taking is ones

ability to organise information into sections and subsections which are easily

recognised. Thus one should provide headings and subheadings for any

piece of information.

The notes can be organised in one of the following formats or ways to

organize notes:

 Outline format: Points are listed down with bullets, numbers or

letters.

 Branching format: Notes organised in hierarchical order in a tree like

pattern.
  Tabular format: Arranging notes in columns

 ………………………  …………………

 ………………………  …………………

 ………………………  ………………….

 ………………………  …………………

 ………………………  …………………

Example

A lecturer in law was giving a lecture to LLB students, where students were

required to take notes in brief. The lecture was as follows:

“Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen! Mhh, you seem to be very gloomy

today, is it because of the long hectic weekend?. Ok, forget about that. Let’s

focus on our lecture now. In this morning’s lecture I intend to look very

briefly….just a quick overview really…at the history of the courts system in

Tanzania. A look back, then, at how the courts system has developed in our

country. We, let me begin, then, by taking a look firstly ...to begin with…at

the system that existed before Independence. The pre-independence set-up

first, therefore. At that time…that is to say in the colonial times…there were

two types of court in the then Tanganyika. These two courts were the
following – the Subordinate Court and the local courts. The first type, the

Subordinate Court; the second type, the Local court. Now then, let’s take a

look at the two types one after another, in case you do not have any question

at this moment…”

Student’s brief notes from the lecture above using the outline format.

Hist. of Crts. Syst. in Tz

(1) Syst. Before. Ind.

- 2 types

(i) Sub. Crts

(ii) Loc. Crts

Note-Taking versus Note-Making

 Note-taking is when you are reading or hearing something for the first

time and you are trying to jot down the key information so you can use it

later.

 Note-making is when you return to brief notes and make detailed notes on

them. This means you annotate them, put things into your own words or

summarise them and highlight key points.

Note-Taking from Written Materials

Hints for taking notes from written materials effectively include:

 Finding the relevant source of information which will answer the

question at hand.

 Surveying the source, skimming and scanning

1. Surveying – Looking at titles, introduction, chapters, and

headings in the contents

2. Skimming – Looking at headings, first paragraphs, and topic

sentences.(general information’s)

3. Scanning – Looking at specific details like indexes etc.

 Reading intensively: Reading for the sake of getting detailed

information so as to have a comprehensive picture about the topic or

subject matter.

 Selecting main points: In selecting the main points the following hints

are important:

1. Look at headings and subheadings

2. Look at font styles. Main points can be written in a different

font style such as italic.

 3. Look at signal words like: first, secondly, additionally,

furthermore, conclusively etc.

4. Look at topic sentences. Topic sentences are sentences that

contain main ideas of the paragraphs. In deductive paragraphs

a topic sentence comes first while in inductive paragraphs a

topic sentence comes last.

 Be brief: One has to summarise the information. Brevity can be achieved

through the following techniques:

1. Avoiding repetition of words or sentences.

2. Using alternative words to represent long sentences or

expressions/paraphrasing

3. Clipping of words. E.g Hist. instead of History; ind, instead of

independence etc.

4. Using some contractions. E.g. Can’t instead of cannot; I’m

instead of I am etc.

5. Use of symbols/signs such as +, =, ≠, , , ,≤, ≥, €, £, etc

6. Use of abbreviations and acronyms: E.g, etc, NATO, TCU etc

7. Use of letters, bullets or numbers when listing or outlining

 Organise the notes properly/logically using outline format, branching

format or tabular format.

 Record: Author, title, edition number, place of publication, name of

publisher, volume number, issue number, page number etc. These details

will help in writing a list of references or citations.

Techniques for Organizing the Notes

 Write in separate points

 Sequence the points logically. Start with main important points, ending

with least important ones.

 Start a new point on a new line

 Indent the points for clarity. Sub and sub-sub points should be indented.

If you don’t indent the points, it can be very difficult to distinguish main

points from minor points.

 Leave enough space between points. The space left between points helps

in adding more details or examples.

END OF TO DAY

May GOD bless all of them

READING SKILLS

A college/university student must develop skills in reading. Without these

skills a student is likely to waste a lot of time reading things which mighty

not be very useful to his/her course or fail to keep abreast to the instructor’s

pace while teaching.

For one to become an effective and efficient reader, he should first and

foremost have a clear mind of what and why he/she reads. It would be a bad

thing for one to go to the library, pick up any book, and start reading it from

the introduction to the back cover. Thus, when we read something we must

have a purpose in mind. It’s this purpose that will lead one to the

meaningful reading process.

The (SQRRR or SQ3R) Reading/Study System

The SQRRR or SQ3R is one of highly accepted and recommended system

for enhancing meaningful reading process.

The system was developed in the 1940s, and has been proved successfully

for many years being effective in increasing retention of information. It is

especially useful for textbooks and other highly factual, well-organised

materials.

Basically, SQRRR or SQ3R is a way of learning as you read. Its name is

taken from the first letter of each step. It consists of five stages; Survey,

Question, Read, Recite and Review.

1. Survey: To become familiar with the overall content and organization of

the materials. Carefully pre-read, go quickly through the text or chapter in

order to get the general idea. It entails both skimming and scanning. Look

at the titles, subtitles, boldface and italics, graphs and diagrams, summary

and/or conclusion, and questions at the end of the chapter

2. Question: Reading is a thinking process; inquiry makes you an active

reader. Formulate questions about the material that you expect to be able to

answer as you read. As you read each successive heading, turn it into a

question (which means one has to convert titles, subtitles, etc. into questions.

This will arouse your curiosity and increase comprehension. It will help

bring to mind information already known and help you to understand the
section more quickly. The question will make important points stand out

from the explanatory detail. Turning the heading into a question can be done

the instant you read it, but it demands a conscious effort on the part of the

reader.

3. Read: As you read each section, actively search for the answers to your

guide questions. When you find answers, underline or mark the portions of

the text that concisely state the information or write down any information

you sense is important. If you cannot answer the questions, one of the

reasons can be that you are reading something irrelevant or you have not

understood whatever you are reading.

4. Recite/Recall: Talk to your self. Look away from the book and try to

briefly recite the answer to your question. Use your own words and cite an

example. If you can do this, you know what is in the book; if you can't,

glance over the section again. An excellent way to do this reciting is to jot

down very brief cue phrases in outline form on a sheet of paper.

Translate key ideas and new terms into your own words. Research any

answers or information that doesn’t seem to be clear enough.

5. Review:

When you have completed the assignment in the manner described above,

look over your notes to get a bird's-eye view of the points and their

relationships. Then check your memory for content by reciting the major sub

points under each heading. An excellent way to check your memory is to

cover your notes and try to recall the main points. Then uncover each major

point and try to recall the sub points listed under it. Frequent review enables

you to better retain the material.

Reading Techniques/Strategies

Reading techniques/strategies involve the following:

Surveying

This involves going through the entire document with the purpose of getting

some idea of the theme and the main points. Look at book cover, table of

contents, introduction or preface; make any predictions about the story

etc. Skimming is part of surveying.

Skimming

This is reading for the sake of getting the general picture or idea about the

chapter, passage or a book. In this kind of reading one is interested in

gaining an overall idea. This helps one to decide whether the chapter,

passage or a book is worth studying in more detail, depending on how

relevant you find it for your purpose. In skimming a book, one can look at

titles, subtitles, headings, subheadings, topic sentences, conclusion,

figures and tables.

Scanning

Scanning is different from skimming in the sense that, one is not looking for

general information. But reading for specific information like names,

figures, key words, etc. Also, finding a source to answer the question at

hand.

In looking for specific information, we do not read every word on the page.

Instead, we scan read the text with specific words in mind. It is not possible

to scan read when you have no idea of what you are looking for.

Scanning for specific information requires speed, but the success and speed

with which one locates this information will depend on ones ability to select

and recognize appropriate key words.

Intensive Reading

This is reading for detailed information. It involves a concentrated approach

to details and meaning, and it may involve note-making. You read every

word and try to see how words are related. That means it is important to

understand the relationship between points of information.

It is reading for high degree of comprehension and retention over a long

period of time. And it is a strategy commonly used by students when

preparing themselves for examinations. Skimming and scanning are not best

techniques to be used when preparing for examination.

In intensive reading, one has to consider the following Devices that writers

use to indicate the relationship between individual points (How to

comprehend a text, especially in intensive reading):

i. Reference

The way a writer can refer forward and backwards through the use of

pronouns such as ‘they’, ‘those’, ‘others’, etc.

ii. Linking Words/Discourse Markers

A writer of text tries to use strategies to show the relationship of ideas. In

reading therefore, we make use of words that a writer has used to interpret

the texts.

The way a writer can indicate the precise type of connection by using

meaning signals such as;

a. Addition (i.e. in addition, furthermore, moreover)

b. Contrast (i.e. however, in contrast, but, such as)

c. Result (i.e. consequently, as a result)

d. Elaboration (i.e. that is to say, in other words)

iii. Choice of Vocabulary

a. Repetition-Repeating the same word

b. Synonym-Using a different word with a similar meaning

c. Abstract word-Using one abstract word to refer to several words or

phrases previously mentioned.

 The use of these signals and the essay structure enables the reader to

comprehend the relationship between the ideas presented.

 Familiarity of the topic can also help you to predict what information

is likely to follow.
  Therefore, it is useful to gain a general idea of the text by skimming

through it quickly before reading it intensively.

 It needs to be realized that in order to make the task of reading

meaningful, you must define the purpose for reading the text before

starting to read. Your purpose will determine the reading technique to

use to access information in a source text.

 When reading one text, we may use all the four techniques in

combination. In the same text, the reader can skim, or do something

else. Most of the times we may vary our reading techniques while

reading the same text, because we may have more than one purpose

for reading the same text.

iv. Predicting Messages

From what we have already read, we can predict what follows next. This is

to guess what is going to happen or what is the writer going to say. We can

predict if we are familiar, through past experience, with the ideas being

expressed. Or if the writer has used words or phrases whose uses are familiar

to us.

E.g. There have been arguments for and against the use of Swahili as a

medium of instruction…
-With this beginning, we can predict what the writer is going to talk about.

One way of predicting the message is to look at the topic sentence or the

first paragraph.

v. Using Clues

This is trying to get meaning of unknown expressions using clues such as

context and the shape of words (prefixes and suffixes). Our efficiency in

reading is partly determined by our command or lexical (vocabulary) aspect

of language. For example, we can guess the meaning of a word by looking at

the sentence in which it is used.

E.g. Let us see the meaning of a word ‘piece meal’. The fact is that social

and technical change is not brought about in piecemeal but occurs in

packages.

From the way it is used, it follows that piecemeal is the opposite of

packages, hence it could mean pieces.

vi. Using Inferences

To infer is to reach an opinion from either fact or by reasoning. In reading

you can guess a meaning by inference. Here the message is not directly

given. For instance, the use of idioms or proverbs. These talk about ideas but
in indirect way. For example, if you want to get good results, Rome was not

built in a single day. (a proverb). We can make an inference that the proverb

talks about taking a long time to accomplish something and probably which

is worthwhile.

vii. Distinguishing Main Points from Subsidiary Points

This is reached by looking at headings, subheadings, paragraphs and

numbering that may appear on the surface of a text. Sometimes this could be

achieved by varying the type of print or print size. The use of examples to

support ideas can also achieve this. We also use these features when we scan

and skim read.

viii. Using Titles, Pictures, Illustrations and Numbers

Sometimes we use even the punctuation marks. For example after a colon

we expect lists of points. During listing, a comma shows points of the same

status.

Using the above points and explanations, we can summarize and have/come

up with the following observation:

 Selection Skills-To see how the passage is organized e.g. where an

introduction is, examples, main points etc.

  Reasoning Skills-To understand extra-linguistic information i.e.

explicit information (information not directly stated). E.g.

i. The drums and dancing began again.

ii. Darkness was around the corner.

These sentences need reasoning skill to understand.

 Evaluations Skills-The reader can give his/her own views on what

s/he had read. Comments from the reader depend on how s/he has

understood the message/information.

Extensive Reading

This refers to reading for general knowledge. It is done in order to gain

general understanding of what has been read. It is reading for longer texts

for pleasure with emphasis on overall meaning and not on detailed

information. Reading a novel or a newspaper are examples of extensive

reading.

Contextual Guessing (Noscitur a socii)

Is the technique in intensive reading in which the reader predicts the

meaning of the word by looking at the context in which the word has been

used. In most cases the neighbouring words and sentences help in finding
the meaning of the word which is ambiguous or new to the reader. It is the

ability to apply contextual guessing that a reader can be able to know the

meaning of the word without looking at the dictionary.

Critical Reading

Reading in order to get full understanding and analyzing the source. It

also involves examining or analyzing the information in the source that is

looking at strengths and weaknesses. Critical reading is common in book or

paper review.
WRITING SKILLS

Writing is one of the four skills of communication which is not

automatically acquired but learnt. Unlike listening and speaking, writing and

reading have to be learned seriously and consciously.

Writing is hard to learn because written words have to express themselves in

the absence of the writer. Therefore great care is needed to make the reader

make sense out of what we write without our own presence.

Why Writing?

We write for many reasons;

 we can access accumulated and written knowledge from books,

journals, articles, dissertations, etc in order to communicate across

time and space

 we preserve knowledge in books, reports, journals, articles, letters,

memos, thesis, etc, through writing

 the process of writing enhances understanding of lectures as it

increases concentration
  in academic life writing is the main form of communication between

students and lecturers

 writing is a means through which students’ assessment is done in tests

and exams, term papers, reports, take home essays, writing thesis and

dissertations, etc.

Writing therefore is extremely important in schools and colleges. The

purpose of this part of lecture series is to propose the approaches leading to

effective writing and in particular effective essays.

Academic Writing

Academic writing consists of essay writing, report writing such as research

proposals, thesis and the like, bibliography writing, letter writing, writing of

minutes etc.

Stylistic Features of Academic Writing

1. In academic writing we tend to use active voice unless it is an

experimental report. For example, instead of saying: “six bandits were

arrested yesterday”, we may say, “The policemen arrested six bandits

yesterday”
 2. In academic writing we do not normally use “contracted forms”. For

example instead of writing “don’t” we write do not, instead of “can’t”

we write “can not” etc

3. In academic writing we normally avoid the use of personal forms. To

do this, we often use passive, e.g. “I examined three cases” becomes

“Three cases were examined”

4. In academic writing we rarely use abbreviations. Abbreviations are for

use in notes. The only abbreviations which are found fairly often are

“e.g.” and “etc”

5. No repetition of ideas or words are entertained (circumlocution)

6. Sentences are arranged chronologically and logically using

transitional (cohesive) markers e.g. firstly, secondly etc

7. The statement is usually supported by examples (evidences) followed

by conclusion

Essay Writing

What is it?

Essay writing is one of writing we normally do in academic life. Essay

writing is important in academic life because it is one way of

communicating ideas in various subjects of specializations.

Thus an essay is a piece of writing on a particular subject or topic. It can be

fictional or non fictional.

Characteristics of a Good Essay

 Unity: Sentences should focus on one theme or topic with a definite

purpose

 Order: Logical organisation of ideas or arguments (systematicity)

 Brevity: Essay should not be too long. At least 300 words.

 Style: Formal style: No slang, colloquial terms or contractions.

Language should be simple, direct and natural.

 Coherence: All sentences in should be related to one another

logically. Coherence helps the reader to follow the flow of writer’s

ideas. Coherence in essays is attained by using transitional markers

(transitional words) which include: such as, and, also, furthermore,

likewise, for instance, on the other hand, aforementioned, he, she, in

contrast, conversely, similarly, again, additionally, consequently, as

follows, etc.

 Cohesion: This is a grammatical and /or lexical relationship between

different elements of a text. Relationship between sentences is

 achieved by using cohesion or transition markers such as: moreover,

besides, in addition, this, the former, finally, etc.

 Completeness: This means that the subject of the essay should be

adequately developed by providing details, explanations, definitions,

evidence, etc. This will make the reader get satisfied and not left with

vague expressions or unanswered questions.

 Personal touch: An essay should reveal personal feelings or opinions

of the writer. One has to express his own views in an essay rather than

just quoting other people’s ideas. People have to know your stand.

 Use of citations and references: Proper citations and referencing

Approaches towards Writing Good Essays

1. Build a Rhetorical Power

Rhetorical power is a power to persuade and to communicate. It is the power

to express what you feel, what you believe, what you know and what you

have discovered about yourself and about the world around you.

A rhetorical power is built from reading. Reading generates writing. From

reading you can be able to do the following:

 learn on a particular topic you want to write on

  you can learn the feelings of those you want to persuade or inform

 And you can learn good writing styles

2. Decide on the Purpose of your Essay

To write anything including essays one must decide on the purpose of

writing. This process entails, being clear on reasons of writing, one asks

these questions himself/herself:

 Do you want to report on something?

 Do you want to describe something?

 Do you want to discuss about something?

 Do you want to compare and contrast on certain issues?

 Do you want to outline on something?

 Are you intending to comment on something, etc

3. Decide on What Type of Essay you Want to Write

Is it narrative; expository; descriptive; argumentative; imaginative etc

 Narrative essay: Consists of a stories or narrations of events. Some

of the events may be historical, personal or fictional.

 Expository essay: It is also called explanatory essay. It explains some

subject, terms or ideas; compares things; or explains how to do

 something (gives instructions). Examples: Cause and effect essays,

compare and contrast essays, those which define certain concepts and

those which expose problems and provide solutions. Expository

essays are the essays that most of college and university students write

during their tests and examinations.

 Descriptive essay: Describes about places, things like animals or

buildings, actions, phenomena or events that happened in the past,

manufactured articles such as cars etc.

 Argumentative or persuasive essay: Essay with the aim of

convincing or persuading, motivating, or persuading readers to accept

changes or take actions and sometimes it can be written for the

purpose of discouraging some bad behaviour among intended readers.

It involves inductive or deductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning

proceeds from specific aspects or details to the general aspects or idea.

Deductive reasoning proceeds from logically general facts to specific

details or aspects.

 Imaginative essay: Essay which expresses ones feelings about certain

situation or experience. A writer places himself or herself in

someone’s position and starts writing about what he fells about that

position or certain experience.

4. Think of your Audience

Who you are writing to (audience), are they lay people, technical, or non

technical people? Or is it simply your lecturer(s)

Consideration of your audience is necessary because it will affect the choice

of vocabulary, structure and approach (how you have to say it), what you

have to write (content) and style of writing and presentation.

This consideration again is necessary because by doing so you will be

putting the reader in first priority for the essay is aimed at him/her.

5. The Essay Question

Any writing and in particular essay writing starts with an essay question.

For timed essays there is usually a question set for you by your

examiners/lecturers. For free written essay, long report or term paper it

should start by a question of your own making. That is, make your own

essay question.

6. Understand the Requirements of the Essay Question

After you have presented with an essay question or after you have made

your own question, then the next step is to understand the requirements of

the essay question.

Understanding the demands of the question correctly is an important skill

towards the best approach to follow and producing an effective answer to the

question.

There have been many cases where students produce stereo type answers

particularly copying from lecture notes as if all questions had the same

demands.

It should be understood that instructions to essay questions enormously.

Each essay question has its own specific requirements. With the timed

essays tutors and examiners normally spell out these requirements in the

essay questions themselves. Thus try to develop the ability to recognise

exactly what is required by the essay question.

There are three important things that you need to do in order to be able to

understand the requirements of the essay question and interpret it

effectively:

I. Subject or Theme

Identify the subject or theme of the question. Actually this is the key word

of the essay. The key word is a broad area; it may be land surveying,

economics, urban poverty, education, trading systems, population etc.

This will help you remember things you know about the topic or subject.

II. Key Instructional Words

Identify the key instructional words of the question. These show exactly

what to do in the essay

These words are the words that instruct/direct the candidate what the

question demands.

It is generalized that, in most cases the instructional words demand either

FACTS or OPINIONS, o r BOTH. Let us look at some of these words and

what they demand:

 KEY DEMAND

INSTRUCTIONAL FACTS OPINION

WORD

Discuss √ √

Define √

What is understood √

by……

Comment on √

Describe √

Explain √

Examine √ √

Compare and contrast √ √ (sometimes)

Outline √

Identify √

Review √ √

Evaluate √ √
Analyse √ √

The above generalization suggests that when a student is asked to “discuss”

for example, he/she should put what he/she knows about a given topic (facts)

and give his/her own experience (opinion).

In other words a discussion is a series of arguments and evidences presented

by the writer on paper.

III. Special Conditions

In addition to the key instructional words, you are also supposed to note any

special conditions for answering the question.

Special conditions are phrases or clauses which are in the question to

limit the scope of the essay by setting boundaries in terms of time, place,

and amount of words/ pages, extend etc. They give restrictions in order to

get a topic which can be completely developed in a single paper.

Examples:
(i) Explain in your own words the practical problem of aircraft technology

in the third world countries.

Theme/subject: aircraft technology

Key instructional word: explain

Special conditions: in your own words, and in the third world

countries

(ii) With vivid examples compare and contrast formal and informal reports

on their format and use.

Theme/subject: formal and informal reports

Key instructional words: compare and contrast

Special conditions: with vivid examples; format and use

(iii) By citing concrete examples outline the key indicators of Tanzanian

economy.

Theme/subject: Tanzanian economy

Key instructional words: outline

Special conditions: by citing concrete examples, and key

indicators
7. Deciding on the Structure of your Essay

Planning an essay question involves an effort to try to organize the material

and decide on the most effective order of presentation.

Deciding on organization or structure of presentation of the required

information is dependent on correct and careful planning.

Planning helps to shape the development of your essay, the content to enter

and how much time to spend on each part of the essay and the entire writing

process. Thus make a plan.

A plan is essentially a sketch, an outline, a frame work or a skeleton of your

essay

Steps in Planning

1. List the points you want to cover. List only those points which meet the

needs of the question, your reader and of your plan.

2. Select those items/points which you think are most relevant to the topic
3. Break the material into logical decisions thus creating a sense of unity.

This can be done by classifying and analyzing the points and deciding the

order of presenting. For example:

 General items to specific ones;

 Important items come first, before less important items

 Larger items come before smaller ones

8. The Order of the Essay

A systematic and good order of any essay is to present the information into

three parts which are logically connected to each other namely:

 The Introduction

 The Body/Discussion

 The Conclusion

Writing Introductions:

After a plan what follows is the introduction. This is an important area of

the essay. The introduction should supply an overall framework so that the

reader can grasp the details that later explain and develop the essay. In the

introduction:
Orient the reader(s) by defining/ explaining key the terms or concepts and

provide necessary background information. Tell what causes you to write the

essay. Explain clearly the purpose of writing the essay; give the organization

of the essay as well.

Define terms: include definitions or explanations of key terms and concepts,

especially if you are describing a process.

Provide the necessary background information. Although you know what

you are writing/speaking about, the reader/listeners often does.

State the purpose of writing the essay: orient the reader to your topic;

mention the reason for your writing. The reasons may be to educate; to

describe; to explain; to inform etc.

State the organization/ scope of the essay: this refers to what the essay will

accomplish for the reader. In this area you should show the audience what

the essay will do and how it will do it step by step. For example:
 This essay intends to highlight the use of teaching and learning

strategies and the effect on students learning in Tanzanian higher

learning institutions.

The introduction is generally short, usually a paragraph or two.

Development of the Main body:

The main body is the section where the writer provides all the required

arguments, details, reasons, and examples.

The arguments are organized in paragraphs. The paragraphs should have

unity, coherence, clear, and complete.

Each paragraph should have a topic sentence. Topic sentence refers to a

sentence that carries the main idea of a paragraph.

The development of the main body’s paragraphs can follow either of the

following patterns; inductive or deductive pattern:

 Inductive paragraph is the paragraph which is organized in such a way

that specific details came first ending with the general /main idea.
  Deductive paragraph is the one in which the general/main idea comes

first followed with the specific details.

Usually each paragraph carries one main point. And principles of

paragraphing such as unity, coherence, and order have to be considered.

Also principles of sentence structure, grammar, punctuations and the like

have to be taken care of.

Writing a Concluding Paragraph:

Conclusion, just like introduction is the difficult part to most students. This

is the last and emphatic part of the essay.

The conclusion should be convincing. It involves the following activities:

restating the essay/thesis statement, summarizing main ideas, providing

concluding remarks and then giving the final statement.

It is in the conclusion one can show his/her own stand. This indicates the

personal touch of the essay.

Post Writing Stage:

 Proof reading the essay to identify areas of weaknesses.

 Edit the essay in order to have the correct version.

 Add more information if some sentences are not complete.

 Ensure that the bibliography is written in a correct format, showing

names of authors, years of publication, titles, edition numbers, places

of publication, names of publishers and/or volume numbers, issue

numbers and pages where articles are located in newspapers or

journals.

 Make sure that necessary details like your name, programme of study

and other specifications are provided.

 Submit the essay on time.

INTEGRATING INFORMATION SOURCES IN

ESSAYS/RESEARCH REPORT

Academic writing and; particularly essay/research report writing, is

painstaking. It is even more painstaking when it comes to recording

complete and accurate information about sources used in an

essay/research report.

It is normal for academic essays/research reports to include ideas,

definitions, themes, examples, allusions and topics from other sources.

These items from other sources are included in the essay/report to show to

the reader that the ideas contained therein have backing from other giant

professionals in the field under study.

While enjoying information from other sources, a writer must acknowledge

those other sources to show that they were not the writer’s original ideas.

Part of being a good writer and an academician is being able to attribute

sources used in an academic writing.

Note: In academic arena, it is considered most improper, even a crime (an

offence) to make use of a source without acknowledging it, or to cite as a

source a work which was not consulted. This crime is called

PLAGIARISM.

This kind of information whether given within the text (in-text citation) or

given at the end of essay/research report as reference or bibliography,

provides readers with full information on sources consulted in the

essay/research report.

And in order for this information to be useful to readers, the documentation

or citation must be clear and consistent. Very specific rules of

documentation have been devised and must be applied when writing

academic essays/research reports, as shall be detailed in next parts of

lectures:

Quotation in Academic Writing

Quotation is the repetition of one’s ideas, opinions, words or expressions.

Quotations are common in academic writing just as they are in speech

works. They range from definitions, explanations of certain aspects and

examples.
Conditions that Lead to the Need to Quote

 When there is something interesting and need to be emphasized.

 When there are striking words in the original

 When there is the purpose of giving clarity

 When there is need to prove or provide evidence about certain

phenomenon. This means use quotations to support your argument, rather

than relying upon someone else's words.

 Use quotations when accuracy is essential -- to indicate the writer's exact

position.

 When one wants to show recognition about someone else’s ideas or

opinions.

 When there is need to encourage or discourage certain behavior or deeds.

 When one person wants to amuse other people.

 When calling attention to a position that you wish to agree or disagree

with

 Use quotations when the specific language of a quote is important.

 When you want to cue readers that the words are not your own to avoid

plagiarism.

 When you want to expand the breadth or depth of your writing

Rules for Quoting

 Avoid quoting for the sake of quoting; ensure that the quoted material

does actually add to, illuminate, explain or illustrate the point you are

making, or that it highlights a problem that you are going on to tackle

 Look for the "kernel" or the most important part of the quotation and

extract it

 If you use a direct quotation, you must include enough contextual and

introductory material that your reader can make sense of the quotation. It

is also highly important that the sentence including the embedded

quotation makes sense as a whole. This can be a particular problem if the

quoted material is from an ancient, old English source.

 When applying indirect quotation do not use quotation marks. E.g.

Martin Luther King said that ‘I have seen the promised land’.

 Avoid quoting to selectively to the point of misinterpreting the original

material.

 Quoted material should not be altered, even if it contains spelling or

other errors. Errors in the quoted material can be indicated by inserting

the word [sic] italicised and in square brackets after the error. You

should, however, not use a quotation to highlight the grammatical or

 other shortcomings of the writer. If possible, arrange your own sentence

so that the errors in the quoted material are not repeated.

 Keep quotes to a minimum. A short phrase or sentence is more easily

understood than a long quotation.

 Do not quote when a paraphrase will do.

 Always provide a context for your quotations -- explain to the reader why

and how the quote is relevant to the topic

 The language of the passage is particularly elegant or powerful or

memorable.

 Acknowledge/indicate the source of information.

Types of Quotations

There are two types of quotations; direct quotation and indirect quotation:

Direct Quotation (Verbatim)

Direct quotation or verbatim involves repeating exact words of the author or

another writer. It means no alterations are made to the original materials. In

this case, even the mistakes of the author or another writer are maintained.

To show that the error in the quoted material is from the author one has to

insert the word [sic] italicised and in square brackets after the error.
Short quotation

If your quotations are less than four lines long (which is usually the case),

place them in your text and enclose them with quotation marks. For

example:

Chris (2008) argues, “Tanzania is poor because most people do not work

hard the way people in Japan and China do”.

“Road construction in local communities should not wait for the funds from

the central government; people can contribute both financially and in kind”

(Aston, 2007).

Long quotation

If a quotation is more than four lines long, set it off from your text by

indenting on both sides. Indented quotation is also known as block

quotation. Quotation marks are not enclosed in quotation marks. Introduce

the quotation with a complete sentence and a colon (:).

An example of indented/block quotation:

Representative bureaucracy, in which broad social groups are represented

and thus participate in the decision-making process, has been advanced by

some critics as a means promoting greater efficiency through social equity.

The advantages of such a model are cautiously described by Harry Krantz:

In theory, at least, a bureaucracy that accurately mirrored the

social, economic and ethnic composition of the nation not only

would be descriptively representative, but could be symbolically

more acceptable- and might be accountable and responsive as

well as functionally more effective (1976:78).

Indirect Quotation (Paraphrasing)

A paraphrase is indirect quotation in which a writer puts someone’s ideas

into his/her own worlds. It involves writing the original text in a modified

way either shorter or longer than the original. There no new ideas added in

the paraphrase, the original tone or idea should be maintained. There is no

use of quotation marks in paraphrasing.

Example:

Original text
In both Kenya and Zambia, opposition parties contesting for power had

virtually no programme or manifesto beyond the ousting of the

incumbent head of state. (Stephen, 1994:121)

Paraphrase

Opposition parties of Kenya and Zambia had no programme or

manifesto. They were simply bent to bent on removing from power

the existing government.

Citation in Academic Writing

Definitions of Citation

 A citation is a reference to a work, such as a book or a journal article. It

provides the necessary information needed to locate the work. A book

citation provides the author, title, publisher, publication place, and year

of a work. An article citation provides author(s), article title, journal title,

volume, pages, and date. Citations usually follow a particular format

called a style.

 A citation is the reference that tells readers the source for information

you have included in your writing.

 Reference made by an author to a source of information they have used,

for example, another author's ideas or words.

Importance of Citation or Referencing

 Acknowledging other people’s ideas or words. This gives credit to their

contribution in your academic work.

 Avoiding committing an academic crime called plagiarism. One can be

sued because of stealing other people’s ideas without acknowledging the

source of that particular information. Also, failure to cite means violating

the rights of a person who originated the idea.

 Citations give confidence to the readers. They support one’s arguments in

academic writing. It makes readers prove that the work is well-

researched.

 In academic settings, citations make students get better marks from

lecturers.

 It helps the readers in tracing the genealogy of certain ideas.

Primary and Secondary Citation/Reference

Primary Citation/Reference
This is a situation in the cited work containing ideas originating from the

author of that particular book/work. For example, if you quote a definition

from a book written by Alex, and Alex, the author of that book, is the one

who developed that definition; then the citation for this book becomes

primary citation or reference.

In short: Alex wrote a book, in that book he created a definition on

management, then once I cite that book; the citation is primary. This is

because Alex never quoted any other author but he created the definition

himself.

Secondary Citation/Reference

This is citation in which the writer quotes ideas of the author who also

quoted another author. For example: Emmanuel quotes a definition of

management from the book written by John. But John also quoted that

definition from Miriam’s book when writing his book on management in

1999. Citation for John’s book will be referred to as secondary

citation/reference. When presenting this citation you shall write:

Miriam as quoted by John (1999).

This is because although John is the one who wrote a book on management

which you are citing, it is Miriam who created the definition.

Citation Styles

As said in earlier parts of this lecture series, citation of sources can be within

the text or as Footnotes/Endnotes.

Citation Within the Text/In-Text Citation

This is the citation where the name of the author, year of publication and

page numbers appear within the text.

Principles of In-Text Citation.

 If the name starts at the beginning of the sentence, then enclose the year

and page within the brackets and not the name. E.g. Juma (1997:23)

argues that women can contribute to prevalence of sexual harassment by

the way they comport themselves.

 When the author appears within the sentence, then enclose also the year

of publication and page number in the brackets. E.g.

 According to Francis (2000:3), “a student who expects to pass in BPA

examinations should work hard. No lecturer, however good he is, can

make a student pass if that student does not study seriously”

 If the name of the author comes at the end of the quoted material, then

enclose everything, name of author, year of publication and page number

in the brackets. Then separate the name from the year and page numbers

by comma. E.g.

Corruption is a complex problem to be eradicated from society; this is

because even people who are supposed to condemn corruption are

also corrupt (Luanda, 2003:45)

Foot-Noting/End-Noting

Foot-Noting

This involves writing reference information at the bottom of the page of the

book, paper or any other document. The footnote details express the raised

number found in the text.

In foot noting, foot notes are numbered either continuously or start afresh on

each page. Footnotes can refer to the source, provide explanation or details

etc.An example of footnoting is as follow:

According to Martias1 it is not good for Tanzanians to keep on blaming up to

this time the colonialists. They have had enough time2 to settle and plan for

their economic development. What I think Tanzanians should look at, is

their internal weaknesses3. There are some countries which were colonized

for a longer time than Tanzania but they are more developed than Tanzania4.

1. Martias, S. (2004:89)

2. A period of forty seven years since independence.

3. Corruption, laziness, overpopulation, poor policies, low technology poor

leadership etc.

4. Msonde, L.(1999:67)

End- Noting

Providing reference information or details at the end of the whole work such

as an essay, article or book. End notes can also appear at the end of each

chapter.

End notes are similar to footnotes in terms of functions or objectives but

they differ in terms of location.

Types of Foot-Notes/End-Notes

There are different types of foot notes. They include: source foot notes/end

notes; cross-reference foot notes/end notes; and explanatory foot notes/end

notes.

 Source Foot notes/End notes: These are details that point to or indicate

the source of information that one used in writing his/her work.

 Cross-reference foot noting/End notes: This is information that directs

the reader to another section or part within the work; book, article, paper,

etc.e.g (see page 6; see figure 10; see section A, etc).

 Explanatory Foot notes/End notes: This is information used to explain,

discuss, give additional details, give examples etc.

NB:

 Foot notes/end notes are usually used in order to avoid interruption in

information flow in the text.

 The numbers in superscript within the text which are later referred to in

the footnotes or endnotes are called footnote numbers or endnote

numbers.
 Footnotes/endnotes are not arranged alphabetically the way the

bibliography appears.

Reasons for Foot notes/End notes

Scholars use foot notes and/or end notes for a variety of reasons including:

 To make it clear to the reader which views are yours and which are

the views of other writers;

 To allow you to acknowledge your intellectual debts to others if you

decide to accept their views or information;

 To direct the reader by the most efficient signposts to the place where

the information you have provided can be checked and verified or

where further useful information is.

Correspondingly, there are a number of situations where you MUST cite

your sources.

 Direct quotations

 Any material that has been paraphrased from an outside source

 Any reference to arguments or facts (i.e. budget figures, technical

specifications) that have been gained from an outside source

There are also circumstances in which you SHOULD foot note/End note

 To provide the reader with a guide to the sources used in the

formation of the author's original argument

 To provide the reader with a guide to sources that offer further

information on ideas or arguments summarized in the author's text

 To offer the reader further details or discussion beyond what could be

reasonably included in the main text.

 If information is not common knowledge to the average lay reader.

Latin Abbreviations used in Foot-Noting/End-Noting

Latin abbreviations are used in writing foot notes/end notes to avoid

repetitions of reference information. The following are the most commonly

used Latin abbreviations: Ibid (Short for ibidem " at the same place") is the

term used to provide an endnote or footnote citation or reference for a source

that was cited in the preceding endnote or footnote. It is similar in meaning

to idem (meaning something that has been mentioned previously; the same)

abbreviated "Id.," which is commonly used in legal citation.

In short, ibid is used when references or citations in the foot notes/end notes

or text are repeated consecutively.

Op. cit. (Short for "opus citatum"/"opere citato", meaning "the work

cited/from the cited work") is the term used to provide an end note or foot

note citation to refer the reader to an earlier citation. To find the Op. cit.

source, one has to look at the previous foot notes or general references

section to find the relevant author.

In other words, Op.cit is used when references or citations for sources do not

occur consecutively.

Loc. cit. (Short for loco citato, meaning "in the place cited") is a foot note or

end note term used to repeat the title and page number for a given author.

Loc. cit. is used in place of ibid. when the reference is not only to the work

immediately preceding, but also refers to the same page. Loc. cit. is also

used instead of op. cit. when reference is made to a work previously cited

and to the same page in that work. As such, loc. cit. is never followed by

volume or page numbers.

Loc.cit is commonly used in legal citations. It is used when reference is

made to the same author and same page and/or section. Loc. cit is now rarely

used in non legal citations.

Et al. ( et alia - and others ('et al.' is used as an abbreviation of `et alii'

(masculine plural) or `et aliae' (feminine plural) or `et alia' (neuter plural)

when referring to a number of people); e. g. "the data reported by Smith et

al."

Examples:

Question Answer by a BPA student

Without Latin Abbreviations With Latin Abbreviations

1. Kambarage (1999:45) 1.Kambarage (1999:45

2. Felix (2003:23) 2.Felix (2003:23

3. Kambarage (1999:3) 3.Kambarage (op.cit)

4. Kambarage (1999:4) 4.Ibid

5. Kalim (2004:12) 5.Kalim (2004:12)

6. Nancy (2008:1) 6.Nancy (2008:1)

7. Nancy (2008:1) 7.Loc.cit or ibid

8. Nancy (2008:3) 8.ibid

9. Felix (2003:23) 9.Felix (loc.cit or Op.cit)

NB:

 Op.cit should be preceded by the surname when being used in

citations.

 Ibid is not preceded by the name since it indicates the preceding name

or source.

 Loc.cit: when used as ibid, no name is needed. But when used as

op.cit, then it should be preceded by the name.

Pinpoint Reference in Academic Writing

Pinpoint reference refers to reference to a specific location of information in

the work. These references include page numbers, sections or sections. It is

commonly used in legal writing. For example:

 Anneth (2004:3): This citation provides the number of the page which

is 3. So page 3 is a pinpoint reference.

 Banking Act 1959 (Cth) S 5: S5 means section 5. S5 therefore is a

pinpoint reference.
Bibliography Writing

Bibliography refers to a list of all works or sources of information; books,

articles, newspapers etc cited in your work which can be an essay, seminar

paper, research report and a book.

There are many styles or formats of writing bibliography. But it is not very

important which format you adopt. However, one has to be consistent with

the format he/she has chosen. Two formats are common; APA (American

Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern language Association).

Guidelines for Bibliography Writing in APA Style

1. Arrange all entries in alphabetical order. Use surnames, author’s first

name or initials.

2. If there are two authors, then provide both names.

3. Where there are more than two authors, write the first author,

followed by the word et al. Et al means “and others”.

4. Where no name of author exists, use the editor’s name and indicate in

brackets with (Ed or Eds)

5. Likewise, the name of the organisation or country can be used in place

of the name of the author, such as Mzumbe, UDSM, Tanzania, URT

etc.

6. Entries in bibliography are not numbered.

7. Titles for books, journals or newspapers are underlined if you are

writing using a typewriter. But if you are using a computer, the titles

are italicised.

8. Titles for articles and unpublished materials are enclosed in quotation

marks

9. For books which have been re-edited, use abbreviation (ed), like 4th

ed.

10.Place of publications come first followed by name of publisher,

separated by colon. Avoid using the names of countries as places of

publication. Use towns or other places, e.g London, Dar es Salaam,

Mzumbe, Morogoro, Tokyo, New York, etc. But not Tanzania,

England, the USA etc.

11.Where there is no place of publication or publisher, use abbreviation

(n.p)

12.Use (n.d) to indicate that there is no date of publication.

13.To indicate one page, use “p.”; and many pages use “pp.”
 14.To indicate one section use “s” and for many sections use “ss”

Examples

Books:

 Author’s name (s)

 Year of publication

 Title of the book (underlined or italicised)

 Number of edition

 Place of publication

 Name of publisher.

Martin, J. (2004). Management Accounting (4th ed). New York: Prentice

Hall.

Lugano, S and Chan, S. (1999). Effective Business Communication. Dar es

Salaam: Dar es Salaam Printers.

Articles in Journals:

 Author’s name (s)

 Year of Publication

 Title of the article in quotation marks

  Title of journal underlined or italicised

 Number of volume, and issue

 Page number (s)

Salim, S. (2008). “Sexual Harassment in Higher Learning Institutions”.

Uongozi Journal. Vol.7, No.11. pp. 12-34.

Article From Newspapers:

 Author’s name (s)

 Year of Publication

 Title of the article in quotation marks

 Title of newspaper underlined or italicised

 Number of issue

 Page number (s)

Ihucha A. (Novermber10, 2008). “ Namanga to receive Power from Kenya”.

The Guardian, No.4359, p.2.

Unpublished Papers:

 Author’s name (s)

  Year of presentation

 Title in quotation marks

 Where it was presented.

Mwambalaswa, J. (2006). “Pedagogy and Andragogy”. Paper presented at

the Workshop on teaching Under new Curricululm at Mzumbe University.

Unpublished Dissertation/Thesis:

 Author’s name (s)

 Year of report writing/submission

 Title in quotation marks

 Where it was submitted/presented

Yahaya, O. (2010). “The Use of English Language Teaching and Learning

Strategies and the Effect on Language Learning in Tanzanian

Secondary School Classrooms: The Case of Mbeya Region”.

Unpublished M.A.Education Dissertation, University of Dar es

salaam.
Msami, T. (2007). “Assessment of PEDP Implementation in Tanzania: A

Case Study of Morogoro Municipality”. Unpublished M.A

Dissertation/Thesis Submitted to faculty of Education. University of

Dar es Salaam.

Government Publications:

 Country’s name

 Year of publication

 Title of publication

 Place of publication

 Name of publisher

United Republic of Tanzania. (2003). Economic Revival Programme. Dar es

salaam: Government Printers.

Electronic Sources:

 Name of author/editor/organisation/institution/country

 Year of publication

 Title

 Location of server, if known

  Publisher/maintainer of site (if known)

 Website.

Sheri, B. and Alison, R. (2007). Active Teaching Strategies. Retrieved on

August 12th ,2010. From

http://www.baker.edu/departments/etl/training resources.cfm.

Meaning of Initials:

http: Hyper Text Transfer Protocol

www: World Wide Web

html or htm: Hyper Text Markup Language

URL: Uniform resource Locator

Sample of Bibliography in APA Style/Format

APA = American Psychological Association

Note that, in writing a bibliography in APA style, the details of the sources

should be as follows:
Books: Author’s name, year, title, edition number, place of publication and

name of publisher.

Articles from journal: Author’s name, year, title of article in quotation

marks, title of journal, volume number, issue number and page number (s).

Articles from a newspaper: Author’s name, year, title of article in

quotation marks, title of newspaper, issue number and page number(s).

Unpublished paper: Author’s name, year, title of article in quotation marks,

place where the paper was presented.

Unpublished Dissertation/Thesis: Author’s name, year, title in quotation

marks, place where it was submitted/presented.

Government Documents: Author’s name, year, title, place of publication,

name of publisher.

Examples
Abbardel, S. and Priscilla, P. (Eds)(2005). Organisational Behaviour.

London: Prentice Hall.

Felix, T. (Ed) (2003). Public Policy Formulation. New York: (n.pub)

Kamando, A. (2007). “Self Help Projects in Same District: A Case Study of

Hedaru Development Project”. Unpublished MA Dissertation,

University of Dar es Salaam.

Kinunda, J. (2007). English Language, 6th ed. (n.p): NNP Publishers Ltd.

Machemba, J. (2007). “Forces of Globalisation.” Brookville: New

York.<http://www. http:// web.lexis-nexis.com/universe>.

Machine, S. (October 30, 2008). “Children Learn Through Imitation”. The

Guardian. No. 4344, p.9.

Mahimbo, N. (2008). “Constraints to Combating Poverty in Tanzania”.

International Quarterly Review, vol.3, no.6, pp.66-80.

Michael, K. (2002). Communication Skills: Theory and Practice. Dar es

Salaam: Ahmadiyya Printing Press.

Mrosso, T. and Massawe, M. (n.d). Fudamentals of Public Administration.

Dodoma: Jupiter Printers Ltd.

Shoo, K. (1999). “Quality Control in African Universities”. A Paper

Presented During the Quality Assurance Workshop on 3rd,

November, 1999 at Mzumbe University.

Shullen (2001) as cited in Majani, E. (2008). Human Resources

Management in Tanzania. Dar es Salaam: Government Printers

Ltd.

Shumbusho, G.N. (1997). Basic Academic Writing: A Reference Guide.

Mzumbe: Research and Publication Department.

United Republic of Tanzania (1967). English for Tanzanian Schools. Dar es

Salaam: Longman Tanzania.

Sample of Bibliogagraphy in MLA Style/Format

MLA = Modern Language Association

In writing a bibliography in MLA style, the details of the sources should be

as follows:

Books: Author’s name, title, edition number, place of publication: name of

publisher, year.

Articles from journal: Author’s name, title of article in quotation marks,

title of journal, volume number, issue number, year in parentheses and page

number (s).

Articles from a newspaper: Author’s name, title of article in quotation

marks, title of newspaper, issue number, year in parentheses and page

number(s).

Unpublished paper: Author’s name, year, title of article in quotation marks,

place where the paper was presented.

Unpublished Dissertation/Thesis: Author’s name, title in quotation marks,

place where it was submitted/presented, and year.

Government Documents: Author’s name title, place of publication: name

of publisher, year.

Examples:

Abbardel, S. and Priscilla, P. (Eds) Organisational Behaviour. London:

Prentice Hall, (2005).

Felix, T.(Ed) Public Policy Formulation. New York: (n.pub), (2003).

Kamando, A. “Self Help Projects in Same District: A Case Study of Hedaru

Development Project”. Un Published MA Dissertation, University

of Dar es Salaam, (2007).

Kinunda, J. English Language, 6th ed. (n.p): NNP Publishers Ltd, ( 2007).

Machemba, T. “Forces of Globalisation.” Brookville: New York. ( 2007).

<http://www. http:// web.lexis-nexis.com/universe>, .

Machine, S. “Children Learn Through Imitation”. The Guardian. No. 4344,

(October 30, 2008). p.9.

Mahimbo, N. “Constraints to Combating Poverty in Tanzania”. International

Quarterly Review, vol.3, no.6. (2008). pp.66-80.

Michael, K. Communication Skills: Theory and Practice. Dar es Salaam:

Ahmadiyya Printing Press, (2002).

Mrosso, T and Massawe, M. Fudamentals of Public Administration.

Dodoma: Jupiter Printers Ltd, (n.d).

Shoo, K. “Quality Control in African Universities”. A Paper Presented

During the Quality Assurance Workshop on 3rd, November, 1999

at Mzumbe University, (1999).

Shullen (2001) as cited in Majani, E. Human Resources Management in

Tanzania. Dar es Salaam: Government Printers Ltd, (2008).

Shumbusho, G.N). Basic Academic Writing: A Reference Guide.Mzumbe:

Research and Publication Department, (1997.

United Republic of Tanzania English for Tanzanian Schools. Dar es Salaam:

Longman Tanzania, (1967).

Differences Between References and Bibliography

References: List of specific works that you used in your work. References

usually come at the end of a text (essay or research report) and should

contain only those works cited within the text. So, use the term ‘References’

to cover works cited.

Bibliography: Lists of works for background or for further reading, these

may be books

which you read as part of your research, but which were not actually cited in

your work.

OR

A Bibliography is any list of references at the end of a text, whether cited or

not. It includes texts you made use of, not only texts you referred to in your
paper, but your own additional background reading, and any other articles

you think the reader might need as background reading.

Both References. & Bibliography must be in alphabetical order; and each

entry must be

laid out in a strictly ordered sequence

PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES

Pre-delivery stage (Preparation)

Before you make a speech or presentation, consider the following

guidelines:

 Set your goal in advance. You should be clear of what you are going to

talk about.

 Develop positive attitude/positive thinking about your self and others.

 Take a deep breath and relax to avoid stage fright

 Assemble and arrange your ideas before hand

 Rehearse on how you are going to present.

 Prepare a summary of the presentation or an outline.

 Take time to imitate other good speakers.

 Identify your audience

Delivery stage (Actual Presentation)

 Break the ice. Great them and then ask the audience a simple question.
 Provide a short introduction

 Avoid funny stories about yourself.

 Speak and act with confidence

 Talk in an organized way.

 Your volume should be audible.

 Use relevant examples.

 Avoid talking from the notes. Don’t read everything. This can be boring.

 Show that you are interested in the subject and arouse the audience.

 Limit your subject.

 Use simple language to enhance understanding.

 Fill your talk with relevant illustrations and examples.

 Use suitable quotations, proverbs or anecdotes where possible.

 Talk without injuring the listeners’ personalities.

 Make the audience your partners. Involve them and make use of names

from the audience.

 Enumerate your pints as you make them

 Be your self. Imitating others can be boring. E.g speaking slang like an

American person while you don’t have good background in slang.

 Provide a summary of what you have said.