ZAMBIAN OPEN UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

MODULE EDG 1 / £D Jo}

STUDY AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Prof. D. M. Mwansa
BA (Ed) (UNZA) Med, Ed D (Toronto)
A Moonga
BA (Ed) (UNZA) Med (UNZA)
First Edition 2005
© ZAOU
ISBN
 MODULE NO. 3 (Comp)

B.Ed (Primary)
(For all Undergraduate Programmes)
First Year

Stuay ana Communication Skj[[s

Mwansa, D.M.(P~of) B.A, M.Ed, Ed.D

© Zambian Open University

Unit Number Content Page

Table of Contents i
Introduction 1

One How to study 2

What is to study
Time Management
Working with course materials

Two Use of the Library 8

Classification of Books
Locatino Rooks and other publications
No£e taking

Three Writing Gk.Ills 14

Different types of materials

Four Essay Writing 18

Tackling the essay
Inventory of command words in an essay

Five Writing Style 29

Concept of style
Strategies for writing style
Editorial Style

Six Writing references 40

Defining Concepts
Elements of a reference to a periodical
Elements of a reference to a book
Quoting information

Seven Reference writing using Electronic System 50

Part II Communication

One Communication 55
What is Communication
Tools for Communication
Nonverbal Communication
Interpersonal Communication

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 lntercultural Communication
Forms of lntercultural Communication

Two Theories of Communication 67

The Lasswell Theory of Communication
Maclean - Wesley Model

Three Culture and Communication 70

Culture
Culture and Communication
Mass Communication

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 INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the study of this module on Study and Communication skills. The module
is intended to help you acquire some scholarly skills required of a person who is
w embarking on studies you are about to. First, the study skills are those that will become
essential for you to organise your own life as a student. They will help to look for and
organise information in a manner that conforms to the expectations of your lecturers.
Secondly, the module introduces you to theories and types of communication in order to
help you have a deeper appreciation of other people. Each part has units and units are
divided into topics. We hope that at the end of the module you will have acquired some
relevant §kills to enable you to do your work and communicate with others well.

OBJECTIVES
At the end of the course you should be able to:

a) Define communication .
b) Explain different theories of communication
c) Relate culture and communication
d) Discuss different types of communication
e) Competently write essays with references and bibliography

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 UNIT ONE

HOW TO STUDY

Introduction: You have now embarked on a course of study leading to a University

degree. It should be clear by now that you have chosen to do your studies using the non
face to face lecturer-student mode. You are embarking on doing the Distance mode of
study which essentially demands a lot of well organised and planned study system.

Many people have different ways of studying. However, some guidelines should suffice
to lead you into serious studies. In the introduction to the course we outlined the
purpose of and structure of this course. We stated that it is a general course that is
intended to help you comprehend your reading material not only in the English courses
but in other courses as well.

For you to do that you need to approach your work in a mature and steady manner. You
can only do so if and when you follow certain study procedures and resolutions.
Studying is not about admiring the heap of books on the table. It is• about reading the
books and writing assignments and other activities asked of you.

You should therefore ensure that you have registered for the right courses. Get to know
the course outline including the assessment criteria. lt is important - that you have the
general understanding of how the course flows. You should also have access to some
reading texts that are on the list of required and recommended texts.
"'

Objectives: At the end of the unit you should be able to

• Follow a course of study confidently
• Manage your study time well
• Plan a study plan and adhere to it.

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TOPIC ONE: What is to Study?

Study is an intensive reading of a text with a view to retaining or comprehending its

content. The retention of the material is reflected through the responses you give when
you are tested or examined.

The major task at hand is how to study. It is therefore vital to keep yourself in a state of
good health. You should avoid situations that will bring stress and other negative
relationships with those around you so that you maintain a high degree of comfort and
peace.

TIME MANAGEMENT

It is always important to plan your study. You should ensure that you give each subject
in your course sufficient time. You should avoid a system where one subject dominates
your study time table for whatever reason.

You should apportion your time well. Remember that all work and no play makes John a
dull boy. This adage is still as true today as it was at the time it was first used. In
apportioning your time, ensure that study time is spent in an environment of silence to
allow for concentration and minimise interruptions. For example it, would not be wise for
a parent to plan to do more study at the time that parent is supposed to nurse a child. It
may be prudent for such a student to choose to study when the child is asleep or
playing with friends.

The human mind has a limited capacity to absorb and retain what is read. This therefore
requires that specific amount of time should be spent in order to allow maximum
retention and comprehension. Sometimes the amount of time one needs to read and
understand depends on the type of tasks one is doing. Reading accompanied with
some writing can help you improve your comprehension. At this level it is usLally
advisable to scribble some points in note form as you read.

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It is important to spend at least one hour doing academic work per day. However, some
subjects such as sciences and mathematics may demand a lot more than that. In this
case you spend more of time solving mathematics problems or drawing science
diagrams.

You will require more time to organise your notes for an assignment. Writing the final
version of the draft essay will become easier when the notes are well organised.

In your programme you, will study a number of subjects. In order to ensure that all the
subjects receive adequate attention you should plan and allocate time to each. You
should have a time table that you will follow. You should allocate a subject two hours
per day for intensive study. Usually these should be well spaced in the day to allow
good concentration.

It is usually advisable that the subjects are carefully selected so that related ones are
studied close to each other. This enhances memory or retention.

Activity 1: (a) Make a list of major activities you plan to do per day
for one week or on an houriy basis.
The following week check how much you followed your
earlier plan. What reasons do you have for failing to follow
your own plan?
Did you consider some of what you planned to do as trivial?

(b) Then repeat exercise (a) This time consider only important
activities.
Have you placed a specific time for studies?

(c) Make a list of some activities that are likely to disrupt your

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 plans.
Choose a suitable time to do your studies away from the
activities that you feel will disrupt you.

(d) Make a study time table to submit to your course co-

ordinator. Ask the co-ordinator to comment.

(e) If you make any adjustments to your timetable justify the

changes made.

Conclusion:
Studying is a major activity done by students at high institutions of learning. It should
be well planned in order to help the student cover all the subjects equally and
efficiently.
Time management is a vital skill for students at University level. At this stage personal
discipline plays a vital role as the learner is left to do all the work with minimal
assistance. There must be time allocated to such major activities as reading, drafting
and writing final assignment papers.

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5
TOPIC TWO: WORKING WITH COURSE MATERIALS

The bulk part of the work in this course involves reading and writing. Writing is a
production skill while reading is a receptive skill. You will do a lot of these two during
this course and it is a good idea for you to understand your course materials, you need
to communicate effectively.

In most cases you are expected to read widely in order to enhance your understanding.
Your lecturers will write material in different subjects and you are expected to read and
understand the concepts in them.

Most of the assessment in the course will be based on your writing and reading abilities.
You will write assignments, lesson notes, project reports and examinations. You will
need lessons like this one and many other sources of knowledge and information. It is
therefore of paramount importance that you learn to write as clearly as possible and
read as fast as possible too. You will only be assessed if you are writing.
This is a general course in communication with special emphasis in the reading and
writing skills. The major aim of the course is to help you establish a firm foundation in
the various subjects that you have remained with study.

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Activity 2

If you have to succeed in your studies, what type of material do you need to read and
write?

Make a list of your reading and writing problems and share them with a colleague. See
how much your friend will assist you.

Further discuss your writing and reading problems with your lecturer by writing on one
of the following.

(a) My intended career

(b) A description of an object you cherish most.

Pay attention to the lecturer's comments and improve upon your weaknesses.

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 UNiTTWO

USE OF THE LIBRARY

Introduction: The library is a major resource for a student in any institution of learning.
It is therefore important that from the start you should be oriented towards the use of the
library. When not sure of what you are looking for, ask the librarian. But in order to
minimise the number of requests going to the librarian, you should know something
about the library and the way books and other publications are arranged.

Objectives: By the end of this lesson you should be able to:

a. explain the way books and other publications in the library are organized
b. choose books and publications in the library without difficulty

TOPIC ONE: CLASSIFICATION OF BOOKS

Read the following passage

The organization of a library of whatever size is the same. The library contains books,
newspapers, journals which are classified into two groups. The first group consists of
books which can be borrowed by a person given permission to borrow and can be taken
out of the library and after use brought back. The second, consists of books which can
only be used for reference within the library. The second category of books includes
encyclopaedias, year books, dictionaries, bibliographies, handbooks - these are books
which are usually expensive and are needed for wide use.

The classification of books in the library is done by following either the Dewey Decimal
System of Classification or the American Congress System.

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The Dewey Decimal Classification System divides various fields of knowledge into ten
main classes denoted by numbers. The following are examples of the classes:
General Works 000-099
Philosophy 100-199
Religion 200-299
Social Sciences 300-399
Language 400-499
Pure Science 500-599
Each main class is further subdivided into classes. Take for example the main class of
Social Sciences (300) is divided into:
Statistics 31 0
Politics 320
Economics 330
Law 340
Administration 350
.:--
Associations and •.~
institutions 360
Education 370
Commerce 380
Customs and Folklore 390
Further subdivisions are made. Take for example the class Education (370) is further
subdivided into:
Teachers and Teaching 371
Child and
School (primary) 372
Secondary Education 373
General Studies in
Adult Education 374
Curriculum 375
The American Congress Classification system uses letters of the alphabet and divides
fields of knowledge into twenty categories as

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General Knowledge to Polygraph A
Philosophy to Religion B
History to Auxiliary Sciences C
History and Typography D

Arabic numerals are used to subdivide the fields into other divisions and subdivisions.

ACTVITYONE

i) What are the two main differences between Dewey and American Congress
classification systems?
ii) What is a reference book

.,.
TOPIC TWO: LOCATING BOOKS AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Whether you are using the Dewey or the American Congress Classification System, you
can locate information on books and other materials by using ca~alogues which are
found in the libraries. There are four types of catalogues as follows:

a. Index of Subject Headings: The cards for the catalogue are arranged according to
subject titles. For example Education is under E; Language under L etc. 'Nithin each
subdivision books are arranged alphabetically according to authors. Other details
provided are publisher, date of publication

b. Author Catalogue: lists each book according to the author.

c. Title Catalogue: is usually incorporated in the author catalogue. The arrangement of

books is by the first letter in the title. The information provided on the card is the same
as that provided on the author catalogue.

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d. Index Books and CD ROM: Index books contain information on published articles in
each year and indicate journals where the articles were published and when. CD-ROM
is a computer compact disc that contains information on all published articles. CD-ROM
provides information on published articles by subject areas and by authors.

ACTIVITY

As you embark on your study you should seek membership of a library. If you live in
Lusaka you have a wide selection of Libraries to belong to that include UNZA,
UNESCO, British Council, American Library and Lusaka City Coucil Library. Some
municipalities have libraries too. In most cases you will be required to pay membership
fees.

··~ .. _... ....

ACTIVITY

a) Once you are in a library find out what classification system the library uses
b) Look for some books on the prescribed and reading lists using I author index ii)
subject indent
c) Ask the librarian to show you how to use a CD Rom .

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TOPIC THREE: NOTE TAKING

When you attend lectures, your instructors will provide you with a lot of information
some of which is essential and the other non essential. Sorting out these two types of
information becomes an important part of note taking. The lecturer might write notes on
the blackboard or give out handouts but these two things do not substitute what you get
from the lecture through note taking. What you write down constitutes what you
understand. Note taking also involves writing notes from books. Not everything said
should be written down. What you require is to capture salient points in the lecture. But
how do you distinguish salient from irrelevant points. Salient points are shown by
emphasis.

Some lecturers approach their lectures with a degree of prejudice or bias, which may
colour what they, say while others are emotionally involved in their subjects or lectures.
It is important for you to recognize salient points from highlights of subsidiary points.

You should also be familiar with the concepts that are being used in the lectures. Often
the lecturer will write down the main concepts being covered. Main concepts are also
given emphasis through the time devoted to them, through repetition and through
change in pace of delivery. Usually the lecturer will slow down in pace to indicate the
most important points. Other lecturers speak more loudly in order to indicate the most
important points. They may even change their intonation (rise and fall of voice) to
denote important points. Pauses and change in breath may indicate personal attitudes
and intentions of the speakers. Cues of what is important may be given through
gestures and eye movements.

There are signalling devices in the form of words and phrases which indicate intentions
and attitudes. The following are some few examples of signalling devices and intensions
or attitudes for their use:

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SIGNALLING DEVICE INTENSION OR ATTITUDE

What I want to do now is Introducing the subject

Let me first show Informing the audience of speaker's
I am going to talk about intention
Have you ever wondered why it is so An attempt to obtain audience
Why participation
In fact Denoting repetition or rewrite of a
Indeed particular point
You might be tempted to think Speaker anticipates views of the
It is very well to think that audience and intends to correct or
contradict them
Let me repeat Denoting emphasis
I want to emphasize
The point I am-making is -· , ...
What is significant is

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 UNIT THREE

WRITING SKILLS
Introduction
In the modern world our thinking is largely transmitted by speech and through radio and
television. At the University, however, you are required to do much of your thinking
through writing. You are required to produce a considerable number of formal essays .

Clanchy and Ballard (1981) have indicated what vital writing skills are required at
University level. It is as important to note that most of the assessment will be based on
what you write. You need to write essays and projects well.

To do this well, you have to summon all the knowledge you have about writing. From
the ~imple '«Ord spelling to complex essay writing. For your work to be :Understood by .....
your readers you need to use the common spellings, sentence patterns and
paragraphs.
Objectives: At the end of the unit you should be able to:
• Write different types of manuscripts
• Organise and express your ideas clearly
• Write logically from notes
• Write with support of relevant literature.

TOPIC ONE: DIFFERENT TYPES OF STUDY MATERIALS

In your school years you learnt to write different types of material. Some of these
include Description descriptive, narrative, argumentative and many more.

Description: When you think of a description, you probably think of writing a narrative.
However, we must help the reader to engage with the scene and the characters. In

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other words we use description to create a picture of the characters and fit them into a
scene.

a. Descriptions: are written with the purpose of making the reader have the same
picture that the written text has. Sometimes you write to describe an object to a person
who has not seen it before. For example, when describing a lost object to another
person. You bring words of colour, shape, size etc. so that the reader creates a rough
image of the same. So when writing a description you must have in mind the audience,
the purpose.

Descriptions have a major function of making clear the objects presented. There is no
room for entertainment in a description.

Descriptions can be of two types namely narrative and non-narrative.

Narrative description is common in stories where the narrative tells what happened. The
non-narrative description is commonly used to describe objects being discussed
,:c. Exp1anation: This is an accoun,t which tries to communicate meaning usually by
answering the questions 'how' or 'why: You may be asked to explain how a
-- -
system works or why something has not been done.
d. has been done.
Here you give account of the events and clarify the details. When writing text you must
understand the cause and purpose?

'The audience is particularly important when writing explanations. When you are
explaining things to the people you should be logical in your explanation.
Features of Explanations
• Clear and should be understood easily.
• Concise complete sentences
• Logical

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e. Argument: This is a point or set of reasons you use to try and convince people
about something. You support your view with evidence which demonstrates the
nature and scope of the issue.

The paragraph of argumentative writing will be introduced by a main idea or the

general point that the writer wishes to make. Then this will be supported by
evidenc-e consisting of supporting details.

In essay writing, the main point has the main idea you wish to make and the
supporting details can be facts or information gathered from reading books.

The argument can be developed by putting your points in a logical order where .
the main point comes first and the supporting details. You should arrange the
main points with their supporting details from the most general to the particular or
vice versa. This is deductive and inductive writing respectively.
.Writing is an assembly of all language k~o,wledg~. You must use all the language
you learnt to make your work clear to the reader. For instance you must be
formal and use the appropriate connecting words such as however, in addition
etc. The following connections are usually used to:
a. Develop your main idea
However, alternatively,
On the other hand furthermore
Whereas, moreover,
On the contrary, in addition.
b. Support your argument.
For example, this can be seen
For instance, this suggest
In fact, in point of fact
c. Concluding
To conclude, in conclusion
In summary, eventually

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 Finally, in the end.

Activity
1. Write a description of an event that you witnessed as a child which you feel you
won't forget easily.
2. Explain why many youths fail to study at University level - this
3. The establishment of a private University will help the country to develop faster -
Discuss.

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 UNIT FOUR

ESSAY WRITING
Introduction:
Writing essays has for a long time distinguished university education from lower levels in
many countries and systems of education. There is a general departure from using the
multiple choice, one word answer or short answer schemes of testing which are common
at primary and to some extent secondary school levels.

The use of essays becomes very prominent at university level in order to allow for
expression of one's understanding of phenomena.

Essays are used for the continuous assessment of student progress as well as in the end
of semester or term examinations. Unlike the other forms of testing, essays are written by
an individual student. Even if you work with other colleagues to find materials to use in an
essay, the final product you hand in will be your individually done essay.

Essay writing allows you to do the work on your own. It is, therefore, very vital that you are
able to write essays for the purpose of assessment both during the term or semester and
in the final examinations.

Objective: at the end of the unit you should be able to:

(a) Select an essay topic

(b) Analyse an essay topic
(c) Write an essay clearly and concisely

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TOPIC ONE: TACKLING THE ESSAY

Wallace (1984) recommends two ways in which you can tackle essays. The first way
concentrates on using the tutor's references while the second one deals with using the
learner or the student's own references.

We have opted to examine Wallace's second method of tackling essays because as a

distance learner you will usually be alone and therefore need to tackle essays using you
own references.

Wallace advises that you should slant your essay by studying the title. These are the
steps he suggests.
[START]

[STUDY THE TITLE]

NOTE THE LENGTH AND DUE DATE]

[FIRST THOUGHTS/ORGANISATION]

[GENERAL ENCYCLOPEDIAS] [SUBJECT INDEXES]

[USE LIBRARY FACILITIES]

[SPECIALISED REFERENCE BOOKS] [BIBLIOGRAPHIES]

BIBLIOGRAPHIES] [SUBJECT

BIBILIOGRAPHIES] [GENERAL

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 [INTER LIBRARY LOAN]

[TAKE NOTES USING CARDS]

[ARRANGE NOTE CARDS]

[MAKE OUTLINE]

[WRITE ESSAY]

We can summarise these steps as follows:

[STUDY THE TITLE]

[NOTE THE LIMITS AN-0 REQUTREMENTS]

[DRAFT THE ESSAY OUTUNE]

[IDENTIFY READING SOURCES] (Gathering Material)

[MAKE AND ARRANGE NOTES]

[MAKE FINAL OUTLINE]

[WRITE ESSAY]

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1. Studying the Title
Essay titles are carefully phrased in order to capture the relevant details. It is very
important for you to carefully study the title of the essay in order to discover the
relevant details asked for.

Many times students have written essays after working very hard but have scored
low marks because they did not respond to the needs of the title:- in other words
they did not understand the title. It is very important that you have a clear
understanding of the essay title from the beginning.

It is worthwhile to spend some time trying to understand the title of the essay before
you embark on reading and other activities that follow. Through careful study, you
should be able to remove the ambiguities by consulting the tutor and or other
people like those doing the same course. When studying the essay title, pay
attention to whether it is a general topic or a specific one. General topics are very
broad in scope while specific titles cleacty
,> •--¥. specify the details necessary..
-
For
example: (a) 'The Geography of Zambia' is a general title while (b) 'The
Development of Primary School Education since 1980 in Zambia' is more specific.

You should be able to isolate the necessary details that need to be responded to in
the essay. In (a) 'The Geography of Zambia' will have its subtitles like: the
location; climate; relief; economy; transport network; communication; political;
physical; etc. Similarly topic (b) will need to be broken down with it subtitles such
as: (i) What is Development? Is it growth or improvement?; (ii) What is Primary
Education?; (iii) How did primary education feature in the 1980s?.

You should train yourself to break the topics into manageable units that you can
focus on in the essay.

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ACTVITY
1. Write down the subtopics contained within each of the following titles
(i) Educating our Future
(ii) The Political System of Democracy
(iii) Child Abuse and Human Rights
(iv) Selling and Buying
(v) The HIV/AIDS Pandemic
2. Make these titles more specific.

2. Note the Limits and Requirements

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Here you should take note of the length and the due date. The length of the essay
will assist in deciding the amount of details that you will put in your specific topic.

The due date will control the time available for the amount of work you have. You
should avoid submitting your assignments late as this may attract a penalty from
the marker.

When the due date is not taken into account from the start, many learners are
tempted to do many things in their essays at the last minute. This is dangerous as
it subjects the essay to poor planning and no serious thought.

In order to remember the due date for your assignments, you may choose to record
the dates either in your diary or on the assignment sheet that you can put in your
book or paste on the notice-board in your study room or on the study table at home.

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3. Identify Reading Sources

At this stage you should gather all the relevant materials for your essay. You need
various literatures in the library and on the Internet to help you understand the topic.
It is very important to write notes as you proceed. Notes should be clearly cited to
reduce the possibility of loss of the source later on.

You can use cards to ensure that each text used is clearly recorded. You should
give enough information about the source that another person can easily use to find
the same information.

4. Make and Arrange the Notes

As you read, you record the information that helps you to answer the question on
the cards. Later you can arrange these cards in a logical order that helps to
~

respond to the question. Some notes may be direct quotations from the source.
This should be well integrated with the flow of ideas that you have gathered in your
reading. A direct quotation is a reinforcement of the argument in the essay. It is
directly relevant to the point being expressed. Without having to paraphrase you
should produce it to support the idea being expressed.

5. Make Final Outline

Since there is a possibility of thinking and coming up with additional points as you
observe them, put the points you raised under each subtitle and check carefully
whether they match.

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6. Write the Essay

When the steps discussed above are followed, it becomes very easy to write an
essay. At this stage, the essay topic is well established in your mind and the points
raised have become part of your own language. You can now clearly write the
essay using your own vocabulary. Your established central theme of the topic and
the points gathered will assist you write it very easily.

Montgomery (1986) contends that an essay is not just a list of all the information
you know on a topic. It is a selection of some points of all the information on a topic
which are linked by a single theme running through and uniting them. The unity of
the theme and the information gathered will depend on your language competence
to express each and every idea clearly. It is, therefore, vital to endeavour to have a
good level of language competence when writing essays. ln this way you will be
able to direct the flow of the essay accordingly.

TOPIC TWO: AN INVENTORY OF COMMAND WORDS IN ESSAY TITLES

Both Montgomery (1986) and Wallace (1984) acknowledge the importance of analysing
the essay title according to the words used to frame it. Wallace (1984) called them the
Direct Words or the D-Words while Montgomery merely talked about analysing essay
titles. What these writers mean is simply to establish an understanding of the words used
in the essay questions.

Below is a list of the common D-Words that are used in essay titles. These are common
key words and explained and what is expected for each:

a) Compare: requires an answer that sets items side by side and shows their
similarities and differences. A balanced fair and objective answer is expected.

24
b) Contrast: requires an answer that points to only the differences between the
two.
c) Criticise: the answer needs to point out mistakes or weaknesses and indicate
any favourable aspects of the subject of the question. It must be a balanced
answer.
d) Define: this is demanding an answer which explains the precise meaning of a
concept.
e) Analyse: (Analysis): the answer should take apart an idea, concept or
statement in order to consider all the factors it consists of. Such answers should be
very methodical and logically organised.
f) Discuss: the answer should explain the item or concept, then give details
about it with supportive information, examples, points for and against and
explanations for facts put forward. It is a difficult type of essay as such it requires
careful handling.
g) Evaluate: this is similar to 'Discuss' but the conclusion in this type is expected to
make a judgement either 'pro' or 'cbfftfa' (for -or against), the concept being
discussed or evaluated.
h) Illustrate: this requires one to demonstrate with examples one should prove the
subject of the question. It is often added to another instruction.
i) Justify: give only the reasons for a position or argument. The position
may be positive or negative.

j) Prove/disapprove both requires answers which demonstrate the logical arguments

connected with a proposition. Prove for 'pro' while disprove for 'contra' points.
k) Summarize (Outline): the answer should contain a summary of all the available
information about a subject. A question of this type usually requires short answers.
I) Trace: requires the statement and brief description in logical or
chronological order of the stages in the development of a theory, a
process or a person's life.
m) State: this requires an answer which expresses the relevant points briefly and
clearly without lengthy discussion or minor detail.

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n) Explain: this one offers a detailed and exact explanation of an idea, principfe
or a set of reasons for a situation or attitude.
o) Describe: the answer should show how something works, is done or appears.
This can mean a process and/or static description.
p) Narrate: the answer should tell how things happened one, after another. This
is common in storytelling. It should follow a chronological order.

ACTIVITY
Identify each of the following essay titles with an appropriate D-Word:
i) how would you set up an aquarium and a vivarium?
ii) Explain briefly what is meant by linguistics.
iii) Compare and contrast oral and written literature.
iv) Trace the events leading to the 1918 World War.
y) D~cribe the General AssemblyJ:>f .the United Nations and justifyjts existe,lilce
amidst wars in the 21st Century.
-
vi) Evaluate the work of NGOs in the development of Zambia.
vii) Discuss the assertion that harmony is man's most valued state.
viii) Make a critique of Zambia's Constitutional Reviews.

Conclusion
A good essay is a product of a range of activities that you must do. You must read or
study in order to understand the topic and find suitable reading material. After the reading
stage you should draft your essay.

This stage tests your organisation of the notes you collected from your wide reading. You
try to tie up these notes together in response to the question. It is advisable to draft a full
essay.

26
The next stage: This involves redrafting of the essay. You can only re-do something that
you have critically looked at, and you notice the flaws and strengths. You remove the
flaws and order the work in the way you feel responds to the essay topic. Here is a check
list of how to redraft your work:

1. Is it intellectually convincing? Practical strategy for providing solutions

Scope and Focus The practical solution is to expand or prune

a) Is your draft too short or too long? the work.
The solution is
b) Have you answered the Question? - skim through the notes
- read through the outline you
made
... - c) Have you covered all the important
areas noted in your reading? read the draft again making notes in the
margins where changes are necessary
(these answer questions b) and c)

Logic and Structure construct a summary of your argument

d) Is there a clear thread of argument based on the paragraph
running through your essay?
i) I
do the separate points relate one ask the reader for a second opinion
to the other?
ii) is there a satisfactory balance in read the first and last paragraphs and check
the development of your that they reflect the key concerns of the
argument? topic
e) Does your essay have an effective
introduction and conclusion? I after your second draft, read quickly back

27
 over one or two pages from your sources
2. Does it sound convincing?
a) Is your paraphrasing precise I
and then read your own essay aloud
accurate?
b) Are the Voice and Style you adopt: ask another reader for a second opinion
i) Appropriate;
ii) Consistent?

Clanchy and Ballard (1985: 63)

The stages in writing an essay therefore are:

Reading
Drafting
Re drafting
Proof reading
Final copy
~:!

It is important to remember that the essay is the major medium leading to your
assessment in the university as such it must be done well all the time.

28
 UNIT FIVE

WRITING STYLE

Introduction: Writing is an impersonal type of communication that does not have

immediate feed back. It therefore requires of a writer clarity of expression and
reordering of words and sentences in order to be understood. Further, writing lives
longer than the writer, and can be retrieved and referred to.

Objectives: By the end of this unit you should be able to:

a. discuss the concept of style in writing
b. present ideas clearly
f. express ideas in a scholarly way
g. avoid ethnic and gender biases and stereotypes

TOPIC ONE: CONCEPT OF STYLE

Style concerns the way thoughts are presented and expressed, economy of expression
and choice of words. You are going to focus on these aspects of writing in the manner
provided for by the American Psychological Manual. There are many oth~r books
dealing with style which you can consult.

a) Presentation of Ideas

You express thought units in single words, paragraphs or longer sequences. You
should express your thoughts in an orderly and clear way. You should provide
continu"ity in words, concepts and the theme, from the beginning to the end.
Misunderstanding and confusion arise due to: misplacement uf words or
phrase~, abandonment of familiar syntax ( i.e. the word order), clustering of
ideas w\\h wordiness and irrelevancies. Wordines!:. refers to tho use of too many
words to pre~ent one idea.

29
 Continuity in writing is achieved through the following techniques:
• Use of punctuation marks. Punctuation marks cue the reader to pauses,
inflections and subordination. You are advised to use a wide range of
punctuation marks that are available but do not overuse or under use punctuation
marks.
• Use of transitions - this is the way you move from one idea to the other by
providing some link. For example, you may use a pronoun for a noun. Look at the
following two sentences:
John Patrick was a well known farmer in the Kaunga Valley. John Patrick had
lived in the Kaunga Valley for thirty years.
It would be a good way of writing if in the second sentence John Patrick was
replaced by the pronoun 'He'. This way the writer would avoid repetition.

Other transition devices include:

• time links e.g. then, next, after, while, since "
• cause-effect links e.g. therefore, consequently, as result
• addition links e.g. in addition, furthermore, similarly
• contrast links e.g. however, but, conversely, nevertheless, although, whereas
• use of adverbs e.g. fortunately, consequently, similarly

Transitions like since and while tend to create confusion mainly because they have also
been adopted in informal writing and conversation. In conversations, some people use
since to mean because. However, in formal writing the original meaning of since must
be used.

b) Expression of Ideas

There is a difference between scientific and creative writing. In creative writing the writer
has a lot of license to express himself or herself in different ways that include setting up
ambiguity, inserting the unexpected, omitting the unexpected, shift in tense structure, or

30
shift in character. These ways of expressing thought would create confusion in scientific
writing where smoothness of expression is cardinal. Smoothness of expression is
disrupted by:

• abruptness - this is sudden shift in tense structure within the same sentence or
paragraph e.g. Banda was reputed to be a genius who spends most of his time
analysing human thoughts and behaviour. You should by all means stick to one
tense. Past or present perfect tense are used for describing past events or
review of literature e.g. Alfred found that more women than men participated in
literacy programs in Zambia {past) or Many researchers have found that fewer
men than women participate in literacy programs in Zambia (present perfect).
The present tense can be used to discuss the results and to present conclusions
e.g. the results show that the main cause of low male participation in literacy
programs is shyness to learn with women.
• abandonment of an argument or theme prematurely. There is need to amplify the
argument or theme.

The fo!!owing are some of the ways in which objectivity and ambiguity can be checked:
a. reading of what you have written by a colleague
b. reading the draft after a lapse of time
c. reading aloud what you have written

c) Economy of Exprese~on

Say bnly what needs to be S?~,d. You can tighten the essay, term paper or
research project by eliIT?:;natins redundancy, wordiness, jargon, evasiveness,
circumlocution, ancl. . clumsinf'.:ss.
Short words 'are easier 'co understand than longer words. However scientific
words are inseparab' ie from scientific work. A technical word may be more
precise than shoy ,t words. It has been observed that the main causes of
uneconomical • Nriting are:

3i
a. jargon - the continuous use of technical words even in places where technical
vocabulary is not relevant e.g. the use of the phrase monetary felt scarcity
instead of the word poverty
b. wordiness- the use of more words than necessary e.g. based on the fact that,
because at the present time for now; there were several students who
completed for several students completed.
c. redundancy - this is a mistaken effort to be emphatic. The extra words used to
give emphasis may not be necessary e.g. the capitalised words make the
phrases redundant
i. Four DIFFERENT groups saw the march
ii. Instructions which were EXACTLY the same
iii. It has been PREVIOUSLY found
iv. The REASON is because

Writing only in short sentences makes the prose choppy and boring. On the other hand
writing in long and involved sentences makes the writing difficult and incomprehensible.
There is need for variety in the length of sentences - this is one sure way of maintaining
interest of the reader and making the writing comprehensible.

Paragraphs that are too long are likely to lose the reader's attention. On the other hand
single sentence paragraphs may be too abrupt and should by all means be avoided.
Longer paragraphs running for more than a page should be broken up into shorter
paragraphs.

The purpose of each paragraph is to provide a pause, in the conceptual development,

for the reader. Thus there is need for unity, cohesiveness and continuity among
paragraphs.

32
 Preciseness and Clarity in Choice of Words

Make sure that that the word that you choose means what you intend to say. Also avoid
colloquial expressions. Words like buddy (for friend), guy ( for person), and phrases like
write up (for report) are acceptable in everyday speech but not in scientific or scholarly
writing. When not sure check your dictionary for words and expressions which are
restricted to speech and not acceptable in formal written work. There are words of
quantity such as large, part, very few, whose approximation is interpreted differently.
Pronouns can be confusing. They are easy to follow if they come soon after the referent
has been identified. The use of simple pronouns like that, those, this and that can be
troublesome. For clarity use phrases like this test, that research, these participants,
those reports.

To avoid further ambiguity, when you are referring to yourself be more precise. Instead
of writing "The researcher was interested in how rural people perceived change in their
-~-~ lives" you should say "I was interested in finding out how rural people perceived change
in their lives". In addition, do not attribute human functions to nonhuman sources e.g.
The Project identified people who were supposed to receive agricultural inputs. The
project is not people.

ACTIVITY:
Read write the following Passage and:
a. identify and explain the errors in it
b. rewrite it so that it holds together in tense and structure
The Chairperson reported that due to high levels of poverty many men drink beer in
order to forget. He added that the overflow of the Tembwe river has compounded the
problem of poverty eradication. Government statistics report that in 1999 poverty levels
are as high as 83% of the population. One as fact that mitigates against people dying in
large numbers in the same year is sudden in flow of foreign aid from friendly countries.

33
TOPIC TWO : STRATEGIES FOR WRITING STYLE

There are a number of ways in which you can effectively communicate through writing .
These are:
• Writing from an outline - you should identify the main ideas and under each one
of these ideas group subordinate ideas.
• Reread what you have written after setting it aside for some time. Also read
aloud your work in order to identify faults which you did not see when you first
wrote the work.
• Let a colleague read through what you have written. If possible, get critiques from
more than one colleague.
Grammar
Though it is not the deliberate intention of the course to teach you grammar, there is
quite a wide range of usages which frequently appear in works submitted for publication
which yoTt'should try to avoid. The Jollowing are examples of correct and -incorrect - ~
usages or poor and better usages:
Verbs:
a) Use active voice:
Poor: The experiment was designed by Gould (1970)
Better: Gould (1970) designed the experiment
b) Use past tense to express what happened at a specific time in the past
Incorrect: Freire (1970) finds that people learn to read in 45 days
Correct: Freire (1970) found that people learnt to read in 45 days
c) Use present perfect tense to express an indefinite past:
Incorrect: Since then many people used his ideas to understand social change
Correct: Since that time many people have used his ideas to understand social
change
d) Use the subjunctive to describe conditions that are contrary to fact or are
improbable; do not use the subjunctive to describe simple conditions or
contingencies:

34
 Incorrect: If the rule was not changed the strike would go on
Correct: If the rule were not changed the strike would go on
Incorrect: If the questions were finished the time is adequate
Correct: If the questions are answered the time is adequate
e) Agreement of Subject and Verb
Incorrect: The size as well as the volume increase with time
Correct: The size as well as the volume increases with time
Incorrect: The person I saw with a child were my relatives
Correct: The person I saw with a child was my relative
f) The plural form of some nouns are mistaken for singular:
Incorrect: War is a human phenomena that occurs frequently
Correct Wars are human phenomena that occur frequently
Incorrect: The government memoranda was received after two months
Correct: The government memoranda were received after two months
g) When you have a plural and a singular joined by neither nor the verb agrees the
noun that is closer

Incorrect: Neither the people nor the government have accepted the
constitutional amendments
Correct: Neither the people nor the government has accepted the
constitutional amendments
h) A pronoun must agree with in gender with the noun it replaces. This also applies
to the usage of relative pronouns that link subordinate clauses to nouns e.g.
which, that, who:
Incorrect: This is the cow who gave us ten litres of milk
Correct: This is the cow that gave us ten litres of milk
Note that which and that are used for things and who for human beings
Pronouns can be subjects or objects:
Incorrect: The man whom I gave the book at Kabwata was a thief
Correct: The man who I gave the book at Kabwata was a thief

35
Avoid Ethnic Bias
Reference to other ethnic groups that shows a negative attitude or bias must by all
means be avoided. ln many cases people tend to use their own ethnic groups to
evaluate other groups. For comparisons which have a bias, there is need for supporting
evidence or data in order to justify the comparison.

In some cases terms which have been applied to address certain ethnic groups have
changed because those addressed that way have expressed dissent, e.g. the use of
Kaffir and native for Africans in South Africa; American Negroes has been replaced by a
more inclusive term African Americans. There is need to check on which terms are
currently used.

Avoid use of sexist language. Problems of sexism may be due to problems of i)

designations and ii) the problem of evaluation. By designation is meant the words used
to refer to a person. Long established cultural biases have been responsible for use of
_,,,..,); : ·~

words wflich tend to treat women as people of ~bondary importance.

e.g. Use of the word man or mankind to include men and women
MANKIND has been struggling to find solution for peace for HUMANKIND,
HUMANITY,PEOPLE
The shortage of educated MANPOWER in many parts of Africa created many
problems for governments for WORKERS, PERSONNEL, WORKFORCE
e.g. Use of males and females for men and boys, women and girls respectively.
However male and female can be used as adjectives. Avoid writing thus: There were
ten females and two males.
Problems of Designation: Ambiguity of Alternatives
Referent
The client is usually the best judge of The client is usually the best judge of
the value of his counseling the value of counselling
Man's search for knowledge has led The search for learning has led us into
him into ways of learning that bear ways of learning that bear examination
examination

36
 The average man The average person
First the individual becomes aroused by
violation of his personal space and he
attributes the cause of this to other
peop:e in his environment
Each child was to place a car on his
board so that two cars looked alike
PROBLEM OF STEREOTYPING
Males, females
Research scientists often neglect their
wives and children
Woman doctor, lady lawyer, male nurse
Mothering
Chairman
Foreman, policeman, mailman

·::;/f PROBLEM OF EVALUATION: -:::---.-> -

STEREOTYPING
ambitious men and aggressive women
Cautious men and timid women
I woma'1 driver
The girls in the office greeted clients
Wome.n's lib, women's libber
Men and girls

37
TOPIC THREE: EDITORIAL STYLE

Editorial style refers to the rules or guidelines a publisher observes to ensure clear and
consistent presentation of the printed word. This is what is referred to as editorial style.
It includes capitalization, use of punctuation marks, abbreviations, selection of
headings, construction of tables, citation of references. There are variations in editorial
requirements according to journals but in our case we will concentrate on editorial style
for APA.

The Capitalization: refers to the use of capital letters. The following are capitalized:
• Words beginning a sentence - e.g. Mtenga were the most gifted member of his
own family; he was able to read and write quite early.
• Major words in titles of books and articles, except prepositions, conjunctions and
articles such as a, the, an.
Example: Literacy and power: The Latin American battleground
The exception to this rule are indented subtitle where you only capitalize the first word
e.g: Individual differences in the choice of friends.
- -.
An indented subtitle is number five in the hierarchy of titles and its use should be
carefully considered
• Major words in table titles and figure legends.
e.g. Distribution of Male and Female Participants
in Literacy Programmes
It is also important that table titles are clear and concise. If you have explanations that
are longer or do not relate to the table title explain them in a general footnote.
• References to titles of sections e.g. as explained in the section Changes and
Needs of Adult Learners.
• Trade and brand names of drugs and equipment and food
e.g. Pesi Cola, Caterpillar, Xerox
• University departments
e.g. Centre for Continuing Education, Department of Sociology, Department of
Geography

38
Headings and Series
There are five levels of headings according to their importance. The number of levels
you choose to use depends on the length of the article.

Example of Levels of Titles

Level 1 THE PEOPLE OF CHITWABANTU AND THEIR CUSTOMS
Level2 The Benakateka Clan
Level 3 ChiefMpeneka and his People

Level 4 Fensepamo and his Family

Level5 maria tebulo in the family

Explanation of Levels
Level 1 is .centred and capitalized e.g.,,CHAPTER ONE in a thesis, dissertation or field .
project could be capitalized and centred.

Level 2 is centered and has a combination of capital (uppercase) and small (lower case)
letters in the initial of major words. In a term paper this could be the main title of the
paper.
Level 3 is centered and underlined.
Level 4 is flashed to the left and underlined. It has a combination of Upper and Lower
letters in the initial of major words.
Level 5 is indented and has every word whether major or minor in small letters
For a short article one level of headings would suffice. Level 2 in this case would be
preferred. For many articles a combination of levels 2 and 4 would be adequate e.g.

The People of Tenzebantu

The Bena Mbeba Clan

39
 UNIT SIX

WRITING REFERENCES

Introduction: Writing references is an important part of all academic writings. Thus the
work you are going to do in this topic applies to all aspects of your work in other
subjects in your programme. Do not treat this work as in isolation from what you are
doing elsewhere with lecturers and tutors in other subjects. The skills and competencies
you acquire in this and other topics should be extended to all your writings.

Objectives: By the end of this unit you should be able to:

a. Explain the meaning of reference and the elements that make up a reference
b. Identify order of elements of a reference of different types of writings
c. Quote competently different sources
·-'-. _.,, -
TOPIC ONE: DEFINING CONCEPTS

The books and other materials written by other people which you are going to use in
any scholarly work are called references. All references appear in a reference list
that appears at the end of the work.

The quoting of such works is referred to as citation. The complete listing of written
materials on the subject is referred as bibliography. Often some students list works
they have not used in the texts - this should be discouraged. It is preferable to list in
the references only those materials that you have cited in the text.

References include articles, books, technical reports, proceedings of meetings and

symposia, doctoral dissertations, unpublished manuscripts and publications of limited
circulation, reviews and interviews and non-print media. Each of these citations is

40
 entered in the references list following conventions and rules which you must adhere
to and use in all your scholarly writings.

Different journals and publishers provide guidelines as to how references should be

listed. There is variation in the way citations are written down. What you are going to
use are guidelines provided by the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (APA). If you choose any other way of listing references
you should be consistent. The APA is commonly used by most lecturers in the
Zambian Open University.

The parts of each reference are called elements. For example author is an element.
So are titles, places of publication, years and towns, full stops, commas and
semicolons. The order in which elements occur is important and you should adhere
to them because deviation from the order can cause confusion .

·_::_;::;,,,,-.
....... ACTIVITY

1. What is the difference between a bibliography and a reference list?

2. Why is it important to use references?
3. Name some of the elements of a reference?
4. What is an element?

TOPIC TWO: ELEMENTS OF A REFERENCE TO A PERIODICAL

A periodical is a publication that comes out at particular time. The regularity varies.
Journals, magazines, newspapers, monographs are examples of periodicals. The
way periodicals are cited differ on the basis of the number of authors that have
written them.

41
 Example 1: Journal article written by a single author
Akinpelu, J. (1984). Post literacy and vocational training: Rural development and
income generation in Africa. International Review of Education 30,
315-28
The first element is the surname of the author followed by a comma, initial of the first
name and a full stop. The next elements are parentheses; with the year the article
was published in followed by a full stop. The next major element is the full title of
the article. Note that in the title only the first letter of the first word is capitalized the
rest are written in small letters. The title of the article is completed by a full stop.
What follows is the title of the journal in which the article appeared. You should
underline or italicize the title of the journal. You should also capitalise all first letters
of the nouns in the title of the journal. All other words such as conjunctions,
prepositions, unless they occur at the beginning, are not capitalized. The title of the
journal is also completed by a full stop. The next number that is underlined denotes
.:..;.,.the volume number of the publication. The number..isJoUo.wed by a 9gmma and other
numbers which designate the page numbers of the journal on which the article
-
appeared. There are variations to this entry. The following are the variations:

Example 2 : Journal article written by two authors.

Ndongko, Theresa. M., and Agu, A.A.(1985). The impact of communication on the
learning process: A study of secondary schools in Calabar Municipaliy, Cross
River State, Nigeria. International Review of Education. 31, (2),205-22.
In the article everything remains the same except where there are two authors you
enter the first author's surname, followed by a comma and initials divided by full
stops. A comma is used to separate the first author from the second author. After
this, the surname of the second author is written, followed by a comma and initials
separated by full stops. The other variation is that the volume number 31 is followed
by an issue number that is enclosed in parentheses. This element shows that some
times a journal might not have both volume and issue numbers. The underlined
number will always be a volume number and the number in parentheses will always
designate the issue number.

42
Example 3: Journal Article written by more than two authors
Most of the elements remain the same except that the number of authors increases.
Each author added to the list is separated from the one before by a comma, the
name is also separated from initials by a comma. The elements for this entry would
apply to any journal article with any number of authors beyond two.

Where there is a subtitle within the title the next letter in the initial of the first word is
capitalized.e.g

Owolabi, E.O.& Alawale, O.A. Lower limb flexibility norms: Some racial, gender and
limb symmetrical considerations. African Journal of Health Sciences. ~(2),56-
59
Thus S in Some is capitalised. The subtitle begins after the full colon.

::.;:.:...
Activity
'
-
Here is a list of jumbled articles written by single and multiple authors. You are
required to rewrite them correctly:

Mafeje, L. 1971 a The Ideology of tribalism journal of modern african studies vol. 9
no.2, pp253-61
Saul, J The dialectics of class and tribe. Race and class. Volxx, no.4, pp313-24
Kassam, Y.O. (1988). Adult Education and Development "Literacy and Development
what is the Missing in the Jigsaw Puzzle", No 31:125-137
Childhood and adversity: Psychological perspectives from South African research I
edited by Andrews Dawes and David Donald. Cape Towm: D. Philip, 1994.
Mutava, D. (1988). Vol.18 No.3. "Forty Years of Struggle Against Illiteracy" ,
Prospects
Coombe, T (1967). African Social Research. No4 "The Origin of Secondary
Education in Zambia. Anatomy of A Decision, 1936-1938"

43
 I Oduleye, S. 0. Decline in Nigerian Universities. Higher Education ·14; no. 1 (1985).

Example 4: Journal Article in Press

The work in press is one which has been accepted for publication. For this type of
citation you should indicate the year, the volume or issue numbers for the journal. In
the text you can indicate the citation as (Corson & Williamson, in press)
Corson, O.L., and Williamson, E.M. (in press). Unlearning learned helplessness.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Example 5: Magazine Article
Gardner, H. (1981, December). Do babies sing a universal song? Psychology Today,
pp70-76
In this kind of reference you show the year and month of publication. You also show
the title of the magazine but you do not indicate the volume and issue numbers
because in most cases magazines may not have volume and issue numbers. You
-- a{so ~how page numbers indicated by ~"'{meanings pages). The title of the
magazine is underlined or italicized and separated from page numbers by a comma.
Example 6: Newspaper Article with no Author
Study finds free care used more. (1982). APA Monitor, p.14
You capitalize the first letter of the title of the article. You underline or italicize the title
of the newspaper and show the page number. In the text a short title for the article is
cited as follows: (Study Finds, 1982).

Example 7: Newspaper Article, Letter to the Editor

O'Neill, G.W.(1982, January). In support of DSM Ill (Letter to the editor).
APA Monitor, p. 4
You enclose in parentheses the element indicating letter to the editor immediately
after the title of the article and you complete with a full stop which is followed by the
name of the newspaper, comma and the page on which the letter appeared. The
newspaper title is underlined.

44
 Example 8: Monograph with issue number and serial number
Hood, L., & Bloom, L. ( 1979). \JVhat, when and how about why: A longitudinal study
of early expression causality. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child
Development, 44 (6, Serial No.181).
The elements concerning author, year of publication and title of the article: in the

•l · . ·.,,
'.~ . ,.
monograph for and the title of the monograph are cited in the same way as journal
articles. The only change is that after the volume number, the issue numbers and the
.• "'Serial number are also enclosed in the parentheses.
AtiAljt
.
~•-Y
·-'.l·
,..

Using a CD.RC search for annonared articles falling under examples 1-9 discussed
in Topic;two of this unit. The articles should be related to one subject of study you
"'
are und~rtaking. The work must be typed and sent to the open University.

{_

-······f".";.,
..____
--..i!:_""'..~

TOPIC THREE: ELEMENTS OF A REFERENCE TO BOOKS

Reference can be made to an entire book, a chapter in a book or a chapter in a book

edited by other people. Each of these references requires a different citation.

Example 10: Elements of a reference to an entire book

Mtopa, A.M.(1989). Labour Laws of Zambia. Lusaka: Kenneth Kaunda Foundation.
The name, initials and year of publication in parenthes are cited the same as in
journal articles. The third element is the title of the book in which the first letter of the
first word is capitalised and all first letters in nouns are capitalised. Z in Zambia is
capitalised because it is a proper noun of a country. Names of languages, people
and towns would have the letters in the initial capitalised. The title of the book ends
with a full stop. The next element is the town where the book was published followed

45
by a semicolon, the name of the publisher and a full stop. There is no need to
indicate the pages which were referred to because these are indicated within the text
e.g. (Mtopa, 1989;40).

Where the book was written by more than one author, the author element pertaining
to the journal article by more than one author would apply (see examples 2 and 3
under periodicals).

Example 11: Elements of a reference to a book with an edition number

Strunk, W., Jr., & White, E.B.(1979). The Elements of Style. ( 3rd ed.). New York:
Macmillan.

All elements remain the same except two. The first is that after the title of the book,
you enclose edition in parentheses. Note that while the title is underlined the edition
number (3rd ed.) is not and is followed by a full stop. The other exception is that the
first author's name Shrunk, W. is later followed by Jr. or junior. This is part of his
-~

name that distinguishes the author from his father and grand father who had the
--
same names. Such name title can only be included if it normally appears as part of
the names e.g. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Example 12: Elements of a reference to an edited book

Bown, L.,& Tomori, S.H.D. (eds.).(1979). A handbook of adult education in West
Africa. New York: Hutchinson.
The additional element is (eds.), which comes immediately after the second author.
Put in parentheses, (eds.) denotes editors. Note that there is a full stop after (eds.). If
the editor were one this would be indicated as (ed.). The year of publication is
immediately indicated in parentheses. The two sets of parentheses are separated by
a full stop.

Example 13: Elements of reference to a chapter in an edited book

46
Ampene, K.E (1979). Teaching Adults: Methods and Styles. In L.Bown, &. S.H.D.
Tomori (eds.), A handbook of adult education in \Nest Africa. New York:
Hutchinson.
The order of elements is; name of the author, initials, year of publication of the book,
title of the chapter in the book and full stop. The next element is 'In' followed by
names of editors, each starting with initials and separated from other by a comma.
The comma after the second author is followed by the title of the book and a full stop.
The last elements (town and publisher) remain the same as in example 12.

Activity
Here is a list of jumbled up books. You should rearrange all the elements in each
book so that the citations conform to the conventions

Kassam, Y.O.(1980). Literacy Evaluation: Past Experience and New Approaches In

-~
Fordham, P. Participation, Learning and Change. London : Commonwealth
Secretariat.
Kassam, Y.O.(1977}. Dar es Salaam: Department of Education
- -
Illiterate No More: the Voices from Tanzania.
Coombs, P.H.). Attacking rural Poverty: and Ahmed, M. (1974 How Nonformal
Education Can Help. Baltimore: John Hopkins
Kindervatter, S.(1979). Center for International Education Non Formal
Education as an Empowering Process. Massachusetts:, University of
Massachusetts.
Kelly, M.J, Achola, P.P.W, Kaluba,L.H. , Nilsson, K. and Nkwanga,E.B.(1986). The
Provision of Education for All:Towards Implementation of Educational Reforms under
Demographic and Economic Constraints 1986-2000. Lusaka:School of Education,
University of Zambia.

47
TOPIC FOUR: QUOTING INFORMATION
When you are writing using materials from other sources you are required to indicate
the sources you used. The use of information without indicating the sources is called
plagiarism and is an offence.

You can quote by showing the sources within the texts. In the text, you indicate the
author followed by a comma, the year of publication a colon and the pages which
have been referred to. This style of quoting has further divisions. If the source is
mentioned at the beginning of a sentence, only the year of publication is enclosed in
parentheses immediately after the source.
Example one
Draper (1976) saw functional literacy as "individualized" and "de:fined and characterized by a
social, economic and cultural context." Hunter and Harman (1979) put emphasis both on the
needs of individuals and needs of individual groups

If the source is referred to indirectly the name of the author, the year of publication
and th_e pages where such information is foun~~re enclosed in parentheses.

Example two

a. In relative terms highest levels of illiteracy are found in developing countries

(33%) In 1990 UNESCO's estimates of illiteracy were 47.4% for Africa, 31.4%
for Asia and 14.6% for Latin America and globally female illiteracy (30%) was
higher than male illiteracy (19.4%) (UNESCO 1984, Carcelles 1990).

b. The third category of definitions is one which puts greater emphasis on the
development of an individual (Stitch 1975, Draper 1976, Hunter and Harman
1979, Graff 1979, Levine 1986).

48
 ACTVITY

Here is an example of an article in which the author has cited various sources. Read
the passage and answer the questions following the passage.

Over the past decade a significance record to illuminate the concept of feminist
classrooms. General collections have sketched the scope of processes and context
in women's learning (Cole, 1989 Minnich, O'Bartt & Rosenfeld, 1988, Gaskell &
McLaren, 1987 1987 women's Studies Quarterly 1987 Gulley & Porrtuges, 1985;
Bunch and Pollack, 1983). Feminist epistemology has been explored and delineated
(Minnich, O'Barr & Rosenfeld, 1988; Belenky et al.1986; Spender, 1981 Smith,
1978), as have principles for feminist, and non-sexist research (Tomm, 1989 Eichler,
1987 Warrant, 1987 Martin, 1986). Gender socialization and class issues have been
analyzed (Weis, 1988 Weiler, 1988, Russell, 1986 Walker & Barton, 1983), and the
impact of women's studies courses on conventional curricular discussed (de Wolfe,
1988; Raymond, 1985).

Women's learning and feminist pedagogy issues have encouraged many analyses of,.
practice (e.g .. , Gaskell, McLaren & Novogrodsky, 1983, Klen, 1987 Hooks, 1984
Spenser & Sarah, 1988 Minnich, 1983 Thompson, 1983}. Feminist of colour have
explained the multiple oppression for women of colour living in predominantly white
societies, outlined the race -based divisions evident between feminists of all cultures
and races, and developed feminist pedagogies for Black students (e.g. Hooks,)
1988, .1984 Lee, 1985; Thornhill, 1983). -~}l~ issue of whether to separate or
~
integrate women's studies courses in relation to institutional curricula is becoming
more contentious as feminist teachers debate its various aspects, e.g.,
appropriateness of non-feminist men teaching women's studies courses and the of
feminist principles and processes in classroom, regardless of the content of course.
.
Source: Burge, E.J. (1990). Women as learners: issues for visual and virtual
classrooms. The conditions journal for the study of Adult Education. Iv (12)

a) Identify the main issues that the author has reviewed.

b) Explain the order in which references cited.
c) Rewrite the passage by demarcating the cited sources.

49
 UNIT SEVEN

REFERENCE WRITING USING ELCTRONIC SYSTEM

lntroduct~on: the use of in'.ormation communication technology is spreading fast and

vast and 1t covers the entire world. The computer has become a handy source of
materiais stnd you need to be acquainted with it and how it can work for you

Obj~ctive: at the end of this unit you should be able to:

a) retrieve reference materials from the internet

b) write references using the APA electronic style

TOPIC ONE: SEARCHING FOR MATERIALS FROM THE INTERNET

The word internet stands for International Network of Computers. You can connect
your computer to the network by use of a browser. To browse is to move fast
through documents. There are two types of browsers: nescape and internet
explorer. When you are connected you are on the line and get can (access)
information globally.

You can navigate information on the internet through the world wide web (www).
;Qrganizations 9r individuals usir;ig.ihe internet provide informat~n by creating
websites on their own computers. The computer with its own website is called a
.......
host. The first page on the website is called a home page.

Internet addresses: to enter you first need to go to webbrowser address or location

bar. An internet address has uniform resource locator (URL) with the following
standard format:

Protocol. Servename.domain/directory/filemname.html
Example:

a)protol b) servername c) domain d) directory e) specific file

a http://www - this is the protocol -in establishes the world wide web

50
 b) worldbank- is the servername . It refers to the organization that hosts the
computer. e.g. worldbank, UNZA (University of Zambia)

c) org- is the domain. It indicates the type of organization e.g.

i) edu. or ac for educational institutions

ii) gov for government bodies
iii) com. or co for commercial enterprises

d) deveforum- is the directory. It refers to the location of the document you want
to access. In this case the location is development forum.

e) Currenet:html - is the specific file (filename.html)- Indicates the file that you
want to access. In this address it is indicated us ile e current.html

You must enter your internet address without any error or number mistake.
Should you make a mistake the computer will not accept the address.

TOPIC TWO: SEARCH ENGINES

The World Wide Web has many sites and you may not have a specific internet
address .To undertake a general search, you use a search engine. The first step for
you to do this.. is to find a search engine. A search engine is a data b~se of websites.
...
\,,.,,

,:--.Jn.order for the search engine io ideTitify a website, you enter keywords or search
........
terms. The following are search engines.

a) yahoo www.yahoo.com
b) megellan www.mckinley.com
c) google www.google.com
d) hotbot www.hotbot.com
e) Alta vista www.av.com
f) Ask jeeves www.askjeeves.com

It is on the website that you can find materials you are looking for. Websites have
other links. A link is shown in another colour and once you click on that colour with a
mouse, other sites appear. In order for you to understand this language of search
engines and websites you should get to a place where there are computers.

CITING ELECTRONIC SOURCES AND APA

In Unit Six you learnt how you can cite sources from print media. In this topic you are
going to extend the knowledge and skills you acquired from citing sources from print
to citing sources from electronic sources. It is easy for you to make a transition to the
citing of electronic sources.

a) Citing journals, magazines, newspapers.

51
 The format is as follows:

Author, date of publication. Title of article. Tii/e of the source, volume (issue) page
or page numbers. Retriev~d (date) from (source) database (i"i3me of database), on
the world wide web:URL

Examples:

Read, M (1998 September), Shedding light on black holes. Science , 281 (5384),
1815-1816. Retrieved August, 4, from proquest database (Research Library) on the
world wide web http/i V\lWCO Proquest. UM: COM.

The elements of the citation are as follows:

a) author: Reid, M.
b) Date of publication : . (1998, September)
c) Title of article : Shedding light on black holes
d) Title of source: Science
e) Volume: 281
f) Issue: (5384),
g) Page numbers: 1815-1816

-·· h)
i)
Retrieved (date)
From (database)
August, 4, ~~--
Proquest. Umi.com

Proquest .umi.com

Up to g the order the order of element is the same as when citing print media. The
only new elements are ;

h) Retrieved (date):
i) From (database)
j) On world wide web:http://www.proguest.umi.com

Note that there are different databases and proquest is one such a database and a
research library.

Unless you get acquainted with the computer and start practising how to retrieve
materials from it you will not master the skill.

:. ,>,::;.

52
 . ---·-······----···-· ··--··-•·-··-·---------------------------------~

1
l
ACTVITY
Using the :nh3r,-iet, rrstrieve and cite ten journal articles covering any one course of
study you are embark]ng on. You should summar:ze the content of the article

,,.. .
,..
::·.i·1;... ~-·--

53
PART TWO: COMMUNICATION

,.-..,,,,,.

54
 UNIT ONE

COMMUNICATION

Introduction: Communication is a central part of human interaction. You are always

communicating even when you are not talking to a person directly. In this unit you
are going to spend time thinking about the whole field of communication.

Objectives: at the end of the Unit you should be able to:

a. define the concept communication

b. discuss the tools for communication
c. distinguish different types of communication
d. relate culture and communication
-
TOPIC ONE: WHA7i IS COMMUNICATION?

Communication is more than talking. The word communication comes from the Latin
word commJnico which means to share (Cherry, 1980). To communicate means to
share. It means reaching out to other people and other people reaching out to you.
What is involved in sharing? People share ideas, feelings, experiences.
Communication creates a "we" feeling out of the 'I' and 'you' feeling. Communication
helps in reaching some form of agreement or conformity. The people engaged in
communication share some rules e.g. of language, custom or habit. They must in
one-way or the other agree on how and what they are communicating. This ls what
we have in mind when we talk of agreement or conformity in relation to
communication.

55
 TOPIC TWO: TOOLS FOR COMMUNICATION

Communication is done in different ways. As human beings, we communicate

through speech, writing and signs. Development of language was an important step
in the evolution of the human race. Through it the human race is able to organise
and share thoughts with others. Writing has extended the human race's use of
language through use of codes such as letters of the alphabet a person can code
what is going on in his or her mind and the reader with the skill of decoding the
alphabet is able to get meaning from such communication.

Added to communication, by speech, by writing and by signs, the human race has
developed technical communication through the invention of telephones, telegraph,
radio, print, computers etc. Such forms of communication make social life ·
practicable and at times manageable.

In addition to what we have seen as the meaning of communication namely the

~
- .
sharing, communication has its 'specialist meanings'. For example to a physiologist
communication recalls to mind the nervous system - the way messages are
transmitted to the brain; to an economist it conjures images of lines of
communication e.g. railways, roads etc. In this unit you are going to be focusing on
communication as sharing elements of behaviour and mode of life verbally, by
written word, and non verbally.

You should remember that people communicate for various reasons. A person is not
an island. He/she communicates to make others know that he/she exists.
Whenever you sharing ideas, experiences etc. you should aim at being understood
in the way you communicate. If you write or wave and nod another person responds
there has been an attempt at communication but you have not communicated.

Communication is sharing happiness, pain and involvement in life. When you meet
as adults sometimes you want to share feelings of joy or happiness etc.
Communication is about sharing resources. There are different kinds of counsellors

56
 in adult education who want to share ideas about education, working in villages
linking marginal groups to the larger society where they can look for help.

Finally you communicate simply because other people are around you. Think of
other reasons why you communicate. There are many misunderstandings that occur
in conversations when speakers use different words to refer to more or less the
same thing or use same words to refer to different things

ACTIVITY

Make a list of fivt:: words and five phrases that have different meanings in different
situations words

Example: the word bar may be used to mean stop or to mean drinking

-- "~-
TOPIC THREE: NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
The body speaks a universal language - it expresses itself in accompaniment of the
spoken word in form of gestures with hand, nodding of the head. It also speaks
independently what is behind a person's mind. Study of nonverbal expressions is
called kinetics. Kinetics is not yet precise. Non-verbal expressions as substitutes
for words have different meanings in different contexts and are learned. For
example folding of legs in a number of African cultures is an non-verbal expression
of humility, or respect. This may not be true for the Ewe of Ghana who see it as a
sign of disrespect. In a number of African cultures it is respectful not to look an
elderly person in the eyes when talking. Not looking in the eyes of the person one is
talking to is a sign in western society. The thumb and the forefinger symbolise OK in
many parts of the world; it also means money among the Japanese.

Gestures and other bodily movements amplify or qualify what one is saying. When
we speak our body reacts in synchrony. Nodding, shifting, hand movement even

57
blinking seem to be synchronised with the rhythm of speech. If you have a television
try to switch off the sound and leave the picture only you will notice that the body is
able to follow the rhythm of speech and you can to a greater extent extract meaning
from what the speaker is saying. Shrugging of the shoulder, or shaking of the head
from left to right or vice versa may indicate disagreement or denial of things; looking
up may indicate recall of a point or pensive thinking. Body movements of these kind
do not substitute words but accompany them. There are gestures which indicate
nervousness - such as rubbing hands together, hitching trousers, sucking the thumb
etc.

Apart from the body movements with which kinetics is concerned, the different
distances people keep between themselves or to themselves communicate some
message. This area of the study of distance in non-verbal communication is called
proxemics and is attributed to anthropologist Edward Hall. Proxemics is concerned
with such questions as:-

.............,,.
1. How far do two people stand when they are good friends or strangers, both
men and women or a man and a woman?
2. What happens when one moves too close or too far away?
3. How far do people stand when they are engaged in a casual
conversation?
A number of studies have been made among westerners. Americans regard an
elbow distance as social distance. It is what they consider as their own territories and
if you encroach into a distance shorter than elbow distance they become uptight and
defensive of their positions. It is true to say that meanings of body movements can
not be transferred from one society to another. Leonard Boob has tried to study non-
verbal communication in Africa but he has not been exhaustive: We can give only a
few of his examples:-

58
 Meaning Body Movement
Anger biting lower lip
a knit brow
a furious intent stare

Melancholy wrinkled face

Timidity/respect turning the eyes to dust

Greetings/ rhythmic clapping

Acknowledgement of
super ordination

Distance close denotes that people

know each other, are not

_;_;_.,._,.._,,
stranger§ to.one c:1noth~r
:.,"fl/Ill''
,....,
distant: the opposite

TOPIC FOUR: INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

Interpersonal communication is that type of communication that takes place between

two people- in which there is direct feedback between sender and receiver of
message. Interpersonal communication may not necessarily be face to face. For
example when two people are conversing on telephone - this is interpersonal but it
eliminates the element of being personal. Thus the ideal situation for interpersonal
communication is face to face and between two people.

Elements of Interpersonal Communication

The elements of interpersonal communication are people, messages and effects
People - the people involved are senders and receivers of messages. Their roles are
simultaneous and reversible. Thus is at one time the receiver becomes the sender
and vice versa

: 59
Messages - can be verbal or non verbal and there is immediate feedback which is
communicated through cues e.g through squinting of the eyes, gestures and head
nods etc.
Words mean different things to different people and are personal. Their meanings
depend on experiences, reactions, feelings and contexts of the people using them. it
is important to be aware of the reactions of other people to the words you use.
Effect- an effect in interpersonal communication refers to mental, physical and
emotional response to a message. Mental effect causes a person to reconsider his
or her position. eg. when one driver shouts at another driver on a highway "next time
watch where you are going" and the driver in the wrong changes his/her way of
driving - the effect is mental. If a person breaks out in sweat or runs away the effect
is physical. Also related to physical effect is an example of a person breaking down
with tears, becoming angry. Silence is also a response that could be mental, physical
or emotional and could have different meanings. Even with silence, communication
could be complete. Boredom or apathy are also responses of some kind - they show
that people have chosen to perceive selectively.
,·;-.,-
No response is also a form of
response

Revision Questions
How is effect demonstrated in communication?
Why would not radio phone qualify as interpersonal communication?

Characteristics of Interpersonal Communication: Interpersonal communication:

involves at least two people, involves feedback, need not be face to face, need not
be intentional, produces some effects, need not involve words,. is affected by context
and is affected by noise

60
!
a. Involves at least two People
This characteristic rules out or excludes the communication you carry out
within yourself which is intrapersonal communication. It also excludes the
communication you have with pets and plants. Such communication may be
healthy but may not be interpersonal.

When communication goes beyond two people it becomes communication in

a group. Three is the smallest group of people. In a group of three the
tendency is to divide a coalition of two members against the other. William
Wilmot concludes that at any time in a triad the transaction is composed of a
dyad plus one. In a large group interpersonal communication may take place
between two people who are part of a group. For example when two people
begin to make an exchange or dominate a discussion.

b. Interpersonal Communication involves Feedback

This excludes communication from TV,:-n~scasters, radio disc jockeys, public
speaking situations where the message is from one source with little or limited
feedback. In interpersonal communication feedback is direct, often immediate,
obvious or continuous. This direct relationship between source and receiver in
interpersonal communication is referred to as simultaneous message or co-
stimulation

c. Interpersonal communication Need not be Face to face

Other situations which demonstrate this are say you are on a bus or train and
you are interrupted by a noisy conversation between two people and you
change a seat and go somewhere else. There is some communication but it is
interpersonally not ideal. The other example is one to do with a telephone
conversation. It is a form of interpersonal communication that takes away the
personal out of communication. Effective interpersonal communication ls face
to face. It enables the two people in the communication situation to be able to
catch subtleties, special inflections, and emphasis. Also peop!a ·involved can

61
 perceive moods and can have a better chance of getting the whole message
across.
d. Interpersonal Communication Need not be Intentional
There are things said through the slip of the tongue and reactions which are
nervous. The sender of such messages may not have intended to send them
but they are messages that can affect the receiver and may provoke a
response
e. Interpersonal communication Produces Some Effect
For interpersonal communication to take place it must produce some effect. If
you walk towards another person with a friendly smile but the other person
does not respond there is no interpersonal communication. If you are talking
to some one and that person is say listening to music or combing the nair no
interpersonal communication has taken place because there is no effect.
f. Interpersonal Communication Need not involve Words
This means that interpersonal communication can be carried out non verbally.

v-,'.,..~
Think of two secretly in love but standing at the opposite sides-<>t<a street or ¼--...t-,

road. A quick glance at each other can reaffirm their love for each other. A
touch can say more than words.
g. Interpersonal Communication is affected by the Context
The key thing is that interpersonal communication context can be affected by
human, environmental factors that preceded it. These factors are at work
during communication. Contexts can be physical, social, temporal (location in
time) or cultural. Context determines content. We talk about different things
depending upon who we are with e.g. a friend, person of same or different
sex; whether we are happy or depressed.
h. Interpersonal Communication is affected by noise
Noise is any interference in the source, receiver or environment that reduces
the exactness of the message. Noise exists because we have no way of
linking one brain to the other.
There are three types of noise:
Source generated noise - e.g. attributed to different behaviours which can be
linguistic, incongruence (disagreement between words, inappropriate gestures

62
 Receiver generated - experience, background, feelings about subject matter
Environmental generated- occurs between sender and receiver e.g acoustics,
loud party, visual noise e.g. a student walks in the middle of a lecture and is
wearing very noisy shoes and causes other people to turn round.

How do you define noise?

From your experiences, give an six examples of noise that can be attributed to
cultural differences

TOPIC FIVE: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

lntercultural communication takes place when two people from different cultures
meet. Culture is a form or pattern of living which defines how people learn to think,
feel, believe and strive for what they consider proper. Such things as language,
habi~: friendships, eating habits, communication patterns, social acts, econ_omic and
....
political activities, and technology are patterns of culture. Culture and communication_
are inseparable because culture dictates who one talks to, what they talk about and
how the communication process proceeds as well as how people encode and
decode messages and the conditions under which messages may be sent, noticed
or interpreted.

Cultural variance refers to how people code and encode messages and is a key
problem to in intercultural communication. Thus in intercultural communication
understanding of culture is important.

ACTIVITY
a. Identify any four ways in which people from different backgrounds in Zambia show
respect to each other and the contexts in which such gestures of respect are
displayed

f."
"-'
b. What do you understand by the terms encode and decode. Give examples

Three elements of communication that include the sender, message and receiver
are also (see unit two) found in intercultural communication. The only difference is
that in intercu!tural communication both sender and receiver are from different
cultures. Thus when a message is transmitted by sender from one culture to a
receiver in another culture the process of encoding is influenced by the culture from
which these two people come from. When the message leaves one culture it
contains the meaning intended by the encoder. The meaning is influenced by the
culture in which that person is found. When decoded at the other end it undergoes
change which is influenced by the decoder's culture. The influence that culture has
on intercultural communication is a function of the dissimilarity between cultures.
-
lntercultural communication takes place in different situations and among people
who are culturally very different and those who are culturally similar. For example
there are lots of similarities in the culture of the people we call the Bantu in the way
they marry, they bury their dead, and the way they accord respect to the elders.
These cultural attributes may be quite different from people in West whose cultural
patterns have developed along different pathways. Within the same cultures there
also exit small groups of people with their own cultures which stand apart from the
dominant cultures. Such groups are said to have subcultures. People also differ in
lifestyles according to the social economic classes to which they belong e.g. between
Baptists and Catholics, between advocates for male dominance and advocates for
female equality. People belonging to one sub cultural group share a number of things
including language, schools, religion. They see the world differently.
Social perception is the term used to describe the process by which we attach
meaning to the social objects that we encounter in our different environments.

64
J
 lntercultural communication takes place in different situations and among people
who are culturally very different and those who are culturally similar. For example
there are lots of similarities in the culture of the people we call the Bantu in the way
they marry, they bury their dead, and the way they accord respect to the elders.
These cultural attributes may be quite different from people in West whose cultural
patterns have developed along different pathways. Within the same cultures there
also exit small groups of people with their own cultures which stand apart from the
dominant cultures. Such groups are said to have subcultures. People also differ in
lifestyles according to the social economic classes to which they belong e.g. between
Baptists and Catholics, between advocates for male dominance and advocates for
female equality. People belonging to one sub cultural group share a number of things
including language, schools, religion. They see the world differently.
Social perception is the term used to describe the process by which we attach
meaning to the social objects that we encounter in our different environments.

•j,;;',;
Topic: F?,rm~,J>f lnterculturai Communicat~

.
, ·""'.
Though the term intercultural communication -:-ii:/all-encompassing there are other
forms of communication. Terms synonymous with intercultural communication are
cross-cultural communication and trans cultural communication. Other aspects of
intercultural communication are interracial and interethinic.

Interracial communication may or may not be intercultural. The first example,

Africans of Asian, European descent who are found in countries like Zambia, South
Africa, Kenya and Uganda share geographical cultures with indigenous Africans
though they belong to different races. Many of them speak the same languages as
perfectly as indigenous Africans. Communication between them and indigenous
Africans would not be intercultural but interracial. On the other hand communication
between indigenous people and newly arrived Europeans or Indians can be both
intercultural and interracial. The major problem connected with interracial
communication is one of stereotypes. These (stereotypes) are biased behaviours
expected in a person of another race. These may not occur even where they are

er
o:,
waited for. Another problem is that the dominant ruling classes tend to have control
over the way other races intrude upon the mainstream of society.
lnterethnic Communication: This refers to communication where the sender
and receiver are of the same race but belong to different ethnic groups. In Zambia,
the dominant race is black and within it there are 73 ethnic groups of people with
certain backgrounds, perspectives, viewpoints, goals and languages. But all
Zambians are part of the dominant culture which is being defined as Zambian and
which is a blending of different cultures from different ethnic groups.
International Communication: Refers to communication between .nations. It
is the communication of diplomacy and propaganda and it frequently involves
intercultural and interracial communication. This kind of communication is influenced
by the policies, aims, needs and economies of nations. It is a form of communication
that takes place in neutral nations e.g. when PLO and the Israelis met in Sweden to
discuss USA brokered agreements. International communication has been ritualised.
It is regulated by international law, secret agreements, military strength, and world
opinion.,.
---- - -
ACTVITY

ZAMBIA is a multiracial, multiethinic country in not more than 14 pages dicuss

Aspects which the different racial groups share which would define them as
belonging to one nation.
Send your work to your lecturer by June 30th

66
 UNIT TWO

THEORIES OF COMMUNICATION

Introduction: Theory helps in explaining why things happen in the way they do. It is a
conceptual frame work which gives logic to what is happening. The theories have
over the years been modified or discarded (Mda, 1993)° but scholars of
communication go back to them because they bear some relevance.

Objectives: at the end of this unit you should be able to:

a. explain three theories of communication
b. relate communication to your own work and life experiences

TOPIC ONE: THE LASSWELL THEORY OF COMMUNICATION

~a~old Lasswell was an American Political sc~entist who developed a:t>asic model of
.......
communication. In this model, Lasswell explained the different elements of
communication which comprised the message, the medium, the receiver and the
effect.

The communicator is the source of information or the one who begins the
communication process. The communicator has message to send. The message is
the content part of the communication process. In sending the message, the
communicator uses a medium or channel to transmit the message. The one to whom
the message goes is the receiver.

In this model, Lasswell assumed that communication led to some result and without
any resuit no communication took place. Subscribers to this model assumed that
communication particularly mass communication had persuasive influences on the
audiences.

67
 This assumption may not be correct in every environment. In the West, the grip of
mass communication on the daily lives of many people is pervasive. In countries
without wide spread instruments of mass communication, there are other tools of
communication and networks that have greater influences on the lives of the people.

Lasswells's theory is sometimes referred to as the bullet theory. It assumed that the
audiences were passive and could easily be penetrated with the messages

COMMUNICATOR

ACTVITY

-- A. Identify some of the networks that are used in communication in your own
culture?

TOPIC TWO: THE SHANNON~ WEAVER MODEL

Information
source M
Transmitter I S D RS
Receiver I
M
I Destination

c=) ~LJ q
Noise
Source

Key: M=Message;S =signal; SR= Received signal

68 !
 The Shannon -Weaver model accounts for the top down communication that
characterizes sending of messages through transmitters. It is also referred to as one
way or mathematical theory of communication in that messages are sent from the
source via such tools as radio. The messages are sent as signals in form of radio
waves and received at the end as sound signals. The receiver is a person and the
destination is in the brain. Noise is any form of disruption to the flow of information.
~'Vind can be noise. It can also be in form of bad weather, cultural differences,
perceptual distortions, semantic problems or poor choice of communication
channels.

TOPIC THREE: THE MACLEAN-WESLEY MODEL

This model has the sender, the message, the channel and the receiver .After
receiving the message, the receiver becomes the sender, of the message through a
chosen channel and to the receiver who was at the beginning of the process the
sender. Thus two way communication is established
~.;
because of feedback to the
sender.

sender message channel receiver

receiver channel message sender

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 UNIT THREE

CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION

Introduction: Often we come into situations in which we meet people who do not
belong to our own culture and discover that in the process of sharing feelings,
thoughts and ideas, we face some difficulties that can hinder or promote
communication. It is there fore necessary that you should be able to study aspects of
culture that influence communication among people who belong to same or
different cultures.

Objectives of the Unit: by the end of this unit you should be able to:

a. define the concept of culture as it relates to communication

b. explain aspects of culture that influence communication
-....
TOPIC ONE: CULTURE
. ... -·
Culture is variously defined. It is seen as a way of life. It is also defined as a deposit
of knowledge, experiences, beliefs, value attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion,
roles, spatial relationships, concepts of the universe, material objects and
possessions acquired by a large group of people in the course of generations.

Culture manifests itself through language and other forms of activity and behaviour
patterns that act as models for common adaptive models and communication
prevalent in particular geographical areas and at particular times of technological
development. The houses we occupy, the instruments and machines we use in
industry, transportation, agriculture, war etc provide the foundation for our cultures.

The influence of culture is quite pervasive. It is embedded in the our thinking.

Whether or not culture can be hereditary is unknown. Culture plays a deterministic
role in our lives from conception to death. The way we are received at birth and the
funeral rites that accompany our own internment are all part of culture.

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ACTIVITY

Identify the following aspects of your culture and show how they contribute either
positively or negatively to intercultural communication:

a. beliefs
b. perception
Your essay should be not more than 14 typed pages and should have
All references. Send this work to the Open University

TOPIC TWO: CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION

' ...
The link between culture and communication is crucial to the understanding of
intercultural communication because it is through the influence of culture that people
learn to communicate. The behaviour of people sharing a common culture can
convey meaning because it is learned and it is shared. The ways we communicate,
the language we use, nonverbal behaviours are a response to and a function of
culture. Due to differences in cultures, communication practices and behaviours vary.
The numerous aspects of culture that influence communicative behaviours are
referred to as socio-cultural elements. There are some aspects related to perception,
verbal and nonverbal processes. Cultural elements do not do exist in isolation but
operate together in a complex of phenomena we call intercultural communication

Perception: is the process by which an individual selects, evaluates and organizes

stimuli from the external world. Students of communication maintain that people
behave as they do because of the ways in which they perceive the world and that
these behaviours are learned. The way people respond is influenced by culture. The
Americans tend to respond to things because of their size and cost while the

71
Japanese are influenced more by the colour. To understand other people's words
and actions we must understand their perceptual frames of reference. The major
socio-cultural elements that influence the meanings people develop for their
peiceptions are belief, value, attitude system; their worid view, and their
organization.

Belief, value, attitude system: these affect individual subjective aspects of

meaning. We see the same object and agree upon what it is in objective terms but
what we see and agree upon may differ considerably. Let us take the perception of a
woman. We all agree that women are human beings but in social terms our society
ascribes inferior roles to women. Our Zambian society is influenced by a cultural
attitude system that is discriminatory to women.

Belief is a uniquely held subjective probability that some object or event is related to
some other object, event or value, concept or attribute. We may believe that God the

-
creator lives in the sky above the clouds and he possesses certain characteristics.
The intefisity of our belief depends on the level of our probability. There are three
ways in which belief is formed:

a. Experiential - this comes about through sensory experience. It we touch a

pressing iron and are burnt but we develop a belief that the pressing iron has the
capacity to burn. Experiential beliefs are held with the highest probability because of
the sensory experience in their acquisition. Culture has minimal influence on this.

b). Informational belief - is the kind of belief we form because of the information
from an outside source we have chosen to believe. Sources of informational and at
times experiential beliefs, are other people, books, magazines, news media and text
books. Beliefs from these sources may not have been directly experienced.
Informational belief is dependent on an authority belief. We believe certain sources
because we take them to be authoritative. An authority in terms of information may
be a person or an institution. If we believe that the bible is an authority about the
ministry of Jesus Christ we accept what it says about the miracles Jesus Christ

72 !
 performed. In intercultural communication there are no rights or wrongs but there is
need to deal with the belief system satisfactorily in order to communicate
successfully.

What we have looked at concerning sender, message and receiver in

communication apply to intercultural communication. The only difference is that
intercultural communication both sender and receiver are from different cultures.
Thus when a message is transmitted by sender a from one culture to a receiver in
another culture the process of encoding influenced by the culture from which these
two people come from. When the message leaves one culture it contains the
meaning intended by the encoder. The meaning is influenced by the culture in which
that person s found. When decoded at the other end it undergoes change which is
influenced by the decoder's culture. The influence that culture has on intercultural
communication is a function of the dissimilarity between cultures.

"

c. Inferential beliefs - these are beliefs formed by going beyond direct observation
and information. They are formed by use internal logic system in their formation. e.g.
when we observe a particular behaviour and ascribe it to particular emotions. A good
example is that when people start issuing obscenities we infer that they are angry.

Values - are evaluative aspects of our belief, value, attitude system. Evaluative
aspects include such dimensions as usefulness, goodness, aesthetics (appreciation
of beauty), ability to satisfy needs, pleasure production. Though there are unique and
individual values there are values which permeate entire cultures - these are cultural
values. Cultural values are derived from the larger philosophical issues arising in
particular social milieus and are handed down to a person, they prescribe what is
right or wrong, positive or negative. Often the transgression of cultural values carries
with it some penalty. Respect for elders is a learned cultural value in the Zambian
society. On the other hand in the Western world, age is not given as much value.
High premium is placed on youth. It i::, al~u a common cultural value that no man

73
shall marry his own daughter son and when a parent does it he/she is likely to be
penalized. Cultural values define what is worth dying for, what is worth protecting,
what is worth study or ridicule. Values represent a learned organization of rules for
making choices and resolving conflicts.

The values people hold in intercultural communication are important because they
develop standards and guidelines that establish appropriate and inappropriate
behaviours in society. Respect for elders among Zambians is a value, privacy for the
Chinese and Japanese is a value. To the extent that values differ we may expect that
participants in intercultural communication will tend to exhibit different behaviours
under similar circumstances.

Cultural values can be identified as primary, secondary or tertiary depending on

location of particular values in culture's hierarchy of values. Individualism may not be
considered primary in Zambian culture but communalism and the sense of collective
belonging and responsibility are is important.

Values may also be classified as positive, negative or neutral. Supporting capitalism

for Americans is a positive value but supporting communism is a negative value.
Conversely for Russians supporting communism is a positive value but supporting
capitalism is a negative value. Values, which do not make sense, are classified as
neutral. To Zambians supporting of gay and lesbian forms of marriages would not
make sense even though among westerners it is becoming a common way of life.
This life style would be considered a neutral value.

There are values which are considered to be normative. These are values that are
prescribed in society and their infringement may be followed by some sanction. For
Catholics it is important to attend mass and failure to do so may be followed by a visit
from a priest. Obedience of traffic signs is a normative value and failure to obey them
may be followed by a booking by the police. Many people follow normative values
but a few do not.
74
 Attitude system: The development and content of an attitude system come from
beliefs and values people hold. An attitude system is defined as a learned tendency
to respond in consistent manner with respect to a given object or orientation. An
attitude has three components: cognitive or belief component, affective or evaluative
component and intensity or expectancy component. The intensity of our attitudes is
dependent on the degree of conviction that our beliefs and evaluations are correct.
Attitudes are shaped by a cultural environment in which one is found. Bull fighting
among Latin Americans is seen as a contest of courage between man and the beast,
and a triumphing of good over evil while Americans view it as inflicting of pain on and
an act of cruelty to animals.

ACTIVITY
Value Classification System
Rate the significance of the values given below. Please be as honest as you can in
your rating of the degree of importance
Value Primary secondary tertiary Negligible
Motherhood
Individuality
Fatherhood
Hierarchy
Masculinity
Femininity
Gratefulness
Peace
Money
Modesty
«
Punctuality
First ness
Aggressiveness
Collective Response
Respect for elders

75
Respect for Youth
Hospitality to guests
Inherited Property
Preservation of environment
Colour of the skin
Ethnic origin
Equality of women
Efficiency
Patriotism
Religion
Authoritarianism
Education
Frankness
Source: adapted from Sitaram, K.S. & Cogwell, R.T. (1979). Foundations of
lntercultural Communication. Columbus, Ohio: Cha-Eles E. Merrill

World View: is an abstract concept. It is the culture's orientation toward such things
as God, human kind, the universe and other philosophical issues dealing with the
concept of being. The worldview helps us locate our place in the universe. Moslems,
Christians, Hindus, atheists have different views about their places in the universe.
Westerners tend to see the world as human- centred and they treat the universe as
their own on which to carry out their desires and wishes through the work of science
and technology. North American indigenous people have a world view which places
nature and the human beings in a partnership of equality and respect - they are less
likely to exploit nature to their advantage. The influence of worldview on culture is
deep and profound. Its effect is subtle. It is embedded in human psyches.

Social Organization: There are two types of societal composition that relate to
intercultural organization. These are geographical cultures and role cultures.

76
Geographical cultures are organized as nations, ethnic groups, religious sects,
castes and are defined by geographic boundaries. Zambia has a geographic
boundary which defines it as a nation that is different from other nations. But within
Zambia there are geographic areas, which are inhabited predominantly by single
ethnic groups in which cultures peculiar to those areas are prevalent. In case of
religion, certain missionaries who created religious loyalties occupied parts of the
country. Thus we find predominance of Catholics in Northern Province, Seventh Day
Adventists in Southern Province, the Christian Mission in Many Lands in the North
Western and Luapula Provinces

Role cultures- are cultures acquired through membership in clearly defined social
positions and are more specific and offer specialized communicative behaviours.
Take for example the role culture of a university professor is quite different from that
of a prostitute. Each of these role cultures has its own different communication
networks. Professors meet in professional groups, seminars, workshops. Prostitutes
have their own meeting places and rank themselves in relation to the classes of
customers they meet. People from different geographic cultures may be able to
communicate quite well in their different roles.

Concept of Time: People have different concepts of time. Edwards Hall has
distinguished between monochronic and polychronic time systems. In polychronic
time one performs more than one activity while in monochronic time one
concentrates on one activity at a time. Monochronic time is quite significant in urban
areas.

ACTIVITY

lntercultural Communication

Main Concepts

77
1. Culture

2. Cultural variance - the way people encode and decode messages

3. lntercultural Communication ( cross cultural, transcultural)

Interracial,
Intereth nic,
lntercultural
International
4. Social cultural elements - aspects of culture that influence communicative
behaviour
Perception - selection, evaluation, processing of external stimuli
Belief, value, attitude system
World view
organization
verbal language
Nonverbal behaviour (concept of time, use of space)

TOPIC SIX: MASS COMMUNICATION

Introduction: In this topic you are going to !Dok ;:it the m~aning of mass
communication, the functional .::m::,J~,.,.;-=- ..,r rnass communicaUon and the cont&:int of
functional """'"' 1,-"•-> as a tool for study of mass comm11ni~cdion.

78
Meaning of Mass Communication
In everyday language mass communication evokes images of radio, TV, newspapers
and magazines. These are necessary tools for mass communication which on their
own do not constitute mass communication. For mass communication to take place
there is need for an audience, a communicator and messages which must be
propagated quickly and to an anonymous and heterogeneous audience.
Thus mass communication can be defined as communication directed at a large and
anonymous audience in which the message is timed, transmitted publicly, quickly
and is meant to be transient rather than permanent. Finally in mass communication
the communicator operates within a formal organization that may involve great
expense. Thus mass communication can be summed up as made up of:

a. audience - heterogeneous, and anonymous to communicator

b. messages- public, timed, transient and simultaneous
c. communicator - operates in a complex and formal organization great
expense.

Functional Analysis

Functional analysis refers to an examination of consequences of mass

communication on operation, adaptation or adjustment of individuals, subgroups,
social and cultural systems. To carry out this examination, you need to focus on
items which can be analyzed. For the items to be analysed they must be
standardized. The four analyzable items are:
a. Process - how mass communication affects individuals, subgroups, social and
cultural systems. This in itself is a mammoth task. It can be made manageable
by making a comparative study of for example rural versus urban areas; pre-
modern versus modern societies; developed versus developing societies or
the study of a single mass communication structure and its effect on society
e.g. the impact of radio Zambia on society.

79
b. Method - the study of the effect of or:e communication method e.g 'I!

newspapers on society
c. Institution - the study of the organization of mass media
d. Activities - there are four activities, each with its own sets of consequences,
performed by mass media which are amenable to functional analysis. The
mass communication activities are:
i. surveillance - collection and dissemination of information on events taking
place in an environment
ii. Correlation - interpretation of information about the environment and offering
prescriptions
iii. Transmission of heritage - or education. This is how social norms, information
and values are transmitted from one generation to another
iv. Entertainment - communication for amusement without recourse to its
instrumental value

Consequences of Mass Communication Activities

The consequences of mass communication can be divided into manifest or intended

consequences- these are purposes for the planned mass communication activity.
Latent or unintended consequences are those results which were not planned for.
Consequences can also be classified as funr.tional or functions - those
consequences which have a positive value to society and uycfunctional or
dysfunctions are those consequences that have negative value to the welfare uf
society, subgroups, individuals and cultural groups. For example the activity
surveillance plays the function of providing information, warns people in society and
can confer prestige on persons who are exposed through the mass media. Often
those people who keep themselves abreast of n~ws emerge as local h::aders. For
example during political interparty rivalries in Zambia. Mi,._i.. ... ..,,i vala emerged as a
~trong and influential person ;:an,.,i " _.., , ucK named King Cobra because he had
acce:;~s to a lot..,, ,ocal information that he released at the right time. In Zimbabwe Dr.
Ho0 -.· the .:>trong supporter of Mugabe's la, 1d grabbing reforms was nicknamed Hitle1
.vr the torture that he meted out on his enemies.

80
 .,,,i,.. '

Those people who have information on events in the greater society also emerge as
cosmopolitan influentials. The president is supposed to have access to a wider
amount of information than an average person. The enhancement of a person's
position through exposure through mass communication is what is referred to as
status conferral.

On the other hand mass media can also enforce social norms in society by exposing
those behaviours that are considered to be deviant. In this way mass communication
exercises social control on the beha\\'rburs of those people who are influential.
Violations of behaviour are judged on ·t~e basis of standard or public rather than
private morality. Mass-communicated news exercises control in urbanised areas
where anonymity has weakened face to face detection of deviant behaviour.

f,,
Surveillance has its dysfunctions too. For example uncensored news about the world
threatens the structure of society. Transmission of entertainment programmes
showing life styles prevalent in other parts of the world could lead to cultural
invasion.
It is quite apparent that Zambians are imitating western life style due in part to the
influence of films and television. Too much of warning about a disaster might cause
panic in society. At individual level, it could lead to heightened anxieties in the
audience or lead to privatisation - the act of switching off from news and attending to
private life. Further, too much of warning can lead to apathy or narcotization.

81
 "i1

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American Psychological Association. (1992). Publication Manual of the American

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Cherry, C.(1980). On Human Communication: A Review, a Survey and a
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Anderson, D, Benjamin, B.&Paredes-Holt, B (1998). Connections: A Guide to on-line
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Baron, N.S. (2000). Alphabet to Email:1-Jow

,, Written English Evolved and where Its
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Barass, R.(1995). Students must Write: A Guide to Better Writing in Course Work
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Blaxter, L. (2002). How to Research. Buckingham :Open University Press (second

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Hall, E.(1959). The Silent Language. Greenwich CT: Fawcett Publications

Hal, E.(1966). Hidden Dimension. New York: Doubleday.

Condon, W& Butler. W. (1997). Writing the Information Superhighway. Boston: Allyn
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Leathers, D.G.(1986). Successful Nonverbal Communication: Principles and

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'
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