Academic Essay and Workplace Communication
Writing is one of the many forms of communication. It has been argued that a good writer is likely to make a good communicator (Jones & Lebaron, 2014). As such learning to write a perfect academic essay aids an individual in preparing for workplace communication. In English for Academic Studies, a number of topics have covered to explore how someone can write a great essay. Topic one examines the differences between BUS 100 and other subjects. While other subjects focus primarily on content, English for Academic Studies focuses on study skills and language. Study skills and language are crucial ingredients in writing an academic essay that can be reflected in workplace communication. The next topic discusses note taking, summarizing and paraphrasing. The three steps are quite important in the academic essay since they aid students to prepare all the requirements needed to complete their work. The third topic talks of academic argument, and guides the authors to state and support their academic work with the relevant justifications. The fourth topic discusses academic conventions that guide the essay writers to acknowledge the work of other authors through citations and references. Finally, topic five examines different types of writing including different approaches used to write different types of essays.
Each subject is unique, and as a result, there is a specific language that is mainly attributable to such subject (Bretag, Crossman & Bordia, 2009). English for Academic Studies unlike other subjects focuses more on study skills and knowledge. A lot of subjects emphasize content meaning that the tutor or grader award marks according to the subject-related information and may ignore study skills and language aspects such as the relevance of the material used and grammar. However, that is not the case with English for Academic Studies since it concentrates on scrutinizing the content delivered by the student to test whether it meets the standards or reflects study and language skills. Similarly, communication is largely based on the ability to use the right words and suitable language that will be understood by the recipient. Therefore, with the study and language skills as presented in BUS 100, it will be easier for an individual to use the right content and appropriate language that can be well-understood by their colleagues.
Study skills are important aspects of helping someone to study and learn efficiently. Language skills, on the other hand, aid an individual in communicating with others, especially when discussing a particular subject. The development of study and language skills come with several benefits including helping the student in the most effective ways to use the study materials (Sadiku, 2015). Secondly, such skills play a crucial role in developing a special vocabulary and language that is suitable for a particular subject. Thirdly, right study skills will guide the student in interpreting the assignment questions and choosing the relevant material that is appropriate for the completion of the work beforehand. The ability to select the right study materials can be translated to the communication in the workplace whereby someone will need to select the suitable words depending on the prevailing conditions. Study skills and language are the key factors behind a well-cited and reference academic essay wok. With language skills, the learner will be able to communicate with the fellow students and tutors effectively, an indication that even in the workplace they will communicate with fellow workmates and managers excellently.
Note taking, summarizing and ability to change the content from other sources without altering the original meaning is the secret behind becoming the great academic essay writer (Bretag, Crossman & Bordia, 2009). Note taking marks the first step of preparing for the essay and involves listing down the key points. With the key points, the writer will then search for relevant materials and summarize and paraphrase to avoid plagiarism. Note taking can be equated to the preparation for communication. When explaining and describing something, for example, a concept in the workplace, the employee does not just explain everything pertaining to the matter under discussion but highlights only the key points. Ā This helps the employees to avoid retelling things which the recipients already know. It also saves time and resources. The summarizing and paraphrasing aspects portray the individualās ability to learn something, understand, memorize and be able to communicate the same to the others without omitting the essential details or main ideas of the subject.
Arguments and reasons are fundamental elements in showing why the writer supports a specific side in an essay writing. Quintero (2018) argues that the above shows the writerās mastery of the subject and ability to argue succinctly and convince the audience. Most of the times communication is not just a mere conversation but involves convincing the audience or someone. For example, one who can argue convincingly is likely to buy the support or cooperation of the workmates in meeting a certain goal. However, if someone cannot present his or her arguments and justification in academic essay work, it will be challenging to reflect the same while communicating. Therefore, it is recommended for the students to practice writing academic essays, and more so the argumentative ones if they would like to be great communicators, not only in the workplace but also in other areas. An argumentative essay is more like a speech and for one to deliver an outstanding and conniving speech he or she must argue appropriately as well provide justifications on why the audience should buy his or her plea.
Majority of the academic essays are not like compositions that are mainly prepared based on the actual or fictional experience. An academic essay involves a lot of research, and one is required to acknowledge other peopleās work through citation, quotation and referencing. Failure to adhere to the elements above amounts to plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious offense in the academic world and may result in disciplinary actions (Ferro & Martins, 2015). The ability to cite is primarily related to reporting speech since the writer will be presenting what another wrote. The same is witnessed during communication, particularly when the speaker is reporting what another person said.Writing occurs in many forms, and communication as well. The academic essay may be formal or informal. In formal communication, the writer must observe certain factors. For example, when writing a letter, resume, memo or a report to the management, there is a specific format which must be followed unlike in informal writing. Likewise, communicating takes many forms, and one is supposed to use a specific tone and language when speaking to different people. For example, someone may communicate with fellow workmates jokingly, but he cannot do so while communicating with the senior manager. Therefore, the ability to embrace different writing forms is a great factor behind appropriate communication in the workplace.
It is apparent that English for Academic Studies is mainly based on study and language skills. The ability of the student to employ these skills appropriately in the academic essay work helps to build his or her communication skills. The course prepares the student for future communication in the workplace since the ability to communicate well is mostly rooted in the ability to select the best and suitable word choice depending on the prevailing situation. In the workplace, the individual will interact with the fellow employees, supervisors, managers and sometimes customers and suppliers; hence calling for the need to develop different communication forms. Ā Diverse forms in academic essay writing shape the communication abilities of the learners and once they are employed they transfer the same in the work environment. As such, they can effectively communicate with all people in the workplace including the fellow employees, supervisors and senior managers.