LEARNER GUIDE

78965 – Further Education & Training Certificate (FETC):

Information Technology: Systems Development: Level 4: Credits 165

Module 1: Communication
Unit Standard Engage in sustained oral/signed NQF Level: 4 Credits: 5
communication and evaluate
119462
spoken/signed texts

Unit Standard Read/view, analyse and respond to NQF Level: 4 Credits: 5

a variety of texts
119469

Unit Standard Write/present/sign for a wide NQF Level 4 Credits 5

range of contexts
119459

Unit Standard Apply comprehension skills to NQF Level 4 Credits 5

engage oral texts in a business
12154
environment

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Personal Information……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2

Unit Standard 119462………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9

Unit Standard 119469………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 43

Unit Standard 119459………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 82

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Unit Standard 12154……………………………………………………………..…………………………………………… 114

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 PERSONAL INFORMATION
NAME

CONTACT
ADDRESS

Code

Telephone (H)

Telephone (W)

Cellular

Learner Number

Identity Number

EMPLOYER

EMPLOYER
CONTACT
ADDRESS

Code

Supervisor Name

Supervisor Contact
Address

Code

Telephone (H)

Telephone (W)

Cellular

Page 1
 INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the learning programme

Follow along in the guide as the training practitioner takes you through the material. Make notes
and sketches that will help you to understand and remember what you have learnt. Take notes and
share information with your colleagues. Important and relevant information and skills are
transferred by sharing!

This learning programme is divided into sections. Each section is preceded by a description of the
required outcomes and assessment criteria as contained in the unit standards specified by the
South African Qualifications Authority. These descriptions will define what you have to know and be
able to do in order to be awarded the credits attached to this learning programme. These credits
are regarded as building blocks towards achieving a National Qualification upon successful
assessment and can never be taken away from you!

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 Programme methodology

The programme methodology includes facilitator presentations, readings, individual activities,

group discussions and skill application exercises.
Know what you want to get out of the programme from the beginning and start applying
your new skills immediately. Participate as much as possible so that the learning will be
interactive and stimulating.
The following principles were applied in designing the course:
 Because the course is designed to maximise interactive learning, you are encouraged and
required to participate fully during the group exercises
 As a learner you will be presented with numerous problems and will be required to fully
apply your mind to finding solutions to problems before being presented with the course
presenter’s solutions to the problems
 Through participation and interaction the learners can learn as much from each other as
they do from the course presenter
 Although learners attending the course may have varied degrees of experience in the
subject matter, the course is designed to ensure that all delegates complete the course with
the same level of understanding
 Because reflection forms an important component of adult learning, some learning
resources will be followed by a self-assessment which is designed so that the learner will
reflect on the material just completed.
This approach to course construction will ensure that learners first apply their minds to finding
solutions to problems before the answers are provided, which will then maximise the learning
process which is further strengthened by reflecting on the material covered by means of the self-
assessments.

Different role players in delivery process

 Learner
 Facilitator
 Assessor
 Moderator

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 What Learning Material you should have
This learning material has also been designed to provide the learner with a comprehensive
reference guide.
It is important that you take responsibility for your own learning process; this includes taking care
of your learner material. You should at all times have the following material with you:

Learner Guide This learner guide is your valuable possession:

This is your textbook and reference material, which provides
you with all the information you will require to meet the exit
level outcomes.
During contact sessions, your facilitator will use this guide
and will facilitate the learning process. During contact
sessions a variety of activities will assist you to gain
knowledge and skills.
Follow along in the guide as the training practitioner takes
you through the material. Make notes and sketches that will
help you to understand and remember what you have
learnt. Take and share information with your colleagues.
Important and relevant information and skills are transferred
by sharing!
This learning programme is divided into sections. Each
section is preceded by a description of the required
outcomes and assessment criteria as contained in the unit
standards specified by the South African Qualifications
Authority. These descriptions will define what you have to
know and be able to do in order to be awarded the credits
attached to this learning programme. These credits are
regarded as building blocks towards achieving a National
Qualification upon successful assessment and can never be
taken away from you!

Formative Assessment The Formative Assessment Workbook supports the Learner

Workbook Guide and assists you in applying what you have learnt.
The formative assessment workbook contains classroom
activities that you have to complete in the classroom, during
contact sessions either in groups or individually.
You are required to complete all activities in the Formative
Assessment Workbook.
The facilitator will assist, lead and coach you through the
process.
These activities ensure that you understand the content of
the material and that you get an opportunity to test your
understanding.

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 Different types of activities you can expect
To accommodate your learning preferences, a variety of different types of activities are included in
the formative and summative assessments. They will assist you to achieve the outcomes (correct
results) and should guide you through the learning process, making learning a positive and
pleasant experience.

The table below provides you with more information related to the types of activities.

Types of Activities Description Purpose

Knowledge Activities You are required to These activities normally test

complete these activities your understanding and
on your own. ability to apply the
information.

Skills Application
You need to complete These activities require you
Activities these activities in the to apply the knowledge and
workplace skills gained in the
workplace

Natural Occurring You need to collect These activities ensure you

Evidence information and samples get the opportunity to learn
of documents from the from experts in the industry.
workplace.
Collecting examples
demonstrates how to
implement knowledge and
skills in a practical way

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 Learner Administration

Attendance Register
You are required to sign the Attendance Register every day you attend training sessions facilitated
by a facilitator.

Programme Evaluation Form

On completion you will be supplied with a “Learning programme Evaluation Form”. You are
required to evaluate your experience in attending the programme.
Please complete the form at the end of the programme, as this will assist us in improving our
service and programme material. Your assistance is highly appreciated.

Assessments
The only way to establish whether a learner is competent and has accomplished the specific
outcomes is through the assessment process. Assessment involves collecting and interpreting
evidence about the learners’ ability to perform a task.
To qualify and receive credits towards your qualification, a registered Assessor will
conduct an evaluation and assessment of your portfolio of evidence and competency.
This programme has been aligned to registered unit standards. You will be assessed
against the outcomes as stipulated in the unit standard by completing assessments and
by compiling a portfolio of evidence that provides proof of your ability to apply the
learning to your work situation.

How will Assessments commence?

Formative Assessments
The assessment process is easy to follow. You will be guided by the Facilitator. Your responsibility
is to complete all the activities in the Formative Assessment Workbook and submit it to your
facilitator.

Summative Assessments
You will be required to complete a series of summative assessments. The Summative Assessment
Guide will assist you in identifying the evidence required for final assessment purposes. You will be
required to complete these activities on your own time, using real life projects in your workplace or
business environment in preparing evidence for your Portfolio of Evidence. Your Facilitator will
provide more details in this regard.
To qualify and receive credits towards your qualification, a registered Assessor will
conduct an evaluation and assessment of your portfolio of evidence and competency.

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 Learner Support
The responsibility of learning rests with you, so be proactive and ask questions and seek
assistance and help from your facilitator, if required.

Please remember that this Skills Programme is based on outcomes based education principles
which implies the following:
 You are responsible for your own learning – make sure you manage your study, research
and workplace time effectively.
 Learning activities are learner driven – make sure you use the Learner Guide and Formative
Assessment Workbook in the manner intended, and are familiar with the workplace
requirements.
 The Facilitator is there to reasonably assist you during contact, practical and workplace time
for this programme – make sure that you have his/her contact details.
 You are responsible for the safekeeping of your completed Formative Assessment Workbook
and Workplace Guide
 If you need assistance please contact your facilitator who will gladly assist you.
 If you have any special needs please inform the facilitator

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 Learner Expectations
Please prepare the following information. You will then be asked to introduce yourself to the
instructor as well as your fellow learners

Your name:

The organisation you represent:

Your position in organisation:

What do you hope to achieve by attending this course / what are your course expectations?

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 UNIT STANDARD 119462

Title
Engage in sustained oral/signed communication and evaluate spoken/signed texts

Level
4

Credits
5

Range
The learner can engage in extended oral/signed interactions in a wide range of socio-cultural,
learning and/or workplace contexts.

Specific range statements are provided in the body of the unit standard where they apply to
particular specific outcomes or assessment criteria.

Specific outcomes and assessment criteria

Specific Outcome 1: Respond critically yet sensitively as a listener.
Assessment criteria
1. Responses show a clearly developed understanding of complex issues under discussion in
one-on-one or group situations. One’s understanding is clarified and further developed
during discussions and opportunity is provided during interactions for the clarification of one
another’s understanding
2. Discussions and/or conflicts are managed sensitively and in a manner that supports the goal
of group or one-on-one interaction. Range - Disagreements within groups; personality
clashes; conflict management, resolving deadlocks, positively summarising conclusions
3. Characteristics of a speakers/signer's style and tone/register that attract or alienate an
audience are identified with reference to the particular effect of each feature in creating
audience response.
4. The underlying assumptions, points of view and subtexts in spoken/signed texts are
identified and challenged when appropriate to clarify understanding, remove bias and/or
sustain interaction.
Specific Outcome 2: Analyse own responses to spoken texts and adjust as required
Assessment criteria
1. Own responses to spoken/signed texts are analysed in relation to audience, purpose and
context. Inappropriate responses are identified and adjusted accordingly.
2. When confronted by opposing views, own position is put forward with confidence in a
manner appropriate to the interaction
3. Tone/register, approach or style is appropriate to context, and is adapted to maintain
oral/signed interaction when it breaks down or is difficult to initiate or maintain. Pedantic,
illogical or aggressive language is identified and modified to sustain interaction.

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Specific Outcome 3:
Use strategies to be an effective speaker/signer in sustained oral/signed interactions.
Assessment criteria
1. Planning of content and presentation techniques is evident in formal communications
2. The impact of non-verbal cues/body language and signals on audiences is analysed and
used appropriately.
3. The influence of rhetorical devices is analysed and used for effect on an audience.
Range: Pause, rhetorical question, exclamation, analogy, emphasis, repetition, rhythm, use
of inclusive/ exclusive pronouns, stress, intonation, non-manual features (NMFs),
volume/sign size and pace

Specific outcome 4: Evaluate spoken/signed discourse. Formal and informal texts

Assessment criteria
1. Points of view in spoken/signed texts are identified and meaning described in relation to
context and purpose of the interaction.
2. The impact of non-verbal cues/body language and signals on audiences is analysed and
used appropriately.
3. The influence of rhetorical devices is analysed and used for effect on an audience.
a. Range : Pause, rhetorical question, exclamation, analogy, emphasis, repetition,
rhythm, use of inclusive/ exclusive pronouns, stress, intonation, non-manual
features (NMFs), volume/sign size and pace

Critical Cross-Field Outcomes

Identifying:
Identify and solve problems: using context to decode and make meaning individually and in groups
in oral, reading and written or signed activities.
Working
Work effectively with others and in teams: using interactive speech/signing in activities, discussion
and research projects.
Organising
Organise and manage oneself and one's activities responsibly and effectively through using
language.
Collecting
Collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate information: fundamental to the process of
growing language capability across language applications and fields of study
Communicating
Communicate effectively using visual, mathematical and/or language skills: in formal and informal
communications.
Demonstrating
Understand the world as a set of inter-related parts of a system: through using language to
explore and express links, and exploring a global range of contexts and texts.
Contributing

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Contribute to the full development of oneself: by engaging with texts that stimulate awareness and
development of life skills and the learning process.

Learning Assumptions
Listening, Speaking/Signing Reading Viewing and Writing/Signing skills at ABET 3 or equivalent

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 RESPOND CRITICALLY YET SENSITIVELY AS A
LISTENER/AUDIENCE.

Introduction
As human beings we communicate with each other every day and when we communicate it is
with a specific purpose in mind.
 To interact
 To inform
 To find out
 To influence
 To regulate
 To entertain
 To record

You communicate by means of a language that is understood by the person or persons you are
communicating with:
 You are communicating when you are speaking face-to-face, or speaking over the
telephone or cell phone, or even the Internet.
 You communicate when you read an article written by an author in a newspaper, in a
magazine, in a letter; in a report; and in a book.
 When you write you are communicating through written words rather than spoken words.
You write the words instead of speaking the words.

Since the beginning of time man has communicated with his fellow beings. This “sharing or
exchange of information” may take on many forms and many instruments may be utilised to
convey this information. The reaction to the transfer of information may also vary, depending
on a number of factors, which will be discussed later. Communication is a two-way street –
information is shared with another party and the other party normally reacts in some way, even
if they do absolutely nothing.

A bus driver communicates with other people all the time. It starts when he receives his
instructions about his schedule and route. He receives information and reacts to this exchange
of information by getting into his bus and driving according to schedule.

Upon his return to the depot he communicates information about the route and schedule e.g.
road conditions, number of passengers, etc., as well as the condition of his vehicle back to the
appropriate authorities.

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Along his route he communicates with passengers when they board the bus. He communicates
with the controller and fellow drivers. In the event of a breakdown he will communicate with
the workshop personnel to inform them about the problem.

The most important communication the driver engages in is with other road users. By using
warning devices like brake lights, indicators, hazard lights, hand signals (not the one- or two
finger kind), he communicates his intentions to his fellow road users.

In the event of the driver NOT communicating his intentions he might cause an accident and
have to communicate with the police and ultimately a magistrate. Avoid communication with
these two at all cost!!

What you do when you communicate:

 You listen to what someone is saying – you think about what has been said - you
respond;
 You think about what you want to say- you speak your thoughts, opinions, etc. you
wait for a response
 You read the words written by an author- you think about what you have read - you
respond
 You think about what you want to say– you write the words you want to speak – you
wait for a response.

Response refers to the feedback you give or get when communicating. It can either be oral or
spoken, or it can be written. It can be in the form of a suggestion, advice, recommendati on,
statement, instruction, command, etc. or it can be in the form of an assessment; a test, task,
examination, demonstration, observation, etc.
 Remember: It is not always what you say that is important. It is how you say it. You
are continuously being assessed either directly or indirectly in all you say, or do, or write.
Your knowledge, competency or your capabilities are measured when you respond or give
feedback
 Each type of feedback has different criteria or outcomes against which it is measured or
assessed. These outcomes are in fact the skills you are required to demonstrate to
prove that you are competent in what you are doing, saying, reading or writing.
 Meaningful feedback requires purposeful preparation and presentation.

You first have to interpret what you have heard, or read before you can respond or give
meaningful feedback. Your, response or reaction demonstrates your interpretation, and your
understanding of what you have heard, seen, felt, tasted, smelled, experienced or read.

When you interpret a message, whether it is a picture you look at; words someone is speaking;
or the written word you are reading; your mind instinctively works through the following steps:

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  First you extract or unpack key words and key concepts so that you can speak about
what is relevant. They can be extracted from your general knowledge bank or your
experience, or from what you have heard and read about.
 Secondly you repack or rearrange and restructure these key ideas (keywords and key
concepts) into sentences. Sentences are developed into paragraphs and organised into a
logical sequence so that the information you share is meaningful.

Interaction among Members

The focus of this section is on the actual roles and, behaviours and performance of people working
in teams and groups. Working in groups is likely to be psychologically rewarding for the individual,
but can also potentially be rather demanding as the interaction of group members affects everyone
else.

If groups are to perform well a sense of cooperation and unity and an appreciation of the various
skills provided by the group or team members is required. The various behaviours of the team
members must mesh together in order to achieve its objectives.

For people to work successfully in teams, you need people to behave in certain ways. You need
some people to concentrate on the task at hand (doers). You need some people to provide
specialist knowledge (knowers) and some to solve problems as they arise (solvers).

You need some people to make sure that it is going as well as it can and that the whole team is
contributing fully (checkers). And you need some people to make sure that the team is operating
as a cohesive unit.

Patterns of Communication
There are five main types of communication networks: wheel, circle, all-channel, Y and chains.
The wheel, or star, is the most centralised method of communication and is most efficient for
simple tasks with few information flows.

As complexity and difficulty increase, this method of communication is less effective. The circle is a
more decentralised network; however, it is generally less effective, less predictable, more
disorganised. Performance is often slow and erratic, but complex problem solving is faster in the
circle than in the wheel. Decision making is participatory.

The all-channel network is completely decentralised and involves full participation by all group
members. This network is the best one to use where there is a large amount of interaction
necessary and problem solving is complex.
However, leadership predictability is very low and under pressure this network might disintegrate
into the wheel network. The Y or chain methods are more centralised and appropriate for simple
tasks where little interaction is required.

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It is clear that simpler tasks work best with centralised communication whereas the opposite is
true for complex tasks. The characteristics of the different communication networks are determined
by the extent of ‘independence’ and ‘saturation’.

Independence refers to the opportunities that group members have to solve problems or take
action without the assistance of others. Saturation occurs when there is an excessive load or other
demands upon a member of the network.

This leads to inefficiency and is likely to be experienced by the central person in a centralised
network. The patterns of communication influence the accuracy of message transmission, the level
of task performance and the satisfaction of members.

Interaction Analysis
The basic assumption behind interaction analysis is that behaviour in groups may be analysed from
the view point of its function. In this analysis every act or behaviour is categorised in one of twelve
headings. These headings differentiate task and socio-emotional functions.

The categories apply to both verbal and non-verbal interaction. For example, a behaviour which
shows solidarity and gives help and a sense of belonging is different to a behaviour which gives an
opinion or evaluation. Two main processes need to be undertaken and balanced for a group to be
effective.

Task functions are directed towards problem-solving, achievement of goals and production.
Maintenance functions are concerned with the emotional life of the group and are directed towards
the unity and building of the group.

Task and maintenance functions can be performed by the team leader or the group members. In
addition to these two types of behaviour is the concept of self-oriented behaviour. This is where an
individual does something for his own benefit. Behaviour functions are categorised into task-
orientation, maintenance orientation and self-orientation.

Personality clashes within groups

Most people are not exactly one specific personality type, but a mixture of two or even all four. You
can easily picture an analytical person, stating “A place for everything and everything in its
place.” Orderliness and propriety are important to this person.

The dedication to perfection and things done right is one of the valuable traits of this personality.
The analytical person needs to be careful not to procrastinate, or put unrealistic demands on
others. They often have a poor self-image, and can be stubbornly legalistic.

Expressive people like to be noticed, and often these people are the easiest to identify simply
because they are in the spotlight. This personality type is probably easiest to identify in people
because it is one that demands the most attention.

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The Expressive person's shortcomings would include a tendency to waste time, stretching the
truth, selfishness, and irresponsibility. Because they are so bubbly and talkative they can easily
dominate conversations and intimidate others. They love peace and quiet.

No conflicts smooth sailing, avoiding any bumps in the road—that's the Solid's ideal. They will do
anything to avoid fights and arguments, and it bothers them when everyone is not getting along.
They do not demand attention, yet they are worth paying heed to because they often possess a
marvellous sense of humour, keen perspective on life, and thoughtful ways. Solid people are
conservative and usually neat, efficient, and dependable.

They work long and hard. Multi-tasking is second nature for them. You may see a Dominant
eating lunch while reading a school book and carrying on a conversation with someone—all at the
same time. This is normal for everyone to do some of the time, but the driven Dominant does it
constantly.

They accomplish an amazing amount of work in a very short time. Perhaps the Dominant
personality has more weaknesses than strengths, yet we could not function without them. They are
confident and can make others confident as well.

They are driven people with goals, ready to tackle any problem. They are purposeful and
productive. Working in groups of people who have different personality types one has to keep calm
and make sure that all the members are receptive to the fact that thought they might differ, they
are there for a common purpose to fulfil and therefore should see past the personality types and
attempt to work together.

Disagreements and Conflict management within groups

In groups, though there are many factors keeping people together, there are as many which could
spark disagreements and conflict. Conflict can emerge in a group when the actions of one group
member prevent or obstruct the actions of another person.

Or when there are different or inaccurate perceptions, different time horizons or a lack of clarity on
group goals. Conflict can be seen to indicate that some ideas, thoughts and feelings haven’t been
shared with the group. The mere occurrence of conflict is not negative; it is the failure to manage
conflict constructively that can have a negative impact on the group. Different conflict
management styles must be used to ensure the most effective one is utilised.

Resolving deadlocks within groups

Resolving deadlocks in group participation must be handled in such a fashion where one member of
the group is not negatively influenced. A common ground must be found and then agreed upon by
all parties to ensure the outcome is mutually agreeable and beneficial.

By getting the entire group together and allowing each party to state their part or opinion, one is
able to identify the areas of concern and where the possible solution lies. By making use of
compromising (where each party compromises something) and accommodating (one satisfies the
others needs at the cost of their own) techniques, one is able to resolve the deadlocks which can
hinder the group’s performance.

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Positively summarising conclusions within groups
Once the group has come to its conclusion and there is concurrence between the members of the
outcome of their work, then there has to be a session where the group’s efforts are summarised.
This will assist the group in closure of the event as well as strengthen their ties and views on the
matter.

It will also assist with the further group work efforts of the group as they have been able to work
together and are able to do so harmoniously.

With interaction between people in groups, because of the variety of factors that conclude their
backgrounds, one is certain to find instances where one individual says or does something which
are not intentional. This action could lead to a variety of reactions from other groups.

When a person makes an assumption and the groups’ reaction is negative, it is advisable for the
person to explain their background and reasoning for what they have said. In a good explanation
one is often able to convince a group that the intention was good, although the delivery may not
have been the desired one.

A person with the background of poverty may lean more towards the organisation donating their
scrap items to the causes which would benefit communities similar to those of this person.
Comparable to the situation when people have to be assisted with help due to bad weather
conditions such as floods. If the person responsible for the distribution of goods is solely
responsible therefore, you are more likely to find that they will give preference to their own religion
or cultures.

When such matters arise in conversation, it is advisable that one takes the situation into control
immediately and that there are no conflicts allowed to arise. Therefore it is advisable that one
takes the matter on as and when it occurs.

Ensure that the rest of the people, understand the variety in culture, language or religion (or
whatever the reason for the misunderstanding is) which brought about the reason for the
misunderstanding. It is a good idea to ask the person to explain themselves clearly so that their
true meaning and reasoning behind their words are understood. Only once this occurs will the rest
of the group understand that the intention of the person is not aggressive or enticing conflict.

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 ANALYSE OWN RESPONSES TO SPOKEN TEXTS
AND ADJUST AS REQUIRED

Specific Outcome 2:
Analyse own responses to spoken texts and adjust as required
Assessment criteria
1. Own responses to spoken/signed texts are analysed in relation to audience, purpose and
context. Inappropriate responses are identified and adjusted accordingly.
2. When confronted by opposing views, own position is put forward with confidence in a
manner appropriate to the interaction
3. Tone/register, approach or style is appropriate to context, and is adapted to maintain
oral/signed interaction when it breaks down or is difficult to initiate or maintain. Pedantic,
illogical or aggressive language is identified and modified to sustain interaction.

Respond to communication
Determine the Emotional State of the Speaker
Much of your emotional state is reflected in the way that you speak. The tones, pitch, pace and
volume of your voice or NMF’s and size of your sign, can determine how a listener will interpret
what you are saying. By controlling these vocal/sign characteristics you can become a more
effective speaker.

When communicating with another person you must always be aware of these characteristics.
 By actively listening to what the person is saying/signing
 And the way in which it is said/signed

You can determine his emotional state and thus prepare yourself as to what you are going to
reply and how you are going to do it. Although the above illustrates how your natural reactions
to different states of emotion can influence the manner in which you speak, it must be
mentioned that you can intentionally alter some or all of these factors to enhance what you are
saying.

Do not to overdo such variations as this might have exactly the opposite effect on what you are
trying to communicate. When communicating with someone else you must always strive to do it
as naturally and evenly as possible. Be yourself!!

Adjust Own Tone, Pitch and Volume

It is a fact of life that during interaction with other people, at some stage or another there is
going to be some sort of conflict. This may be due to a variety of reasons.

When dealing with any client it is important to adjust your own tone, pitch and volume of your
voice to reply to both verbal and nonverbal messages in such a way so as not to offend the

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client in any way. A satisfied client thanking you for going the extra mile will normally
speak/sign in a relaxed and friendly manner, using warm tones/NMF’s and speaking at a
moderate pitch and pace, or using moderate sign sizes.

It is easy and pleasant to reply to this client’s messages as there is no aggression or threatening
behaviour from his side and there are not many variations in the verbal and nonverbal
messages he is communicating and therefore you can conduct a relaxed conversation.

The way that you speak can reinforce your message and influence your audience. When you speak
in the same tone, pitch, volume and pace all the time it becomes boring for the audience and
they can fall asleep. If you listen to public speakers, TV and radio commentators, you will notice
that they vary the tone, pitch, volume and pace when they speak, in order to capture and maintain
the interest of the audience.
The tones, pitch, pace and volume of your voice can determine how a listener will interpret what
you are saying.
By controlling these vocal/signing characteristics you can become a more effective speaker/signer.
 The tone is the sound of your voice, e.g. bright or deep, and expresses your feeling or
mood. A bright tone will indicate feelings of excitement, joy, etc. while a deep tone will
indicate feelings of placidity or sorrow. So when you are addressing a serious subject, your
will use a deeper tone of voice, while a lighter tone of voice is appropriate for a more light
hearted subject. In SASL the tone of voice is represented by non-manual features (NMF’s)
 Pitch is determined by the tension on your vocal cords, i.e. how high or low your voice
sounds. Generally you will speak at a high pitch when excited and at a lower pitch when
relaxed. In SASL the pitch is represented by non-manual features (NMF’s)
 The pace or speed at which you speak/sign can also influence your audience. When you
are telling/signing someone that you have won the Lotto you will talk much faster than
when you are telling/signing him that you cannot attend a major sporting event.
You need to adapt the volume of your voice to the environment and the audience, as well as the
subject you are communicating. Factors such as:
 being indoors or outdoors,
 number of listeners in a room,
 the size of the room,
 background noise and
 availability of amplification will determine the volume at which you speak.

The volume/sign size of your voice can also indicate whether you are excited or relaxed, angry
or friendly. When you are saying/ signing something important, you will increase the volume of
your voice/sign size in order to stress the importance of the point you are making.
Pause is a useful technique to stress important points in your presentation. When you pause for a
couple of seconds just after making an important point, the audience knows that what you have
said is important.
Using keywords/signs is another technique to stress important points. In every presentation,
not everything you say will be equally important. Some points will be main points and others will
be extra information to explain what you are saying/ signing. You will use the main points to
identify keywords/signs in your presentation. When you get to the keywords you will stress them
by adjusting the tone, pitch, volume and pace of your voice. This will give the audience the cue
that the keywords and the point you made are important. In SASL you will use NMF’s and sign size
to stress the important points

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Now that you know what it means to vary the tone, pitch, volume and pace of the way you speak,
you can use these methods to:
 Enhance the meaning of what you are saying to the audience
 Respond appropriately to the audience, even in differing circumstances
In SASL you can use NMF’s and sign size to achieve the above.

Dealing with an irate client is slightly more complicated as he is upset about something and his
emotional state can change at any time. Such a client must be handled carefully and
considering and using the following simple guidelines can assist you to do this successfully.
 Acknowledge the conflict – speak/sign in a neutral tone and pitch and sign size and
beware not to be drawn into a shouting match as this will only serve to aggravate the
situation.
 Listen actively – be aware of verbal and nonverbal cues as to the emotional state of the
speaker. Talking/signing rapidly at a high pitch and tone or signs, vigorous hand
gestures and fidgeting will indicate irritability.
 Reply with empathy – when dealing with an irate client you doesn’t fight fire with fire.
Let the speaker experience your empathy by speaking/signing calmly and indicating your
calmness through your signs and NMF’s, even if he is excited.

Do not raise your voice although you might feel irritated yourself. Allow him to voice/sign all his
frustration and be ready with suggestions for a workable solution to the problem. Keep the
discussion issue-orientated and don’t get personal.

Extract the Main Idea from Verbal Communication

It is essential to have a clear grasp of what the other person’s needs are so that you can
address those specific needs and not waste time on irrelevant issues. In order to achieve this
you need to create an atmosphere that is conducive to listening.
 Maintain eye contact to indicate sincerity.
 Also use nonverbal cues and NMF’s such as a nod of the head to indicate that you
understand what is said. This will make it easier for the client to continue and focus on
the issues at hand.
 Repeat the main issues to show the client that you are taking notice of what is said and
that you are committed to finding a solution to his problems.
 Focus on these issues and make notes to help you remember them.
 By summarising what the client said in your own words/signs will indicate to the client
that you are paying attention. It will also help clarify any misinterpretation of wha t the
client said and assist you to concentrate by actively involving yourself in the process.

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Ask Questions
Often the other person will not reveal all the details of what a problem is. It is then necessary
to determine the full extent of the matter by asking relevant questions to clarify his need. Make
sure that these questions are to the point and can once again be summarised in your own words
to express understanding and commitment. Refer to the section about questions to guide you.

Record the Main Idea and Supporting Details

It is good practice to make rough notes of the main ideas during communication. This will
enable you to recall these main points at a later stage.

Rough notes will usually take the form of a summary and you do this while t alking/signing to
the client.
Always also ensure that you check your summary with the client. You can say something like:
“Can I make sure that this is the problem you want resolved…” and then you quote the
problem/s from your notes.

Types of summaries:
 Paraphrasing: when you rewrite something using your own words.
 You can summarise in point form
 When you are summarising a big piece of text, you will make use of headings and sub -
headings. This manual is an example of using headings and sub-headings to break a big
piece of text into smaller pieces
 Another method of summarising is using a mind-map.

Analyse own responses

Your Own Responses
A lot has been said in previous modules about the process of communication, verbal and non -
verbal communication, managing conflict and solving problems.

It is important to note that your own understanding about written or oral text does not depend
only on the point of view of the speaker or writer, but also on your own perceptions - the way in
which you understand another person’s communication.

Your perceptions are influenced by:

 Your own communication skills: how poorly or well you listen to what others are
saying/signing
 Your values and norms
 The way you feel about the other person
 Your own opinion of the subject being discussed
 Your willingness to accept that the other person’s point of view might have some
essence of truth and value

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In the business world, allowing your own perception to affect your judgement can be very bad
to you personally in the workplace. You have to learn to listen to/view other people, accept that
your point of view is not the only correct point of view and that other people’s statements do
have value, even if you do not agree with everything.

You have to learn to listen/view and understand the communication of other people, especially if
the subject is controversial or complex. If you do not understand, it is your responsibility to ask
questions and start discussions about the subject until you understand.

In the business world, the only one who will get into trouble for not understanding a
communication from someone else will be you yourself.

During this section, you will have to prove that you have the ability to find out things you don’t
understand when someone else is communicating with you. You will have to do this without
causing conflict and sometimes even by defusing the conflict that exists between other people.

When you are listening to or reading/viewing a communication from someone else, you make
assumptions about what the person IS NOT SAYING – you assume that the other person is
leaving out facts and information. It will be necessary for you to identify what assumptions you
are making about the other person’s communication.

You will also have to make sure you understand the speaker’s point of view or clarify
understanding of subjects and issues that you are not sure of. When you are involved in a
discussion such as a meeting, a debate or even in class, you must always analyse your own
response to whatever someone else says to you.

You have to think about:

 The audience – the other people who will be listening to you/watching you
 The purpose of your response
 The context in which the discussion is taking place
 The context of what you want to say/sign

Be careful of talking/signing too quickly, too heatedly and without thinking. You can easily
say/sign something that is not acceptable to other people or that has no bearing on the
discussion. Analyse what you want to say/sign and, if you think your reply is inappropriate,
change what you want to say/sign and how you want to say/sign it. Not everyone will agree
with your point of view, just as you do not agree with everyone else’s point of view. That is
their right, just as it is your right to disagree with them.

When you want to say/sign something that opposes the speaker’s/signer’s point of view, think
about how you are going to say it: the tone, pitch volume of your voice / the use of NMF’s and
sign size, say/sign it clearly and with confidence. Do not become aggressive when someone
else challenges your point of view, stay calm and keep on speaking/signing with confidence.

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Make sure that you do not become illogical in order to win an argument, stick to the point and
the facts and admit if someone else’s point of view is better than yours. Do not become
aggressive or pedantic – obsessed with minor details. Always give the person with the opposing
view credit for good arguments and give in gracefully if you seem to be on the losing end.

The most important thing in all communication is to sustain the communication until a
point of agreement is reached.

Facial Expression, Gesture And Inflection

Perhaps the main advantage that we derive from talking face to face is that we are able to
reinforce our speech/signs with facial expressions, gestures, voice /inflections and other physical
devices: meanings of sentences can easily be modified by putting the stress on different words in
otherwise identical phrases or sentences. Let us consider a simple, short example:
'I am going out' This is a plain statement of fact.
'I am going out' The stressed 'I' suggests that the speaker does not Care what the others are
going to do; he is going out anyway.
'I am going out' This indicates that the speaker is determined to go out whatever is said to
the contrary.
'I am going out' This suggests an argumentative state of mind where the speaker's intention
is in danger of being frustrated.
'I am going out!' This is suggestive of the speaker being in a temper. These are his final
words and he slams the door behind him.

To make these various meanings plain in written language, the sentences would have to be
completely restructured and many more words employed.
In a similar fashion, meaning when speaking/signing can be modified or reinforced by facial
expression or gesture. 'Please be more careful' as it stands, is a reprimand. It becomes a very
gentle reprimand or even no reproach at all, if said/signed with a smile.
Similarly, a straightforward 'I don't know' means just that. If the speaker shrugs his shoulders, or
raises his eyes to heaven when saying/ signing it, he can be expressing exasperation.
Body language is much discussed nowadays, and this involves, in the main, unconscious or
automatic gesture. The speaker/signer uses physical gestures to make his home: When he is
making statements about which he feels very passionately, he will pound the table or the lectern
with his fist, or will raise a finger to heaven at the same time bringing his shoulder forward and up.
This is an extreme example of the use of gesture, but the use of the hands and shoulders is very
common whilst speaking. Similarly, our stance and deportment can add meaning to our verbal
communication and can also indicate our attitude to our correspondent. For example, if a person
being interviewed for a new post slouches in his chair and speaks in a slovenly manner, however
highly he is qualified, the interviewer will get the impression that the interviewee is less than
interested in the proposition.

Non-Verbal Signs And Signals

Infants communicate entirely without words; through touch, warmth and various emotional and
sensory perceptions, others decode a child's many non-verbal signals and recognises and satisfies
his many needs and desires. Adults also communicate largely through non-verbal means. We say

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that we have "good vibes" or "feelings" about situations or people; we form quick and sometimes
strong opinions about people from the way they look, the way they dress, and from their general
posture. We make judgements about the quality of character of individuals based upon their looks,
aroma, style of behaviour and how we perceive them to "feel" about us.

Movement
The non-verbal messages transmitted by our movements, physical attitudes and facial expressions
are reliable indicators of emotional feelings or contemplated action. Athletes train carefully to read
the body language of their opponents and learn how to conceal their own intentions.
If you pace a lot while signing/speaking, it could indicate nervousness or restlessness, for example.

Gesture
Actions do indeed reinforce verbal communication. Recall the last time that someone told you that
you did a good job. Recall, too, that when he put his arm on your shoulder, or shook your hand,
or smiled broadly and nodded his head, how much more meaning the compliment had.
Often physical movements and facial expressions totally replace verbal communication. Has
someone ever walked away from you without replying or approached you closely, looked you
directly in the eye, and shakes his head negatively? Has anyone ever laughed at an idea you've
presented or "nodded off" while you were speaking?
These substitutions for language are very clear in their meaning.
Non-verbal signals assist communication by signalling - through facial expression, hand gesture or
other movement - that we have finished speaking/signing.
We also signal in the same way when we wish to speak: we may point to another person or hold
up a palm for silence. We may extend an upward palm to indicate that it is time for someone to
respond. We lean back in a chair after making a point, saying in essence, "How do you react to
that? Now it is your turn to speak"

Cultural Influence
Communication is also influenced by culture. Because of the vast cultural differences that influence
human development, human beings have a variety of languages and appropriate gestures and
expressions that accompany communication in those languages. An Italian or Latin American uses
different gestures from an Englishman or Scandinavian. In America, men are taught that it is not
manly to reveal one's emotions to others. In France and Italy, on the other hand, emotions are
readily revealed, read and accepted. Thus, gestures and facial expressions do not have universally
understood meanings; therefore we must be very careful when trying to read body language and
attach meaning to non-verbal communication out of the context of its cultural milieu.

Response or feedback
Good communication involves an exchange of ideas; it is not one-way. We share with, or connect
with, those to whom we wish to communicate. Whether they reply verbally or just physically, we
get feedback that enhances and illuminates our communication.
One must never assume that one has been understood by others until some action has been taken
as a result of what one has said/signed. This action need not be affirmative to assure that
communication has occurred. All that is necessary is some reassurance that the receiver of the
stimuli has thought about what was said.

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Eye Contact
Eye contact enhances the influence and credibility of the speaker/signer. There is a saying "A man
who has nothing to hide can look me in the eye". Maintain eye contact, without staring. Eye
contact signals interest and concern and demands attention. Failure to maintain good eye contact
creates diversions and distractions and may convey an attitude of antagonism.
Direct and prolonged eye contact, although thought by many people to be a sign of sincerity, tends
to cause anxiety in some, for they feel that it is too intimate. There is good reason to believe that
the person who looks carefully at another individual tends to dominate that situation. Eye contact
is the first acknowledged interaction between individuals.
Looking at someone in order to perceive his non-verbal signals does not mean staring, which is
intrusive and rude. When we stare, others tend to feel that their privacy has been violated,
particularly if we look too long at one part of the body. Such direct assessment of the physical
elements of another individual can be destructive to further communication.

Body Language
Arms folded across the body or legs crossed indicate defensiveness or protectiveness; they are a
signal that the individual is on guard.
Open arms and uncrossed legs generally indicate a relaxed, receptive and trusting inner feeling.
We lean toward people or things we like; we lean away or turn away from things we are ashamed
of, embarrassed by or strongly disagree with. Occasionally we lean forward if we wish to attack an
idea or an individual. The "full front" position is the strongest position an individual can take when
conversing and indicates the greatest interest.

Empathy
The best exercise for finding out meaning in non-verbal communication is to attempt to empathize
with the other individual. In other words, ask "What would I do if I were in his situation with this
kind of stimulus? How would I react? How would I feel inside if I conveyed those non-verbal signals
to another individual?"
Empathy is the ability to create in oneself the same feelings and emotional state of another
individual. In non-verbal communications, some signals are intended and some are not. Control of
non-verbal signals improves one's ability to communicate clearly and accurately with others.

In Summary
When we refer to verbal communication, we mean words or symbols chosen to express meaning.
But different words mean different things to different people, and interpretation and
comprehension of the words require reflection. The meaning of non-verbal communication,
however, is usually more obvious; non-verbal communication is more visible and offers fewer
opportunities for personal interpretation. Words convey information, but they may also be used to
deceive, to confuse and to mislead.

Non-verbal communication tends to be more direct, more revealing and more

influential. Verbal language tends to be intellectual; non-verbal language, emotional. Non-verbal
communication helps to maintain attention by giving vivid visual signals that reinforce attitudes
and ideas that have been translated verbally. Therefore, emotional reinforcement compels
attention, which promotes understanding.

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It is even safe to generalize that verbal messages may conceal while non-verbal messages always
reveal; verbal messages are informative, and non-verbal messages are expressive; verbal
messages are intentional; non-verbal messages are often unintentional. How often have we walked
away from a meeting, an interview or a speech with mixed feelings about what was said or was
expected because a speaker provided different verbal and non-verbal signals.
We react to people according to what we perceive them to be - how sincere and well-motivated
they seem - and the consequences of our doing what they seem to wish us to do.

Nonverbal Messages
You can use your own body language to enhance your verbal message in the
following ways;-

A nonverbal message reinforces the verbal message by adding to its meaning. Banging your
hand on the table while reprimanding someone conveys a stronger message than words alone,
adds emphasis to your statement and captures the listener’s attention.
A nonverbal message can complement a verbal message when it conveys the same meaning. A
greeting in a friendly tone of voice, accompanied by a warm smile will compliment your verbal
message.
A nonverbal message may substitute the verbal message. When you arrive home and are
irritable and impatient it is not necessary to tell anyone that you had a terrible day at work.
Likewise a passionate hug and kiss will tell your spouse that you love him/her without you having
to say it.
Nonverbal behaviour functions to regulate the flow of verbal interaction. Slight hand movements,
eye contact, tone of voice, nodding of the head and other nonverbal behaviour tells the recipient to
talk, repeat a statement, hurry up or finish the conversation.
For example, the chairperson at a meeting uses eye contact or hand gestures instead of words to
indicate whose turn it is to speak.
A nonverbal message can accentuate what is said. While addressing an audience a speaker may
talk louder and wave his finger in the air to stress a point that he is making. Speakers at political
meetings are very good at this.
A nonverbal message may contradict the verbal message. This happens when a speaker says
one thing but does another. A new company executive about to make his first presentation to the
board of directors may claim not to be nervous despite his trembling hands and sweating forehead.
Contradictory cues often tell us when someone is being sarcastic or merely teasing.
Debates and Negotiations
Debates and negotiations can also be conducted in formal and informal formats. A discussion of
the weekend’s sports will be an informal debate where the debate is not structured and the
outcome of the matter is not determined by putting it to a vote.

On the other hand a formal debate, such as during a meeting or session of parliament, is
(supposedly) conducted in a structured manner with participants adhering to certain rules and
procedures. Debating should be conducted in an orderly manner. To achieve this goal
participants and the Chairman should adhere to the following:
 Matters must be discussed in the order in which they appear on the agenda.
 Speakers supporting and opposing the motion should be allowed to speak alternately to
maintain fairness and balance.

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  Members from a minority group should be granted sufficient opportunity to speak.
 The debate may be interrupted at any time by raising a point of order when procedures
aren’t adhered to.
 All persons addressing members should do so through the Chairman.
 The Chairman should ensure that procedures aren’t drawn out unnecessarily by repetitive
arguments.
 Every participant should have the right to speak once to the motion and once to any
amendment. The proposer of a motion should have the right to reply.
 The Chairman has the right to reply to the total debate by summing up or clarifying the
issue.

Pointers for debating

Although people have different opinions and ideas it does not necessarily mean that one is rig ht
and the other wrong. There is often something of value in every opinion.

Allow everyone a turn to speak. Listen to what they have to say it could be of value to your
argument.
Try not to interrupt someone when they are speaking. In a heated argument this will not
always be easy, it will require a lot of self-discipline!

Never get personal or insulting. The fact that you disagree with what someone is saying does
not make them stupid. Sometimes a debate or difference of opinion cannot be resolved. The n
the reasonable thing to do is for all parties to ‘agree to disagree’, which is a result where no one
wins - but no one loses either.

Negotiations
Negotiations happen all the time in our lives. We all want our own way but the person or people
we are with also want their own way – so you negotiate. To get what you want, you have to
learn to compromise or learn to give something in return or to give up something.

In the workplace negotiations take place when situations have been debated and there needs to
be a consensus regarding the outcome; e.g. an agreement has to be reach around salary
increases. During negotiations a lot of persuasion and convincing takes place.

Good communication skills and good people skills play an important role in successful
negotiations. An unbiased chairperson is appointed to manage the negotiations between the
relevant parties. The ideal outcome of negotiations should be a win-win situation, where
although people might have had to compromise, neither side feels that they ha ve given up too
much and gained too little.

The following guidelines should be considered:

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  Don’t go into negotiations angry or aggressive. You will not be negotiating wisely and by
antagonising the other parties you can actually do your own position harm.
 Know what you want to gain and what you are prepared to give up.
 Allow the other person to speak and listen to what they are saying. They too have their
own needs and desires.
 Have a notebook with you so that you can write down points to remember. Otherwi se
you will become so obsessed with having your say that you will not be listening and could
easily miss something important.
 If the negotiations are planned where everyone is given warning, prepare your case. The
better prepared you are, the stronger your case will be, the more in control you will feel
and the more likely you are to get what you want.
 Seek advice from the experts. Depending on the situation, you might want to consult
someone who knows the law or bookkeeping or whatever.
 Don’t make accusations or be insulting.
 Don’t lose your temper. If you lose your temper you actually give the other party power
over you
 .If several of you are involved in the negotiations, you must choose a spokesperson to do
most of the talking. If it is wage negotiations it could be your union representative
 Before the negotiations take place, each party must meet to make sure that you share
the same vision. You have to place your trust in your spokesperson, so choose them
wisely.

When responding to spoken texts one is required to understand the background of the person
sending the message to be able to interpret what their meaning or question is. When there is a
large audience consisting of multicultural parties, it is advisable to know your audience in order to
be able to directly and correctly respond to each individual. Once the background and culture of
the individual is understood one can formulate one’s answer accordingly.

If the person is from a religious background and their question is related to their religion with what
you are not familiar with, it is advisable to answer in a very objective fashion as to cover the
question but not anything further to do with the religious part. Similarly with cultural based
questions when your knowledge is not up-to-date. When answering questions in a large group, it is
advisable to keep the questions for the allocated times. Record the question to ensure you are able
to come back to it and then give it the proper merit it deserves, in answering it.

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Ensure that you answer the questions according to the scope of your verbal context and keep it to
that. Do not expand in such a fashion where the topic is totally missed and confusion occurs.
Within smaller groups such as brainstorming activities, it is advisable that the entire group is
attracted to the question to ensure that you answer the question only once and the entire group
understands it.

When a response is offered which may be the cause of conflict, it is advisable to stop, and
rephrase the answer in such a fashion where the conflict can be avoided or explained. Responses
should be kept short and to the point in order to avoid such situations.

Often there are opposing views within communicative environments. These views are opposing
because of the various required outcomes that the parties may have in relation to the matter.
When one is confronted with such a situation, you should explain your background in context of
the arising matter and then put your view forward in a manner which explains to the opposite
party that your views are based on your position.

Explaining your position to the other party will enable them to understand your point of view and
the reason for your point of view. Agreeing that there are various viewpoints on the same matter
will enable the parties to interact more freely to ensure that the outcome is mutual. By explaining
your point of view, you must be stern to such an extent where you show that you are not hesitant
on your point, but yet that you are open for opinions and exploration. This will open the
opportunity for further conversation rather than stating that you have your point of view and there
is no room for conversation with that regard.

When using one’s tone in conversation it is imperative that the tone is suited to the situation.
Enhancing one’s tone in a small environment can show that you are overwhelming, which will lead
to a breakdown in conversation as the other parties involved, will feel intimidated. One’s approach
to a matter is crucial to be correct. To ensure that you breach the subject with the relevant parties,
your approach must pertain to exactly what the subject covers.

Approaching a personal matter, in confidence with a loud blusterous voice, in an open plan office
environment will cause the receiving party to subtract, be intimidated as well as insulted. Such a
person will no longer take part in conversation, withdrawing themselves to avoid humiliation. In
such a case it is advisable to ask the person to accompany you to an enclosed environment where

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a more personal approach can be used, without their fears of being addressed (on such a personal
matter) in front of their colleagues.

Pedantic language use can often be the cause of breakdown in conversation as the other parties
may not be as educated as the person using the language. When people do not understand the
language because of the level that is used at, they tend to rather pull out of the conversation to
ensure they do not appear uneducated because of their lack of understanding. In such cases, it is
advisable for the user to rephrase their words or language so that all the listeners can understand
what is being said.

Illogical and aggressive use of language in responses is one of the most effective manners in which
to end the communication. Even though you may be subject to some questions which are
consistently asked repeatedly, you have to understand that there is a reason behind it. Be it
whether the first answer was not explanatory enough or even when receiver did not understand
your explanation properly.

There is no use in getting blusterous or aggressive in the use of language as it will not achieve the
outcome of the conversation. Rather take time, answer the question in stages to ensure that the
receiver understands the answer, point by point. This way you will avoid having to explain or
answer the same question repeatedly.

To ensure that your responses are phrased correctly and that your audience is not intimidated by
your response, it is advisable to ensure that you understand your audience. By understanding your
audience you will be able to formulate your answers according to their backgrounds and needs.
Knowing your subject is also vitally important to ensure that you are able to answer your audience
in various manners to ensure their understanding. Using short, to the point words and sentences
will avoid confusion and enable people to stop you when they do not understand.

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 USE STRATEGIES TO BE AN EFFECTIVE SPEAKER
IN SUSTAINED ORAL INTERACTIONS
Specific Outcome 3:
Use strategies to be an effective speaker/signer in sustained oral/signed interactions.
Assessment criteria
1. Planning of content and presentation techniques is evident in formal communications
2. The impact of non-verbal cues/body language and signals on audiences is analysed and
used appropriately.
3. The influence of rhetorical devices is analysed and used for effect on an audience.
Range: Pause, rhetorical question, exclamation, analogy, emphasis, repetition, rhythm, use
of inclusive/ exclusive pronouns, stress, intonation, non-manual features (NMFs),
volume/sign size and pace

Speakers are the main vehicles for communicating the overall message. They have to provide
insight, awareness or cutting-edge information in an energetic, motivational, entertaining and
professional manner.

The right characteristics in a speaker will ensure that emphasis is placed on the message,
inspiration is given and people are assisted to cope with new assignments and lead the way to
change. To make an effective connection with your public speaking and your audience, as a
speaker, you have to become ADEPT:

Acting
Acting ability helps the speaker to be relaxed, audible and expressive. It may also help the
speaker to learn their lines so that they are not bound to their scripts. They will be able to
control their movements, so that the movements add to, and do not detract from, what they
are saying.

The good actor is so aware of the meaning of each movement they make, that they control
those careless movements that often give away an inexperienced speak er. They will deliberately
use each gesture and facial expression for the purpose of communicating with their audiences.
Of course, to the audience, everything appears to be natural.

Delivery
Closely associated with the acting ability is the delivery of the speaker. Probably the most
convenient method of delivering a speech is with notes. These notes should not be too
conspicuous, small cards which can be easily held in the palm of your hand and shuffled, are
the best.

Such notes help to maintain logical sequence in the speech and allow the speaker to deliver
their speech extemporaneously (making up the syntax of their sentences as they go along).
Such speeches are most likely to maintain the interest of the audience and to appear fresh and
entertaining.

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Entertainment
Every speaker needs to be aware of the importance of entertainment in speaking. Those who think
that entertainment is not part of their business should think again. There is no reason why
lecturers or preachers should not put across their ideas in an entertaining way.

It is an essential part of their training as actors that they are not there merely to instruct but also
to keep their audience awake and interested through entertaining ways of expressing themselves.
This is not meant in the narrow sense of making people laugh by telling jokes.

It is meant by making use of interesting illustrations, unusual ways of communication, the use of
audio-visual media; i.e. consideration for the audiences’ powers of concentration.

Presentation
Every speech is a presentation to an audience. A speech has as its aim to win a particular response
from its listeners. In this sense it is persuasive communication. At the beginning of our preparation
of a speech we should have a clear purpose in mind and at the end of our speech we should ask
ourselves, “What happened?” in a business, one will evaluate the business by looking at the
financial results, similarly with a speech, one must ask the question, if the intended outcome has
been reached.

In thinking about presentation we need to pay attention to the timing of each part of the speech.
In dividing a speech into sections we are giving attention to presentation and logical development.
It is a good idea to have at least one visual presentation for each section so that the audience’s
attention and interest do not lag. It is important for the speaker to keep to the allocated
timeframes.

Theme
Content without proper presentation of the content is a waste of time. But content, nevertheless,
is very important. A speaker has a duty to talk sense and know what they are talking about. Their
primary concern is to communicate something that the members of the audience will find of value
to them in their personal or business lives. We use the word theme to refer to the unified thread of
sense or intelligent though that should run throughout a speech.

Sometimes we are asked to speak on a topic, and this then becomes out theme. In preparing a
speech we must make sure that everything we are going to say is connected with this topic, and
anything that cannot be related must be discarded. The title, topic or theme helps us therefore to
order our thoughts and to eliminate irrelevant thoughts.

Furthermore, achieving the right emphasis means that your audience recognises your most
important points straight away. Effective emphasis can be achieved by:
Using the beginnings and ends of messages to state and summarise your key points
Using the topic or key sentences of paragraphs to state your main ideas
Devoting more space or time to key points
Repeating key points or ideas
Ensuring that you do not bring in irrelevant points to break your unifying thread

Page 32
During the course of a speech one has to make use of many methods to accentuate the key points
you wish the audience to take in. As you make use of them, you need to ensure that you make
use of them in such a fashion where they are effective, but not over used.

This will make them lose their effectiveness. By pausing after making an important or new
statement, you give the audience time to take in what you have said. Then once it has sunk in to
them, using voice intonation (volume), you are able to explain your great enthusiasm of the
matter by adding excitement to the explanation thereof.

Subtly repeating your key points where they fit into the speech will allow you to reiterate them to
your audience ensuring that they understand your message purpose.

By placing emphasis on certain words through stressing your voice, and pausing afterwards, you
allow for your message to sink into your audience. A proper analogy of the subject is required to
ensure your audience understands it, as well as you do.

Making use of well-timed repetitions and explanations you enable your audience to get up to speed
with the matter, ensuring their understanding as well as minimising possible rhetorical questioning
afterwards or during the speech. By adding a natural rhythm to your speech you ensure your
audience understands when you start expressing your point, add value and content to it and end it
by presenting it again, in compact form, as part of the conclusion.

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 EVALUATE SPOKEN DISCOURSE IN FORMAL
AND INFORMAL TEXTS
Specific outcome 4: Evaluate spoken/signed discourse. Formal and informal texts
Assessment criteria
1. Points of view in spoken/signed texts are identified and meaning described in relation to
context and purpose of the interaction.
2. The impact of non-verbal cues/body language and signals on audiences is analysed and
used appropriately.
3. The influence of rhetorical devices is analysed and used for effect on an audience.
Range : Pause, rhetorical question, exclamation, analogy, emphasis, repetition, rhythm,
use of inclusive/ exclusive pronouns, stress, intonation, non-manual features (NMFs),
volume/sign size and pace

STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF

SOUTH AFRICA, NELSON MANDELA

Houses of Parliament, Cape Town, 24 May 1994

“…The time will come when our nation will honour the memory of all the sons, the daughters, the mothers, the
fathers, the youth and the children who, by their thoughts and deeds, gave us the right to assert with pride that
we are South Africans, that we are Africans and that we are citizens of the world.

The certainties that come with age tell me that among these we shall find an Afrikaner woman who
transcended a particular experience and became a South African, an African and a citizen of the
world. Her name is Ingrid Jonker. She was both a poet and a South African. She was both an
Afrikaner and an African. She was both an artist and a human being. In the midst of despair, she
celebrated hope. Confronted with death, she asserted the beauty of life. In the dark days when all
seemed hopeless in our country, when many refused to hear her resonant voice, she took her own
life. To her and others like her, we owe a debt to life itself. To her and others like her, we owe a
commitment to the poor, the oppressed, the wretched and the despised. In the aftermath of the
massacre at the anti-pass demonstration in Sharpeville she wrote that:

"The child is not dead

the child lifts his fists against his mother
who shouts Africa!...

The child is not dead

Not at Langa nor at Nyanga
nor at Orlando nor at Sharpeville
nor at the police post at Philippi
where he lies with a bullet through his brain...

the child is present at all assemblies and law-giving

the child peers through the windows of houses
and into the hearts of mothers

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this child who only wanted to play in the sun at Nyanga
is everywhere

the child grown to a man treks on through all Africa

the child grown to a giant journeys
over the whole world
without a pass!"

And in this glorious vision, she instructs that our endeavours must be about the liberation of the
woman, the emancipation of the man and the liberty of the child. It is these things that we must
achieve to give meaning to our presence in this chamber and to give purpose to our occupancy of
the seat of government. And so we must, constrained by and yet regardless of the accumulated
effect of our historical burdens, seize the time to define for ourselves what we want to make of our
shared destiny.

The government I have the honour to lead and I dare say the masses who elected us to serve in
this role, are inspired by the single vision of creating a people-centred society. Accordingly, the
purpose that will drive this government shall be the expansion of the frontiers of human fulfilment,
the continuous extension of the frontiers of the freedom. The acid test of the legitimacy of the
programmes we elaborate, the government institutions we create, the legislation we adopt must be
whether they serve these objectives. Our single most important challenge is therefore to help
establish a social order in which the freedom of the individual will truly mean the freedom of the
individual.

We must construct that people-centred society of freedom in such a manner that it guarantees the
political and the human rights of all our citizens. As an affirmation of the government's
commitment to an entrenched human rights culture, we shall immediately take steps to inform the
Secretary General of the United Nations that we will subscribe to the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. We shall take steps to ensure that we accede to the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Social and Economic Rights and other human
rights instruments of the United Nations. Our definition of the freedom of the individual must be
instructed by the fundamental objective to restore the human dignity of each and every South
African.

This requires that we speak not only of political freedoms.

My government's commitment to create a people-centred society of liberty binds us to the pursuit

of the goals of freedom from want, freedom from hunger, freedom from deprivation, freedom from
ignorance, freedom from suppression and freedom from fear. These freedoms are fundamental to
the guarantee of human dignity. They will therefore constitute part of the centrepiece of what this
government will seek to achieve, the focal point on which our attention will be continuously
focused. The things we have said constitute the true meaning, the justification and the purpose of
the Reconstruction and Development Programme, without which it would lose all legitimacy. When
we elaborated this Programme we were inspired by the hope that all South Africans of goodwill
could join together to provide a better life for all. We were pleased that other political organisations
announced similar aims.

Today, I am happy to announce that the Cabinet of the Government of National Unity has reached
consensus not only on the broad objective of the creation of the people-centred society of which I
have spoken, but also on many elements of a plan broadly based on that Programme for
Reconstruction and Development. Let me indicate some of the more important agreements.
Annually, in the combined budgets of central government and the provinces, we will provide for an
increasing amount of funding for the plan. This will start with an appropriation of R2,5 billion in the
1994/95 budget that will be presented next month. This should rise to more than R10 billion by the
fifth year of the life of this government.

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Government will also use its own allocation of funds to the Reconstruction and Development Plan
to exert maximum leverage in marshalling funds from within South Africa and abroad. In this
regard, I am pleased to report that we have been holding consultation with some of the principal
business leaders of our country. Consequently, we are assured that the business sector can and
will make a significant contribution towards the structuring and management of such
reconstruction and development funds, towards the effective identification and implementation of
projects and by supporting the financing of the socio-economic development effort.

I am also pleased to report that many of our friends abroad have already made commitments to
assist us to generate the reconstruction and development funds we need. We thank them most
sincerely for their positive attitude which arises not from objectives of charity but from the desire
to express solidarity with the new society we seek to build. We accept the duty of coordinating the
management of the total resources that will be generated, without seeking to prescribe to other
contributors or undermining the continued role of non-governmental organisations and community-
based organisations.

The initial R2,5 billion will be found from savings and the redirection of spending, as included in the
preliminary 1994/95 budget proposals presented to Cabinet. I would like to thank the departments
of state for their cooperation in carrying out this adjustment to their planning, at short notice. As
we allocate larger amount in future, we shall require further adjustments by departments, partly to
correct the bias in the spending patterns which are a legacy of the past.

The longer period shall allow such changes to be properly planned. But they will still make great
demands on the managerial capacity and spirit of cooperation of the Cabinet and the whole civil
service. We are confident that, motivated by the desire to serve the people, the public service will
discharge its responsibilities with diligence, sensitivity and enthusiasm, among other things paying
attention to the important goal of increasing efficiency and productivity.

My government is equally committed to ensure that we use this longer period properly fully to
bring into the decision-making processes organs of civil society. This will include the trade union
movement and civic organisations, so that at no time should the government become isolated from
the people. At the same time, steps will be taken to build the capacity of communities to manage
their own affairs.

Precisely because we are committed to ensuring sustainable growth and development leading to a
better life for all, we will continue existing programmes of fiscal rehabilitation. We are therefore
determined to make every effort to contain real general government consumption at present levels
and to manage the budget deficit with a view to its continuous reduction.

Similarly, we are agreed that a permanently higher general level of taxation is to be avoided.

To achieve these important objectives will require consistent discipline on the part of both the
central and the provincial governments. Furthermore, this disciplined approach will ensure that we
integrate the objectives of our Reconstruction and Development Plan within government
expenditure and not treat them as incidental to the tasks of government, marginalised to the
status of mere additions to the level of expenditure.

There are major areas of desperate need in our society.

As a signal of its seriousness to address these, the government will, within the next 100 days,
implement various projects under the direct supervision of the President. Let me briefly mention
these. Children under the age of six and pregnant mothers will receive free medical care in every
state hospital and clinic where such need exists. Similarly, a nutritional feeding scheme will be
implemented in every primary school where such need is established. A concrete process of
consultation between the major stakeholders in this area will be organised immediately.

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A programme is already being implemented to electrify 350 000 homes during the current financial
year. A campaign will be launched at every level of government, a public works programme
designed and all efforts made to involve the private sector, organised labour, the civics and other
community organisations to rebuild our townships, restore services in rural and urban areas, while
addressing the issue of job creation and training, especially for our unemployed youth.

Many details of the overall reconstruction and development plan remain to be discussed, agreed
and put in place. But I believe that the broad outline I have given and the immediate initiatives I
have mentioned, will allow you to share my joy at the progress already made by the Government
of National Unity with regard to this important matter. We shall carry out this plan within the
context of a policy aimed at building a strong and growing economy which will benefit all our
people.

I would like to deal with a few matters in this regard. In support of sustainable economic growth
and the macro-economic objective of Government, it will remain the primary objective of monetary
policy to promote and maintain overall financial stability. The Reserve Bank has the important
function of protecting the value of our currency and striving for relative price stability at all times.
We are pleased that Dr Chris Stals will continue to serve as Governor of the Reserve Bank. The
battle to reduce the rate of inflation will continue.

The realisation of many of our objectives for a fair and equal treatment of all our people will not be
possible unless we succeed in avoiding high inflation in the economy. We also face a major
challenge in re-entering the global economy, while stable prices are vital to the restructuring of our
industries and dealing with the critical issue of job-creation. We are blessed with a heritage of a
sophisticated financial sector. Our financial markets are well-placed to play an important part in the
allocation of scarce funds to give effect to our economic development programme.

It is however also necessary that we think in new ways, to meet the challenges of reconstruction
and development. We therefore welcome recent developments that provide for the creation of
community banks. We would also like to encourage the greater participation of established financial
institutions in the important area of black economic empowerment and support for the
development of small and medium business. The latter two areas of economic activity will receive
the greatest attention of the Government because of their importance in de-racialising and
democratising the economy and creating the jobs which our people need.

We pay attention to the important matter of consumer protection to shield the ordinary people of
our country from unscrupulous business practices. We must also clear that we must pay increased
attention to tourism. The jobs and foreign currency which tourism generates will strongly influence
our economy. The active and imaginative intervention of all stake stakeholders in this area of our
national life must take advantage of the excellent atmosphere created by our peaceful transition to
democracy to make tourism a major positive force in the future.

We look forward to the private sector as a whole playing a central role in achieving the significantly
high and sustainable rates of economic growth. We are convinced that the growth prospects of this
sector will be enhanced by the measures of fiscal discipline contained in our approach to the
Reconstruction and Development Programme and by the continued steady course of monetary
policy. As growth proceeds, more domestic savings will progressively become available to finance
increased investment at reasonable rates of interest.

The Government is also acutely conscious of the fact that we should work firstly to return the
capital account of the balance of payments to equilibrium and, in due course, to ensure a net
inflow of resources, consistent with the experience of other countries that enjoy more rapid growth
rates. The present situation of a dual currency and the existence of an exchange control apparatus
is a direct result of the conflict in which our country was embroiled in the past. As the situation
returns to normal, these arrangements will be subjected to critical scrutiny. It should be possible to

Page 37
match the steady growth of confidence at home and abroad with other confidence enhancing
modifications to everybody's benefit.

The Government will also address all other matters that relate the creation of an attractive
investment climate for both domestic and foreign investors, conscious of the fact that we have to
compete with the rest of the world in terms of attracting, in particular, foreign direct investment. I
am pleased that we have already started to address the important question of our trade policy,
guided by our GATT commitments and the determination systematically to open the economy to
global competition in a carefully managed process.

Soon we will also begin trade negotiations with, among others, the European Union, the United
States, our partners in the Southern African Customs Unions and our neighbours in the Southern
African Development Community to provide a stable and mutually beneficial framework for our
international economic relations.We will also be looking very closely at the question of enhancing
South-South cooperation in general as part of the effort to expand our economic links with the rest
of the world.

Consistent with our objective of creating a people-centred society and effectively to address the
critical questions of growth, reconstruction and development, we will, together with organised
labour and the private sector, pay special attention to the issue of human resource development.
Both the public and the private sectors will be encouraged to regard labour as a resource and not a
cost. Education and training must therefore be looked at very closely to ensure that we empower
the workers, raise productivity levels and meet the skills needs of a modern economy. Important
work will have to be done in and significant resources devoted to the areas of science and
technology, including research and development.

Government is also convinced that organised labour is an important partner whose cooperation is
crucial for the reconstruction and development of our country. That partnership requires, among
other things, that our labour law be reformed so that it is in line with international standards,
apartheid vestiges are removed and a more harmonious labour relations dispensation is created,
on the basis of tripartite cooperation between government, labour and capital. The Government is
determined forcefully to confront the scourge of unemployment, not by way of handouts but by the
creation of work opportunities. The Government will also deal sensitively with the issue of
population movements into the country, to protect our workers, to guard against the exploitation
of vulnerable workers and to ensure friendly relations with all countries and peoples. The
Government is also taking urgent measures to deal firmly with drug trafficking some of which is
carried out by foreign nationals who are resident in the country. We must end racism in the
workplace as part of our common offensive against racism in general. No more should words like
Kaffirs, Hottentots, Coolies, Boy, Girl and Baas be part of our vocabulary.

I also trust that the matter of paying the workers for the public holidays proclaimed in order to
ensure their participation in the elections and the inauguration ceremonies will now be resolved as
a result of recent consultations. This would be a welcome demonstration by the private sector of its
involvement in the beautiful future we are all trying to build. We have devoted time to a discussion
of economic questions because they are fundamental to the realisation of the fundamental
objectives of the reconstruction and development programme Below I mention some of the work in
which the relevant governments are already involved to translate these objectives into reality.

The Government will take steps to ensure the provision of clean water on the basis of the principle
of water security for all and the introduction of proper sanitation sensitive to the protection of the
environment. We are determined to address the dire housing shortage in a vigorous manner,
acting together with the private sector and the communities in need of shelter. Health also remains
a fundamental building block of the humane society we are determined to create through the
implementation of the Reconstruction and Development Programme.

Page 38
We must address the needs of the aged and disabled, uplift disadvantaged sectors such as the
women and the youth, and improve the lives of our people in the rural communities and the
informal settlements. We must invest substantial amounts in education and training and meet our
commitment to introduce free and compulsory education for a period of at least 9 years.
Everywhere we must reinoculate the culture of learning and of teaching and make it possible for
this culture to thrive. We must combat such social pathologies as widespread poverty, the break
down of family life, crime, alcohol and drug abuse, the abuse of children, women and the elderly
and the painful reality of street children. We are giving urgent attention to the long waiting lists for
the payment of social grants which have developed in some areas, owing to lack of funds. I am
especially pleased that we have a ministry dedicated to the issue of the environment. Its work
must impact on many aspects of national activity and address the question of the well-being of
society as a whole and the preservation of a healthy environmental future even for generation not
yet born. As we began this address, we borrowed the words of Ingrid Jonker to focus on the plight
of the children our country. I would now like to say that the Government will, as a matter of
urgency, attend to the tragic and complex question of children and juveniles in detention and
prison.

The basic principle from which we will proceed from now onwards is that we must rescue the
children of the nation and ensure that the system of criminal justice must be the very last resort in
the case of juvenile offenders. I have therefore issued instruction to the Departments concerned,
as a matter of urgency, to work out the necessary guidelines which will enable us to empty our
prisons of children and to place them in suitable alternative care. This is in addition to an amnesty
for various categories serving prisoners as will be affected in terms of what I said in my
Inauguration Address two week ago. In this context, I also need to make the point that the
Government will also not delay unduly with regard to attending to the vexed and unresolved issue
of an amnesty for criminal activities carried out in furtherance of political objectives.

We will attend to this matter in a balanced and dignified way. The nation must come to terms with
its past in a spirit of openness and forgiveness and proceed to build the future on the basis of
repairing and healing. The burden of the past lies heavily on all of us, including those responsible
for inflicting injury and those who suffered. Following the letter and the spirit of the Constitution,
we will prepare the legislation which will seek to free the wrongdoers from fear of retribution and
blackmail, while acknowledging the injury of those who have been harmed so that the individual
wrongs, injuries, fears and hopes affecting individuals are identified and attended to. In the
meantime, summoning the full authority of the position represent, we call on all concerned not to
take any steps that might, in any way, impede or compromise the processes of reconciliation which
the impending legislation will address.

The problem of politically motivated violence is still with us. We depend on our country's security
forces to deal with this problem using all resources at their disposal. In this, and in their efforts to
deal especially criminal violence, they have our personal support and confidence. We have also
directed that all relevant ministries should engage the structures set up in terms of the National
Peace Accord so that these can be invigorated to pursue their noble mission in the context of the
changed circumstances in our country. The Government will otherwise not spare any effort in
ensuring that our security forces enjoy the standing they deserve of being accepted by all our
people the defenders of our sovereignty, our democratic system, the guarantors of a just peace
within the country and the safety and security of all citizens and their property.

Let met also take this opportunity to reiterate our assurance to the rest of the public service that
the Government is firmly committed to the protection of the rights of all members of this service.
We are also determined to work with the organisations of the service to ensure that we have the
democratic, non-racial, non-sexist, honest and accountable corps of public servants which
members of the Public Service themselves desire. In this context, we must also make the
observation that the Government will not waver from the principle of achieving parity in
remuneration and conditions of service among all workers in the public sector. The youth of our
country are the valued possession of the nation. Without them there can be no future. Their needs

Page 39
are immense and urgent. They are at the centre of our reconstruction and development plan. To
address them, acting with the youth themselves, the Government will engage the representative
organisations of the youth and other formations, among other things to look at the sitting of a
broad-based National Commission on Youth Development among the structures of Government.

Building on this base, the Government and the Commission would then work together to ensure
that the nurturing of our youth stands at the centre of our reconstruction and development,
without being consigned to a meaningless ghetto of public life. Similar considerations must attach
to the equally important question of the emancipation of the women of our country. It is vitally
important that all structures of Government, including the President himself, should understand
this fully that freedom cannot be achieved unless the women have been emancipated from all
forms of oppression.

All of us must take this on board that the objectives of the Reconstruction and Development
Programme will not have been realised unless we see in visible and practical terms that the
condition of the women of our country has radically changed for the better and that they have
been empowered to intervene in all aspects of life as equals with any other member of society.

In addition to the establishment of the statutory Gender Commission provided for in the
Constitution, the Government will, together with the representatives of the women themselves,
look at the establishment of organs of Government to ensure that all levels of the public sector,
from top to bottom, integrate the central issue of the emancipation of women in their programmes
and daily activities. Tomorrow, on Africa Day, the dream of Ingrid Jonker will come to fruition. The
child grown to a man will trek through all Africa. The child grown to a journey will journey over the
whole world - without a pass!

Tomorrow, on Africa Day, our new flag will be hoisted in an historic ceremony at the OAU
Headquarters in Addis Ababa, with the OAU having already agreed to accept us as its latest
member. Tomorrow, on Africa Day, the UN Security Council will meet to lift the last remaining
sanctions against South Africa and to position the world organisation to relate to our country as an
honoured, responsible and peace-loving citizen. As such, the Government is involved in discussion
to determine what our contribution could be to the search for peace in Angola and Rwanda, to the
reinforcement of the peace process in Mozambique, to the establishment of a new world order of
mutually beneficial cooperation, justice, prosperity and peace for ourselves and for the nations of
the world.

Yesterday the Cabinet also decided to apply for our country to join the Commonwealth. This
important community of nations is waiting to receive us with open arms. We have learnt the lesson
that our blemishes speak of what all humanity should not do. We understand this fully that our
glories point to the heights of what human genius can achieve.

In our dreams we have a vision of all our country at play in our sports fields and enjoying deserved
and enriching recreation in our theatres, galleries, beaches, mountains, plains and game parks, in
conditions of peace, security and comfort.

Our road to that glorious future lies through collective hard work to accomplish the objective of
creating a people-centred society through the implementation of the vision contained in our
reconstruction and development plan.

Let us all get down to work!

This is the actual speech of Mr Mandela on his fist State of the Nation Address in 1994. In this
example we find that a lot of values, attitudes, assumptions, points of view are shown after the
long struggle to freedom. There are many techniques used by the speaker to reiterate his point as

Page 40
well as his passion for freedom for the country. The impact this speech had is enormous, as many
as 150 countries we listening to the speech being delivered, on live television. More than 500
international dignitaries and 50 heads of state attended the event. It is one of the most important
speeches ever made by a South African head of state.

In literature and storytelling a point of view is the related experience or the speaker. The texts
encourage the reader or listener to identify with the speaker. The point of view is carried over by
the speaker to listeners in an attempt to win them over to the speakers’ side or to see matters
from their perspective. The speakers’ beliefs, values and attitude become apparent in their speech
as the progress. Making use of various techniques, the speaker attempts to involve the audience in
their experiences, so as to awake their feelings and emotions, and inevitably win them to their
perspective of the matter. The impact of the communication becomes apparent during and after
the delivery of the speech and is usually judged by the reaction of the people once the speaker
makes certain points clear. Upon completion of their speech, the speaker will wait for the audience
to acknowledge their agreement or disagreement of the matter, by judging it from their reactions.

Page 41
 UNIT STANDARD 119469

Unit Standard Title

Read/view, analyse and respond to a variety of texts

NQF Level
4

Credits
5

Purpose Of The Unit Standard

Complex human and social issues. They are aware of both the functions of language and of its
drama and power.

Learners are critical, reflective and responsive readers and/or viewers of written/signed and visual
texts. They are able to draw comparisons between texts, and to compare and contrast themes and
issues in texts with those in the contexts in which they live and work. They identify and analyse
style and tone/sign size and pace and account for their effectiveness in different texts. They are
willing to challenge the assumptions and values expressed in texts. They are especially critical
readers/viewers of both the written/signed and/or visual mass media. They can access, process
and use information from a wide variety of texts.

Learners credited with this unit standard are:

Critically analyse texts produced for a range of purposes, audiences and contexts
Identify and explain the values, attitudes and assumptions in texts
Evaluate the effects of content, language and style on readers'/viewers' responses in specific texts.

Unit Standard Range

A wide variety of complex and extended written/signed and visual texts from socio-cultural,
learning and workplace contexts.

Specific range statements are provided in the body of the unit standard where they apply to
particular specific outcomes or assessment criteria.

Specific Outcomes and Assessment Criteria:

Specific Outcome 1
Critically analyse texts produced for a range of purposes, audiences and contexts.
Assessment Criteria
1. Reading and/or viewing strategies appropriate to the purposes for reading/viewing are
adopted.
Range: Skim, scan, prediction, knowledge of form and features of text types and different
genre.

Page 42
 2. Organisational features of texts are identified. The role of each of the features is explained
in relation to usefulness in making meaning of readings and/or viewing.
Range: Role of titles, headings, introductions, paragraphs, conclusions, outcome
statements, chapters, summaries, contents, diagrams, appendices or addenda, foreword,
index, content lists glossary, hyper-links, layout, icons, tables, graphics, font size and/or
type, photographs, captions, visuals, cinematographic techniques.
3. Synthesis of information from texts, and generalisation of patterns and trends, result in
appropriate conclusions about purpose, audience and context.

Specific Outcome 2
Identify and explain the values, attitudes and assumptions in texts.
Outcome Range: Socio-cultural, learning and/or workplace contexts.
Assessment Criteria
1. An understanding of surface and embedded meaning in the text is reflected in presentations
of viewpoints.
2. Values and views in selected texts are identified and explained in terms of the impact on
meaning and target audience.
3. Evidence cited from texts in defence of a position is relevant.

Specific Outcome 3
Evaluate the effects of content, language and style on readers'/viewers' responses in specific
texts.
Assessment Criteria
1. Content is outlined and its possible effects on different readers/viewers are explored.
2. The impact of different writing/signing techniques on reader/viewer perspective are
identified and explained in terms of the particular effect produced by each.
Range: Length of sentence, punctuation/non-manual features (NMFs), diction/choice of
words, use of figurative language jargon/technical
terms/slang/dialect/irony/humour/satire/sarcasm/legalisms
3. The influence of specific language structures and features is analysed.
Range: Bias (cultural, religious or peer preferences, misrepresentation, discrimination,
racist, sexist, ageist), humour, irony, sarcasm, use of omission and silence, figurative
expressions, repetition, hyperbole, generalisations, stereotyping, pictures and captions,
typography and grammar.
4. The effect of selected production techniques in visuals is explained.
Range of visuals: Photographs, transparencies, slides, posters, graphics, videos, films
Range of techniques:
Composition, layout, light, foregrounding, back grounding, perspective, camera angle,
frame, sequence, use of colour/black and white, font type, font size, headlines, captions,
subtitles, borders, overlays, selection and/or omission, scale, size

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Critical Cross-field Outcomes (CCFO):
Identifying
Identify and solve problems: using context to decode and make meaning individually and in groups
in oral/signed, reading/viewing and written/signed activities.
Organising
Organise and manage oneself and one's activities responsibly and effectively through using
language.
Collecting
Collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate information: fundamental to the process of
growing language capability across language applications and fields of study.
Communicating
Communicate effectively using visual, mathematical and/or language skills: in formal and informal
communications.
Science
Use science and technology effectively and critically: using technology to access and present texts
and exploring the ethics of science and technology through studying texts from and about these
fields.
Demonstrating
Understand the world as a set of inter-related parts of a system: through using language to
explore and express links, and exploring a global range of contexts and texts.
Contributing
Contribute to the full development of oneself: by engaging with texts that stimulate awareness and
development of life skills and the learning process.

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 ANALYSE AND CRITICISE TEXTS
Specific Outcome 1
Critically analyse texts produced for a range of purposes, audiences and contexts.
Assessment Criteria
1. Reading and/or viewing strategies appropriate to the purposes for reading/viewing are
adopted.
Range: Skim, scan, prediction, knowledge of form and features of text types and different
genre.
2. Organisational features of texts are identified. The role of each of the features is explained
in relation to usefulness in making meaning of readings and/or viewing.
Range: Role of titles, headings, introductions, paragraphs, conclusions, outcome
statements, chapters, summaries, contents, diagrams, appendices or addenda, foreword,
index, content lists glossary, hyper-links, layout, icons, tables, graphics, font size and/or
type, photographs, captions, visuals, cinematographic techniques.
3. Synthesis of information from texts, and generalisation of patterns and trends, result in
appropriate conclusions about purpose, audience and context.

Skimming and scanning

Skimming - Skimming involves searching for the main ideas by reading the first and last
paragraphs, noting other organizational cues, such as summaries, used by the author. In order to
skim:
Formulate questions before you begin e.g. what is this all about? Does this article deal with the
subject I am researching?
 Read fast bearing in mind your question(s).
 Do not read every word.
 Look at the opening paragraph of each chapter or section.
 Read the first sentence in each paragraph.
 Try to catch key phrases.

Scanning - Scanning involves running your eyes down the page looking for specific facts or key
words and phrases. Think about what FORM the information will take: Is it a number? Is the word
in capitals? How does it start?
 Visualise what the word or number looks like
 Use numerical order
 Do not read every word/number
 Read fast and when you find the information you want then you slow down and examine it
closely

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Skimming and scanning are particularly valuable techniques for studying scientific textbooks.
Science writers pack many facts and details closely together, and learners react by shifting their
reading speeds to the lowest gear and crawling through the material.

Notwithstanding the fact that science textbooks are usually well organized, with main points and
sub-topics clearly delineated, the typical learner ignores these clues and plods through the chapter
word-by-word, trying to cram it all in.

It is precisely these characteristics, organization and densities of facts per page that make it so
vital that you employ skimming scanning techniques. To successfully master science test, you must
understand thoroughly the major ideas and concepts presented. Without such a conceptual
framework, you will find yourself faced with the impossible task of trying to cram hundreds of
isolated facts into your memory.

Thus, a preliminary skimming for the main ideas by

using the author’s organization cues (Topic headings,
italics, summaries, etc.) is a vital preliminary step to
more intensive reading and maximum retention. It will
provide a logical framework in which to fit the details.

Similarly, scanning skills are valuable for several

purposes in studying science. First, they are an aid in
locating new terms, which are introduced in the
chapter.

Unless you understand the new terms, it is impossible

to follow the author’s reasoning without dictionary or
glossary. Thus a preliminary scanning of the chapters
will alert you to the new terms and concepts and their sequence.

When you locate a new term, try to find its definition. If you are not able to figure out the
meaning, then look it up in the glossary or dictionary. (Note: usually new terms are defined as
they are introduced in science texts. If your text does not have a glossary, it is a good idea to keep
a glossary of your own in the front page of the book.

Record the terms and their definition or the page number where the definition is located. This is an
excellent aid to refer to when you are reviewing for an examination, as it provides a convenient
outline of the course).

Secondly, scanning is useful in locating statements, definitions, formulas, etc. which you must
remember completely and precisely. Scan to find the exact and complete statement of a chemical
law, the formula of a particular compound in chemistry, or the stages of cell division.

Also, scan the charts and figures, for they usually summarize in graphic form the major ideas and
facts of the chapter. If you practice these skimming and scanning techniques prior to reading a
science chapter, you will find that not only will your intensive reading take much less time, but that
your retention of the important course details will greatly improve.

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Concentrating and reading
Learners often complain that they read but cannot remember what they have read. The reason for
this is probably that they did not adapt their STYLE of reading to suit the type of text and purpose
for reading. Make sure you stay alert whilst reading.

Hold a soft pencil (2B) and mark your textbook. This involves underlining key words and phrases.
It is best to read a paragraph first and then underline when you read it again.
Marking a textbook may involve the following:
o Writing summary words or phrases in the margin
o Circling words for which you don’t know the meaning
o Marking definitions
o Numbering lists of ideas, cases, reasons, and so forth
o Placing asterisks next to important passages
o Putting question marks next to confusing passages
o Marking notes to yourself like “check” “re-read”, or
“good test item”
o Drawing arrows to show relationships
o Drawing summary charts or diagrams

Your code - Develop your own codes. Here are some ideas:
SYMBOL MEANING
e.g. Example
def Definition
* Important message
T Good test question
?? Confusing
C Check later
RR Re-read
Sum Summary statement
What counts as reading?
Reading is something we do with books and other print materials, certainly, but we also read
things like the sky when we want to know what the weather is doing, someone’s expression or
body language when we want to know what someone is thinking or feeling, or an unpredictable
situation so we’ll know what the best course of action is.

As well as reading to gather information, “reading” can mean such diverse things as interpreting,
analysing or attempting to make predictions.

What counts as a text?

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When we think of a text, we may think of words in print, but a text can be anything from a road
map to a movie. Some have expanded the meaning of “text” to include anything that can be read,
interpreted or analysed. So a painting can be a text to interpret for some meaning it holds, and a
mall can be a text to be analysed to find out how modern teenagers behave in their free time.

How do readers read?

Those who study the way readers read have come up with some different theories about how
readers make meaning from the texts they read. Being aware of how readers read is important so
that you can become a more critical reader. In fact, you may discover that you are already a
critical reader.

The reading equation

Prior Knowledge + Predictions = Comprehension
When we read, we don’t decipher every word on the page for its individual meaning. We process
text in chunks, and we also employ other “tricks” to help us make meaning out of so many
individual words in a text we are reading. First, we bring prior knowledge to everything we read,
whether we are aware of it or not. Titles of texts, authors’ names, and the topic of the piece all
trigger prior knowledge in us.

The more prior knowledge we have, the better prepared we are to make meaning of the text. With
prior knowledge we make predictions, or guesses about how what we are reading relates to our
prior experience. We also make predictions about what meaning the text will convey.
o Tapping into prior knowledge
o Making predictions
o How can reaching comprehension make us better writers?

Tapping into prior knowledge

It’s important to tap into your prior knowledge of subject before you read about it. Writing an entry
in your writer’s notebook may be a good way to access this prior knowledge. Discussing the
subject with classmates before you read is also a good idea. Tapping into prior knowledge will
allow you to approach a piece of writing with more ways to create comprehension than if you start
reading “cold.”

Making predictions
Whether you realize it or not, you are always making guesses about what you will encounter next
in a text. Making predictions about where a text is headed is an important part of the
comprehension equation. It’s all right to make wrong guesses about what a text will do – wrong
guesses are just as much a part of the meaning-making process of reading as right guesses are.

How can comprehension make us better writers?

When you have successfully comprehended the text you are reading, you should take this
comprehension one step further and try to apply it to your writing process. Good writers know that

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readers have to work to make meaning of texts, so they will try to make the reader’s journey
through the text as effortless as possible.

As a writer you can help readers tap into prior knowledge by clearly outlining your intent in the
introduction of your paper and making use of your own personal experience. You can help readers
make accurate guesses by employing clear organization and using clear transitions in your paper.

Cognitive reading theory

When you read, you may think you are decoding a message that a writer has encoded into a text.
Error in reading comprehension, in this model, would occur if you as a reader were not decoding
the message correctly, or if the writer was not encoding the message accurately or clearly. The
writer, however, would have the responsibility of getting the message into the text, and the reader
would assume a passive role.

According to this view:

o Reading has a model
o Reading is an active, constructive, meaning-making process
o Reading is multi-Level
o Reading is hypothesis based
o Reading is strategic

Reading has a model

Let’s look at a more recent and widely accepted model of reading that is based on cognitive
psychology and schema theory. In this model, the reader is an active participant who has an
important interpretive function in the reading process.

In other words, in the cognitive model you as a reader are more than a passive participant who
receives information while an active text makes itself and its meanings known to you.

Actually, the act of reading is a push-and-pull between reader and text. As a reader, you actively
make, or construct, meaning; what you bring to the text is at least as important as the text itself.

Reading is an active, constructive, meaning-making process

Readers construct a meaning they can create from a text, so that “what a text means” can differ
from reader to reader. Readers construct meaning based not only on the visual cues in the text
(the words and format of the page itself) but also based on non-visual information such as all the
knowledge readers already have in their heads about the world, their experience with reading as
an activity, and, especially, what they know about reading different kinds of writing.

This kind of nonvisual information that readers bring with them before they even encounter the
text is far more potent than the actual words on the page.

Reading is multi-level

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When we read a text, we pick up visual cues based on font size and clarity, the presence or
absence of “pictures,” spelling, syntax, discourse cues, and topic. In other words, we integrate
data from a text including its smallest and most discrete features as well as its largest, most
abstract features.

Usually, we don’t even know we’re integrating data from all these levels. In addition, data from the
text is being integrated with what we already know from our experience in the world about all
fonts, pictures, spelling, syntax, discourse, and the topic more generally. No wonder reading is so
complex!

Reading is hypothesis based

In yet another layer of complexity, readers also create for themselves an idea of what the text is
about before they read it. In reading, prediction is much more important than decoding. In fact, if
we had to read each letter and word, we couldn’t possibly remember the letters and words long
enough to put them all together to make sense of a sentence.

And reading larger chunks than sentences would be absolutely impossible with our limited short-
term memories. So, instead of looking at each word and figuring out what it “means,” readers rely
on all their language and discourse knowledge to predict what a text is about. Then we sample the
text to confirm, revise, or discard that hypothesis.

More highly structured texts with topic sentences and lots of forecasting features are easier to
hypothesize about; they’re also easier to learn information from. Less structured texts that allow
lots of room for predictions (and revised and discarded hypotheses) give more room for creative
meanings constructed by readers. Thus we get office memos or textbooks or entertaining novels.

Reading is strategic
We change our reading strategies (processes) depending on why we’re reading. If we are reading
an instruction manual, we usually read one step at a time and then try to do whatever the
instructions tell us. If we are reading a novel, we don’t tend to read for informative details. If we a
reading a biology textbook, we read for understanding both of concepts and details (particularly if
we expected to be tested over our comprehension of the material.)

Our goals for reading will affect the way we read a text. Not only do we read for the intended
message, but we also construct a meaning that is valuable in terms of our purpose for reading the
text. Strategic reading also allows us to speed up or slow down, depending on our goals for reading
(e.g. scanning newspaper headlines vs. carefully perusing a feature story).

Genres
We say a poem, novel, story, or other literary work belongs to a particular genre if it shares at
least a few conventions, or standard characteristics, with other works in that genre. For example,
works in the

Gothic genre often feature supernatural elements, attempts to horrify the reader, and dark,
foreboding settings, particularly very old castles or mansions. There are two main types of reading
material – fiction and non-fiction. Both types may be further divided into genres. A genre is simply

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a fancy name for a group of books which share style, form, or content. Is that as clear as mud?
Well, read on, you’ll get it.

Non-fiction genre
All of the information in a non-fiction book is based on the known true facts. Nothing can be made
up. Non-fiction books include how-to books, science books, history books, biographies,
autobiographies and much more. Non-fiction books can be about any subject.

Fiction genres
Fictional stories may be based on actual events or people or may be based entirely on the author’s
imagination, but fictional stories all contain elements that are made up or created by the author.

Realistic fiction
Fictional stories are stories that take place in modern time, right here and now. The characters are
involved in events that could really happen.

Mystery
Fictional stories about a mysterious event, which is not explained, or a crime that is not solved
until the end of the story, to keep the reader in suspense.
Fantasy
Fiction that contains elements that are NOT realistic, such as talking animals, magical powers, etc.
Make-believe is what this genre is all about.
Science Fiction
Stories that include futuristic technology; a blend of scientific fact and fictional elements
Historical Fiction
These are centred on stories which take place in a particular time period in the past. Often the
basic setting is real, but the characters are fictional.

Folk Tales, Tall Tales, and Fairy Tales

Folk tales are stories with no known creator. They were originally passed down from one
generation to another by word of mouth. The authors on folk tale books today are retelling these
stories. Although, folk tales are sometimes based on real historical figures, there are fictional
elements to the story.

Tall tales are generally folk tales in which the main character is bigger than life in some way –
examples would be Paul Bunyan, Mike Fink, Swamp Angel, etc. Fairy tales were often created to
teach children behaviour in an entertaining way. Folk tales, tall tales, and fairy tales are found in
most libraries in the non-fiction section with a Dewey Decimal
Classification of 398. Some libraries place picture book versions of folk
tales in the easy book section.

Myths
Myths are stories that usually explain something about the world and
involve gods and other supernatural beings. Although, myths are

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fictional stories, in most libraries they are found in the non-fiction section of the library in the 290s.

Poetry
Poetry is verse written to create a response of thought and feeling from the reader. It often uses
rhythm and rhyme to help convey its meaning. Poetry collections are usually found in the non-
fiction section of the library under the Dewey decimal classification numbers 808 - 811.
Occasionally a novel may be written in free verse form and is found in the fiction section of the
library, or a picture book of a poem may be found in the easy section.

Biography
A biography is the story of a real person’s life, written or told by
another person. Biographies may be located in a section of their
own in some libraries and may be labelled B for biography or use
the Dewy Decimal System Classification number of 92 and then are
listed in alphabetical order according the name of the person, which
the book is about. Biographies of 2 or more people in the same book
use the Dewey Classification number of 920.

Autobiography
An autobiography is the story of a real person’s life, written or told by that person. Autobiographies
are found in the same place as the biographies in the library. See biographies for the different
places you might find autobiographies in your library and then check with your librarian if you can’t
find them in your library.

Textbook preview
Most of the books learners are required to read in learnerships are textbooks; these are books that
summarize information about the subject matter of a learnership course. This unit standard
emphasizes how to read textbooks because, if you are a full-time learnership learner, you will
usually need to read, study, and learn the information in five or more textbooks each term.

The first step in reading a textbook is to acquire a quick overview of its contents by surveying it in
the way summarized in “How to Preview a Textbook”. A preview provides you with an overview of
a book and helps you to orient yourself for reading and studying it.

How to Preview a Textbook

Before you read a textbook, examine the features in the front and back of the book.

Preview the front of the book.

o Read the title page to learn the title, author (or authors), and publisher of the book.
o Read the copyright page to find out what year the book was published.
o Read the table of contents to get an overview of the organization of the book and the major
topics discussed in it.

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 o Read the preface or introduction to find out whether it describes special features that are
provided in the book to help learners learn.

Preview the back of the book.

o Determine whether an appendix follows the last chapter; if it is, find out what is in the
appendix.
o Check to see if there is a glossary at the end of the book or if there are short glossaries in
each chapter.
o Determine whether references are listed at the end of the book or at the end of each chapter.
o Determine whether there is an index at the end of the book or if the book has a subject index
and a name index.

The title page

Begin a preview by reading the title page. It gives exact information about the title of a book, the
author or authors, the publisher, and the city in which the book was published. The title page is
usually the second or third page in a book. When the title of a book is not followed by an edition
number, it is the first edition and when more than one city is listed on a title page; the book was
published in the first city listed.

The copyright page

After you have read the title page, read the page that follows it-the copyright page. A copyright
page tells when a book was published. When more than one year is listed in the copyright
information, the book was published in the most recent year listed. The copyright year tells you
whether the information in a book is sufficiently up-to-date for your purposes.

For instance, if you want to learn about the current tax laws of South Africa, you will want to read
a book with a very recent copyright date. On the other hand, if you want to learn how to give a
speech, a book published ten years ago may give information that is sufficiently up-to-date for this
purpose.

Table of contents
Continue your preview by reading the table of contents, which provides an overview of the
organization of a book and the major topics discussed in it. When a table of contents does not
follow the copyright page, look for it following the preface or introduction.

The preface/foreword or introduction

A preface/foreword or an introduction explains why a book was written; it usually presents
information about the purpose, philosophy, or contents of a book, and it often describes special
features that are provided to help learners learn information in the book. These opening remarks
are usually located on pages following the table of contents, but sometimes they appear before the
table of contents. Most books have either a preface or a foreword or an introduction; some books
have both.

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The appendix
An appendix, which contains supplementary material, is usually located immediately after the last
chapter. An appendix in a chemistry textbook may present an overview of the mathematics
important to know in chemistry, and an appendix in an English textbook may explain how to
punctuate and capitalize when writing. However, many textbooks have no appendix.

The glossary
A glossary is an alphabetically arranged list of important words and their definitions. When a
glossary is included in a book, it is usually located after the last chapter or after the appendix. A
textbook that has no glossary at the end may have short glossaries at the end of each chapter.

The references
The references, a bibliography, or notes are lists of publications and other sources that an author
quotes or refers to in a book. References are usually listed at the end of a textbook, following the
glossary or last chapter. When they are not at the end of a book, they may be listed at the end of
each chapter. Textbooks for subjects such as English, speech, and mathematics usually have no
references.

The index
An index is an alphabetically arranged list of subjects and the numbers of the pages on which the
subjects are discussed in a book. When an index is included in a book, it is on the very last pages.
Some books have two indexes: a subject index and a name index, or author index. When a name
index (or author index) is included in a book, it is located before the subject index. If you do not
find the name of a person in an index, look to see if the book has a name index.

CHAPTER PREVIEW
One of the most common assignments in learnerships is to read a chapter of a textbook. Most
learners undertake this kind of assignment by turning to the first page of a chapter and reading it
through to the last page. This is not an efficient way to read and study the chapters in textbooks.

Experienced learners know that it is more effective to preview a chapter before reading it. When
you preview a chapter, you learn things that make it possible for you to read the chapter with
greater understanding. Read “How to Preview a Chapter”.

How to Preview a Chapter

Use the following steps to preview a chapter before you read it:
1. Preview the beginning of a chapter.
• Read the title and introduction to learn the topic and purpose of the chapter.
• If there are learning goals at the beginning of the chapter, read them to find out what you are
supposed to learn when you study the chapter.

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2. Preview the body of the chapter.
• Read the headings throughout the chapter to find out what topics are discussed in it.
• Examine graphs, diagrams, pictures, cartoons, and other visual material in the chapter.
• Scan any inserts or marginal notes.

3. Preview the end of the chapter.

• If there is an easy-to-understand summary at the end of the chapter, read it to get a quick
overview of the important information or ideas discussed in the chapter.
• If terminology is listed at the end of the chapter, read it to find out what new words you are
supposed to learn when you study the chapter.
• If there are review questions at the end of the chapter, read them to get an idea of the types of
questions you may have to answer about chapter content when you take a test.
• If there are exercises or problems at the end of the chapter, read them to understand what skills
you are expected to learn when you study the chapter.

TITLE AND INTRODUCTION

Begin a preview by reading the chapter title and the introduction to the chapter. The title and
introduction should summarize what the chapter is about, and an introduction may state the main
purpose of the chapter. Whether an introduction to a chapter is short or long, read it carefully as
part of your preview.

HEADINGS
Continue a chapter preview by reading the headings to learn what topics are discussed in the
chapter. Textbook designers use a variety of methods to show the relationships between headings.
o The size of a heading indicates its importance; the larger the heading, the more important it is.
o A heading in boldface or a special colour (such as red) is more important than a heading of the
same size that is not in boldface or a special colour.
o A heading printed above a paragraph is more important than a heading printed on the first line
of a paragraph.

THE OPENING CHAPTER

The first chapter of a textbook is one of the most important. Here the author sets the stage for
what is to follow. At first glance, the first chapter may not seem to say much, and you may be
tempted to skip it. Actually the opening chapter deserves close attention. It presents the
framework for the text. More important, it introduces the important terminology used throughout
the text.

Typically you can expect to find as many as forty to sixty new words introduced and defined in the
first chapter. These words are the language of the course, so to speak. To be successful in any new
subject area, it is essential to learn to read and speak its language.

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TYPOGRAPHICAL AIDS
Textbooks contain various typographical aids (arrangements or types of print) that make it easy to
pick out what is important to learn and remember. These include the following:
1. Italic type (slanted print) is often used to call attention to a particular word or phrase. Often new terms
are printed in italics in the sentence in which they are defined.
2. Enumeration refers to the numbering or lettering of facts and ideas within a paragraph. It is used to
emphasize key ideas and to make them easy to locate.
3. Headings and subheadings divide the chapters into sections and label the major topic of each
section. Basically, they tell in advance what each section will be about. When read in order, the
headings and subheadings form a brief outline of the chapter.
4. Coloured print is used in some texts to emphasize important ideas or definitions.

HOW TEXTBOOK CHAPTERS ARE ORGANISED

You can easily feel lost and confused when reading textbook chapters, too. A chapter can seem like
a huge, disorganized collection of facts, ideas, numbers, dates, and events to be memorized.
Actually, a textbook chapter is, in one respect, much like a large supermarket. It, too, has signs
that identify what is located in each section.

These signs are the headings that divide the chapter into topics. Underneath each heading, similar
ideas are grouped together, just as similar products are grouped together in a supermarket.
Sometimes a group of similar or related ideas is labelled by a subheading (usually set in smaller
type than the heading and/or indented differently).

In most cases, several paragraphs come under one heading. In this way chapters take a major
idea, break it into its important parts, and then break those parts into smaller parts. Notice that
this chapter has three major headings and that the first major heading is divided into eight
subheadings. Since the chapter is divided into three major headings, you know that it covers three
major topics. You can also tell that the first major heading discusses eight types of textbook aids.
Of course, the number of major headings, subheadings, and paragraphs under each will vary from
chapter to chapter in a book.

When you know how a chapter is organized, you can use this knowledge to guide your reading.
Once you are familiar with the structure, you will also begin to see how ideas are connected. The
chapter will then seem orderly, moving from one idea to the next in a logical fashion.

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A general approach to graphics
Graphics include tables, charts, graphs, diagrams, photographs, and maps. Here is a general step-
by-step approach to reading graphics.
1. Read the title or caption. The title will identify the subject and may suggest what
relationship is being described.
2. Discover how the graphic is organized. Read the column headings or labels on the horizontal
and vertical axes.
3. Identify the variables. Decide what comparisons are being made or what relationship is
being described.
4. Analyse the purpose. Based on what you have seen, predict what the graphic is intended to
show. Is its purpose to show change over time, describe a process, compare costs, or
present statistics?
5. Determine scale, values, or units of measurement. The scale is the ratio that a graphic has
to the thing it represents. For example, a map may be scaled so that one-inch on the map
represents one mile.
6. Study the data to identify trends or patterns. Note changes, unusual statistics, unexplained
variations.
7. Read the graphic along with corresponding text. Refer to the paragraphs that discuss the
graphic. These paragraphs may explain certain features of the graphic and identify trends or
patterns.
8. Make a brief summary note. In the margin, jot a brief note summarizing the trend or
pattern the graphic emphasizes. Writing will crystallize the idea in your mind and your note
will be useful for reviewing.

Graphic communication is communication using devices such as tables, bar graphs, line graphs,
cartoons, pictures and pictograms. These graphic devices often combine numbers, shapes and
words. They are sometimes called non-verbal communication.

However, this book defines them as graphics and graphic communication because words are often
included. The term non-verbal communication should be reserved for the type of communication
called body language.

Graphic devices are very useful for showing relationships that would take a great deal of writing to
explain. They give a quick visual impression and help readers to compare amounts easily. Good
visuals have a greater impact than just the written or spoken word on its own.

Graphic devices should be properly integrated into a text. Each graphic should be placed into the
text where it is needed. It should be introduced, and should then be analysed below, once the
reader has had an opportunity to examine it.

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The purposes of graphic devices
Graphic devices help senders to communicate more effectively.

They:
o Show groups of numbers that would be very difficult to show in a written message.
o Show relationships that would take many sentences to explain
o Give a quick visual impression that enables a reader to compare amounts quickly.

These devices include elements that a writer cannot use.

These elements include:

o The use of space as in tables
o The use of shapes, as in bar graphs, illustrations, or pictograms
o The use of colours to make points stand out
o The use of lines, as in line graphs and algorithms to show relationships, and stage-
by-stage procedures
o The use of more than one dimension such as length, breadth and even depth

Graphic devices have the great advantage that the audience can see all the components and
relationships at once. In a written message, on the other hand, the reader has to follow the
information in a fixed sequence. Good visuals have a greater impact than just the spoken or
written word.

A combination of the spoken and visual can be up to twice as powerful as the spoken message on
its own. In the same way graphic devices add visual appeal to a written message. They also help to
explain difficult ideas, show relationships, simplify and summarize.

Hyperlinks
Hyperlinks (often just called links) are the connections between Web pages. Links are the heart of
the World Wide Web. Clicking a link takes you from the page you are viewing to another page, or
perhaps to an image. Links can also be used to play sounds, movies, or to let you download a file.
They are usually text, and are normally displayed as blue, underlined words.

The colour of a link changes to purple once you have visited it. This colour change helps you keep
track of which links you have and haven’t been to. However, as you surf the Web, you will
doubtless run across many variations on the standard approach. Among the most common are
image links and image maps. Images are any graphic, ranging from photographs to drawings.

Regular images just appear, unadorned, on the Web page you are viewing. Image links, though,
are outlined in a blue rectangle, thus helping you recognize them as such. With both text and
image links, you simply click the link to go to a new page. Image maps are not outlined in blue,

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but are usually recognizable due to the fact that they are composed of a variety of separate images
grouped together, with each different image holding an obvious meaning.

Many image maps are actual geographical maps, just like you would see in an atlas. You may, for
instance, run across an image map of South Africa. Clicking one of the provinces might take you to
information about a company’s offices and plants in that province.

If you wonder if an image is an image map or not, just run your mouse across it and observe the
changes in the status line of your browser. If it is an image map, different Web addresses appear
in the status line as you move the mouse pointer across the image map.

It is possible for Web designers to create links that do not look like the normal ones, and you will
often find these on Web sites that use a magazine style for their layout, like the one in the figure
on the bottom right. A basic rule is, if it looks like a table of contents, it’s a set of links. To be
certain, just move your pointer over a suspected link and see if a Web address appears in your
status line.

Making notes from carefully read documents

Reading a document carefully, so as to understand fully what
it is about, is the first of the two main steps needed to make
useful notes of a document. The second is, of course, to
make the notes themselves.

Titles display brief summaries of the main theme or content

of a document.
Opening paragraphs usually contain key data (remember:
who, why, what, when, where) to provide a background, and
introduce the subject of the document.
The first sentence of a paragraph often includes a key point
in order to capture our interest and signal a theme for the
document.
Middle paragraphs usually convey the detail of a document,
and often start off with the most important point and finish
with the least important.
In all paragraphs, a good place to check for key points is in
their opening and closing sentences.
Closing paragraphs tend to summarise the detailed middle
paragraphs and to make conclusions; in so doing they often
act as mini summaries of the whole document.

Final sentences in articles also tend to contain an important point so that it stays in our memory,
so check this location carefully. Making notes of a document is, essentially, a process, which
reverses what the document’s author, did when writing it. Most authors go through these three
main stages when writing a document:

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 o Rough ideas
o Structured into an outline series of points
o Written out in prose paragraphs

When a reader wishes to make notes of the same document, he or she needs to retrace the
author’s steps, by going back from the final stage three to the outline skeleton stage two. To do so
involve the note-maker in stripping away the words, which are needed to express ideas in full
sentences until the key, outline points are uncovered.

As we have already discovered, key meaning tends to lie in subjects, finite verbs and their
extensions or objects. We also know where to focus an initial search for key data within the
paragraphs or sections of any document. Much like the zoom feature in a word-processing
package, we now need to zoom into a sentence or passage, which contains, say, two or three key
points, in order to see how the process of identifying them using the parts of speech approach
actually works:

Study this passage carefully, reading it so as to extract its key meaning using the parts of speech
approach:

How to make notes

In spite of a temptation to leap straight into the task, it pays to follow a careful series of steps in
order to extract the key points from any article.
1. Firstly, and very importantly, study the title of the document. It will provide a brief summary of the
document’s main theme. Then read the whole document through slowly and carefully, in order to
obtain understanding of its overall content.
2. Secondly, go back to the beginning and read the document again for the meaning of its individual words
and phrases. Consult your dictionary when you meet an unfamiliar word and jot it’s meaning down in
your notebook. Do this for each section or paragraph of the document.
3. Thirdly, read the document again in order to pick out the main point of each section or paragraph. You
can do this by scanning over the document, since by now; you will have obtained a clear idea of what it
is all about. Write down the points in note form as you identify them.

When you have completed this three-stage process of reading a document to extract it’s meaning,
you will be in an ideal position to write down a set of its key points.

Analysing the reading for key meaning task:

An analysis of the first paragraph shows how it helps to go first for the subjects, their finite verbs
and either objects or extensions:
It pays to follow ... a series of steps; ... you can extract ... the key points; ... (you) study the
title of the document; It provides ... a summary of the main theme; ... read the document through
to obtain understanding of its content; ... read the document (again) for the meaning of words and
phrases.

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In the same way. The key word clusters of the second paragraph can be extracted:
... consult your dictionary; ... when you meet an unfamiliar word ... jot down its meaning; ... read
the document again; ... etc.

A glance at the following descriptive words (adjectives and adverbs) illustrates how much can be
stripped out, without losing the passage’s essential meaning:
Careful... firstly and very importantly ... brief ... whole ... slowly and carefully ... overall...
Secondly ... individual... in your notebook ... Thirdly ... etc.

Word clusters to skim over

As well as skimming over word clusters, which provide additional, but not essential descriptive
information, it helps to leave out of consideration the following kinds of word clusters:
o Word clusters used to introduce or to link ideas together, which contain no important point:
 In spite of a temptation to leap straight into the task,
 Firstly, and very importantly
 Secondly, go back to the beginning and
o Words or phrases which are repetitions or restatements of points already made:
 Do this for each section or paragraph of the document.
 Of reading a document to extract its meaning,
o Words or phrases which are examples or illustrations of a main point: such as a point made in
the first sentence

In point of fact, the above worked example is fairly closely written, in that there are not very many
word clusters, which are of secondary importance.

Example of the notes made on the above passage

How to make notes
1. It pays to follow - a series of steps - to extract key points - from articles
2. Study title of document first - for brief summary of main theme
3. Then: read through all document - for understanding of overall content
4. Consult dictionary on unfamiliar words - jot down meanings
5. Read document again for main points - scan over paragraphs
6. Write down identified main points in note form
7. Three-stage process - ideal preparations for note-making

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 Summary of key points
HOW TO TAKE EFFECTIVE NOTES OF READING MATERIAL
 When reading a document for a purpose, read it three times: firstly to get a general idea of
its main theme and content, secondly to find out what any unfamiliar word or expression
means, and thirdly to see how the main points are structured.
 Remember where to look for likely key points: the title, the first and last sentences of the
piece, and the first and last sentences of each paragraph.
 Use the parts of speech and grammar functions of word clusters to identify the most
important words and ideas in sentences, and disregard the descriptive words (for the most
part - but not entirely).
 Make notes of the important word clusters you identify in brief bullet points – not as full as
complete sentences but not so abbreviated that even you can’t understand them at a later
date!

DEVELOPING SKILLS IN MAKING NOTES OF DOCUMENTS

Read the following extract on your own, and make notes of what you believe to be the main
problems facing Vuyisile and Zanele Mkhize in their business, and how they might best be solved.
Then in liaison with your facilitator, join a group to discuss and share your findings, and to agree
on what the best course of action would be, once Vuyisile has got his new computer home. Your
discussion should last about 15 minutes.

O PEN AL L HOUR S !

Vuyisile and Zanele Mkhize’s lives had been ‘open all hours’, ever since they first bought their
business a minimarket in a suburban shopping precinct some five years ago. Then, the 150 houses
on the Ruimsig Park development had been only half-completed and business had been slow and
hard I to build.

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Thanks to the Mkhizes’ relentless hard work and willingness to rise at the crack of dawn and retire
well after midnight, the minimarket had prospered, as the Ruimsig suburb of Johannesburg, a busy
commercial city, had rapidly expanded.

The store, called the Minimax Grocers & Newsagents, was in the middle of five shops in a parade
lying back from a busy through-route to the N12. The Mkhizes, with their 16-year-old daughter,
Mpumi, and 10-year-old son, Jabu, occupied a flat over the store.

Minimax had started out as a run-of-the-mill general store, specialising in those small order items
which local shoppers had forgotten to buy at the supermarket or did not want to make a special
journey for. With a bus service into town stopping just opposite, and room for parking out front,
Vuyisile quickly realised, however, that there was ample scope for selling newspapers, magazines
and sweets, etc. Before much longer, he was employing six newspaper delivery youngsters.

They also picked up orders for home-delivered groceries, which

Vuyisile delivered midmornings around the adjacent estates in his
elderly but trusty van. The delivery side of the business expanded
rapidly to a point where Vuyisile had to stop taking on new customers
– much against his will.

About a year ago, with the completion of the upmarket Ruimsig Park
development, customers who had acquired a taste for exotic micro-
oven ready meals gave Vuyisile and Zanele the idea of making room
for another open freezer which would stock the spicy and different
dishes which innovative food manufacturers were marketing under Chinese, Indian, Mexican and
Indonesian brand names.

By this time, the Mkhizes badly needed more helping hands. As luck
would have it, two of Vuyisile’s nephews moved into the district
looking for work in Johannesburg’s textile industry. Both in their
early twenties, they were just the trustworthy help that the shop
urgently needed. Nor did they need much persuading, when
Vuyisile outlined his longer term plans for acquiring additional
outlets.

Phillip, the elder brother, took over the news agency and confectionery side, while his brother
Joseph delivered the grocery orders and with his easy humour and persuasive ways quickly
extended business.

Soon after, an incredible stroke of luck occurred – the butcher’s shop next door came on to the
market. The sitting tenant had been content to provide a mediocre service, and as a consequence
could not afford the new lease’s increased rents. Vuyisile was quick to see his chance and had
clinched the deal before the local estate agent had even displayed the particulars in his front
window!

This time it was Mrs Mkhize who had her say. ‘You know,’ she had said, ‘what Ruimsig needs is a
really good fast-food takeaway!’ Always with an eye to market trends, she had overheard snippets
of conversation among teenagers and young married couples about the nearest fast-food outlet

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some two miles away which had a good reputation for ample portions and really tasty dishes, ‘If
they’ll drive over there, they’ll walk in here,’ she observed shrewdly.

‘We could also fit in a few tables for people who want to eat here, too,’ she added. After meeting
some demanding requirements, Vuyisile obtained planning permission for the change of use and
early in November, the grand opening of Vuyisile’s ‘Tandoori Takeaway’ took place, with
Mrs Mkhize in charge!

Some eight weeks earlier, Mpumi had started an ISETT SETA

Learnership course In Information Technology Support at
Essellenpark. From day one, with business in her bones, she had
never looked back. She seemed to devour the course material –
especially those parts dealing with business information processing.

She had a natural flair with software and was achieving good grades.
One evening, having just finished an assignment, she poked her head
around the door of her father’s upstairs office in the flat. He was
almost buried under paper!

It bulged out of cardboard wallets, ring binders and box files; it was
festooned around the walls, suspended from rows of bulldog clips; it
littered his desk and windowsills. Advice notes, invoices, handwritten
orders, catalogues, price-lists, special offers and bank statements!

It seemed as though Vuyisile had kept every single piece of paper

since the first day’s trading. Mpumi scooped up a handful and let it
drop back on to the desk. ‘Stop that you silly girl!’ shouted Vuyisile.
Now look what you’ve done. I’d just sorted those invoices into
sequence!’ ‘Daddy, look at you! You’re drowning in a sea of bumf!’

‘What do you mean, bumf – I know exactly where everything is kept

– or did until you interfered – now go away and let me finish!’? ‘Not
until you make me a promise you’ll keep.’

Mpumi paused dramatically, for she well knew she was the apple of
her father’s eye. ‘Certainly not! What promise?’

‘That first thing tomorrow you go down to Computerama and get fixed up with a decent PC set-up
and some suitable software – before you go down for the third time and all your past flashes
before your eyes! I don’t know how you’ve managed up till now, but with the new shop and the
deliveries expanding, soon you won’t need to stop for sleep - you won’t have time!’

For several days Mpumi’s words echoed around Vuyisile’s brain like an advertising jingle that
wouldn’t go away. Eventually he brought the matter up with Zanele. ‘I think she’s probably right.
You should move with the times,’
Zanele responded.

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‘How can you even think of new outlets when you’re drowning in the paper from just two?’
Outnumbered and out-argued, Vuyisile was waiting the next morning outside the front door as
they opened up Computerama for business!

My notes

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 VALUES, ATTITUDES AND ASSUMPTIONS IN
TEXTS
Specific Outcome 2
Identify and explain the values, attitudes and assumptions in texts.
Outcome Range: Socio-cultural, learning and/or workplace contexts.
Assessment Criteria
1. An understanding of surface and embedded meaning in the text is reflected in presentations
of viewpoints.
2. Values and views in selected texts are identified and explained in terms of the impact on
meaning and target audience.
3. Evidence cited from texts in defence of a position is relevant.

Reading for meaning

After you’ve read an essay once, use the following set of questions to guide your re-readings of the
text. The question on the left-hand side will help you describe and analyse the text; the question
on the right hand side will help focus your response(s).

D E S C R I P T I O N R E S P O N S E

1 – Purpose

Describe the author’s overall purpose (to Is the overall purpose clear or muddled?
inquire, to convince, to persuade, to negotiate
or other purpose)

How does the author want to affect or change the

reader?
How did the essay or text actually affect you:
did the author’s purpose succeed?
Was the author’s actual purpose different from
the stated purpose?

2 – Audience/Reader

Who is the intended audience? Are you part of the intended audience?

What assumptions does the author make about Does the author talk to or talk down to the
the reader’s knowledge or beliefs? reader?

From what context or point of view is the

author writing?

3 – Thesis and Main Ideas

What question or problem does the author Where is the thesis stated?
address?

What is the author’s thesis Are the main ideas actually related to the thesis?

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What main ideas are related to the thesis? Do passages convey a message different from the
thesis?

What assumptions (about the subject or about

culture) does the author make?

Are there problems or contradictions in the

What are the key moments or key passages in
essay?
the text?
What bothers or disturbs you about the essay?

Where do you agree or disagree?

4 – Organisation and Evidence

Where does the author preview the essay’s Where did you clearly get the author’s signals
organization? about the essay’s organization?

How does the author signal new sections of the Where were you confused about the
essay? organization?

What evidence was most or least effective?

What kinds of evidence does the author use
(experience, descriptions, statistics, other
Where did the author rely on assertions rather
authorities, analytical reasoning, or other).
than on evidence?

5 – Language and Style

What is the author’s tone (casual, humorous, Did the tone support or distract from the author’s
ironic, angry, preachy, distant, academic, or purpose or meaning?
other)?

Are sentences and vocabulary easy, average or Did the sentences and vocabulary support or
difficult? distract from the purpose or meaning?

What words, phrases, or images recur Did recurring works or images relate to or
throughout the text? support the purpose or meaning?

Critical reading techniques

The readings in most learner ship writing courses explore issues we live with daily. As a reader,
you bring a wealth of relevant opinions, experiences, and language strategies with you to your
work.

So while the authors you read in learner ships may describe common experience from abstract
positions or use evidence that is detailed and complex, in many ways the strategies you use to
analyse and evaluate writing are similar strategies you use to understand other complex situations.

You think about what will probably happen, you listen carefully to what’s being offered, and you
consider the offer and how it meets your needs. In the same way, you preview, read, and review
the texts offered in this course.

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The process: Previewing
Before reading, you need a sense of your own purpose for reading. Are you looking for background
information on a topic you know a little bit about already? Are you looking for specific details and
facts that you can marshal in support of an argument? Are you trying to see how an author
approaches her topic rhetorically?

Knowing your own purpose in reading will help you focus your attention on relevant aspects of the
text. Take a moment to reflect and clarify what your goal really is in the reading you’re about to
do. In addition, before reading, you can take steps to familiarize yourself with the background of
the text, and gain a useful overview of its content and structure.
 Seek information about the context of the reading (the occasion – when and where it was
published – and to whom it’s addressed)
 Its purpose (what the author is trying to establish, either by explaining, arguing, analysing,
or narrating)
 Its general content (what the overall subject matter is)
 Take a look for an abstract or an author’s or editor’s note that may precede the article
itself, and read any background information that is available to you about the author, the
occasion of the writing, and its intended audience.

Once you have an initial sense of the context, purpose, and content, glance through the text itself,
looking at the title and any subtitles and noting general ideas that are tipped off by these cues.
Continue flipping pages quickly and scanning paragraphs, getting the gist of what material the text
covers and how that material is ordered.

After looking over the text as a whole, read through the introductory paragraph or section,
recognizing that many authors will provide an overview of their message as well as an explicit
statement of their thesis or main point in the opening portion of the text.

Taking the background information, the messages conveyed by the title, note or abstract, and the
information from the opening paragraph or section into account, you should be able to proceed
with a good hunch of the article’s direction.

Annotating a text
Whatever your purposes are for reading a particular piece, you have three objectives to meet as
your read: to identify the author’s most important points, to recognize how they fit together, and
to note how you respond to them. In a sense, you do the same thing as a reader every day when
you sort through directions, labels, advertisements, and other sources of written information.

What’s different in a learner ship is the complexity of the texts. Here you can’t depend on listening
and reading habits that get you through daily interactions. So you will probably need to annotate
the text, underlining or highlighting passages and making written notes in the margins of texts to
identify the most important ideas, the main examples or details, and the things that trigger your
own reactions.

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Devise your own notation system. We describe a general system in a box close by but offer it only
as a suggestion. Keep in mind, though, that the more precise your marks are and the more
focused your notes and reactions, the easier it will be to draw material from the text into your own
writing.

But be selective: the unfortunate tendency is to underline (or highlight) too much of a text. The
shrewd reader will mark sparingly, keeping the focus on the truly important elements of a writer’s
ideas and his or her own reactions.
Recall your purpose
 What are you looking for?
 How will you use what you find? Identify the weave of the text:
 Double underline the author’s explanation of the main point(s) and jot “M.P.” in the margin.
(Often, but not always, a writer will tell an engaged reader where the text is going.)
 Underline each major new claim that the author makes in developing the text and write
“claim 1,” “claim 2,” and so on in the margin.
 Circle major point, of transition from the obvious (subtitles) to the less obvious (phrases
like however, on the other hand, for example, and so on).
 Asterisk major pieces of evidence like statistics or stories or argument note in the margin
the kind of evidence and its purpose, for example, “story that illustrates claim.”
 Write “concl.” in the margin at points where the writer draws major conclusions. Locate
passages and phrases that trigger reactions.
 Put a question mark next to points that are unclear and note whether you need more
information or the author has been unclear or whether the passage just sounds
unreasonable or out-of-place.
 Put an exclamation point next to passages that you react to strongly in agreement,
disagreement, or interest.
 Attach a post-it note next to trigger passages and write a brief reaction as you read.

Having read through a text and annotating it, your goal in reviewing it is to re-examine the
content, the structure, and the language of the article in more detail, in order to confirm you sense
of the author’s purpose and to evaluate how well they achieved that purpose.

When you review a piece of writing, you will often start by examining the propositions (main points
or claims) the writer lays out and the support he or she provides for those propositions, noticing
the order in which these arguments and evidence are presented. Making an informal outline that
lists the main points, mapping out the essay, is one very effective way of reviewing a text.

Here a well-marked text will really save you time. As you work through your review, you should
also tune in to the rhetorical choices the author has made, analysing how the article is put
together. Ask yourself what the writer is actually claiming, and why she or he organized the piece
in this way. What does the introduction accomplish? What functions do the individual paragraphs
serve? What patterns of thinking does the author use to drive home the main points? Your notes
already tell you what the writer says; you’re now getting at what the writing does.

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You will also want to make note of the tone and attitude used to support and elaborate the writer’s
view. Is the writer serious or humorous? How can you tell? Does the writer seem to be offering
only information or stating an opinion and backing it up? How do you know? Keep returning to the
text for specific examples. Finally, as you review the text, sorting out its organization and
analysing its rhetorical moves, evaluate the effectiveness of the text and the validity of the claims
and evidence.

At this point you’re judging for yourself whether the initial promise of the article has been kept and
how the writer’s values stack up against yours. To keep track of your ideas, use your journal:
identify any questions you have after this re-reading, and note any insights the reading has
provoked in you.

The process: Reviewing

As you review texts, let the reading situation guide you. While each of the following strategies
uncovers one aspect of a text, you may decide not to work with all of them or to work in this order.
Also, don’t get caught up in finding the right answers to a specific set of questions. There is almost
always more than one-way to sort out a piece of writing.

Organize the text

 Use the main point and claims that you have identified to create a simple outline, and then
put the transitions and conclusions the writer makes in their place on the outline.
 Give a name to each subsection and explain what the writer “says” in the section and also
what the section “does” to advance the flow of the text.
 Write a paragraph description of the overall pattern of the text. Feel the text.
 Write a paragraph that explores the attitude of the writer. Is she or he being serious,
humorous, angry, ironic, informative, argumentative, combative.
 Skim through the text and find evidence of the attitude you suspect. Analyse the text.
 Write on your outline brief one or two sentence explanations of how each part of the text —
claim or pieces of evidence, transitions — connects to each other part.
 In a paragraph, explain how each part accomplishes the writer’s purpose. Evaluate the text.
 In your journal, review what you know about the author and the publication. Are they
trustworthy sources for the topic? Does the writer or publication have an obvious bias?
 Review the evidence you noticed. Is there enough of it? Is each claim supported? Is the
evidence concrete, referring verifiable examples, statistics, and research?
 Review the claims the writer makes. Are they clear and logically coherent? Do they all relate
to the topic? React to the text.
 List the points that trigger a reaction in you.
 Free write a brief response to each trigger point. What reaction did you have on your first
reading? What do you need to better understand? What is interesting to you?

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There isn’t anything especially mysterious about this reading process. The main point here is that
you can discover writers’ purposes, find your way into their audiences, and carry on a dialogue
with them. And you can engage reading and writing projects with greater power — greater
understanding and efficiency — if you preview the text, read it with a purpose and a plan, and
review the text carefully after you’ve read it.

When readers try to make sense of more complex texts by starting at the first sentence and
reading straight through, they tend to get hung up, missing the forest for the trees.

Spending your energy reading a whole text again and again without previewing it, thinking about
its title and other kinds of cues, and forming some hunches about its general organization and
content is likely to be wasted effort, because you won’t get to the core of a text’s meanings or see
its larger significance and themes.

Readers who quit reading because the text seems to make no sense should alter their reading
strategy. Most of the learners that we know don’t have a lot of time to waste. Work smart.
Preview, annotate, and re-read.

What is the source of the material?

Just as you might check the brand label on an item of clothing before you buy it, so should you
check to see where an article or essay comes from before you read it? You will often be asked to
read material that is not in its original form. Many textbooks, such as this one, include excerpts or
entire selections borrowed from other authors.

Instructors often photocopy articles or essays and distribute them or place them on reserve in the
library for students to read. A first question to ask before you even begin to read is: What is the
source-from what book, magazine, or newspaper was this taken? Knowledge of the source will help
you judge the accuracy and soundness of what you read.

For example, in which of the following sources would you expect to find the most accurate and up-
to-date information about computer software?
 An advertisement in Time
 An article in Reader’s Digest
 An article in Software Review

The article in Software Review would be the best source. This is a magazine devoted to the subject
of computers and computer software.

Reader’s Digest, on the other hand, does not specialize in anyone topic and often reprints or
condenses articles from other sources. Time, a weekly newsmagazine, does contain information,
but a paid advertisement is likely to provide information on only one line of software.

Knowing the source of an article will give clues to the kind of information the article will contain.
For instance, suppose you went to the library to locate information for a research paper on the
interpretation of dreams. You found the following sources of information.
What do you expect each to contain?

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  An encyclopaedia entry titled “Dreams”
 An article in Oprah Magazine titled “A Dreamy Way to Predict the Future”
 An article in Psychological Review titled “An Examination of Research on Dreams”

You can predict that the encyclopaedia entry will be a factual report. It will provide a general
overview of the process of dreaming. The Oprah Magazine article will probably focus on the use of
dreams to predict future events. You can expect the article to contain little research. Most likely, it
will be concerned largely with individual reports of people who accurately dreamt about the future.

The article from Psychological Review, a journal that reports research in psychology, will present a
primarily factual, research-oriented discussion of dreams. As part of evaluating a source or of
selecting an appropriate source, be sure to check the date of publication.

For many topics, it is essential that you work with current, up-to-date information. For example,
suppose you’ve found an article on the safety of over-the-counter, non-prescription drugs. If the
article was written four or five years ago, it is already out-dated.

New drugs have been approved and released; new regulations have been put into effect;
packaging requirements have changed. The year a book was published can be found on the
copyright page. If the book has been reprinted by another publisher or has been reissued in
paperback, look to see when it was first published and check the year(s) in the copyright notice.

What is the authority of the author?

The qualifications of the author to write about the subject are another clue to the reliability of the
information. If the author lacks expertise in or experience with a subject, the material may not be
accurate or worthwhile reading.

In textbooks, the author’s credentials may appear on the title page or in the preface. In non-fiction
books and general market paperbacks, a summary of the author’s life and credentials may be
included on the book jacket or back cover.

In many other cases, however, the author’s credentials are not given. You are left to rely on the
judgment of the editors or publishers about an author’s authority. If you are familiar with an
author’s work, then you can anticipate the type of material you will be reading and predict the
writer’s approach and attitude toward the subject.

If, for example, you found an article on world banking written by former President Mandela, you
could predict it will have a political point of view. If you were about to read an article on John
Lennon written by Ringo Starr, one of the other Beatles, you could predict the article might
possibly include details of their working relationship from Ringo’s point of view.

Does the writer make assumptions?

An assumption is an idea, theory, or principle that the writer believes to be true. The writer then
develops his or her ideas based on that assumption. Of course, if the assumption is not true or is
one you disagree with, then the ideas that depend on that assumption are of questionable value.
For instance, an author may believe that the death penalty is immoral and, beginning with that

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assumption, develop an argument for different ways to prevent crime. However, if you believe that
the death penalty is moral, and then from your viewpoint, the writer’s argument is invalid. Read
the following paragraph. Identify the assumption the writer makes, and write it in the space
provided.

The evil of athletic violence touches nearly everyone. It tarnishes what may be our only religion.
Brutality in games blasphemes play; perhaps our purest form of free expression. It blurs the clarity
of open competition, obscuring our joy in victory as well as our dignity in defeat. It robs us of
innocence, surprise, and self-respect. It spoils our fun.

Assumption:
Here the assumption is stated in the first sentence – the writer assumes that athletic
violence exists. He makes no attempt to prove or explain that sports are violent. He
assumes this and goes on to discuss its effects. You may agree or disagree with this
assumption.

Do you have any effective techniques that you use regularly to reduce your level of stress? If not,
you may be among the many people who intellectually recognize the dangers of chronic stress –
perhaps even have benefited from relaxation exercises – but somehow haven’t made stress
reduction part of their daily schedule. And you may be especially fascinated by a unique six-second
exercise conceived and developed by Charles F. Stroebel, M.D., Ph.D., director of research at The
Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut, and professor of psychiatry at the University of
Connecticut Medical School.

Assumption:

Do boys need to rely on heroes more than girls do as sources of identity while growing up? While
no one has gathered statistics, it is true that boys are more often called upon to prove themselves
through performance. For example, even today, they’re often still judged by how well they can kick
and throw a ball. So they may have a greater dependence on athletes, if only as models to imitate.
The baseball/football trading card ritual is still very common among elementary school-age boys;
girls, however, have no equivalent for this practice, nor are they rated for their physical
accomplishments the same way. Despite today’s increasingly “non-sexist” child rearing, girls are
still evaluated more on the basis of how they relate to other people than as solitary, achieving
individuals.

Assumption:

Is the author biased?

As you evaluate any piece of writing, always try to decide whether the author is objective or one-
sided (biased). Does the author present an objective view of the subject or is a particular viewpoint

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favoured! An objective article presents all sides of an issue, while a biased one presents only one
side.

You can decide whether asking yourself these questions biases a writer:
1. Is the writer acting as a reporter, presenting facts, or as a salesperson, providing only
favourable information?
2. Are there other views toward the subject that the writer does not discuss?
Use these questions to determine whether the author of the following selection is biased:

Teachers, schools, and parent associations have become increasingly concerned about the effects of television
on school performance. Based on their classroom experiences, many teachers have reported mounting
incidences of fatigue, tension, and aggressive behaviour, as well as lessened spontaneity and imagination.

So what have schools been doing? At Marble Hall Farm School in Mpumalanga, parents and teachers have
been following written guidelines for five years, which include no television at all for children through the
first grade.

Children in second grade through high school are encouraged to watch no television on school nights and to
restrict viewing to a total of three to four hours on weekends. According to Amos Msimango, head of the
faculty, “You can observe the effects with some youngsters almost immediately.

Three days after they turn off the set you see a marked improvement in their behaviour. They concentrate
better, and are more able to follow directions and get along with their neighbours. If they go back to the set
you notice it right away.”

As Solly Ranamane has pointed out, “In the final analysis, the success of schools in minimizing the negative
effects of television on their (children’s) academic progress depends almost entirely on whether the parents
share this goal.”

The subject of this passage is children’s television viewing. It expresses concern and gives
evidence that television has a negative effect on children. The other side of the issue – the positive
effects or benefits – is not mentioned.

There is no discussion of such positive effects as the information to be learned from educational
television programs or the use of television in increasing a child’s awareness of different ideas,
people, and places. The author is biased and expresses only a negative attitude toward television.

Occasionally, you may come upon unintentional bias – bias that the writer is not aware of. A writer
may not recognize his or her own bias on cultural, religious, or sexual issues.

Is the writing slanted?

Slanting refers to the selection of details that suit the author’s purpose and the omission of those
that do not. Suppose you were asked to write a description of a person you know.

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If you wanted a reader to respond favourably to the person, you might write something like this:
Alex is tall, muscular, and well built. He is a friendly person and seldom becomes angry or upset.
He enjoys sharing jokes and stories with his friends.

On the other hand, if you wanted to create a less positive image of Alex, you could omit the above
information and emphasize these facts instead:

Alex has a long nose and his teeth are crooked. He talks about himself a lot and doesn’t seem to
listen to what others are saying. Alex wears rumpled clothes that are too big for him.

While all of these facts about Alex may be true, the writer decides which to include. Much of what
you read is slanted. For instance, advertisers tell only what is good about a product, not what is
wrong with it. In the newspaper advice column, Dear Abby gives her opinion on how to solve a
reader’s problem, but she does not discuss all the possible solutions.

As you read material that is slanted, keep these questions in mind:

1. What types of facts has the author omitted?
2. How would the inclusion of these facts change your reaction or impression?

How does the writer support his or her ideas?

Suppose a friend said he thought you should quit your part-time job immediately. What would you
do? Would you automatically accept his advice, or would you ask him why? No doubt you would
not blindly accept the advice but would inquire why.

Then, once you heard his reasons, you would decide whether they made sense. Similarly, when
you read, you should not blindly accept a writer’s ideas. Instead, you should ask why by checking
to see how the writer supports or explains his or her ideas. Then, once you have examined the
supporting information, decide whether you accept the idea.

Evaluating the supporting evidence a writer provides involves using your judgment. The evidence
you accept as conclusive may be regarded by someone else as insufficient. The judgment you
make depends on your purpose and background knowledge, among other things.

In judging the quality of supporting information a writer provides, you should watch for the use of:
1. Generalizations,
2. Statements of opinion,
3. Personal experience, and
4. Statistics as evidence.

Generalizations
What do the following statements have in common?
 Dogs are vicious and nasty.

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  College students are more interested in having fun than in learning.
 Parents want their children to grow up to be just like them.

These sentences seem to have little in common. But although the subjects are different, the
sentences do have one thing in common: each is a generalization. Each makes a broad statement
about some group (college students, dogs, parents).

The first statement says that dogs are vicious and nasty. Yet the writer could not be certain that
this statement is true unless he or she had seen every existing dog. No doubt the writer felt this
statement was true based on his or her observation of and experience with dogs.

A generalization is a statement that is made about an entire group or class of individuals or items
based on experience with some members of that group. It necessarily involves the writer’s
judgment. The question that must be asked about all generalizations is whether they are accurate.

How many dogs did the writer observe and how much research did he or she do to justify the
generalization? Try to think of exceptions to the generalization; for instance, a dog that is neither
vicious nor nasty.

As you evaluate the supporting evidence a writer uses, be alert for generalizations that are
presented as facts. A writer may, on occasion, support a statement by offering unsupported
generalizations. When this occurs, treat the writer’s ideas with a critical, questioning attitude.

Read the following three paragraphs and underline each generalization:

1demonstrate
Teenagers need privacy; it allows them to have a life of their own. By providing privacy, we
respect. We help them disengage themselves from us and grow up. Some parents
pry too much. They read their teenagers’ mail and listen in on their telephone calls. Such violations
may cause permanent resentment. Teenagers feel cheated and enraged. In their eyes, invasion of
privacy is a dishonourable offence. As one girl said: “I am going to sue my mother for malpractice
of parenthood”. She unlocked my desk and read my diary.”

2thrown
Farmers are interested in science, in modern methods, and in theory, but they are not easily
off balance and they maintain a healthy suspicion of book learning and of the
shenanigans of biologists, chemists, geneticists, and other late-rising students of farm practice and
management. They are, I think, impressed by education, but they have seen too many examples
of the helplessness and the impracticality of educated persons to be either envious or easily
budged from their position.

3Although the most commonplace reason women marry young is to “complete” themselves, a
good many spirited young women gave another reason: “I did it to get away from my parents.”
Particularly for girls whose educations and privileges are limited, a jailbreak marriage is the usual
thing. What might appear to be an act of rebellion usually turns out to be a transfer of dependence.

Statements of opinion
Facts are statements that can be verified. They can be proven to be true or false. Opinions are
statements that express a writer’s feelings, attitudes, or beliefs. They are neither true nor false.
Here are a few examples of each:

Facts

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  My car insurance costs R1500.
 The theory of instinct was formulated by Konrad Lorenz.
 Green peace is an organization dedicated to preserving the sea and its animals.

Opinions
 My car insurance is too expensive.
 The slaughter of baby seals for their pelts should be outlawed.
 Population growth should be regulated through mandatory birth control.

The ability to distinguish between fact and opinion is an essential part of evaluating an author’s
supporting information. Factual statement from reliable sources can usually be accepted as correct.
Opinions, however, must be considered as one person’s viewpoint that you are free to accept or
reject.

Personal experience
Writers often support their ideas by describing their own personal experiences. Although a writer’s
experiences may be interesting and reveal a perspective on an issue, do not accept them as proof.

Suppose you are reading an article on drug use and the writer uses his or her personal experience
with particular drugs to prove a point. There are several reasons why you should not accept the
writer’s conclusions about the drugs’ effects as fact.

First, the effects of a drug may vary from person to person. The drug’s effect on the writer may be
unusual. Second, unless the writer kept careful records about times, dosages, surrounding
circumstances, and so on, he or she is describing events from memory.

Over time, the writer may have forgotten or exaggerated some of the effects. As you read, treat
ideas supported only through personal experience as one person’s experience. Do not make the
error of generalizing the experience.

Statistics
People are often impressed by statistics-figures, percentages, averages, and so forth. They accept
these as absolute proof. Actually statistics can be misused, misinterpreted, or used selectively to
give other than the most objective, accurate picture of a situation.

Here is an example of how statistics can be misused. Suppose you read that magazine X increased
its readership by 50 percent, while magazine y had only a 10 percent increase. From this statistic
some readers might assume that magazine X has a wider readership than magazine Y.

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The missing but crucial statistic is the total readership of South Africans in the work force
each magazine prior to the increase. If magazine X had a are better off than ever before.
readership of 20,000 and this increased by 50 percent, its The average salary of the South
readership would total 301000. If magazine Y’s African worker is R30, 000 per
readership was already 50,000, a 10-percent increase,
year. At first, the above statement
bringing the new total to 55,000, would still give it the
larger readership despite the fact of the smaller increase. may seem convincing. However, a
Even statistics, then, must be read with a critical, closer look reveals that the
questioning mind. statistic given does not really
support the statement. The term
average is the key to how the
Does the writer make value judgments? statistic is misused. An average
A writer who states that an idea or action is right or includes all salaries, both high and
wrong, good or bad, desirable or undesirable is making a low. It is possible that some South
value judgment. That is, the writer is imposing his or her Africans earn R5, 000 while others
own judgment on the worth of an idea or action. earn R250, 000. Although the
average salary may be R30, 000,
Here are a few examples of value judgments: this does not mean that everyone
earns R30, 000.
 Divorces should be restricted to couples that can prove incompatibility.
 Abortion is wrong.
 Welfare applicants should be forced to apply for any job they are capable of performing.
 Pre-marital sex is acceptable.

You will notice that each statement is controversial. Each involves some type of conflict or idea
over which there is disagreement:
 Restriction versus freedom
 Right versus wrong
 Force versus choice
 Acceptability versus non-acceptability

You may know of some people who would agree and others who might disagree with each
statement. A writer who takes a position or side on a conflict is making a value judgment. As you
read, be alert for value judgments. They represent one person’s view only and there are most
likely many other views on the same topic. When you identify a value judgment, try to determine
whether the author offers any evidence in support of the position.

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 UNIT STANDARD 119459

Unit Standard Title

Write/present/sign for a wide range of contexts

NQF Level
4

Credits
5

Purpose Of The Unit Standard

This unit standard will be useful to learners who communicate confidently and fluently in
writing/signing in almost any formal and informal situation. Competence at this level will help
learners to analyse and make mature judgements about complex, human, personal, social and
environmental issues and to express and motivate own opinions.

Learners at this level write/sign expressively and with conviction on topics of interest. They cope
well with the exploration of complex themes and issues in a variety of writing/signing styles that
stimulate and maintain the interest of their readers/audience. Through a drafting and editing
process their writing/signing shows significant improvement.

They carefully scrutinise their own and others' writing/signing in terms of its impact on different
audiences and contexts. They are also able where possible to use multi-media technologies to
present rather than write/sign own texts.

Learners credited with this unit standard are able to:

Write/sign effectively and creatively on a range of topics
Choose language structures and features to suit communicative purposes
Edit writing/signing for fluency and unity.

Unit Standard Range

Write on/present specialised and complex topics in a wide range of written and/or visual forms.
Specific range statements are provided in the body of the unit standard where they apply to
particular specific outcomes or assessment criteria.

Specific Outcomes and Assessment Criteria:

Specific Outcome 1
Write/sign effectively and creatively on a range of topics.
Assessment Criteria
1. Imaginative texts are convincing, and appropriate to the topic and purpose.

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 2. Expository/factual texts are convincing and well developed with respect to clearly
articulated transactional purposes, using fully developed paragraphs and resulting in a
unified text.
3. Writing/signing on personal interests is convincing in terms of issues and concerns
addressed.
4. The narrative voice or register chosen is appropriate to context, purpose and audience.
Range: Passive for scientific writing/signing, adopting a persona for narrative, first
person/third person selection, authorial comment within narrative voice/register, subjective
or objective options, comedic register for humorous narrative.

Specific Outcome 2
Choose language structures and features to suit communicative purposes.
Assessment Criteria
1. Points in argument are logically and deliberately sequenced to build up to a convincing
conclusion.
2. Devices are employed to create particular rhythmic or tonal effects.
Range: Punctuation (ellipsis marks, semi-colons and dashes), rhetorical devices (repetition,
questioning, emphasis), non-manual modification, sign contractions.
3. Stylistic devices that enhance meaning are used effectively.
Range: Symbol, imagery, irony, understatement, index and icon, logos, hyperbole, visuals,
graphics.

Specific Outcome 3
Edit writing/signing for fluency and unity.
Assessment Criteria
1. Text is checked for coherence, logical sequence and structure. Weaknesses and/or errors
are identified and adjustments improve coherence and flow.
2. Information is rearranged in ways that promote interest in and impact of, the text for a
defined purpose, target audience and context.
3. Layout, spelling, punctuation, appropriate SASL structures (such as non-manual features)
and syntax are checked for accuracy and readability. Major grammatical and linguistic
errors are identified and changes made as required.
4. The completed text is checked against the purposes for writing/presenting to verify that
these purposes have been satisfied.

CRITICAL CROSS FIELD OUTCOMES

Identifying
Identify and solve problems: using context to decode and make meaning individually and in groups
in oral, reading and written activities
Working
Work effectively with others and in teams: using interactive speech in activities, discussion and
research projects.
Organising

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Organise and manage oneself and one`s activities responsibly and effectively through using
language.
Collecting
Collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate information: fundamental to the process of
developing language capability across language applications and fields of study.
Communicating
Communicate effectively using visual, mathematical and/or language skills: in formal and informal
communications.
Science
Use science and technology effectively and critically: using technology to access and present texts
Demonstrating
Understand the world as a set of inter-related parts of a system: through using language to
explore and express links, and exploring a global range of contexts and texts.
Contributing
Contribute to the full development of self by engaging with texts that stimulate awareness and
development of life skills and the learning process.

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 WRITE EFFECTIVELY AND CREATIVELY ON A
RANGE OF TOPICS
Specific Outcomes and Assessment Criteria:
Specific Outcome 1
Write/sign effectively and creatively on a range of topics.
Assessment Criteria
1. Imaginative texts are convincing, and appropriate to the topic and purpose.
2. Expository/factual texts are convincing and well developed with respect to clearly
articulated transactional purposes, using fully developed paragraphs and resulting in a
unified text.
3. Writing/signing on personal interests is convincing in terms of issues and concerns
addressed.
4. The narrative voice or register chosen is appropriate to context, purpose and audience.
Range: Passive for scientific writing/signing, adopting a persona for narrative, first
person/third person selection, authorial comment within narrative voice/register, subjective
or objective options, comedic register for humorous narrative.

Many instances we are required to prepare and write texts for a variety of reasons. These texts
should be based on facts and serve the actual purpose it has been intended for. By ensuring that
our texts are convincing we are able to persuade our readers or listeners that our intentions are
factual and that the information we are giving them are based on actual events or findings.

Some elaboration or assumptions may be added to the texts to ensure the minds of the readers
are captured and that our points come across to them in such a fashion where they believe what
we are trying to tell them. By adding creativity to our writing styles, we add the facts but also
some creative skills to the facts to ensure that the readers / listeners are encapsulated by our
writing. We will cover the following areas in context, purpose and audience when we select our
writing:

Passive scientific writing

Write in past tense unless you are describing present or future situations. Use the passive voice
rather than the active. For example "The food was eaten by the pig"; rather than "The pig ate the
food". Indiscriminate changes in tense are confusing and can give meaning to a statement which
does not accord with the facts. The purpose of scientific writing is to convey information and ideas.

This cannot be done with long and involved sentences. Keep your sentences short, not more than
30 words in length. A sentence should contain one idea of two related ideas. A paragraph should
contain a series of related ideas.

Words have precise meanings and to use them correctly adds clarity and precision to prose. Steer
clear of emotional words as you are not able to develop an argument based on emotions. Always
say what you mean, do not use the words “For Example”.
Some phrases show sloppy thinking. The phrase “It has long been known…” usually means that the
writer has not bothered to look up the reference. Correct to an order of magnitude probably means

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that the answer was wrong. Almost reached significance at the 5% level usually means a selective
interpretation of results. Text is easier to understand if simple words and phrases can be used to
replace more complex or foreign ones.

Adopting a persona for narrative

The Narrator is the entity within the written text that tells the story to the reader or listener. It is
one of three entities responsible for story telling of any kind. The others are the author and the
reader, or audience. The author and the reader both inhabit the real world. It is the author’s
function to create the alternate world, people and events within the story. It is the reader’s
function to understand and interpret the story.

The narrator exists within the world of the story, and only there. Although in the fictitious world of
facts and the truth, the narrator and the author can share the same persona. Since the real world
and the world of the story are the same. A writer’s choice of narrator is crucial for the way a work
of writing is perceived by the reader.

First/Third person voice selection

A first person voice brings greater focus on the feeling, opinions and perceptions of a particular
group of people and how they view the topic of writing. Here the writer is more able to relay the
feelings of people and their way of conceptualising the matter or topic he is writing about.

A third person gives a more panoramic viewpoint of the matter and does not look so much into the
feelings of the people involved. He concentrates more on the facts and the background of the
events.

Authorial comment with narrative voice

When using the authorial comment with a narrative voice, one is using the actual facts/story which
the author wants to relay to the readers or listeners. A narrative voice is then used to tell the story
so that the reader or listener perceives the text as a story form.

Although it is based on facts, to enable the reader or listener to make sense of the actual events,
the narrator is required to relay the events in such a fashion where they are easily comprehended
by the receiver, in a chronological fashion.

Subjective or objective options

In the decision of subjective or objective one has to identify the reason for the texts. In reason,
subjectivity refers to the property of perceptions, arguments and language as being based in a
subject’s point of view, hence influenced in accordance with a particular bias.

Subjectivity refers to the specific discerning interpretations of any respect or experiences. They are
unique to the person who is experiencing them.
Let’s look at an example.
Gary Jackson, the security manager of a small retail shop has been asked to give a short speech
about the new security clocking system which the company bought. He has been asked to address
the employees of the organisation and explain to them how the new system has actually been an
improvement on the old one but also how it has assisted the employees and management equally.

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Let’s start with the facts:
1. A new clocking system was installed at the shop, intended to replace the old system which
worked on paper the new system requires a fingerprint
2. Employees were not getting paid overtime because their cards went missing or were lost;
3. The new system costs more, but will ensure fewer problems in the long run

Now that we have the facts, we are able to commence with the planning of the talk. But we cannot
just present the facts as such, as it will not be interesting. It will be dull and you will lose the
attention of the listeners immediately. So you have to add some text and conceptualise the entire
talk to such an extent where you can use language which is explanatory and give insight to the
matter. By doing this, you aim to captivate the audience.

Next, we add some imaginative text which serves to convince the listeners of the purpose. This
text must be appropriate to the topic and enhance what the facts are.

Let’s look at how we can expand each one of the three points which were stated earlier.
1. OLD - A new clocking system was installed at the shop, intended to replace the old system
which worked on paper.
NEW - Due to the old clock card system, many employees clocking cards were lost. It took
time to make the new cards and then to it added another headache of attempting to find
out what shifts they had worked, in order for them to get paid correctly. A new cards
system which moved away from the cards was selected and then installed at the
organisation. This new version simply works on the fingerprint of the employee so the
problem of cards getting lost or stolen, has been totally eliminated.

2. OLD - Employees were not getting paid overtime because their cards went missing or were
lost;
NEW – Due to the fact that the paper cards went missing or were misplaced, many
employees had lost the opportunity to get their overtime paid out to them as the
organisation had no proof that they had actually worked the overtime hours they stated.
With the new system, the employees merely use a fingerprint to activate the clocking
procedures. The information is then stored and saved on a computerised system which will
enable the Human Resources department to get a print out at the end of the month. No
information can get lost with this system.

3. OLD - The new system costs more, but will ensure fewer problems in the long run.
NEW – Although the new system cost a small fortune to install, it serves to avoid any
further employee-employer problems. Because the lost-card situation has been eradicated,

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 the employees are rest assured that they will get paid their overtime according to the
amount of hours they have worked. The employer will also gain in the long run as they will
have to spend less time to figure out which employees were present. This will enhance the
relationship between the two parties but also save the employer in paying out overtime
when it is not actually due to employees stating they had worked overtime, and actually did
not.

Can you see that from the three points, one now has a chronological flow of information which has
been enhanced by imaginative texts to ensure that the reader/listener understands the
information, but that they also are the problems which had warranted the installation of the new
security system?

Critical thinking: The process of thinking about ideas or situations in order to understand them
fully, identify their implications, and/or make a judgement about what is sensible or reasonable to
believe or do.

Before you start writing/signing an essay, a summary, a message to someone or business

correspondence you have to plan what you are going to write/sign. Remember, writing something
is formal and it forms a permanent record. It is not as easy to correct a mistake as with verbal
communication.

Part of your planning process is to write/sign an outline of what you want to write – the main
points that you wish to express. In order to do this, most of us have to improve our thinking skills.
Luckily, there are strategies available to help us with our critical thinking skills.

Critical thinking is when you understand how others think and you also understand your own
thinking process. When you can gather evidence to support your reasoning and also evaluate this
evidence objectively, you are also applying critical thinking skills.

A mind map is an excellent technique to improve your critical thinking skills.

SASL
South African Sign Language does not have a written form. Therefore, reading and
writing/presenting outcomes take on a different form, that is, a receptive and productive
competence.
Sign devices:
These include register, non-manual features (NMFs), placement, role-shift, and parameter

Sign parameter:
The building blocks of the sign/word: hand shape, location, movement, palm orientation, non-
manual sign

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Sign devices:
Sign devices are visual strategies used in signed poetry, for example, rhythm, placement, role
shifting, and repetition of hand shape, location, movement, palm orientation, and non-manual
features

Styles of Writing
To express yourself clearly in writing you should pay special attention to:
 Reading and understanding, also called comprehension.
 Assembling facts and constructing prose (text).
 Sentence structure/collection of signs and non-manual features
 Paragraphing: coherent and cohesive collection of sentences. In SASL its boundaries may
be indicated by manual or non-manual devices, usually chunks of sign
 Assembling paragraphs.
 Making a summary
 Taking notes.
 Expanding notes.
 Paraphrasing.
 NMF’s (non-manual features)

Research
Sources of Information
Before you start writing your document, you have to plan what you are going to write/sign. First,
you are going to define the topic and then you have to gather information about the topic.

Information can be gathered In the case of business correspondence, you will find
from: information in:

Libraries Minutes of meetings.

Encyclopaedias Correspondence with clients and suppliers.

Manuals Operations and procedures manuals

Magazines Internal correspondence between departments,

branches and regions.

Newspapers Correspondence between management and their

departments.

Interviews with experts

Internet

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When doing research about a topic it is important that you gather as much information about a
subject as possible. The more information you have, the better.
Of course, the information and data must be relevant to the topic that you are going to write/sign
about.

Organise the Material

Once you have gathered information, the material you have collected has to be organised.

Sorting and categorizing

Arrange or organise the information with common features or characteristics systematically in
groups. All the information with similar content is grouped together. Your classification will
depend on the order in which you are going to write/sign the document: you can sort the
information chronologically, using contrast or cause and effect.

Sifting for relevance

Once you have classified the information and data, you have to sift through it for relevance. You
should keep only the information that is relevant to your topic, everything else can be discarded.
In other words, if you are writing about plants that flower in summer, all information about plants
that flower in autumn is not relevant, you cannot use it to enhance your writing and you should
discard it.

Validity and reliability

Now you have to check your information for validity and reliability. The obvious way of doing this
is to check your facts with more than one source: check more than one manual, talk to more than
one person, visit more than one website, to ensure that your facts are correct.

Preferably, you should use more than one manual, more than one website and the knowledge of
more than one expert for each aspect that has to be checked. If most or all you sources state the
same basic fact, you can be reasonably sure that the fact is correct.

Recording
Once you have sifted and verified your information, record it in the categories you have selected.
This recording is in draft form, usually in the form of rough notes.
Now you are ready to draft your first copy of the final document.

Produce Writing That Is Appropriate

When you write/sign, you always have to take the audience into consideration. For a letter to
friends, you will use the informal register, you can use slang and jargon freely and your layout will
be informal. The diction, language features and structures, pictures and sentence lengths will all
be more informal than you would use for a business document.

When you are writing a document for the Information Technology department, your presentation
will be formal, so you will use the formal register. You can use jargon and technical language
freely, without explanatory notes. Your diagrams and other visual aids can be technical, as long as
it relates to the IT industry.

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When you are writing a note to a friend, telling him/her about something funny that happened to
you, you will use the comedic register: something funny is always written in the comedic register.

When you are writing to a client who is not an expert in IT, you will still use the formal register.
You will, however, use less jargon and technical language and, where you have to, you will add
explanations. Language structure and features will be formal.

This is a layout of a letter done in the formal register. Your choice of words will be formal, you will
use headings and sub headings, you will use bold or italic fonts (or NMF’s to emphasise certain
aspects), and so on.
Can you see that this letter does not look the same as the letter to your friend? It is important to
use the register that is appropriate to the audience you are writing to. If you don’t, the reader can
feel insulted or even refuse to take you seriously.

The form that your writing takes must also be appropriate to the context and purpose. For
example, a friend’s mother has died and you must write/sign a letter of condolence. Your writing
will be more formal than if you were writing to the friend, although not quite as formal as when
you are writing to our President. You will not use humour, jargon, technical or ambiguous words.
The style will be sympathetic.

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When you are inviting a client to a Christmas function, you will use the formal register but you will
tone down the formality. You could introduce the theme of the party with a little humour or a
funny picture; you will not use titles, heading and so on.

If you are unsure of the difference in the registers, go to a stationer that sells cards and look at
birthday cards, cards about illness and death, invitations. There will be more than one example of
each and some will be more formal than others. Take note of the tone and style that is used; note
the diction and the language structure. Make notes, if necessary and refer back to your notes
when necessary.

Narrative Voice
When you write text you also have to choose the voice that you are going to write in.
Active or passive voice
First person or third person

Active and Passive Voice

The difference between active and passive voice is in the form of the verb (the doing of something)
and the relation to the subject (who is doing it).

“The boy kicked the ball.” Is active voice, because the subject performs the action. You can see
that the sentence starts with the subject (the boy), then the verb follows (kicked) and then the
object (the ball). This is active voice.

Active voice expresses thoughts, ideas and facts more clearly than passive voice.
“The ball was kicked by the boy.” Is passive voice, because the subject receives the action? The
sentence starts with the subject (the ball), the verb follows (kicked) and then the subject receives
the action (the boy). This is called passive voice.

When you write, it will mainly be in active voice. Only very formal business writing, scientific
writing and legal documents such as affidavits will be in passive voice. “The victim was raped by
Mr X.” This is done so that the recipient of the action (the victim) is the most important part of the
sentence.

Passive voice is also used when the “who” or “what” that performs the action is not known. “The
victim was raped.” Or “The ball was kicked.” Scientific and sometimes legal writing is done in
passive voice.

First Person or Third Person

Most writing is done in the third person. The third person reports events as they happen to other
people. If you look at the article about Nelson Mandela’s grandson in hand-out 1, you will find that
the article was written by the reporter in the third person, in the discursive style.

If I rewrite the first paragraph of the article in the first person, it would look like this:

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I am former President Nelson Mandela’s grandson. AIDS brought my wife and me together.
Can you see the difference?

Imaginative Texts
The essays that you had to do at school are an example of imaginative texts, as are fiction novels.
All the stories, fairy tales and fables told to children and read by children are examples of
imaginative texts. Comedy shows, films such as Tsotsi, television dramas and soaps are all
examples of imaginative texts. Love stories and romance novels are imaginative texts.

These texts are creative rather than factual, even when they are based on fact. Based on fact only
means that certain aspects of the text is factual and true, but most of the text is imaginary, a
figment of the author’s imagination.

Imaginative texts can be fun to write/sign, as long as you have a choice over the subject. It is
difficult to write when someone else chooses the subject for you. We all have dreams about what
we would like our lives to be like and when you write about this the writing process becomes fun.

Personal Interests
When you write/sign about subjects that interest you, such as sport, hobbies, movies, books or
people. This is also fun to do, because you are interested in it.

When you write for an audience about subjects that interest you, you must remain enthusiastic
about the subject and be careful that you do not bore the reader. It does not mean that what
interests you will necessarily interest the reader as well, so you have to make sure that your
writing is interesting, otherwise the audience will stop reading.

Books about gardening, pets, sport, photography, self-improvement, interior decorating, cooking,
travel, etc. are examples of personal interest books. The authors wrote about something that
interests them.

When writing about personal interests, you would write in the first person – “I did this…”, or “I
went there …”

Factual/Expository
This type of writing is based on fact. Business correspondence, encyclopaedias, school text books,
training manuals, user instructions that you get when you purchase equipment, historical writing,
etc. are all examples of factual text.

When you are writing factual text, you have to make sure of your facts and also ensure that they
follow each other in a logical order.

Humour
In the dictionary, humour is stated as being:” the quality of being amusing”. Jokes are humorous,
so can text in an article be humorous or even a novel (long story) or parts of a novel.

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Following is a quote from a book called My Family and Other Animals, by Gerald Durrell. The book
contains short stories about his family’s move from England to Greece, in the time before the
Second World War. They took their dog, called Roger, with them. Gerald had two older brothers,
Larry and Leslie.

“That dog’s been a nuisance all the way from England,” said Larry. “I had hoped to give an
impression of gracious majesty, and this is what happens … we arrive in town like a troupe of
medieval tumblers.”
“Don’t keep on, dear,” Mother said soothingly, straightening her hat: “we’ll soon be at the hotel.”

So our cab clopped and jingled its way into the town, while we sat on the horsehair seats and tried
to muster the appearance of gracious majesty Larry required. Roger, wrapped in Leslie’s powerful
grasp, lolled his head over the side of the vehicle and rolled his eyes as though at his last gasp.

Then we rattled past an alley-way in which four scruffy mongrels were lying in the sun. Roger
stiffened, glared at them and let forth a torrent of deep barks. The mongrels were immediately
galvanized into activity, and they sped after the cab, yapping vociferously.

Our pose was irretrievable shattered, for it took two people to restrain the raving Roger, while the
rest of us leaned out of the cab and made wild gestures with magazines and books at the pursuing
horde.

This only had the effect of exciting them still further, and at each alley-way we passed their
numbers increased, until by the time we were rolling down the main thoroughfare of the town
there were some twenty-four dogs swirling about our wheels, almost hysterical with anger.

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 Choose language structures & features to suit
communicative purposes

Specific Outcome 2
Choose language structures and features to suit communicative purposes.
Assessment Criteria
1. Points in argument are logically and deliberately sequenced to build up to a convincing
conclusion.
2. Devices are employed to create particular rhythmic or tonal effects.
Range: Punctuation (ellipsis marks, semi-colons and dashes), rhetorical devices (repetition,
questioning, emphasis), non-manual modification, sign contractions.
3. Stylistic devices that enhance meaning are used effectively.
Range: Symbol, imagery, irony, understatement, index and icon, logos, hyperbole, visuals,
graphics.

Language structures & features

Let’s refer back to the situation of the security guard, Gary Jackson, who had to give a talk about
the new security system in his company. Looking at the points below, we find that there is a logical
flow in the information which he has presented to his audience.

In any type of conversation, there is a flow of information, the more logical the flow is, and the
easier the listeners will be able to understand the information given to them as well as the more
sense it makes to them. When listeners do not find the information of relevance of informative,
they will lose their concentration.

Old Point 1 - Due to the old clock card system, many employees clocking cards were lost. It took
time to make the new cards and then to it added another headache of attempting to find out what
shifts they had worked, in order for them to get paid correctly. A new cards system which moved
away from the cards was selected and then installed at the organisation. This new version simply
works on the fingerprint of the employee so the problem of cards getting lost or stolen, has been
totally eliminated.

If we look at the above paragraph, we find a single, monotonous tone of voice, with no added
punctuation or exclamations to add to the areas where Gary would like to focus his audiences’
attention on. Now, let’s make use of these methods, to enhance the deliverables of this point, and
review it afterwards.

New Point 1 - Due to the old (exclamation) clock card system, many employees clocking cards
were lost. It took time to make the new cards and then to it added another headache, (pause)
of attempting to find out what shifts they had worked, in order for them to get paid correctly. A
new cards system which moved away (exclamation) from the cards was selected and then
installed at the organisation.

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This new version simply works on the fingerprint (pause) of the employee so the problem of
cards getting lost or stolen, has been totally eliminated (exclamation and long pause).

Now that the text has been enhanced by the added devices to create tonal effects, the delivery
thereof is more improved and it attracts attention to the listeners as well as lay claim on the items
of issue.

Sequence points in an argument logically

Sentences
Too many short sentences will make your text appear choppy and curt. Too many long sentences
will have the opposite effect; your text will appear confusing. Short sentences should be varied
with longer sentences to give your text an even flow.

The sentence may be regarded as the core of language communication; because a sentence is a
complete thought that conveys (gives) a meaning. In other words, you use a sentence to explain
yourself to other people, or to give your opinion about something. The end of a sentence is
indicated by a full stop, called a period these days.

Sentence (in relation to SASL): A sentence is a unit of meaning made up of a collection of signs
and non-manual features, always including a verb, and adhering to specific grammatical rules of
SASL

A sentence/collection of signs and non-manual features must make sense, therefore a

sentence/collection of signs and non-manual features must express a complete thought. In order
to do this a sentence must contain a verb (doing something) and a noun (a subject) and the
sentence/collection of signs and non-manual features must contain a thought that includes an idea
that is relevant to the subject or the doing.

If you say: “The accident happened as I crossed the road.” it makes sense to everyone who hears
it and reads it. If you say: My dog was run over and Vin Diesel visited South Africa.”, it will not
make much sense to other people. The two concepts have nothing to do with each other. In an
instance like this, you will have to use two or more sentences or even two paragraphs.

A short sentence could be: Thabo takes the dog for a walk.
Authors use short sentences to heighten (increase) tension in a written piece. Longer sentences
make a written piece more relaxed and not as filled with tension. If you are writing about strikes
and unrest, your sentences would be shorter, while the sentence in a written piece about farming
would be longer to create a more relaxed atmosphere.

Generally, we would try to vary the length of sentences in any written piece. A written piece that
has only long or short sentences can be tiring to read.
There are three basic types of sentences.
Simple Sentences
These have one verb and one subject and object. “The boy is playing with the ball.”

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Compound Sentences
A compound sentence is made up of two or more thoughts or sentences that are related to each
other. The thoughts or sentences are then connected to each other to form one sentence by using
the following words: but, and, or.
“The boy is playing with the ball, but his mother is calling him.”
“The boy is playing with the ball and some other children are watching.”

Sentences should have the same topic if you want to create a compound sentence. The following
two sentences are not related to each other and should not be joined: “It is late.” and “I like
reading.”

“It is late and I like reading” does not make sense, since they do not share the same topic:
lateness and reading do not have anything to do with each other.
“It is late and I am going to bed.” is a better example.

Complex Sentences
Consist of one independent sentence with one or more dependent clause that relates to it. The
sentence and the clauses are separated by a comma.

“Although it is raining, the boy is playing outside.” Can you see that: “Although it is raining” is not
a full sentence, it does not have a subject, so it is called a clause and has to be added to a
sentence.

The clauses and the sentence must relate to the same topic if you want to create a complex
sentence. “Although it is raining, I like reading.” Is a pointless sentence, since they do not share
the same subject? “I have to go to the shop, even though it is raining,” is a better example of a
complex sentence.

Remember:
Too many short sentences will make your text appear choppy and curt.
Too many long sentences will have the opposite effect; your text will appear confusing.
Short sentences should be varied with longer sentences to give your text an even flow.

Paragraphs
Paragraph (in relation to SASL) A paragraph is a coherent and cohesive collection of sentences. Its
boundaries may be indicated by manual or non-manual devices. Paragraphs can also be seen as
chunks of sign.
The sentences in a paragraph should form a unit.

The reader/viewer must be able to easily see how a sentence follows on the one preceding it.
Paragraph/chunks of sign starts with a topic sentence/collection of signs and non-manual features,
which introduces the topic of the paragraph to the reader.

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The topic sentence acts as a base and holds the paragraph together. Sentences/collection of signs
and non-manual features that follow in the same paragraph should enlarge on the topic or theme
introduced in the first sentence. We call them supporting sentences. Supporting sentences should
provide specific details about the topic in order to clarify the topic sentence and make the
paragraph interesting.

If the sentence/collection of signs and non-manual features does not contribute to the theme of
the paragraph, it should not be included. You should also avoid adding data that is not relevant to
the topic.

Hints for writing good paragraphs

 Each paragraph should have only one theme.
 Do not write/sign paragraphs that are longer than 10 or 12 lines, as longer paragraphs become boring
and confusing.
 Mix long and short paragraphs in a document to create interest and attention with the reader.

Document
When you are writing a document, it will usually be about a specific topic or theme. The text you
are writing will usually consist of more than one paragraph, each with its own topic but relating to
the main topic of the document.

Your piece of writing should start with an introduction of the theme of the document. Your first
paragraph would therefore be the introductory paragraph. The introductory paragraph should be
short, relevant, it must introduce the theme of the document and it must get the attention of the
reader.

Arranging The Paragraphs In A Logical Order

You can use cause and effect and contrast to help you arrange your paragraphs in a logical way.
Contrast is when you contrast one theme, thought, opinion or product with another.

Cause and effect: you can, for example, progress from the causes of war to the consequences
(effect) of the civil war on ordinary people.

If you are writing about something that happens over a period of time, you can arrange your
paragraphs chronologically: start with the earliest date and end with the latest date. When
writing about droughts in South Africa you can start with the big drought in the 1930s and end
with the current drought.

Any arguments used in your document must be supported by sound reasons and facts. You
have to justify your feeling about the matter with facts in order to persuade the reader to your
point of view. Something your neighbour said about the matter is not fact – you have to verify the
statement your neighbour made.
Ensure that you state your point of view clearly. Remember other people also have to
understand your point of view.

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A fragile home threatened by war.
Among the last of its kind, a young gorilla peers from its leafy refuge in Rwanda – a nation
bloodied by ethnic slaughter. Conservationists fear that Rwanda’s instability could endanger the
gorilla’s survival. Others ask: How should the plight of the world’s rarest ape be weighed against
more than 500,000 human dead?

As it stands the paragraph above is clear. If I leave out certain key words, I can change the
paragraph so that it does not make any sense:
“A young gorilla peers from its leafy refuge and instability could endanger the gorilla’s survival.”
What on earth am I talking about? Where is the gorilla, why would its survival be endangered and
what is the instability that I wrote about?

If you want your writing to be clear, you have to ensure that you give the reader all the
information he/she requires to understand your reasoning.

“They said it is going to rain today.” This is a terrible sentence. Who are “they”, where did they
get their information from, where is it going to rain, where do they live – do they even live in the
same area as you and I?

Always check your facts for correctness before you commit them to writing. Readers are very
critical and will never forgive you if you get your facts wrong. Anything you write/sign in future
will be viewed with suspicion
“The Weather Bureau predicts that there is an 80% chance of rain in Gauteng today.”

Now you have stated the source of your fact, you have backed your statement with an estimate of
the possibility of rain and you have also made it clear where it will rain. If it doesn’t rain, your
readers cannot be angry with you, since you only reported what the Weather Bureau predicted.

At the end of your document, you have to come to a conclusion, where you connect all the facts
that you stated previously. State your conclusion or recommendation clearly and make sure that it
is based on the facts you stated. The conclusion can be:
A short summary of the main points of your document.
A direct-approach conclusion where you show the reader how the message relates to him/her.
Plan of action conclusion where you answer the question of what should be done about the
matters discussed in the body of your document.

Create particular rhythmic or tonal effects

During oral communication, the speaker can use inflections, pauses, variations in tempo, eye
and body movements and gestures to add emphasis or to make his speech more interesting.
When writing, we have to make use of punctuation to indicate tone, undertone,
emphasis, accent and meaning.

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All the things a speaker does with his voice, we do with punctuation. Unfortunately, incorrect use
of punctuation can lead to misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the written word.

Using punctuation is one way of ensuring that your writing is interesting. Using punctuation is also
necessary if you want your work to be grammatically correct.

Punctuation
 Punctuation should clarify the meaning of text
 Punctuation should make the written material more readable
 Punctuation should be reader-oriented: the most important reason for using full stops
(periods) is to help your reader understand you. Of course, when you use periods (full
stops) in the right places, your work will automatically be grammatically correct.
 Punctuation marks indicate the emphasis, tone and undertone in a piece of writing
 Writers are not free to punctuate as they wish, certain rules have to be followed:
 A period or full stop at the end of a sentence indicates a long pause.
 A question is always indicated by a question mark. (?)
 An exclamation mark always indicates an exclamation. (!)
 A quote must always be placed within quotation marks. (“…”)
 When using SASL, attention must be paid to hand shape, location, movement,
palm orientation, non-manual signs, where appropriate.

Period
 Use at the end of a sentence.
 Use after a declarative or imperative statement: Write in pencil.
 Used after certain abbreviations: etc.
 Do not use periods at the end of a heading or a theme title.

Comma
Commas are used to:
Separate an introductory phrase from the body of the sentence: “During the discussions in
parliament, it was decided that ….” Doing this, tells the reader that the introductory phrase is less
important than the main part of the sentence. In the example, the important part of the sentence
is the decision that was made, the place where it was made is not that important.

Separate two independent clauses that are joined by a conjunction. Examples of conjunctions are:
“and”, “but”, “or”, “nor”, “for”, “yet”, “so”. You will place the comma after the first independent
clause and before the conjunction: “I have finished reading this book and I am taking it back to
my friend. “It is raining outside, but inside the room it is dry and warm.”

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A separable (non-restrictive) clause from the principal clause. This is when you insert an
interesting clause, word or phrase into a sentence: “The water, polluted by industrial waste, is
poisonous.” The clause that was inserted is interesting, but not essential to the point of the
sentence. Of course, when the clause is essential to the sentence, you will not use commas.

Separate elements in a simple series. When you quote a list or series of things in a sentence, you
must separate them with a comma: “All the furniture, domestic appliances, office equipment and
other business articles must be included in the inventory.” “I want to buy the red dress, yellow
jersey, white slacks and black shoes.”

Separate transitional words or phrases such as: “well”, “yes”, “no” and “finally” from the rest of the
sentence. “Yes, I will make the opening speech for the debate.” “No, the blue jacket does not look
good with the brown slacks.”

Ellipses
The ellipse (…) is three spaced periods that indicate the intentional omission of words in a
quotation, a remark that is not complete or to show that the author did not cite all the information:
“I understand your problem…”

When you use an ellipse with other punctuation marks, such as a question mark, the ellipse follows
the question mark: “Why don’t you tell me what is bothering you?...”

Semi-colons
The semi-colon (;) is a stronger punctuation mark than a comma, but not as strong as a period.
When you use a semi-colon, you are indicating a longer pause than a comma, but the pause is not
as long that of the full stop.
Use a semi-colon when you want to separate ideas that are related that follow a colon: “the
secretary should: prepare the chairman’s agenda; take minutes of the meeting; read the minutes
…”

Semi-colons are also used if items in a series contain a comma: “Are you going to Parys, Free
State; or Paris, France?”

Dash
Use the dash sparingly. Too many dashes in a piece of writing are bad style.
The dash shows an abrupt break in the thought or construction of a sentence: “I believe – no, I am
sure – that he is responsible.” A dash takes the place of to: “January – March” or “1994 – 2004”.

Rhetorical Devices
Rhetorical devices help you to create rhythmic effects in your writing.
You will find many examples of repetition, questioning and emphasis in speeches, but you can also
use in written work to create rhythm.

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Repetition
Repeating words and phrases is very effective to emphasise the importance of the statement. Sir
Winston Churchill made very good use of repetition in his famous speeches during World War 11.

On 22 May 1940, after the British soldiers had been evacuated from Dunkirk, he said:
“We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing-grounds, we shall fight in the
fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…

On 13 May 1940, just after he was elected prime Minister, he said that he had one aim:
“Victory – victory at all costs, victory in spite of terror; victory, however long and hard the road
may be.”
Of course, he said many more memorable things and it is worthwhile reading about him. He was
the Prime Minister of Britain during World War 11 and he was a rather colourful character – just
what the British needed during wartime.

Questioning
Trainers, teachers and facilitators use questions all the time, and you can use questions in written
text to set your readers thinking.

Of course, when you ask questions in your text you do not expect the readers to answer you, so
you have to provide the answers.
 Always make sure that your questions relate to the topic of your writing.
 You can ask more than one question at the same time for effect.
 You can start your writing with a question
 You can also end your writing with a question and leave the readers to think about the
question, however, when you ask a factual question, do not leave your readers hanging in
the air – give them the answer.

Emphasis
Some of the ways of emphasising certain texts in your writing have been discussed in the section
about punctuation. You can also use the following to emphasize text:
Bold
Italics: commonly used to quote titles of books, magazines, television programs, etc.
Underline

Stylistic Devices
You can use the following to enhance the meaning of your written work.
 Photographs

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  Index
 Irony – but do not be sarcastic
 Visual aids such as graphics, pictures, tables, etc.
 Iconicity: Iconicity as a poetic strategy is the use of signs to represent action/movement,
and is often used in conjunction with repetition of parameters and rhythm.

Photographs
One of the most popular techniques used in written communication is photographs. As with any
visual representation that is used to supplement written material, photos can have a big impact.
The old saying: “A picture paints a thousand words” is very true of photos.

Newspaper photos of the weekend’s sport events illustrate what happened. Photos, of a big
natural disaster, such as the tsunami around Christmas 2004, or a hurricane or earthquake, a
plane crash or a train that has derailed, sells many newspapers, as people want to see what it
looks like after the disaster.

Of course, photos are used in more positive ways than negative ways and it is important for you to
consider using photos with your written work. The photo has to add to your writing, please don’t
use photos that are not relevant to your written work.

Photos are very effective when you want to persuade readers to your point of view: If you want
investors to buy a nice seaside or bushveld property, including a colourful, clear photo of the
property will give the reader a positive visual stimulation.

If you want readers to contribute towards a hunger relief fund, showing photos of hungry children
will encourage many people to contribute.

If you want voters to vote for you, show them photos of what you have achieved, for example, the
houses that have been built, and the roads that have been built, and so on.

Visual aids
Pictures and Drawings
Writers also use pictures to illustrate their points and to influence your thinking of the matter.
Not every presentation is successful

Posters
There are many examples of posters for us to view every day. Posters about violence against
women, AIDS, soccer games, films, TV shows, advertisements, etc.

Tables
A table is a list where figures, facts or other information is given shortly.
The table below details the types of decisions usually made when solving problems.

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And this table gives details about types of business plans:

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Irony
The expression of meaning through the use of language which normally means the
opposite
When an author uses irony, he states one thing, while meaning the opposite.
Your sport team lost a game badly over the weekend. On Monday morning you discuss the game
with colleagues and you say: “Well, they played really well”, you are being ironic, since you mean
the opposite

Hyperbole
An exaggerated statement that is not meant to be taken in the strict sense of the words
“I have told you a thousand times to clean your room.”

Understatement
This is the opposite of the hyperbole or exaggeration.
When your team has had a spectacular win over the weekend and you say:
“They did not do too bad…” it is an understatement.

Index and icon

Index
An index is a system used to make finding information easier.
Index may also refer to:
 In publishing, an index is a detailed list, usually arranged alphabetically, of the specific
information in a publication
 In economics an index is a single number calculated from an array of prices and quantities,
for example a price index is a typical price for some good or service.

These indexes are usually presented graphically:

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In finance an index is a list of stocks

Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting. More broadly the term is used in a
wide number of contexts for an image, picture, or representation; it is a sign or likeness that
stands for an object by signifying or representing it.

By extension, icon is also used, particularly in modern culture, in the general sense of symbol —
i.e. a name, face, picture, edifice or even a person readily recognized as having some well-known
significance or embodying certain qualities.

A person or thing seen as a symbol of something.

In South Africa, we have our own icon: Nelson Mandela, or Madiba. He is an icon throughout the
world and has even been called the world’s president.

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Logos and Symbols
A symbol can be a letter, a sign or a simplified sketch that indicates a subject or image, e.g. the
picture of a locomotive at a railway crossing. Symbols are very common in architecture and
garden landscaping. Traffic signals and road signs also make use of symbols.

© this is the symbol for copyright

√ this is the symbol for square root, used in mathematics.

Logos are used by companies and organisations to enable readers to identify the symbol with their
organisation. All the big companies, and smaller companies and organisations make use of logos.

EDIT WRITING FOR FLUENCY AND UNITY

Specific Outcome 3
Edit writing/signing for fluency and unity.
Assessment Criteria
1. Text is checked for coherence, logical sequence and structure. Weaknesses and/or errors
are identified and adjustments improve coherence and flow.
2. Information is rearranged in ways that promote interest in and impact of, the text for a
defined purpose, target audience and context.
3. Layout, spelling, punctuation, appropriate SASL structures (such as non-manual features)
and syntax are checked for accuracy and readability. Major grammatical and linguistic
errors are identified and changes made as required.
4. The completed text is checked against the purposes for writing/presenting to verify that
these purposes have been satisfied.

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Write/sign effectively
There are many reasons why authors write texts:
 To persuade readers to his/her point of view: Sport writers typically want to persuade
their readers, as do people who write about political issues. When an author is writing to
persuade, he wants you to accept his opinion about issues, policies and situations.
 To inform readers: in SA Computer you will find a lot of articles that inform readers about
new developments in Information Technology. In other magazines you will find fashion
articles, articles about healthy eating and fitness, etc. These articles were all written to
inform readers.
 To entertain readers: the short stories found in magazines were written to entertain.
Fables, fairy tales, fictional novels, cartoons, short, funny pieces in magazines were all
written to entertain. The passage in Formative Assessment 2 that you had to rewrite in the
third person was written to entertain. It is an extract from a book written by James Herriot
called If Only They Could Talk, published by Michael Joseph Publishers in 1970. The book is
a collection of short stories about his experiences as a veterinary surgeon in rural England
before World War 11. The short stories are written in a friendly and light style and are very
humorous. If you want to improve your reading skills, any one of his books is a good place
to start. His books were written for the general public and are easy and fun to read.

Before you start writing your text you have to plan what you are going to write/sign:
 Who will you be writing/signing for: your friends and family, the general public, a business
document, a newspaper or magazine article, etc?
 In which register will you be writing/signing the text: formal or informal
 Sign devices non-manual features (NMFs), placement, role-shift, parameter
 Sign parameter: hand shape, location, movement, palm orientation, non-manual sign
 Which writing style will you use: narrative, discursive, expository, etc?
 Determine the research you will do
 Organise your writing: make sure ideas and facts flow logically

Make your writing interesting:

 Use numbers and bullets to separate ideas, facts and paragraphs. You will find examples of
bullets and numbers in this learner guide
 Use punctuation/NMF correctly: commas, periods, etc.
 Use titles, subtitles, headings, contents and index
 Use an introduction and a conclusion
 Use visual images and captions with these images
 Vary the length of your sentences

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  Structure your paragraphs correctly
 If any action is required, make suggestions about the actions
 Put ideas forward
 Use appendices or addenda if required
 Use NMF’s (non-manual features) appropriately
 Sign devices non-manual features (NMFs), placement, role-shift, parameter
 Sign parameter: hand shape, location, movement, palm orientation, non-manual sign

Diction
 Choose words that are familiar and easy to understand
 Make sure that you are using the correct words
 Do not use technical language, legalisms, etc. when writing for the general public. When it
is a business document, use of technical terms and jargon will be acceptable
 Do not use slang or write in dialect unless you are writing to entertain

Always
 Be ethical: readers must be able to trust your writing
 Quote facts and substantiate your facts with evidence so that the readers can believe you
 Be sensitive to the reader’s point of view, culture, etc.

Redrafting
You will never use your first draft for the final document without reading and rereading and making
changes.
Your first draft is never good enough for the final product, you have to check and recheck and
recheck again in order to make corrections to your writing that is an improvement on the original.

When you are checking your document, check the following:

 Your use of grammar.
 Diction.
 The sentence and paragraph structure.
 If necessary, which it usually is, make changes to ensure consistency.
 Ensure that your ideas and topics flow logically from one to the other in the sentences as
well as the paragraphs.
 Identify and remove inappropriate or potentially offensive language.
 Be on the lookout specifically for jargon and technical language. Don’t use them too much;
replace them with other explanatory words. Too much jargon and technical language
confuses a reader who is not familiar with it. The reader will lose interest and stop reading.

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 I am sure you have stopped reading an article or document because of excessive use of
jargon and technical language.
 Beware of using offensive language with regards to gender, rank, family, sports and wealth
 You might find a sexist joke funny, the other party might not. Do not make fun of a
person’s gender or rank. Also, do not refer to “that old woman”; she might be someone’s
mother. Do not call your boss the “Big Chief”; call him by his proper rank.
 Experiment with the layout of your writing/signing: change the headings, change the font
type and size, move the pictures around until your writing looks pleasing to the eye
 Check your sign devices non-manual features (NMFs), placement, role-shift, parameter
 Check your sign parameters: hand shape, location, movement, palm orientation, non-
manual sign

If necessary, which it usually is, make changes to ensure consistency.

 Ensure that your ideas and topics flow logically from one to the other in the sentences as
well as the paragraphs.
 Identify and remove inappropriate or potentially offensive language. Be on the
lookout specifically for jargon and technical language. Don’t use them too much; replace
them with other explanatory words. Too much jargon and technical language confuses a
reader who is not familiar with it. The reader will lose interest and stop reading. I am sure
you have stopped reading an article or document because of excessive use of jargon and
technical language.
 Beware of using offensive language with regards to gender, rank, family, sports, wealth
and obfuscation. You might find a sexist joke funny, the other party might not. Do not
make fun of a person’s gender or rank. Also, do not refer to “that old woman”; she might
be someone’s mother. Do not call your boss the “Big Chief” call him by his proper rank.
 Obfuscation means to make unclear or hard to understand. “I will horizontalise your
perpendicularity” actually means that I will knock you over. Perpendicular means upright
and horizontal means parallel to the ground. When you write/sign something, do not make
it more difficult than it has to be.
 While you are redrafting your piece, experiment with the layout: use titles, headings,
colour and so on. This way you can see what the finished product will look like. Add
pictures, captions and visual effects at the appropriate places. Visualise what it will look
like.
 Move them around until you are happy with the result – all the graphics, for example,
should not be on the same side of the page. Vary their positions from the left to the centre
to the right and so on.

Keep your rough copies for your portfolio of evidence, as you have to prove that your did redraft
your work.

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Now that we have enhanced the text by adding devices to create tonal effects, the delivery thereof
is more improved and it attracts attention to the listeners as well as lay claim on the items of
issue. Although the text is now enhanced, we need to look at the entire piece to ensure that it
flows in order.

Ensuring that this flow occurs enables us to explain and tell the situation in such a fashion where
the listeners / audience will understand what the situation was that lead up to the events as well as
what actions were taken to counter the events.

When telling a story, one has to start at the beginning of the story, identify and explain the events
and then continue to the actions that were taken. As with a biography of an individual; the events
usually commences with the background of a person, where they were born, some background
about them and then it leads up to the main events in their lives after it has progressed through
their childhood, adolescence and education. The flow of information makes it easy for the reader to
understand the events and develop a relationship with the character in the story.

Looking back at the first three points that initiated Gary’s speech, we have evolved from those to a
three minute talk. But let’ refer back to them and ensure that they are in the correct sequence of
events. Do you agree that the second point should actually be at the beginning of the talk?

Is it not because of this, that the new clocking system was installed? To be correct and in order,
one should start with the events that led up to the actions which were taken, then explain the
actions in detail and lastly move onto the benefits which the actions have.

1. A new clocking system was installed at the shop, intended to replace the old system which
worked on paper the new system requires a fingerprint
2. Employees were not getting paid overtime because their cards went missing or were lost;
3. The new system costs more, but will ensure fewer problems in the long run

Now that we have arrange for the text to be in the correct order and we have emphasised the
correct points within the text to draw the listeners’ attention to them, we need to prepare a final
version of the speech, ready for delivery.

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 UNIT STANDARD 12154

Title
Apply comprehension skills to engage oral texts in a business environment

Level
4

Credits
5

Range
• Texts and sources include telephonic queries from clients, verbal instructions and requests,
written and oral texts, recordings, interviews, discussions, face to face contact, radio and TV
broadcasts, advertisements, Internet and photographs.
• Sector related texts include brochures, pamphlets, information documents, newspapers, journals,
magazines, financial newspapers and magazines, legislation, regulations, rules, letters, articles and
any other texts used within the sector and field of learning.
• Recognition requires the learner to locate or identify information explicitly stated in the text itself
or in exercises that use the explicit ideas and information presented in the text.
• Recall requires the learner to produce from memory ideas and information explicitly stated in a
text.
• Re-organisation requires the learner to analyse, synthesise and/or organise ideas or information
explicitly stated in a verbal text. The learner may use the statements verbatim or paraphrase or
translate the speaker`s statements in order to check own comprehension and produce the required
thought product.
• Inferential comprehension is demonstrated when a learner uses the ideas and information
explicitly stated in a verbal text, his/her intuition, product and industry or sector knowledge and
personal experience as a basis for conjectures and hypotheses. Inferences may be convergent or
divergent and the learner may or may mot be asked to verbalise the rationale underlying his/her
inferences. Inference requires thinking that goes beyond the stated information.
• Evaluation requires the learner to compare ideas in the verbal text with external criteria or
material provided by the facilitator or other sources with internal criteria provided by his/her own
experiences, product and industry or sector knowledge and business ethics. Evaluation is about
judgment and focuses on qualities of accuracy, acceptability, desirability, worth or probability of
occurrence.
• Appreciation involves all the above cognitive dimensions. It deals with the psychological and
aesthetic impact of a verbal text on a listener. It includes an appropriate response to aggressive or
confrontational telephonic or face-to-face situations.

• Internal criteria include own experience, industry or sector knowledge or business ethics.

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Specific outcomes and assessment criteria
Specific Outcome 1:
Recall ideas and information that are explicitly stated in an oral text.
Assessment criteria

1. Details are correctly identified from an oral text.

2. An explicit statement is correctly identified as the main idea of a query or complaint.
3. Incidents or actions explicitly stated in the oral text are identified in the correct order or
sequence in which they occur.
4. Explicitly stated information is compared by identifying similarities and differences in what
the caller/speaker has said and any record of previous queries.
5. Queries are answered correctly using known answers to frequently asked questions, scripts
or prompts.
6. Verbal clues that indicate a personality or customer profile are identified using information
from explicit statements in the conversation.

Specific Outcome 2:
Reorganise information from an oral text.
Assessment criteria

1. Events, places, equipment, options, investment instruments, policies, people and/or other
items are classified by placing them in appropriate categories.
2. Own understanding is confirmed by reflecting statements using a questioning technique.
3. An outline of an oral text is produced using direct statements or statements paraphrased
from the oral text.
4. A text is summarised using direct or paraphrased statements from the oral text.
5. Explicit ideas or information from more than one source are consolidated into a synthesised
oral text.

Specific Outcome 3:
Infer information from an oral text.

Assessment criteria

1. Information explicitly stated in an oral text, supplemented by the learner's intuition, product
and sector knowledge and personal experience, is used to infer supporting details and add
facts or information that could help to clarify a query.
2. The main idea or general significance not explicitly stated in an oral text is inferred using
the learner's intuition, knowledge of the sector or personal experience.
3. An action or incident that might have taken place between two explicitly stated actions or
incidents is inferred from the learner's own knowledge and experience of the sector.
4. A possible outcome or consequence in an explicitly stated series of actions is inferred from
personal knowledge and sector experience.
5. Comparisons about times, places, events, and other occupation related aspects that revolve
around then and now, here and there, this and that are made by inferring similarities and
differences using information explicitly stated in an oral text and the learner's own
knowledge and sector experience.
6. The relationship between cause and effect is inferred from information explicitly stated in an
oral text and the learner's own knowledge and sector experience.
7. Information about a person is inferred from information explicitly stated in an oral text and
the learner's own knowledge and sector experience.

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Specific Outcome 4:
Evaluate information in an oral text.
Assessment criteria
1. Ideas or events presented in an oral text are compared with external criteria provided by
the facilitator, other authorities and other oral sources or with internal criteria such as own
experience, sector knowledge or business ethics in order to make a judgment as to the
whether an event indicated in an oral text could really have happened.
2. An oral text is analysed and a judgment is made as to whether the information in the text
represents an objective fact or the speaker's subjective opinion.
3. Information in an oral text is analysed for adequacy and validity when compared to other
sources or texts and a judgment is made about the text's completeness or incompleteness
in relation to its intended purpose.
4. Information in an oral text is evaluated and is accepted or rejected based on own
knowledge and sector experiences and comparison with other written or verbal texts.
5. Information in an oral text is judged in terms of its appropriateness for the intended the
audience and purpose.
6. Judgements about worth, desirability and acceptability of a product are made using external
criteria provided by the facilitator, other authorities and other oral or written sources or with
internal criteria.

UNIT STANDARD ESSENTIAL EMBEDDED KNOWLEDGE

Essential embedded knowledge will be assessed through the specific outcomes in terms
of the stipulated assessment criteria. This includes the direct assessment of knowledge.

Critical Cross-Field Outcomes

Identifying
Use the comprehension skills indicated in order to identify and solve problems in which responses
show that responsible decisions using critical and creative thinking have been made.
Working
Work effectively with others as a member of a team, group, organisation or community
Organizing
Organise and manage his/her own learning activities responsibly and effectively.
Collecting
Collect, organise and critically evaluate information from a variety of oral texts in a business
environment.
Communicating
Communicate effectively using visual, mathematics and language skills both orally and in writing in
applying the comprehension skills indicated to oral communications with clients.
Demonstrating
Be culturally and aesthetically sensitive across a range of social contexts in responding personally
to a variety of oral situations in a business environment.

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 SECTION 1: RECALLING IDEAS AND
INFORMATION

Specific Outcome 1:
Recall ideas and information that are explicitly stated in an oral text.
Assessment criteria

1. Details are correctly identified from an oral text.

2. An explicit statement is correctly identified as the main idea of a query or complaint.
3. Incidents or actions explicitly stated in the oral text are identified in the correct order or
sequence in which they occur.
4. Explicitly stated information is compared by identifying similarities and differences in what
the caller/speaker has said and any record of previous queries.
5. Queries are answered correctly using known answers to frequently asked questions, scripts
or prompts.
6. Verbal clues that indicate a personality or customer profile are identified using information
from explicit statements in the conversation.

INTRODUCTION
Communication is perhaps the most essential component in business. Without communication,
companies cannot interact with their customers. Internally, confusion will arise and slow
productivity. Without well-defined oral communication skills, a worker will not likely advance in his
or her career and may even be terminated. In the business world, people receive and use texts
from different sources for example, telephonic queries from clients, verbal instructions and
requests, written and oral texts, recordings, interviews, discussions, face to face contact, radio and
TV broadcasts, advertisements, Internet and photographs. In order for any form of business to
succeed, texts should be recognised and communicated clearly.

1.1 Definition of key terms

I. Comprehension skills: is more than just hearing what is said; rather, it is the ability to
understand the meaning of the words and to relate to them in some way. Good
comprehension skills enable people to understand, remember, discuss, and even retell
information in their own words.

II. Oral texts: is by word of mouth or spoken rather than written texts.

III. Business environment: is the combination of internal and external factors that influence a
company's operating situation. The business environment can include factors such as: clients

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 and suppliers; its competition and owners; improvements in technology; laws and
government activities; and market, social and economic trends.

The business world is very competitive; therefore effective communication is very important in
order to understand and meet the needs of the customers.

1.2 IDENTIFYING DETAILS FROM AN ORAL TEXT

Have you ever wondered what details you should be listening for when speaking to customers face
to face or telephonically? Some details are important and others are unimportant or less important!

The important details in oral text would be:

 Who or what is the text about.
 What it is you are trying to learn from the text (main idea).
 What details help you better understand the specific questions you are being asked.
 What detail will enable you to produce from memory ideas and information explicitly stated in a
text

The unimportant details in oral text would be:

 Information that is NOT specific to the topic under discussion.
 Details that are very minor and offer little or NO information about what is being discussed.
 Information that doesn't offer support for the main idea.

Active listening is a tool that can be used to identify details from an oral text.

For example, if a customer comes to your office to complain about products/services that were
purchased from your company, active listening will enable you to identify the details of the
complaint. Without the ability to listen effectively message is easily misunderstood, communication
breaks down and the sender of the message (in this case, the customer) can easily become
frustrated or irritated.

Sometimes a speaker may give you information that is interesting but not necessary for
understanding. As a good listener, you should listen not only to what is being said, but also to what
is left unsaid or only partially said. In addition, if the communication is face to face, observe body
language and notice inconsistencies between verbal and non-verbal messages when identifying
details in oral text.

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In order to identify details from an oral text, listen for groups of words and phrases at sentence
level. Always ask yourself, what is the text all about?

1.3 IDENTIFYING THE MAIN IDEA

Every text has a main idea and details. Details tell about the parts of the text. The main idea tells
about all the parts of the text in just a few words. In order to identify the main idea in a query or
complaint:

2
1 3
Group the
Identify the Combine the
important
important groups to get
information.
information. the main idea.

Example

I’m calling to inform you that I had a negative experience at your location in Johannesburg
yesterday. My receipt number is 512, and the person who handled my order was named Tshidi.

First of all, I recognise that you, as receiver of this call are not responsible for my bad experience,
but I am still upset about the situation.

I went to the drive-through and ordered a number seven meal with no pickles and three number
two meals with pickles. When I received my order, I checked that all of the sandwiches and fries
were in the bag, paid, and drove away. When I got home, I realized my number seven had pickles
on it. I am allergic to pickles, and I didn’t just want to waste the sandwich, so I drove back to the
drive-through to explain the situation and get it fixed.

When I got to the speaker, I was told (in a tone that sounded annoyed with the fact that I wanted
the issue fixed) that it was easier to take care of inside. So, I went inside and had to wait in line
again to get to the front. I explained the situation to the cashier, but Tshidi came over and said

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that she specifically remembered my order from drive-through and “knew for a fact” that there
were no pickles on my number seven. I showed her the sandwich, at which point she accused me
of taking the pickles from a different sandwich and placing them on the number seven. She implied
that I was just trying to get a free sandwich.

In addition to this allegation being false, it was also extremely inappropriate. I was so upset by the
situation and shocked at her accusation that I left the store without having the issue resolved.

I feel very disappointed with this interaction, as I usually enjoy my experiences at your restaurant.
To fix this situation, I would like a coupon for a free meal of my choice. I think an apology from
Tshidi is also appropriate.

For the example above, we can tell that:

 the client called to complain about the way he was treated at a restaurant
 the purpose of the call is a complaint not a query
 the client provided a detailed account of what happened
 the important information is about the wrong order the customer received from Tshidi and
how she refused to fix the problem

Can you identify the main idea from the example above?

The main idea from the text is: wrong number seven order.

1.4 IDENTIFYING INCIDENTS OR ACTIONS

In order to clearly recall information stated in a text, it is very important to identify incidents or
actions clearly stated by the customer or any other person in the correct order or sequence in
which they occurred.

Let’s consider our example, in section 1.3 above. From the example, this is the sequence of
events:
a. The customer went to a restaurant in Johannesburg yesterday
b. Using the drive- through, he ordered a number seven meal with no pickles and other two
meals with prickles
c. The customer received the order
d. The customer checked and confirmed that all of the sandwiches and fries were in the bag

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 e. The customer paid
f. The customer drove home
g. The customer got home and when he was about to eat he realised that he received a wrong
order (number seven had pickles on it so it)
h. The customer drove back to the drive-through to explain the situation and get the order
fixed
i. In an impolite manner, the drive-through speaker instructed the customer to go inside the
restaurant
j. The customer went inside and waited in a line to get to the front
k. The customer explained the situation to the cashier
l. Tshidi came over and said the remembered giving the customer the correct order.
m. The customer showed Tshidi the sandwich
n. Tshidi accused the customer falsely
o. The customer was very upset and left the restaurant without the issue being resolved
p. The customer called to log a complaint with the supervisor and provided information on how
the problem can be fixed.

1.5 COMPARING INFORMATION

In order to provide useful solutions to customer’s problems or queries it is very important to

understand what the customer is saying first.

 A customer may call or visit your company to enquire about services the organisation is
offering or how to change products or services the customer is currently using.

 At a later stage, the customer may call again to enquire about the same thing.

 It is very important to compare what the customer is saying now to what he/she said earlier

 Identify similarities in the information

 Identify differences in the information

 Politely inform the customer about the differences for example, “Sir, earlier on you said you
wanted to upgrade your internet services to 2Gs per month, but now you are saying
1G...which of the two options would you like?”
 Clearly explain other alternatives to the customer and reach an agreement so that the
customer will be satisfied about your services. Always remember the customer is always
right: failure to meet their needs may result in the customer taking their businesses
somewhere else.

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It is also very important to identify similarities and differences in the information you receive from
your supervisor or other employees in order to process queries accurately. Active listening is
therefore important because without this, you will not be able to recall what the speaker previously
said.

1.6 ANSWERING QUERIES

Response to customer queries is crucial to success. Get it right and customers are likely to keep
coming back to you. Get it wrong and they will go elsewhere. It's important to be informed about:
 Your products

 Your company's policy on resolving customer issues, and

 How to answer questions quickly and efficiently.

Below are some guidelines you can follow:

Know your products

 Retaining a full knowledge of the products or services you represent will help you answer
customer queries correctly. Educate yourself continuously about new product details and
functions.

 Use the products and services you represent. This will help you to relate to the customer and
use personal experience to troubleshoot questions.

 Keep a catalog or spec sheet about products, warranties and contracts close at hand when you
answer customer service calls. This will give you a quick reference for answering queries.

Allow the customer to explain the question or issue

 A customer with questions will likely have an explanation of the situation that caused the
question to arise.

 Let the customer explain the question fully without interrupting so you understand what the
customer is asking.

Take notes
 Recall details, key words and main idea while the customer is asking a question.

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 Include key details that are being questioned and any pertinent information the customer offers
that will be pertinent in answering the customer's question. This allows you to retain
information without interrupting.

Repeat the question/query to the customer

 Summarise and restate the customer's question/query back to him or her to be sure you
understand what is being asked or what needs to be resolved. This technique lets the customer
know you are listening and helps you verify the information.

Keep language positive

 Avoid telling the customer with a question that something can't be done or would never
happen.

 This negative language is dismissive and could make the customer feel that you don't care
about answering the question/query and helping him or her.

Verify your answers

 Use known answers to frequently asked questions, scripts or prompts where relevant.

 Ask for help from a co-worker or supervisor if there is any doubt about how to answer a
customer's question.

 Customers will appreciate getting a correct answer, even if it takes a little longer.
 Always follow company’s procedures when answering queries.

Promise only what you can deliver

 Only give a customer an exact price or date of delivery if you can guarantee it.

 Making false statements about the length of a warranty or when something will be delivered
will result in a dissatisfied customer.

Remain neutral
 Avoid getting defensive or confrontational if a customer is questioning a product or service.

 He or she could be questioning a customer service procedure or policy, because the customer
feels it's unfair or was processed incorrectly.

 Do your best to answer the customer's question efficiently without letting any negative
comments affect the customer service you provide

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1.7 VERBAL CLUES THAT INDICATE CUSTOMER
PERSONALITY
The most important part of dealing with customer queries or complaints is to understand the
personality of the customer. If you can analyse the personality of an individual, you can identify
the forces that motivate that person. In congruency, gaining an understanding of the motives that
drive someone gives you the ability to understand and fulfill their needs. In simple terms,
understanding customer personality styles (analytical, driver, amiable, and expressive) will quickly
tell you just how and what to say to each customer.

Human personality is what makes a person distinctive, unique, and exceptional. Although every
customer is different, most can be grouped into one of four groups:
 Analytical
 Driver
 Amiable, and
 Expressive.

Here are some basic characteristics of each of these personality styles.

Analytical: analytical people are known for being systematic, well organised and deliberate. These
individuals appreciate facts and information presented in a logical manner as documentation of
truth. They enjoy organisation and completion of detailed tasks. Others may see them at times as
being too cautious, overly structured, people who does things too much “by the book”. Analytical
customers are:
 controlled
 orderly
 precise
 disciplined
 deliberate
 cautious
 diplomatic
 systematic
 logical
 conventional

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Driver: they thrive on the thrill of the challenge and the internal motivation to succeed. Drivers
are practical folks who focus on getting results. They can do a lot in a very short time. They usually
talk fast, direct and to the point and they are often viewed as decisive, direct and pragmatic. They
are also:
 action-orientated
 decisive
 problem solver
 direct
 assertive
 demanding
 risk taker
 forceful
 competitive
 independent
 determined
 results-orientated

Amiable: they are dependable, loyal and easygoing. They like things that are non-threatening and
friendly. They hate dealing with impersonal details and cold hard facts. They are usually quick to
reach a decision and are often described as warm people and sensitive to the feelings of others but
at the same time wishy-washy. They are:
 patient
 loyal
 sympathetic
 team person
 relaxed
 mature
 supportive
 stable
 considerate
 empathetic
 persevering
 trusting
 congenial

Expressive: very outgoing and enthusiastic, with a high energy level. They are also great idea
generators, but usually do not have the ability to see the idea through to completion. They enjoy

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helping others and are particularly fond of socialising. They are usually slow to reach a decision
and often thought of as talkers, overly dramatic, impulsive, and manipulative. They are also:
 verbal
 motivating
 enthusiastic
 convincing
 impulsive
 influential
 charming
 confident
 dramatic
 optimistic
 animated

When speaking with a customer you may hear sounds or a different tone. Take note of these
because they will help you to deal with the customer appropriately.

For example, a customer who uses swearing words during the conversation shows that he/she is
not a patient customer or he/she gets angry quickly. You should try by all means to resolve this
customer’s query quickly. A customer who stresses certain words is decisive and you should pay
attention to his/her needs and provide exactly what is requested.

If you are able to quickly identify the personality style of the customer during the conversation,
you will know the "hows" and "whys" of what to say to meet their needs. Once they feel that you
truly understand them and feel an emotional connection, they will come up with the logical reasons
to have a relationship from you.

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 SECTION 2: REORGANISING INFORMATION

Specific Outcome 2:
Reorganise information from an oral text.
Assessment criteria

1. Events, places, equipment, options, investment instruments, policies, people and/or other
items are classified by placing them in appropriate categories.
2. Own understanding is confirmed by reflecting statements using a questioning technique.
3. An outline of an oral text is produced using direct statements or statements paraphrased
from the oral text.
4. A text is summarised using direct or paraphrased statements from the oral text.
5. Explicit ideas or information from more than one source are consolidated into a synthesised
oral text.

INTRODUCTION
It is very important to analyse, synthesise and organise ideas or information clearly stated in
verbal texts. This will enable the listener to have useful information for sound decision making.
There are many techniques to do this. The listener may do the following in order to check own
comprehension and produce the required thought product:
 use the statements verbatim,
 paraphrase,
 translate the speaker`s statements.

The process of re-organising information from an oral text is covered in detail in this section.

2.1 APPROPRIATE CATEGORIES

The first step in re-organising information from oral texts is to classify information into appropriate
categories. The information includes:
 Events
 Places
 Equipment
 Options
 Investment instruments
 Policies
 People
 Other items

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You can create categories for the above information. For people, you can classify them into internal
and external stakeholders’ categories. You can further categories customers depending on the
services/products they buy from your company. You can classify events depending on when and
where they occurred.

All the information you receive from the customer should be put into the appropriate category. This
will enable you to:
 Recall all the information you have identified
 Create categories for the information, depending on the amount of information you can
create 5-6 categories
 Now put similar information in one group
 Identify people who are responsible for addressing queries or problems in each category
 Identify the category that needs urgent attention
 Restrict access to confidential information
 Monitor progress in each category
 Follow up issues
 Resolve issues in a timely manner

There is nothing as useful as well classified information: it helps the listener to tackle issues easily
and timely.

2.2 REFLECTING STATEMENTS

Reflective listening involves listening intently to a speaker then verbally restating, in your own
words, the feelings and information that you heard the speaker say to you.

Our personal:

 Filters
 Assumptions
 judgments, and
 beliefs

can distort what we hear.

As you deal with customers, your role is to understand what is being said. This may require you to
reflect what is being said and ask questions.

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  Reflect what has been said by paraphrasing. Below are some examples of great ways to
reflect back
o "What I'm hearing is,"
o "Sounds like you are saying,"
o So you feel…
o You are wondering if…
o I hear you saying………..
o You believe………………….
o You are confident that….
o Could it be that……?
o You think that…….
o Correct me if I am wrong, but i hear……….
o From your perspective…………
o I’m picking up………..
o The part I understand is…..
o It seems as though…………
o By that you mean…..

 Ask questions to clarify certain points.

o What do you mean when you say?
o Is this what you mean?
o How does this work?
o Help me understand, you are saying I should help you with?
o You are saying that is the best way of making things different this time?
o You mean the good things about ___ are, and the less good things about____ are?
o When would you be most likely to___?
o This is what you tried before?
o What you want to do next is?

2.3 PRODUCING AN OUTLINE OF AN ORAL TEXT

After confirming your own understanding, the next step is to produce an outline of an oral text
using direct statements or statements paraphrased from the oral text. Making an outline of an oral
text helps you to organise your information and keeps you on track. Your preliminary conversation
with the speaker should give you enough knowledge about your topic, main idea or details to make

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a general outline. However, you may need to make some adjustments to your outline as you go
along and discover more about your conversation/topic.

An outline is a snapshot of your text, capturing the important points. It helps you to take your
text from a clear introduction to a logical conclusion, supported by your conversation. It is
essentially a guide to effective oral conversations, something like assembly instructions. If you
make a good outline and follow it carefully, you will have a sound finished product.

Using your categorised information, reflective statements and other relevant information, create an
outline for your text.

An outline should arrange your information logically, and include an introduction, main
body/details, and conclusion.

 The introduction should state the subject of your oral text and the areas the conversation
focused on.
 Identify direct statements from the text that represent the main details
 Identify direct statements from text that represent the main idea
 Make a restatement in which the speaker’s meaning is inferred
 Identify key points from the oral text
 Summarise your information
 Your conclusion should briefly sum up your main idea/topic.

2.4 SUMMARISING TEXT

Summaries are special applications of reflective listening. They can be used throughout a
conversation but are particularly helpful at transition points, for example, after the speaker
 has spoken about a particular topic
 has recounted a personal experience, or
 when the encounter is nearing an end.

Summarizing helps to ensure that there is clear communication between the speaker and listener.
In addition, it can provide solutions to problems or a stepping stone towards change.

Structure of Summaries
a. Begin with a statement indicating you are making a summary. For example:
 Let me see if I understand so far…
 Here is what I’ve heard. Tell me if I’ve missed anything.

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b. Identify main points in the oral text for example, the type of customer query

c. Give special attention to Change Statements. These are statements made by the client that
point towards a willingness to change. Miller and Rollnick (2002) have identified four types of
change statements, all of which overlap significantly:
 Problem recognition: “My use has gotten a little out of hand at times.”
 Concern: “If I don’t stop, something bad is going to happen.”
 Intent to change: “I’m going to do something; I’m just not sure what it is yet.”
 Optimism: “I know I can get a handle on this problem.”

d. If the person expresses ambivalence, it is useful to include both sides in the

summary statement. For example: “On the one hand…, on the other hand…”

e. Use direct or paraphrased statements from the oral text when summarising text. For example,
“from our conversation, in simple terms you are saying….”

f. It can be useful to include information in summary statements from other sources (e.g., your
own knowledge, research or other customers)

g. Be concise.

h. End with an invitation. For example:

 Did I miss anything?
 If that’s accurate, what other points are there to consider?
 Anything you want to add or correct?

i. Depending on the response of the client to your summary statement, it may lead naturally to
planning on how to tackle customer’s query or taking concrete steps towards the change goal.

2.5 CONSOLIDATING INFORMATION FROM OTHER

SOURCES
When engaging oral texts in a business environment, it is important to include information from
other relevant sources. Sources of other relevant information may include:
 telephonic queries from clients
 verbal instructions and requests
 written and oral texts
 recordings
 interviews

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  discussions
 face to face contact
 radio and TV broadcasts
 advertisements
 Internet
 Photographs
 Brochures
 Pamphlets
 information documents
 newspapers
 journals
 magazines
 financial newspapers and magazines
 legislation
 regulations
 rules
 letters
 articles, and
 any other texts used within the sector

Only consolidate information relevant to that particular text; relevance of information and
credibility of the source is very important.

For example, you can use letters, discussions, telephonic queries from clients or verbal instructions
and requests when engaging in discussions with other customers who have the same needs or
problems. The experience and information from previous encounters will help you to resolve
customer queries timely and successfully or provide the assistance the customer needs.

Oral text is useful when consolidated with information from other relevant sources. You can use
other sources as a reference and customers will be very happy to learn that you have helped other
customers with similar needs and customer service is of great importance to your company.

To consolidate information:
 recall sources that can provide you with useful and relevant information
 check the source for credibility
 confirm the relevance of the information to the matter at hand
 blend in information from these sources to your oral texts.

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 SECTION 3: INFERRING INFORMATION FROM
AN ORAL TEXT
Specific Outcome 3:
Infer information from an oral text.

Assessment criteria

1. Information explicitly stated in an oral text, supplemented by the learner's intuition, product
and sector knowledge and personal experience, is used to infer supporting details and add
facts or information that could help to clarify a query.
2. The main idea or general significance not explicitly stated in an oral text is inferred using
the learner's intuition, knowledge of the sector or personal experience.
3. An action or incident that might have taken place between two explicitly stated actions or
incidents is inferred from the learner's own knowledge and experience of the sector.
4. A possible outcome or consequence in an explicitly stated series of actions is inferred from
personal knowledge and sector experience.
5. Comparisons about times, places, events, and other occupation related aspects that revolve
around then and now, here and there, this and that are made by inferring similarities and
differences using information explicitly stated in an oral text and the learner's own
knowledge and sector experience.
6. The relationship between cause and effect is inferred from information explicitly stated in an
oral text and the learner's own knowledge and sector experience.
7. Information about a person is inferred from information explicitly stated in an oral text and
the learner's own knowledge and sector experience.

INTRODUCTION
In order to successfully resolve customer queries, it is very important to infer information from oral
text. Sometimes it is necessary to use your own intuition, product and industry or sector
knowledge and personal experience in addition to ideas and information clearly stated in verbal
text. This will help you to understand the information and provide the correct solutions to
customers’ queries. Comprehension skills enable you to think beyond the stated information or the
obvious: you will come up with new ideas and solutions that will “blow the customer’s mind away”.

3.1 INFERRING SUPPORTING DETAILS TO

CLARIFY A QUERY
Many important ideas in listening are not stated directly. Discovering these ideas is called making
inferences or drawing conclusions. Making inferences involves using personal experience or
background knowledge/schema, along with the information from the text, to make assumptions
about what is not said. Inferential thinking is often referred to as “reading between and beyond the

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lines.” Inferring is required when part of the knowledge to understand an oral text is found in the
text but some is not.

Which inference is more logical

based on the information suggested
by the cartoon?

A. The dog requires more than one

leash to keep it securely tied to the
parking meter.

B. The dog has eaten the other dogs

tied up to the parking meter.

Solution

Option A: The dog requires and has only one leash. The other leashes are in his mouth. This is not
a valid inference.

Option B: Three leashes are in the mouth of this big, hostile-looking dog. This is a valid inference

Successful inferring:

 Leads to better overall comprehension.

 Leads to more engagement with text.
 Make sophisticated listeners.
 Helps employees be metacognitive (think about their own thinking).

Strategic Actions for Inferring

 Understand what is stated but is implied in the text

 Make conclusions that are not stated but are based on information found in the text
 Make judgments about the main idea, speaker or events that have not been openly stated
 Think about the deeper meanings of text
 Recognise symbolism and use it to interpret the text

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  Develop theories that explain speaker’s motives, events or queries
 Develop empathy for speaker
 Use background knowledge and information from the text to form theories about the
significance of events in order to clarify the query and identify the main idea in the oral text

Making inferences is all about:

It Says… (What the text I Say… (My thoughts) So… (Inference)

says)

Language for Drawing Inferences

 Why do you think __________?

 How did you know __________?
 What probably caused ___________?
 Can you infer ___________?
 What clues led you to believe __________?
 How might __________ feel __________?
 I predict __________.
 I think that __________.
 My guess is __________.
 My gut feeling or intuition says_______
 From my own experience, I think that __________.
 Using sector and product knowledge my conclusion is ___________.

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 Speaker’s feelings
and motive

Speaker and listener

questions

Clues From the Text + Prior Knowledge = Inferences

In order to clarify a query, always supplement information that is clearly stated in an oral text
with:

 own intuition
 product and sector knowledge, and
 personal experience.

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Facilitator led discussion

Instructions to the facilitator:

a. Select customer queries from the newspaper and project them one at a time for the class. Read
the queries aloud and discuss the inferences that need to be made to clarify the query.
Encourage the students to bring in letters, documents or newspaper clips with customer queries
and share them with the class.
b. Collect a variety of advertisements. Display the advertisements on chart paper. Have the
students read an advertisement and use their inference skills to read between the lines. What
does the advertisement want the consumer to believe? How do you know? The students will
write a brief summary of the advertisement.
c. Read a query from a customer that does not clearly review the main idea, and allow the
students to draw inferences in order to clarify the query. The following questions can help
students improve their understanding of query clarification.
 Infer the main idea or general significance not clearly stated in the oral text
 Decide whether you agree with the customer’s actions. Write what you would do in the
same circumstances.
 Think about the customer’s problem. Write whether you would react in the same way.
 Think about the customer’s feelings. Write about the times you have had similar feelings.
 Design a plan of action for the customer. Write about what the customer should do now in
order to resolve the query.

Note:

 The students should write their responses and then share with a partner.

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3.2 INFERRING ACTION OR INCIDENT (AC 3, AC 4, AC 7)
 Speakers often tell you more than what they directly say.
 They give you hints or clues that help you understand actions or incidents that might have
taken place.
 Using these clues to get a deeper meaning of the text is called inferring.
 If you infer that something has happened, you do not see, hear, feel, smell or taste the actual
event. However, from what you know, it makes sense that it has happened.

Example

Tshepo called TTN limited, an Internet service provider to inform the company that he want to
suspend his telephone line and internet connection for a while due to financial problems. He was in
Japan for two weeks. When he returned, there was no internet access at his office. With no
internet connection, his employees struggled to do business for two weeks. Tshepo called TTN
limited only to be informed that he did not pay his internet bill the previous month. According to
the customer services department, the company records indicate that Tshepo did not pay his bill.
To his astonishment, the records indicated that Tshepo owed TTN R1 500. Tshepo paid the same
amount before travelling to Japan. There was no electricity that day so the cashier in the accounts
department gave Tshepo a receipt of the transaction. Unfortunately, she forgot to capture the
details in the system. To make matters worse, the technical department suspended the line and
internet connection without prior notification. The problem was rectified immediately. Tshepo
politely informed the sales consultant that he will call again soon for the reconnection if his
financial condition improves.

Discussion
Using your own knowledge and experience in the information, communication and technology
sector, you will be able to understand that:

 The reason why Tshepo wants to suspend the telephone line and internet connection is not
because of financial problems since he has been your client for a very long time

 If Tshepo was satisfied with TTN limited and is truly having financial problems he would
have downgraded to more affordable services.

 From the text, we also understand that he travelled to Japan and spent two weeks there. A
person who is having financial problems cannot do that.

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  The suspension of the internet connection for two weeks without notice and the mistake of
the cashier might have triggered this decision

 Tshepo is a person who likes efficient services and he is very decisive. If a company or
people fail him; he looks for better alternatives immediately.

 In addition, Tshepo is not a very patient person. One incident changes his mind despite a
long relationship.

 Tshepo might have experienced problems with his own customers as a result of the
suspension

 Customers always want to have internet connection nowadays and the IT sector is
competitive.

 If customers are not satisfied with your services they take their business elsewhere in a
flash.

 Tshepo has sought the services of another service provider

 He no longer wants anything to do with your company; the statement that he will call you
as soon as he has money is just a cover up

 The company is going to lose a loyal customer because of the actions of the cashier and IT
technician

 Tshepo might encourage his friends and business associates to do likewise.

Which sector does you organisation fall under? Give examples of action or incidents that happened
between your customers and your organisation. Using inference, what were the consequences or
outcomes of such incidents?

3.3 INFERRING SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

The only thing that is constant is life is change. This is a true saying but when it comes to dealing
with customers, change should be for the best. The business world is very competitive: any
mistakes-the customer is on the internet soliciting the services of other businesses in your
industry!

In order to understand text, it is very important compare:

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  Times
 Places
 events, and
 other occupation related aspects

This information will enable you to understand how your organisation dealt with customer queries
previously and how it does that presently. As already highlighted; information records or speakers
may not say everything clearly: the only way to understand oral text is to use your own knowledge
and sector experience.

 Compare previous times and now. Identify the similarities and differences.
 Were queries dealt with effectively in the past? What changed?
 What are the reasons for change?
 Is the change for the better?
 How do customers react to the change?
 Identify events that led to the change. Were the events favourable or unfavourable? How
did this affect the way you do business?

 Are your customers happier than before?

 Were there any changes after the occurrence of the events? Do you think the change will
happen soon or in the near future?

 What was the outcome of the events?

 What is going to be the outcome of the events?

 Is employee training needed in the organisation to prevent the re-occurrence of unfavorable

events?

 What is the company doing now that it used to do back then? Is this good for the
customers? If not, what changes should be implemented in order for the company to deal
with customer queries effectively.

 What was the company doing back then that it’s no longer doing now? Was the change for
the best? If not, how can the company go back to its original state?

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  What information is provided in the text that supports the similarities and differences?

 What are some of the policies or rules that were implemented in the sector in order for
businesses to meet customer needs?

 What are some of the regulations that govern quality and protect customer rights in the
sector?

3.4 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CAUSE AND

EFFECT
Knowing the cause of events helps a listener see the whole story and gives the speaker information
that helps predict possible outcomes.

 A cause is something that makes something else happen. Out of two events, it is the event
that happens first. To determine the cause, ask the question "Why did it happen?"

 An effect is what happens as a result of the cause. Of two related events, it’s the one that
happens second or last. To determine the effect, ask the question "What happened?"

For example,

 If we eat too much food and do not exercise, we gain weight. Eating food without exercising
is the "cause;" weight gain is the "effect." There may be multiple causes and multiple
effects.

 If we do not resolve customer queries timely and effectively, they take their business
somewhere else. Not resolving customer queries timely and effectively is the “cause”, take
their business somewhere else is the “effect”.

Questions for cause and effect

What caused __________ to __________?

What effect did __________ have on __________?

What are the events that caused __________?

What might happen if __________?

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What is the effect of __________?

Why does a particular character (take a particular action)?

Why does __________ decide to __________?

What were the results of (an event or action)?

Looking for the reason why things happen (cause/effect) is a basic human drive. So, understanding
the cause/effect text structure is essential in learning the basic ways the world works.

Cause and effect relationships may be:

 Stated cause/effect relationships: the relationship is stated clearly

 Unstated cause/effect relationships: students must be taught how to "read/listen between the
lines"

 Reciprocal cause/effect relationships: effects may be part of a chain. In this kind of structure,
one effect goes on to cause a second effect, which may then cause a third effect, etc.

Fishbone / Herringbone Cause and Effect Chain Reaction Cause / Effect Cycle
Created by Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa

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There are times when only the cause or the effect is stated, but the other is implicit and must be
inferred by the listener.

Facilitator led activity

Instructions to the facilitator

1. Using collaborative pairs, have the students share with their partner the missing cause or effect
of each idea. Alternate which partner will be sharing their partner’s thoughts with the class.
 A customer’s order was delayed.
 A customer was left unattended for a long time.
 The customer was given the wrong product.
 The sales representative refused to refund the customer who purchased a wrong product.
 The customer query was not resolved on time.
 The customer is happy with the services provided by your company.
 The employees do not have comprehension skills.
 The customer care telephone would not stop ringing.
2. Read newspaper headlines or the first sentence of some newspaper articles that deals with
customer queries. Have them predict the cause of each event or happening. A cause and effect
graphic organizer can be used to record the students’ ideas.
3. Select an article, passage or short story. After reading the passage, the students should write a
why question about the content and then write their answer to the why question. Rotate the
reading material so students have many opportunities to practice.
4. Display the sentence, “Customers’ queries were not resolved on time.” The students should
provide reasons about why the queries were not resolved on time which contains a chain or
“Domino Effect” of cause and effect relationships. The students should include cause and effect
signal words within their answer.

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SECTION 4: EVALUATION OF INFORMATION

Specific Outcome 4:
Evaluate information in an oral text.
Assessment criteria
1. Ideas or events presented in an oral text are compared with external criteria provided by
the facilitator, other authorities and other oral sources or with internal criteria such as own
experience, sector knowledge or business ethics in order to make a judgment as to the
whether an event indicated in an oral text could really have happened.
2. An oral text is analysed and a judgment is made as to whether the information in the text
represents an objective fact or the speaker's subjective opinion.
3. Information in an oral text is analysed for adequacy and validity when compared to other
sources or texts and a judgment is made about the text's completeness or incompleteness
in relation to its intended purpose.
4. Information in an oral text is evaluated and is accepted or rejected based on own
knowledge and sector experiences and comparison with other written or verbal texts.
5. Information in an oral text is judged in terms of its appropriateness for the intended the
audience and purpose.
6. Judgements about worth, desirability and acceptability of a product are made using external
criteria provided by the facilitator, other authorities and other oral or written sources or with
internal criteria.

INTRODUCTION
Oral text, like any other text should be evaluated in order to determine qualities of accuracy,
acceptability, desirability, worth or probability of occurrence. Information is useful in the business
world if and only if it meets these qualities. It is therefore important to take time to compare
external criteria and other relevant sources of verbal text with internal criteria provided by own
experiences, product and industry or sector knowledge and business ethics.

COMPARING EVENTS WITH EXTERNAL AND

INTERNAL CRITERIA
A few weeks ago, a story about a student “hitting” her teacher was being aired on the radio every
day. One is left wondering if this really took place and why. What do you think?

In the business world, it is important to note that not all events presented in an oral text actually
took place. It is therefore important to compare ideas or events presented in an oral text with:

 external criteria provided by

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 o the facilitator
o other authorities, and
o other oral sources

or with:

 internal criteria, such as:

o own experience
o product knowledge
o industry or sector knowledge, and
o business ethics

In order to evaluate ideas or events presented in an oral text as yourself the following questions:

 Did this actually happen?

 Do I have evidence to support the occurrence of the event?
 Is this information accurate?
 Is this information acceptable?
 Is this ethically possible?

When an event is reported to you, do not simply jump into conclusions. Gather all necessary
evidence. Base your judgment on facts and tangible evidence.

You might realize from your own experience that the evidence gathered that the events did not
actually take place.

For example, an employee may report another employee to the supervisor. The employee may
state that the other employee was rude to the customer, stole from the customer and the
customer left the building crying.

From this, you cannot simply dismiss the employee without first listening to all the parties
involved.

 By applying business ethics and own experience, you may realise that the probability of the
occurrence is very low because people in your industry are expected to act competently and
with due care when dealing with customers.

 After talking to the customer in question, you may realise that the event never took place
and the customer is very satisfied with your services.

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  At the end of the day, you may conclude that the other employee was lying. She only
wanted to tarnish the image of the hard working employee because she wanted him fired in
order to get the promotion!

ADEQUACY AND VALIDITY OF INFORMATION

Decision makers vary extensively in the categories of judgments they make, how they make
decisions, the information they previously possess or can attain from other sources, and their
ability to process the information. For information to be useful it should be relevant for its purpose,
sufficiently accurate for its purpose, complete enough for the problem, reliable and targeted to the
right person. It should also be communicated in time for its purpose and contain the right level of
detail.

Reliability or objectivity

Reliability deals with the truth of information or the objectivity with which it is presented.
Reliability is the quality of information that authorise users to depend on it with assurance. This
means

 it is verifiable
 has faithful representation, and
 is reasonably free of errors and bias.

You can only really use information confidently if you are sure of its reliability and objectivity.
Compare information to other sources or texts before making a judgement.

Completeness

Information should contain all the details required by the user. Otherwise, it may not be useful as
the basis for making a decision. For example, if an organisation is supplied with a budget for
resolving customer queries, and the customer complaints or queries are not included, then a
costing based on the information supplied will be considerably overestimated. Ideally all the
information needed for a particular decision should be available. However, this rarely happens;

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good information is often incomplete. To meet all the needs of the situation, you often have to
compare it with a variety of sources like,

 telephonic queries from clients

 verbal instructions and requests
 written and oral texts
 recordings
 interviews
 discussions
 face to face contact
 radio and TV broadcasts
 advertisements
 Internet
 Photographs
 Brochures
 Pamphlets
 information documents
 newspapers
 journals
 magazines
 financial newspapers and magazines
 legislation
 regulations
 rules
 letters
 articles, and
 any other texts used within the sector

After the comparison, you will be able to determine if the information in an oral text is fit for its
intended purpose. Information that is fit for purpose means that it is relevant to what you need it
for. For example, if you want to know if customer queries are resolved on a timely basis, it would
be advisable to talk to customers directly, access query records or check the position of you
company when compared with other companies in your sector. Looking at information about
cleaning services or talking to the production department would not really be fit for purpose in this
instance.

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ACCEPTING OR REJECTING INFORMATION
Not all written information is true. Likewise, not all oral text is correct. People do not always tell
the truth or provide reliable information. Employees or customers may provide you with biased
information.

For example, a customer may tell you that the product he purchased from you is not functioning
properly. It is important not to simply replace the product: check if the product is faulty.
Sometimes, it might be the fault of the customer who did not follow manufacturers’ instructions
when using the product. Surely, if you pour water on your laptop it will not work again: this is not
the fault of the seller!

It is therefore important to answer the following questions before using oral text:

 Is the source of this information reliable?

 Is this information complete?
 Is this information correct?
 Have similar events occurred in the past?
 What is the probability of this happening?
 Has this ever occurred in this sector?
 What is the motive of the people involved?

Compare information in an oral text with other written or verbal texts before accepting or rejecting
the information. Your decision should be based on the evidence gathered.

APPROPRIATENESS OF INFORMATION
Information in an oral text should be relevant to the purpose for which it is required. It must be
suitable. What is relevant for one person may not be relevant for another. The user will become
frustrated if information contains details irrelevant to the task in hand.

Always check the appropriateness of information in an oral text in terms of purpose. Is the purpose
to:

 Inform
 Empower
 Educate, or
 Convince?

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For example, a company may give information on users’ perceptions of the quality of a product.
This is not relevant for the manager who wants to know opinions on relative prices of the product
and its rivals. The information gained would not be relevant to the purpose and the intended the
audience.

 All information in an oral text should be expressed with clarity or in such a way that it will be
understandable to each and every user.

 Always ask yourself:

o who is going to use this information?
o Is the person going to understand the information?
o Is the information going to assist the user in any way?

For example, an oral recording of a new marketing strategy should not be given to the
competition because they might use it. In addition, information meant for advertisement should
be recorded in simple English or at least three different languages to meet the needs of the
users.

 Information in an oral text should be prepared in such a way as to facilitate understanding by

users of the information.

 Appropriate oral text should have predictive value, feedback value, and timeliness.

 Appropriate information helps decision makers make predictions about future; it has "Predictive
Value".

 Appropriate information also helps decision makers confirm or correct previous prospect; it has
"Feedback Value”. For example, recruiting new call centre employees to answer customer calls
after customers complained about the long wait before their calls are picked.

PRODUCT EVALUATION
Evaluation of the product means that its worth, desirability, suitability and safety for use by
consumers are checked out. All products made are required by law to be safe to use. This is not a
requirement that they are absolutely safe- that is not possible. Nor must they be safe at

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unbearable costs to industry- that would put innovation at risk. But they are required to be as safe
as it is reasonable to expect.

 A product is a term for any item that has been manufactured and is useful to you. You are a
consumer when you buy it or use it.

 Product worth: is the measure of value received, material or resources expended, satisfaction
derived, or perceived importance of a product. It may be expressed either in monetary or in
non-price terms.

 Product desirability: desirability is all about product attractiveness. When you look deep into
what can be classed as an object of desire it evokes emotional connection. Usually something
in design that radiates simplicity, clean lines and functional, but it is always subjective and
personal.

 Product acceptance: the verification that a given purchased or manufactured item meets
specifications and is usable for its intended purpose.

Product evaluation allows producers to be more creative in their product design and ensure
compliance with the appropriate regulations. Evaluation helps to:

 To prove that the product complies with relevant standards

 To compare a product with others in the same sector

Your product should meet the needs of the customers and should be desirable in their sight in
order for them to purchase it. Customers only buy products they perceive to be worth to them.
Answer the following questions when making judgements about your products:

 Why did you make the product?

 Why did you choose the final design for your product?
 How does your product compare to other companies’ products in your sector?
 What do other people say about your product?
 What does the facilitator say about your product?
 What do other authorities say about your product?
 What do other relevant sources say about your product?
 What does the end user say about your product?
 What do you say about your product?
 Are you pleased with your finished product?

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  What changes would you make if you had to produce another product?
 Does your product meet customer needs and preferences?
 Are customers satisfied with your product?
 Do customers accept your product?
 How could you improve your performance next time?

Judgments about worth, desirability and acceptability of a product should be made using:

 external criteria provided by the facilitator, other authorities and other oral or written
sources, or
 internal criteria.

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