GEN 101(Use of English 1)

Introductory Lecture by Mr. Andrew

Bula

Effective Communication and

Writing in English
I’m here today to introduce you to the Academic
Skills module of your first term, but I am also
here to welcome you to Baze University, and to
tell you how much I am looking forward to
working with you. And so, ladies and gentlemen,
welcome!
This week concerns itself with discussion in
general terms and particularly with an
introduction of the topic, Effective
Communication and Writing in English, under
which we shall consider the following:
-Definition of Terms: Effective, communication,
writing
-Some Guidelines for Effective Writing
But, before we get substantively into the main
business of the day, let me draw your attention
to a few crucial things.
 Independent Learning
You will be expected to do far more work on your own at
university than you may have been accustomed to at any
other point in your education so far. Your tutors are
there to introduce you to ideas, to show you the
beginnings of paths that you are then expected to follow
and to explore on your own. We are not here to give you
all the answers or tell you what to think. Therefore, you
will be asked to do a lot of reading on your own, a lot of
independent study, and a lot of thinking and reflecting
outside of the classroom. This is one of the reasons why
you must learn to think actively and critically, as it is
imperative that you can assess the reliability of sources,
analyse arguments and texts on your own, and know
how to research and find information as efficiently as
possible.
You will have a lot of conflicting demands placed on
your time, both academic and personal, and so it is
important that you learn how to manage your time
and prioritize the tasks that are set for you
effectively. You will not be as closely monitored as
you may have been in the past – often you will be
given assignments or readings to do, and there will
be no one there to remind you or chase you up. You
must learn to organise your time, to know what is
expected of you and when – in other words to act
like an adult, and conduct yourself in a professional
manner.
This may seem challenging, even daunting, at first, but
independent learning is one of the most important skills
that you will learn at university. And your tutors, myself
included, will always be here to support you, to answer
any questions you may have, and to help you overcome
problems and areas of confusion. It is also important to
remember that your fellow students will also be going
through the same things, and you can draw a lot of
support and inspiration from each other.
I’d also like to make it clear that you can ask questions at
any point. If there’s something you don’t understand, or
you want more help on, then just come and see me.
 Why Are You Here?
There is also the question of why you are here at university,
which I hope is something that you have already seriously
considered. What are you looking to gain from university
study? Are you here purely to further a career, are you
particularly interested in a certain subject, or are you simply
looking to improve yourself, and broaden your horizons? In
reality, it will never be just one of these elements, and the key
for you all will be to find the right balance. University
represents a fantastic opportunity for you to learn about
yourself, to experience life as an independent adult, and to
shape opinions, skill-sets and world-views that will have a
profound influence on the rest of your life. Not to mention
making friends, learning about the world, being exposed to a
range of new influences and ideas and, we hope, having some
fun along the way.
Now, having finished with the preliminaries,
let’s turn our attention to Effective
Communication and Writing in English under
which, as noted earlier, we shall consider first of
all definitions of the terms Effective,
Communication, and Writing.
So, what is meant by the term effective? Simply
put, it means something that works well.
Communication, on the other hand, is an English
word derived from the Latin noun ‘communis’
and the Latin verb ‘communicare’ that means
‘to make common’. It encompasses a multitude
of experiences, actions and events, as well as a
whole variety of happenings and meanings, and
technologies too. Meetings, conferences or even
a procession thus can be a communicative
event. Newspapers, radio, video and television
are all ‘communication media’ and journalists,
newsreaders; advertisers, public relation
persons and even camera crew are
‘communication professionals’.
Communication in its simplest sense involves two or
more persons who come together to share, to
dialogue and to commune, or just to be together for
a festival or family gathering. Thus, ‘communication’
can be defined as ‘the interchange of thoughts or
ideas’. To put it another way, ‘communication’ is
viewed as a transmission of information. (Types of
communication are: a) Intrapersonal communication
b) Interpersonal communication c) Group
communication d) Mass communication e)
Non-verbal communication, and, f) Written
communication)However, we shall content
ourselves solely with Written communication in the
sense of meaningful Writing in English.
To begin with, therefore, what is writing? It means anything
written or expressed in letters. By the use of the term
‘anything’ here surely suggests that there are many kinds of
writing which includes Letters, Essays, Biographies,
Autobiographies, Creative Writing, and so on. But our chief
concern is not just with defining writing and mentioning their
types, as we have done, much as this is an important thing to
do. Our main aim here is to make known Some Guidelines for
Effective Writing. Below, therefore, are some guides to writing
effectively. The first three guidelines concern word
arrangement, or sentence structure. Just as we must take care
in arranging timber, clay and stone to build a house, so we
must take care in arranging words to build a sentence. A good
writer will work over a sentence till it reflects his meaning and
mood exactly. “Easy writing”, wrote Ernest Hemingway,
“makes hard reading; hard writing makes easy reading.
 Word Arrangement or Sentence
Structure
1. Keep your sentences short
2. Write clearly and edit rigorously
3. Vary your sentence structure
 Word Choice
The next three guidelines deal with word choice, a
matter far more important than word arrangement.
4. Choose the best word
5. Omit needless words
6. Avoid the careless repetition of the same word in the
same sentence or boarby sentences. Take the paragraph:
I shall speak on a controversial subject that has been the
subject of controversy for years. The topic, as you have
probably guessed is none other than whether the U.N.
should be abolished. The question of abolishing the U.N.
has been on my mind for a long time.
I thank you for listening and I wish you the best!