Assignment
Purpose:
This assessment presents you with an opportunity to understand the conceptual, practical and strategic implications of what was learned about communication, how you communicate, and the relevance of communication within the workplace.
Task:
In this essay, you will reflect about what you have learned about communication during four of the weeks in this course. You may pick the weeks based upon your interest in the weekly topic. To successfully complete this assessment task you should answer the following reflective essay question: What did I learn from undertaking the course BUSN20017: Effective Business Communication? In answering this question, you should describe what you learned during each week based upon:
The lecture
The tutorial activities
One of the assigned journal articles
You should analyze and explain how these allowed you to better understand:
Yourself
Your skills and how to improve them.
You should tie all your insights and observations together at the end of your paper through means of an application, highlighting how you think you will be able to use your learnings in your future career and in life generally.
Other:
Citations will not be necessary.
The essay must be double spaced and written using fully developed paragraphs. Bullet points are not acceptable.
How to Write Your Essay
As you write your essay please consider the following information relating to the introduction, the body and the conclusion of your essay. Your essay must include fully formed paragraphs. You must not include bullet points in your essay.
Introduction–The purpose of the introductory paragraph is to tell the reader what you are going to write about and to inspire him/her to want to read your essay. Please make sure that you introductory paragraph includes the following information. You will need to start with a topic sentence that introduces the main idea of the essay. You will also need to include sentences that identify and explain the main ideas discussed in the body of your essay (this is the preview). Next, you need to motivate the reader to continue reading by telling the reader why your topic is important or significant or identify a problem or issue that your essay responds to. In some cases you will need to provide background information and/or definitions of terms or concepts. You will also need to include a thesis statement. A thesis is a “succinct sentence or sentences located in the introduction of an essay that state the writer’s argumentative stance and conclusion in relation to the question ” (Nash, 2013). Lastly, you should include some sort of concluding or linking sentences that bridges the introductory paragraph to the first body paragraph. Having written your introduction, your next task is to write the body paragraphs.
Sample Introductory Paragraph
Communication it the workplace is a very complex process that has significant influence on personal performance and business success. I will demonstrate how two different communication situations with different outcomes affected my career path. This reflection will describe the communication incidents in the workplace that I experienced in the past. Then I will analyse both situations according to communication theories highlighting my emotions and the consequences of my behaviour. After analysing I will evaluate the results of the situations and find the best solutions for possible future actions. Even minor communication in the workplace has great impact on a person’s career progress.
Body–The purpose of the body of an essay is to develop the essay’s thesis. At a minimum your essay must have three distinct body paragraphs. The following information tells you what you need to include in each body paragraph. Each body paragraph must include a clearly stated topic sentence that states the main idea(s) that will be discussed within the paragraph. You will then need to include sentences that develop the idea(s) stated in the topic sentence. In doing so you can identify a sub point and then provide a specific example, explain the example, discuss the significance of the example and link the sub point back to the topic sentence or to the next sub point or paragraph. If your paragraph does contain a number of sub points, please make sure that they are linked together. Lastly, you should include some sort of concluding or linking sentences that joins the first body paragraph to the second body paragraph.
Sample Body Paragraph
According to Uncertainty Reduction Theory (Antheunis et al. 2012) reduction of uncertainty in communication is the key point of forming a good impression. I understood that I did not use uncertainty reduction strategies properly which are passive, active and interactive. Antheunis et al. (2012) described passive strategy as observing the target’s non-verbal behaviour; active as research about the target’s habits including questioning others and interactive as direct communication with a target person. I did not research or ask for information about appropriate professional levels of communication with my new supervisor. I continued to communicate in an informal manner as I used to communicate in the Beijing department. My passive and active strategies were poor and I did not consider any adaptation of my behaviour and level of communication. My communication was unsuccessful in this situation because the communication was ambiguous. Moreover, I did not notice the first formal greeting from my supervisor and continued to communicate with my colleagues in an informal way. I was eager to make friends and make a good impression. While I may have not performed optimally in this instance, I have communicated well in contexts. The following paragraph focuses upon my use of successful communication.
The Conclusion–The purpose of a conclusion is to provide a summation of the essay (that is tell the reader what you have told him/her). In your conclusion you must include the following information. As with all of the other paragraphs you will need to include a topic sentence. In the conclusion your topic sentence is a restatement of your thesis statement (as stated in the introduction). Next you need to provide sentences that summarises each of the main points. If you have three body paragraphs, then you will need three summary sentences. Lastly, you need to provide some sort of concluding paragraph that indicates that the essay has ended. Please remember the conclusion should not contain any new information. Writing an essay is not hard, but you must follow the preceding guidelines.
Sample Concluding Paragraph
Finally, analysing and evaluating both positive and negative situations is valuable information for future adjustments in communication in the workplace. Regarding the experience gained in those incidents I improved my communication skills and knowledge of communication theories and strategies. Every interaction in the workplace will impact on future career progress. Therefore, improving communication skills and using communication strategies are key points of success.