Communication Toolbox: Content Development

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This resource begins with a general description of essay writing and moves to a discussion of common essay genres students may encounter across the curriculum. The four genres of essays (description, narration, exposition, and argumentation) are common paper assignments you may encounter in your writing classes.

http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/education/reflective-writing/2.xml
Reflective writing is a link between you and your course. Your lecturer has planned the course, selected readings to further your knowledge and established tasks to help you establish sound teaching philosophies. In reflective writing you should consider the context as well as your personal position when you raise questions or make personal comments on theories and practices.

http://www.uta.edu/ccsl/for-students/reflection-journals.php
In experiential learning you are both a participant and observer. As a participant you will be contributing to the organization in which you are placed and learning new skills.

(University of Connecticut) Research articles use a standard format to clearly communicate information about an
experiment. A research article usually has seven major sections: Title, Abstract,
Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, and References.

An argumentative or persuasive piece of writing must begin with a debatable thesis or claim. In other words, the thesis must be something that people could reasonably have differing opinions on. If your thesis is something that is generally agreed upon or accepted as fact then there is no reason to try to persuade people.

http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/engl000-2.3.1-thesis-statements.pdf
A thesis statement is a sentence (or a few sentences) that states what an essay is about. A thesis statement should tell the reader what the essay’s topic is, give a general outline of the essay, and take a position on the topic that can be debated.

http://www.howtosummarize.info/how-to-paraphrase/
Paraphrasing is using your own words that will describe what you have read. If you want to do some paraphrasing, it is necessary you know how to paraphrase. In this process, you need to use your own words. You should not copy the original words.

Paraphrasing is one way to use a text in your own writing without directly quoting source material. Anytime you are taking information from a source that is not your own, you need to specify where you got that information.

The following is a sample essay you can practice quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Examples of each task are provided at the end of the essay for further reference.

"Effective Technical Writing in the Information Age. For students and others who read it, this style manual quickly becomes a favorite resource."

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