TLIT101

Written
Communication
Instructor: MrS M Ndlovu
MbaliN3@dut.ac.za
 Outline
What is technical written Sources of Information
communication?
What is Plagiarism
Types of written documentation in
Engineering What is Referencing
Purpose of written communication Why is referencing important
Effective Technical Writing When to use citations
The process of writing Citations and Reference
Principles of good writing Examples of citations
Advantages and Disadvantages Reference Management Tools
Ethics in writing References
 What is technical written
communication?
Technical writing - Is described as a type of writing skill where the author writes about a specific topic
that requires direction, instruction, or explanation.

Elements of writing
Introduction
 Problem Statement
 Aim
 Objectives

Body
 Literature (Gathering of information)
 Methodology
 Results
 Data Analysis

Conclusion
 Concluding Statement
 Recommendations
 Types of written documentation in
Engineering
Business Letters/Application Letters/Resume
Inspection and Trip reports
Emails
Memoranda
Proposals
Abstracts
Process descriptions
Summaries
Research, Lab/technical and design reports
Progress reports
 Purpose of written communication

To inform
To instruct
To propose
To recommend
To persuade
 Effective Technical Writing
Clarity - Be specify, Avoid ambiguous words, limit the use of abbreviations, acronyms and jargons
in sentence construction.
Conciseness – Proof read for accuracy and to avoid redundancy. Limit paragraph, word, and
sentence length.
Accuracy – Grammar is the most crucial aspect of writing.
Organization - Methods for organizing – Definition – Comparison/Contrast – More Important to
Less Important – Situation-Problem-Solution-Evaluation – Cause-Effect
Process – The process of effective writing involves at least four crucial steps: prewriting, drafting,
revising, and editing.
 The process of writing
1. Prewriting 2. Drafting 3. Revising
• Think about your topic. Know • Putting your thoughts on paper • Reworking how you’ve
your audience and discover organized your draft. Refine
your purpose of writing your word choice. Improve
• Start brainstorming and sentence fluency.
planning for your draft.

4. Editing 5. Evaluating 6. Publishing

• Reviewing and correcting • Reflecting and assessing what • Sharing your final writing with
grammar, spelling, punctuation you have written. Make sure others such as submitting your
and capitalization. that your work makes sense assignments, bulletin board,
website and journals.
 Principles of good writing
Consider your audience and purpose
Gather and Collate information efficiently from various sources
Edit and redraft efficiently
Writing must be well structured for the intended audience
Proof read drafts to eliminate error
Use appropriate writing conversions
Evaluate your own writing
 Advantages and Disadvantages
of written communication
Advantages Disadvantages

Good for difficult and important instructions. To convey the May not always be read
information in a precise and uniform manner.
Helpful in establishing rules, principles and policies for Requires skills in language and vocabulary use. Poor writing
running of an organization. may negatively affect the organization's reputation.
Important for record keeping. Written communication can It is impersonal or unfriendly.
be used for future references.
It assists in proper delegation of responsibilities. It provides It is costly in terms of stationery, people employed in
ready records and references. writing/typing and delivering letters.
Written communication is more accurate and clear. There The encoding and sending the message is time-consuming
are lesser chances for the message to be misunderstood. and does not give immediate feedback.
Authority is transmitted more effectively with a written Requires too much paper work
communication compared to oral communication.
Information can be edited and revised many times before it It does not answer questions and there is no immediate
can actually be sent. Reader can read the information at own feedback.
pace and time.
 Ethics in writing
Ethics are a set of rules and standards used in communication skills and resources when writing a
technical document. Ethics includes honesty, integrity and correctness of ones work.
Ethics Considerations:
Base your opinions on fact – Separate opinions from facts
Do not hide any ambiguous data
Do not lie or manipulate statistics
 Avoid using ideas from others without mentioning, crediting and documenting it.
PLAGIARISM is an act of THEFT.
 Sources of Information

Library
Print-on Paper Resources

Electronic Resources Non-print Resources

 What is Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined as the act of representing another authors ideas, language, expressions as
one’s own work.
Original ideas belong to those who created them.

Types of Plagiarism Reasons to avoid Plagiarism

Copy & Paste Plagiarism It is unethical
Word Switch Plagiarism
No self-development
Idea Plagiarism
Penalties by the institution
Self-Stealing Plagiarism
Collaborative Work Plagiarism
Labour of Laziness Plagiarism
 How to avoid Plagiarism?
Quoting - Put in Quotations everything that directly comes from the
text.
Example: According to Peter S. Pritchard is USA Today, “Public
schools need reform but they’re irreplaceable in teaching all the
nation’s young”
Paraphrasing - A good paraphrase finds new words to express the
original meaning. It changes the wording but not the message.
Citation – A citation is a reference to the source of information
used.
Referencing – Referencing is the acknowledgement of the original
source or sources.
 What is Referencing
Referencing is a standard method that is used to acknowledge the authors’ source of information,
and allows the source/s to be identified.
Styles of referencing
Harvard Method
APA
Oxford
Chicago
Vancouver
MLA
AGPS

Each style has its own rules for citing sources.

 Why is referencing important
Credit sources of information & ideas

Reader can locate for further information if required

Validate arguments

Increase and spread knowledge

Show depth, breadth & quality of your reading!

 When to use citations
 Direct quotes

 Statistics/Studies

 Theories

 Facts

 Interpretations

 Paraphrases
 Citations and Reference
Citation Reference List
It is a short reference (author’s last name and Refers to the list of full bibliographic information and
year of publication) that occurs in the resources used at the end of your essay, assignment,
text/body of your essay. Citations are used to report, etc. It is a list that contains all the sources cited in
acknowledge the author/publisher for the your work. It contains complete details such as the author,
material used. title, publisher the date and place of publication.
Reference list is arranged in alphabetical order

Citations should also have a

corresponding entry in the reference
list. The citation helps the reader to
find the full reference easily on the list
of references at the end of your essay.
 Examples of citations
Why is there a difference?

1. A study conducted by Bakir, (2020) proves that the process elements of communication characterize the cornerstone
in attaining students’ satisfaction.

2. It is concluded that the communication process elements symbolize a cornerstone in achieving students’ satisfaction
(Bakir, 2020).

Reference:
Bakir, S.A. (2020) ‘The Influence of Communication Process Elements on Students Satisfaction : Field Study on
Jordanian Private Universities’. European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences, 100(January-
March, 2019). Available at: http://www.europeanjournalofeconomicsfinanceandadministrativesciences.com.

NOTE: When the author’s name is part of the sentence, the surname does NOT go inside the brackets. This is
because the surname becomes the subject of the sentence.
 Examples of citations cont.
Single author:
It is concluded that the communication process elements symbolize a cornerstone in achieving students’ satisfaction
(Bakir, 2020).
Multiple authors:
Communication is an essential element of life because the skills to communicate are important in all areas of life
(Wangare Wambui et al., 2012).

References:
Bakir, S.A. (2020) ‘The Influence of Communication Process Elements on Students Satisfaction : Field Study on
Jordanian Private Universities’. European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences, 100(January-
March, 2019). Available at: http://www.europeanjournalofeconomicsfinanceandadministrativesciences.com.
Wangare Wambui, T., Kibui, A.W. and Gathuthi, E. (2012) Communication Skills Vol. I Students’ Coursebook.
Lambert Academic Publishing Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303893422.
NB: Please refer to your DUT Harvard referencing guide for more information and contact the DUT Library for
further assistance.
 Reference Management Tools
Referencing tools are handy to organize and format references so that you can easily incorporate
them in your essays, research papers, dissertations and assignments.

EndNote
Mendeley
Zotero
RefME
BibME
 References
Bakir, S.A. (2020) ‘The Influence of Communication Process Elements on Students Satisfaction :
Field Study on Jordanian Private Universities’. European Journal of Economics, Finance and
Administrative Sciences, 100(January-March, 2019). Available at:
http://www.europeanjournalofeconomicsfinanceandadministrativesciences.com.
Nicole, K. (2006) ‘Sentence Structure of Technical Writing’. Nicole. Available at:
http://web.mit.edu/me-ugoffice/communication/technical-writing.pdf.
Rordorf, D. (2017) ‘8 Simple Rules to Avoid Plagiarism 8 Simple Rules to Avoid Plagiarism’.
(February). DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.33702.93766.
Wangare Wambui, T., Kibui, A.W. and Gathuthi, E. (2012) Communication Skills Vol. I
Students’ Coursebook. Lambert Academic Publishing Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303893422.