ITECH5401 Professional Communication

ITECH5401 Professional
Communication

School of Science, Information Technology and Engineering (SITE)

Overview

In
preparation for writing your essay, you are expected to complete an annotated
bibliography. The annotated bibliography
will comprise 10% of your mark for your essay, (which is worth 20% in total).

Annotated bibliography	1000 words	10%
Essay	1500 words	10%

Individual Assignment Part A (Annotated bibliography)

Annotated bibliography due dates: In Week 4 tutorialto be workshopped in
class, then submitted with the essay in Week
7(Refer to course description for specific
due date)

Objective:

The purpose of this assignment is for students to demonstrate their
ability to interpret academic texts, apply paraphrasing techniques and APA
referencing style.

Description of assignment:

You will need
to select five (5) journal articles on the topic of non-verbal and/or
intercultural communication that you intend to use as part of the supporting
evidence for your essay. You are
required to write a 200 word summary of each article comprising
one to two paragraphs.

Each
annotated bibliography needs to include the following five parts:

a)
Full citation information for
each article above each summary

b)
A short statement in your own
words of the author’s viewpoint

c)
A short summary in your own
words of the theory or research findings

d)
Comments (your opinion) on the
usefulness and/or limitations of the theory/research findings for your own
research paper (essay)

e)
An evaluative comment on the
article content, in your own words, on how the contents of this article will
fit into your own research topic

Submission requirements

You will need to
bring your completed annotated bibliographies to the Week 4 tutorial to be
workshopped by your peers in class using the marking guide below. In Week 7, you must submit both original
Week 4 Annotated Bibliographies and the final workshopped versions with your
essay.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES MARKING GUIDE	Grade	Final
5 x Annotated Bibliographies (25 marks) Each annotated bibliography summary must include the following four elements: – is approximately 200 words – includes an accurate summary of the article -has a commentary on the usefulness and relevance of the article to its field of study -includes an evaluation of how the article will fit into your essay topic	High level of skill in summarising & presenting ideas from the original source in a concise way and in your own words. Each annotated bibliography includes all four elements.	4 – 5
Evidence of substantial level understanding of the original source. Most of the writing is written in your own words, is concise and captures the essence of the source. Some minor problems with sentence structure and expression are evident and/or each annotated bibliography includes only three of the four elements.	3
Evidence of low levelunderstanding of the original source. Or your writing is very similar to the original source or it is not concise, clear or accurate. There are a number of sentence structure and expression problems evident and/or each annotated bibliography includes less than three of the four elements.	2
Poor understanding of the original source. Writing is unclear, inaccurate or hard to follow. Spelling, sentence structure and expression are problematic and/or each annotated bibliography includes two or less of the four elements.	0 – 1
Referencing (5 marks)	Each annotated bibliography includes a full citation which complies with the general guide.	5
Not all annotated bibliographies include a full citation and/or the full citations mainly comply with the general guide.	4
The full citations are partially complete and only partly comply with the general guide.	2 – 3
The citations are incomplete and do not comply with the general guide	0 – 1
Total	/30
Assessor comments

Individual Assignment Part B (Essay)

Essay due date: Week 7 (Refer to course description for
specific due date) with workshopped Annotated bibliography

Objective:

The purpose of this assignment is to enable students to evaluate
professional communication aspects within an industry in relation to the
various elements covered, and to demonstrate the ability to communicate the key
issues through a written essay.

Assignment topic:

Non-verbal
Communication and Intercultural Communication

Ross (1991 as cited in Archee et. al., 2013, p.75) suggests that the
impression we make on others can be defined by four dimensions:

1.
Credibility

2.
Likeability

3.
Interpersonal attractiveness

4.
Dominance

In your essay, give clear definitions of these four dimensions, in your
own words, and discuss how these four dimensions can be effectively used in
intercultural situations.

Description of assignment:

Students
will prepare a 1500 word essay (including references). The assignment is to be
completed individually. This is NOT a group assignment. Please refer marking criteria for more detailed breakdown of marks.

·
In the essay, you are expected to write in paragraph style with
an introduction and a conclusion. The
use of bulleted/numbered lists should be avoided and no headings used.

·
The essay should be presented in the following order and format:

a)
Cover page;

b)
Introduction;

c)
Body paragraphs;

d)
Conclusion.

·
Essays with unsupported personal opinions will be marked down, as will
those that make excessive use of direct quotes (no more than 8 linesin total).

·
Incorrect APA referencing will also be penalised.

·
Any direct quotation from one of your sources (i.e. anything that you
have not written yourself) must be referenced (cited) in-text (as well as
included in the reference list); if the quotation is more than three lines in
length it should be formattedin its
own paragraph indented 0.75 cm, single-spaced, with font size 10; if it is
three lines or less it should be surrounded by quotation marks (double inverted
commas). This is normal practice, which
you should always follow.

·
The vast majority of your essay should consist of your own writing
whether paraphrasing a specific section of a source or synthesizing ideas from
a number of sources. Paraphrasing should
also be accompanied by in-text citation (as for a direct quotation).

·
If you use a source either with a direct quotation or by paraphrasing and
do not cite it, you are guilty of plagiarism (refer to the course
description).

Plagiarism

It is important to learn from the work of
others and you are encouraged to explore the library, World Wide Web resources
and have discussions with other students.
However, work for the assessment must be entirely your own work.

*Important*

Plagiarism is the presentation of the expressed thought or work of
another person as though it is one’s own without properly acknowledging that
person.

You must not allow other students to copy
your work and must take care to safeguard against this happening. In cases of copying, normally all students
involved will be penalised equally; an exception will be if you can demonstrate
the work is your own and you took reasonable care to safeguard against copying.

Plagiarism is a serious offence. As set out in the University Regulation
6.1.1. students who are caught
plagiarising will, for a first offence, be given a zero mark for that task. A second offence will result in a failing
grade for the course involved and any subsequent offence will be referred to
the Student Discipline Committee.

Federation University General Guide to Referencing:

The University has published a style guide to help students correctly
reference and cite information they use in assignments. A copy of the
University’s citation guides can be found on the university’s web site. It is
imperative that students cite all sources of information. The General Guide to Referencing can be
purchased from the University bookshop or accessed online at: http://federation.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/164121/FedUni-General-Guide-to-Referencing-2014.pdf

Submission requirements

You will be required to submit both your
annotated bibliographies and essay via Turnitin. Refer to the preventing
plagiarism page on the University website:

http://federation.edu.au/students/assistance-support-and-services/academic-support/learning-and-study/preventing-plagiarism

For more information about Turnitin:

http://federation.edu.au/students/assistance-support-and-services/academic-support/learning-and-study/preventing-plagiarism/about-turnitin

ESSAY MARKING GUIDE

Mark range

Final Mark

Introduction (10)	The introduction addresses all components (i.e. includes background information to the topic, a clear thesis statement and outlines the main ideas in the body). It addresses the topic and is well written.	9 – 10
The introduction addresses mostcomponents, and the purpose and intent are stated. It is mostly addresses the topic and generally well written.	7 – 8
The introduction is satisfactory and addresses some components and the thesis statement may be unclear. It may not directly address the topic and there are some problems with writing clarity.	4 – 6
There are minimal aspects of the question in the introduction; writing is unclear in purpose and intent.	2 – 3
Introduction is unclear or non – existentwith no intent and purpose.	0 – 1

Body and Structure (10)	The body contains evidence of high level understanding of the essay topic. The paragraphs are clear with topic sentences and supporting evidence. Sentence structure is clear and sentences flow logically.	9 – 10
Evidence of substantial understanding of the essay topic. Most of the paragraphs contain topic sentences and supporting evidence and clearly make a point. There are minor problems with sentence structure and expression.	7 – 8
Evidence of low levelunderstanding of the essay topic. The paragraphs do not contain topic sentences, relevant evidence, or are unorganised. There are a number of sentence structure and expression problems evident.	4 – 6
The paper does not contain organised paragraphs, topic sentences, evidence or clear expression.	0 – 3

Conclusion (10)	Coherent & logical conclusion of essay topic. The final remarks clearly capture the essence of the topic. The topic is tied together well and no new information is contained in the conclusion.	8 – 10
Well organised and clear conclusion of essay topic that mostly captures the essence of the topic	6 – 7
Some evidence or an attempt at a conclusion. There are problems with summation of the main points.	2 – 5
The paper has no conclusion or summation of the main points and ends abruptly.	0 – 1

Literature & Argument (15)	All literature in text is cited and relevant. Citations are accurate & systematic. Argument is well developed and well supported by literature.	13 – 15
All literature in text is cited & relevant. Citations are mostlyaccurate. The argument is mostly developed and supported by the literature.	10 – 12
Most literature in text is cited. Some evidence is not relevant to the argument. There is an attempt at an argument but there is improvement required.	7 – 9
Some literature in the text is cited. Citations have consistent errors. The overall argument is unclear and the writing tends to be descriptive.	4 – 6
Opinion only; no in text literature is cited.	0 – 3

Writing, presentation and readability (15)	Presents high level of skill in articulating and presenting ideas / issues in a clear and concise way. The paper has an obvious essay structure, has no or minimal syntax errors and is easy to read.	13 -15
Presents moderate level of writing skill. An obvious attempt at essay structure, but is lacking	10 – 12
Writing, structure, syntax & presentation is inconsistent. Mostly description rather than evaluation & discussion or not well supported by evidence; limited integration of material.	5 – 9
Writing &/or structure &/or presentation is/are poor. No evaluation or discussion. There is description or personal opinion only with no supporting logic or evidence; no integration of research. The paper is hard to read due to consistent syntax and/or language errors.	0 – 4
TOTAL /60