: Use the ideas in this text to analyze your writing for this course. Which of the three features do you need to work on?
Appearance, Authority and Argument! !The knowledge you find and report on at university should be something to learn
from. You should be doing some thinking about your topic, and you should be
giving others something to think about with each presentation. You do not simply
repeat what someone else has said or written. You read a bit, then you think a bit,
then you write a bit. Then repeat the sequence again a few times and you are ready
to begin. You will gain strength in your thinking every week, as you write papers
and give presentations on the things you have learned. If you want to be taken
seriously, you will need to satisfy three requirements: appearance, authority and
argument.! !The first of these is appearance. This is the format of the written paper, something
you learned to do for your first theme. Format makes the paper professional and
easy to read. The format for written work is related to a set of rules, often associated
with some professional group. In the early courses of your general education, you
may be writing papers that follow the APA or American Psychological Association
guidelines. Many business schools use the Chicago Style, which came from the
University of Chicago Press over 100 years ago. Engineering uses report writing
formats that are often specified by the school. Find out which style your instructor
wants you to use, get the handbook for this format and follow it. For a spoken
presentation, appearance means proper clothes and good grooming.! !The next thing to take charge of for your reports and presentations is authority.
Authority has several meanings, but here it means “being the one in control of the
paper or the presentation”. This control has to do with both the ideas expressed in
the report and the way they are expressed. Your ideas have authority when they are
well researched, when they are true and logical, and when they are clearly related to
the main point of the report. Either in writing or speaking, ideas must be connected
logically to create a whole structure that people can understand. The ideas must be
original, which means they are your ideas, and strong, which means you have tested
them with questions and opposite opinions. When you are sure of your ideas and
sure they will make a strong impression, then you have to work on the way they are
expressed. Authority in expression comes from the use of direct claims, short
sentences which are to the point and factual, and no use of “maybe” or “could be” or
“I don’t know”. A confident voice, straight posture and eye contact will all hold the
audience’s attention, giving you authority.! !Finally, the display of knowledge in an academic setting is built around the use of
argument. This is not an emotional or angry type of argument. This is the mental
exercise of constructing a reasoned, organised, believable idea that contains support
for every point raised and can stand against any counter-claims. Argument is what
analytical thinking creates, and if you build your framework to show how all the
knowledge works together in a structure, you have a good skill that will serve you
well throughout your university career.
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