UNIVERSITY OF DAR ES SALAAM

COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES
CENTRE FOR COMMUNICATION STUDIES
COURSE OUTLINE

Subject title: Communication Skills for Arts and Social Sciences (CL106)
Subject status: Core
Credit rating: 12 Credits
Total hours: 45 hours
Semester: I/II

Subject aim
This course is designed to improve students' proficiency in four main communication skills. It aims to
enhance students’ listening skills (e.g. in lectures/talks and other formal and informal conversations)
and reading skills (academic texts and other written materials). The course also equips students with
the mechanics of writing through note taking/making in various academic and non-academic
occasions as well as writing academic essays and other professional correspondences. Through this
course, students will also develop skills in making public presentations.

Course Expected Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, students should be able to:
 Explain the concept of human communication and how this works in practice
 Listen and take efficient notes, and interpret NVC cues successfully
 Analyse and summarise texts
 Write formal/academic texts, and employ proper documentation
 Manage logical presentation and argument, and use visuals effectively

Course Content

Topic 1: Nature of Communication

1.1 Conceptualising human communication
1.2 Routes of communication
1.3 Media choice and suitability
1.4 Non-verbal communication
1.5 Barriers of communication
1.6 Techniques for Improved communication

Topic 2: Public Presentation Skills

2.1 Presentation – preliminary considerations
2.2 Presentation types and methods of delivery
2.3 Actual presentation and using feedback techniques
2.4 Non-verbal communication
2.5 Using visuals

Topic 3: Listening and Note Taking/Making

3.1 Listening process and types
3.2 Barriers to listening
3.3 Purpose for writing notes
3.4 Information structure in spoken and written texts
3.5 Note-taking from lectures
3.6 Note-making from written texts
3.7 Techniques for note-taking – organisation, layout, brevity etc.

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Topic 4: Reading Skills
4.1 Overview and purpose of reading
4.2 Types of reading: scanning, skimming, intensive and extensive reading
4.3 Intensive reading technique (SQ3R)
4.4 Reference and inference
4.5 Connecting words and reference words
4.6 Managing difficult words (inference, dictionary, co-text, context etc.)
4.7 Bad reading habits

Topic 5: Writing Skills

5.1 Writing process and stages in writing
5.2 Paragraph and essay structure (title, topic and thesis sentence)
5.3 Forms of writing – letters, memos, CVs, reports writing
5.4 Documentation – citation, referencing styles
5.5 Plagiarism and ways to avoid it

Assessment: Coursework assessment carries 40% (i.e. One Take Home Assignment 15marks, One
Timed Test 15marks, Seminar Presentation 10marks)
University Examination carries 60%

Basic Readings
Bailey, S. (2003). Academic Writing: Practical Guide for Students. New York: Routledge.
Collins, P. (2009). Speak with Power and Confidence. New York: Sterling.
Hargie, O. (2006). The Handbook of Communication Skills. New York: Routledge
Kadeghe, M. (2017) A Complete Course in Communication Skills with DAY TO DAY Grammar. Dar
es Salaam. Afroplus Industries Ltd.
Kroehnert, G. (2010). Basic Presentation Skills. Sidney: McGraw Hill.
Langan, J. (2008). College Writing Skills. (7th edition). New York: McGraw Hill.
Leathers, D., Eaves, M. H. (2016). Successful Non Verbal Communication: Principles and
Application (4th Ed). New York: Routledge.
Littlejohn, S. W. (2002). Theories of Human Communication. 7th edition, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth,
Lucas, R. W. (2002). Customer Service: Skills and Concepts for Success, 2nd ed, New York: Glencoe
McGraw Hill.
Lucas, S. E. (1998). The Art of Public Speaking, (6th Edition). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Makay, J. J. (1992). Public Speaking: Theory into Practice. New York: Harcourt Brace Jananovich
College Publishers.
Moore, Ninja-Jo, et al. (2010) Nonverbal Communication: Studies and Applications. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Pecorari, Diane. (2008). Academic Writing and Plagiarism: A linguistic Analysis. Continuum
International Publishing Group. (Soft copy available)

Raman, M. and Singh, P. (2006). Business Communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Savage, A & Shafiei, M. (2007). Effective Academic Writing 1: The Paragraph. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Schnurr, S. (2013). Exploring Professional Communication: Language in Action. London:
Routledge.
Steinberg S. (2007). An introduction to Communication Studies. Cape Town. Juta and
Company Ltd.
Thorpe, E & Showick T. (2006). Winning at Interviews. (2nd ed.). Delhi: Dorling Kindersley, 2006.