Unit 2 Communication

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INTRODUCTION
Composition writing is an important component in the KCPE
examination Primary English Paper. In fact it constitutes over 40%
of what a candidate gets in the English paper. It goes without saying
that highlighting on the various skills, principles and challenges in
writing a composition would be very useful to KCPE examination
candidates
What is a Composition?
The answer to this question varies from person to person depending
on theme and areas of specialization. But as for our case, based on
K.C.P.E examination, a composition is a combination of thoughts and
ideas put down in a logical manner. A composition can either be
fictitious or factual depending on the title given (rubric).
Types of Compositions.
There is a number of composition types covered under the primary
school curriculum. The main ones include;-
(i) Narratives
(ii) Stories
(iii) Letters- friendly and official
(iv) Recipes.
(v) Reports
(vi) Minutes
(vii) Dialogues
(viii) Filling forms.
NB:- In all the themes covered in the English syllabus, the last
exercises introduces a learner into articulating what he or she has
learnt orally into continuous writing. This dictates the need for proper
teaching and syllabus coverage to enhance the acquisition of language
and writing skills
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When does a child begin writing a composition?

The answer to this question is not fixed. It all depends on the
interpretation. But one thing is certain. That composition writing
begins as soon as child begins to think critically and recall what he
or she sees, learns, hears and feels. This should tell us that a child
begins ‘writing’ composition even before joining a formal system of
education. In formal education, a pupil is introduced to letters then
to words and subsequently sentences. It is the combination of
sentences that bring about a paragraph and many paragraphs bring
out a story. Of course the paragraphs should be centered on a given
goal lesson or subject. They should also make sense to both the writer
and the reader otherwise the whole process could be futile. The
writers thoughts should come out strongly, in fact show me a piece
of good writing and I shall tell you the mind of the writer
Writing a Composition.
Writing a composition depends on a number of factors some of which

are answers to the following questions
1. Is it a guided composition?
This is mainly done in class 3,4 and 5
2. Is it a topical composition?
This type of composition is some what restrictive in that the pupil is
expected to develop the story from a certain angle or point of view -
Much is expected since the facts are known
Examples of topical compositions, given in form of a composition
title are;
The August Holiday
A wedding Ceremony
A tree plating day
Soil Erosion
.
3. Is it a started composition or an ended composition?
This has been the mode of K.C.P.E testing of composition since its
inception. I don’t wish to suggest that a change is impossible. All
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what is stipulated in the curriculum is examinable and therefore

candidates should practice on all the areas.
NB:- In most of the K.C.P.E composition tasks, the topic is often
open ended. This means that a learner has a wide scope of
what to write about. Below are the beginning of compositions
for various years in K.C.P.E.
These and many other questions dictated how a composition should

be written. However, one major factor in writing a composition is
one’s preparedness. Think critically on what you have to write about
and list down the main points.
This may sound unusual but unless a person on a journey knows
where he is, where he wants to go and how far it is from his initial
position, the journey may not take place. The writer can ease the
writing of a composition if an attempt is made to answer questions
such as what?, where?,when? How? and so? as relates to the
composition to be written. For instance if one was to write a
composition on the topic A Wedding Ceremony, the following
questions can go a long way in making a pupil focus on the topic,
1. Who is wedding?
2. Where is the wedding taking place?
3. When is the wedding taking place?
4. How are the preparations before the wedding?
5. What is your take or involvement in the wedding?
6. What were the emerging issues during the wedding?
7. So how did it end and what was the day like?
A good composition should therefore have the following notable
characteristics:
(i) An interesting introduction – one that captivates the
reader and acts as a gateway to the writers thoughts. It should be
short, clear and interesting.
(ii) A body – that brings together the writers thoughts and ideas
logically and must be explicit/ elaborate.
(iii) A conclusion - This captures the lesson experienced in the
whole plot. It brings out the writers feeling about the whole story or
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sums up the story. At times it leaves the reader to guess the outcome
of an episode.
Basing on the title – A wedding ceremony – the introduction should
be such that it touches on the people wedding, the place or venue
and the preparation in place.
The body should concentrate much on the ceremony itself- from the
service, the officiating, and the signing of the certificate, the cutting
of the cake, the eating process and the giving of gifts.
The conclusion should highlight the general feeling of the ceremony
and the departure from the venue. The attitude of the writer is felt
here. Where need be, a proverb is best placed to conclude a story.
SKILLS IN COMPOSITION WRITING.

Below are a number of skills necessary in writing a good
composition.
(i) Legibility
First and foremost, a piece of writing must be appealing to both the
writer and the reader. The teacher for that matter looks at the level
of legibility as a merit. An illegible (one that cannot be read)
composition is bound to score less compared to the former. Let your
lettering be correct. Some pupils do not write certain letters correctly
which bring about some confusion. For example a pupil can write
letter a look like letter Q, letter r that looks like v. Let your letters
be very clear. The rubbing of any letter or word should be such that
the marks do not overlap causing illegibility of the intended word.
Avoid crossing a word and writing another one above it.
The spacing of words should be uniform and not too close neither too
far apart. The letters if possible should follow a particular pattern
preferably erect and should be large enough.
(ii) Fluency
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A script should be such that ideas tend to flow in a logical manner.

Many candidates find themselves mixing up ideas. For example, what
should have been the introduction comes last and what should have
been the conclusion comes first. In the case of events, we would
expect a certain sequence of proceedings that do not seem to overlap.
Fluency is also affected by ideas that do not seem to fully develop or
come in quick successions. Such a composition is termed as being
“jerky”.
For example, in reference to a composition on A wedding ceremony,
it is not in order to have the arrival of bridal team coming first, then
followed by writing about the venue and then jumping onto the party
and then the signing of the certificate. In such a case the flow is
hampered. Another element that hampers flow in composition
writing is the mixing of tenses and wrong structures that tend to
confuse the reader. Punctuation is yet another area that affects the
fluency of a composition as we shall see later under challenges in
composition writing.
(iii) Accuracy
This includes all the other elements of language in terms of word
agreement, correct use of words, phrases, proverbs, paragraphing,
and punctuation and so on. What hinder accuracy are the numerous
errors displayed in the scripts. These will be highlighted later.
(iv) Creativity
This is a skill that has to be developed through interest and being
dynamics while interacting with the course content as well as the
immediate environment. It involves coming up with a unique
composition that use correct but unfamiliar words, expressions and
creates suspense - You keep yearning for more when the story ends.
Involvement of all the senses in a composition makes it interesting,
varied and the reader relates well with it. Creating scenes within a
scene but still keeping the flow can be one way of expressing
creativity.- for example on a composition on sports, a writer could
create a scene within the main scene about sports where perhaps a
player is about to score but a mad man dashes into the field as if
from hell and picks the ball after which he runs with it into the maize
plantation, or The guest of honour in a harambee meeting thanks the
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audience and volunteers to pray for the hefty collection only to find
the money gone after.
(v) Originality
Our learning environment has become affected by an attitude of
laxity. Most learners have a tendency of copying work or cramming
or memorizing passages, stories or paragraphs from the many sample
composition in textbooks in order to impress the teachers. This
hinders originality of a composition.
This is a practice that should be avoided at all cost. Candidates
should realize that those who mark KCPE composition are teachers
who have come across all those compositions in revision books. They
can therefore tell when one writes such a composition that has been
crammed from books.
COMMON CHALLENGES IN COMPOSITION WRITING.
(a) Mother tongue influence

A learner first interacts with his or her language before getting
introduced to English. This has an effect on the writing of the child
unless thorough work is done to alleviate this. A good example is:-
‘today is today’ from the Kiswahili saying Leo ni leo msema kesho ni
mwongo. It may sound proper English but that is far from the truth.
Other examples of instance where mother tongue interference occur
are;
- My brother removes job in Nairobi, instead of, My brother
works in Nairobi
- The tisha told us to go out, Instead of The teacher told us to
go out
- We ate lice rast night, Instead of, We ate rice last night
- Where is my pook? Instead of Where is my book?
(b) Spelling errors:

This is a very common problem with most pupils. Some words such
as tomorrow, surprised, beautiful, received, until, writing among other
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are often not spelled correctly. Teachers can give dictation to pupils
as a remedy to this problem. Pupils on the other hand are advised to
read widely. Looking up new words in a dictionary is another sure
way to arrest the problem.
(b) Mixing of speech
For example, When the teacher came in he asked us are you going
to the show? We said Yes and we boarded the bus. The underlined
words were to be punctuated. The correct way of writing it would be-
When the teacher came in, he asked us “ Are you going to the
show?” We said “Yes” and we boarded the bus. Alternatively, it can
be written as a reported speech to read- When the teacher came, he
asked us whether we were to go to the show. We told him that we
were interested and we boarded the bus.
Pupils should learn how to write in the correct speech. This is only
possible if they practice writing compositions which should be
marked and errors noted by the teacher corrected.
(c) Use of short form
This is another area that challenges a number of pupils. KCPE
candidates are advised to be careful when writing short forms of the
following words among others.
Word Short form

Cannot can’t
Shall not shan’t
Is not isn’t
Will not won’t
Could not couldn’t
They are they’re
Would not wouldn’t
Here is an example of a sentence with short form of some words.
We couldn’t go home so the teacher asked us to remain in class. He
wouldn’t let us play. Unless in direct speech, contracted form of
verbs should be avoided.
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(d) Wrong use of vocabulary, expression, phrase

I will use the example below to illustrate wrong use of vocabulary,
expression and phrase.
I occasionally without wasting time left the hall and went
straight to the office. Within a snitch of time, I was holding a
convocation with the principal.
In the above example, the word occasionally refers to frequency and
therefore does not sound well with the sentence which is on time. In
a nick of time, within a stitch of time or in a fraction of a second would
be the right expression to use. The writer must have held a
conversation with the principal or rather a dialogue.
(f) Omission and commission

Some errors are mastered and unless revision is carried out, they will
keep recurring year after year. Such errors are such as return back,
enter in, discuss about, congratulate for reached at among others are
common. The additional prepositions are wrongly placed which
distorts the rule of the English language.
Another challenge here is joining words that should not be joined.
For example
Iam instead of I am
Infact instead of In fact
Infront instead of In front
Or separating a word that one for example
Can not instead of Cannot
every thing instead of everything.
my self instead of myself
There are also errors of omission such as in the two sentences below
1. My uncle lives in USA.
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2. The monitor put some on the table

The correct way of writing the sentences would be
(i) My uncle lives in the USA.
(ii) The monitor put some books on the table.
The underlined words were omitted
(g) Tenses
This is a major concern in the writing and speaking of English. We

more often than not write what we speak and with a lot of broken
English carrying the day, remedial measures must be put in place.
It is not surprising to find a writer with the kind of writing shown
below :
- My mother take coffee and I took tea.
- We eat ugali and meat and then we go home.
- My uncle said that we can go swimming that afternoon.
- She wake up hurriedly and shout for help
- I likes eating rice and meat
The correct way of writing the above sentences is as shown below.
Note the underlined words which were not correctly used earlier.
- My mother took coffee but I took tea. took but to
- We ate ugali and meat and then we went home.
- My uncle said that we could go swimming that afternoon.
- She woke up hurriedly and shouted for help.
- I like eating rice and meat. I like eating rice and meat.
(h) Poor sentence construction:

A sentence is NOT a sentence unless it fulfills the grammatical rule.
It would be ridiculous to say:
Me I always come to school early, the correct way should be- I always
come to school early.
We are see that is not easy to go back home. The correct way should
be- We realize that it was not easy to go home.
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All visitors they could not believe. The correct way should be- All
visitors would not believe.
That was the episode day to recall until I kick the bucket. The correct
way should be- That was an episode to recall until I kick the bucket or
That was an unforgettable episode
NB: It is wrong to have two pronouns or a noun and a pronoun
in a sentence following each other.
(i) Punctuation errors
Many candidates either do not know the use of punctuation marks
in writing or they simply ignore them. Emphasis need to be put in
order to alleviate the vice. Some common punctuation errors involve
wrong punctuation such as
- What a great day it was? Instead of What a great day!
- My brother’s wives are coming today. This might sound
ambiguous but reading through a composition, the writer might be
referring to his two or three brothers’ wives. To correct this, the
apostrophes should come after (s) so that the sentence reads- my
brother’s wives are coming today.
Mr. Nguri our teacher of English is absent today. Commas are,
missing to separate the main idea from the additional statement. -
This is very common. The correct way of writing is -Mr. Nguri, our
teacher of English, is absent today
(j) Irrelevancy
This comes about when the writer deviates from the subject matter
and goes on to write a story that has no relationship with the topic
one supposed to write about. For example if one was writing on the
topic Sports, it would be a grave mistake to go a head and ignore the
subject and instead write about a kidnap ordeal or wedding. This is
usually common among candidates who cram a given sample
composition from books prior to a test.
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Once again I would like to discourage this. There are instances where
a whole class crams a given composition which they reproduce
during the examination. If this happen during KCPE examination,
chances of all the candidates being penalized is very high.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I wish to state that for a learner to be able to write an
elaborate story, a lot of preparedness has to be done. The teacher
has to inculcate the discipline of wide reading, research, use of the
dictionary and the speaking of English. This enhances confidence in
the learner which in turn creates a sense of determination in
composition writing.
To the teacher,
The evaluation or making of composition should be objective. A
teacher should target what to look for in a given composition. If for
instance your aim is to look for spelling errors, do so without putting
much emphasis on writing or any other aspect of language. This
should be alternated every other time with emphasis on a different
area. Since practice makes perfect, pupils should be made to write
as many compositions as is practical.
As for the candidates, I wish to advise that you desist from lifting
passage, stories or extract from past papers, newsletters, revision
composition books or any other source but rather be creative in your
own way. This does not mean that you should not borrow words,
expressions, phrases, but copying a whole story hampers your own
intellectual capability
Read the story below and identify the errors discussed earlier.
There are more than thirty errors!
SAMPLE COMPOSITION(WITH ERRORS).
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I wake up very early in the mourning and headed to the bathroom. I

took a cold shawer that left me as fresh as a cucumber. I took a few
minutes at the dressing table before emerging looking elegant.
The table has been set. I sat comfortably and served myself.
Their were all sorts of delicacy ranging from sausages, bacons, egg
not to mention tosted bread. In no time, I had grulped my scrimptions
breakfast and washed it down with a glass of worm water. I was set
for the long journey that awaited me- a tour in Tsavo National park.
The journey was to comment shortly before eight thirty. I walked the
short distance from home to the local market centre where the Moi
primary school bus was to pick up. To my utter amazing, Ochola,
the moniter of our class, was already their. I joined him and
congratulated him for his early arrival.
By quarter past eight almost everybody had arrived at the place
except Kasuve who, as long as I could remember has never arrived
to school earlier than eight. He was a reknowed latecomer.
The bus negotiated a corner from the far end of the end of the market
and halted at the bus stop area. we filed in as the classteacher Mr
Nguri called the register. It was not until the driver ignited the engine
that Kasuve was seen running towards the bus. As soon as he
entered in the bus it set of.
You may ask questions if you wish, the teacher said as the bus drove
on and on. With it’s windscreen glittering as the sun shore on it was
surprising to find that what seem a days journey took us not more
than two hours to be there.
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The Importance of Etiquette and Useful Expressions in English: A Critical

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Literary Horizon
An International Peer-Reviewed English Journal
Vol. 2, Issue 3 www.literaryhorizon.com November, 2022
ISSN: 2583-0201
The Importance of Etiquette and Useful Expressions in English:

A Critical Analysis
Dr. Bipin Bihari Dash

Assistant Professor in English
Odisha University of Technology and Research (OUTR),
Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
The world was my oyster but I used the wrong fork.

Oscar Wilde
Abstract: Etymologically, we owe the origin of the word, Etiquette to the
French, where the word stands for “ticket”. In a lot of ways, etiquette is your
ticket to the society. Etiquette is one of the most misunderstood words in the
English language. Most people, when asked what etiquette means to them,
reply, “Manners”, “Politeness”, “Thank-You Notes”, “Rules”, etc. Over the
years, in many interviews, Emily Post (was an American author famous for
writing about etiquette) was repeatedly asked what etiquette meant to her.
Here is how she defined the term: “Whenever two people come together and
their behaviour affects one another, you have etiquette. Etiquette is not some
rigid code of manners; it is simply how person‟s lives touch one another.”
Language is basically social and conventional. Often it is used to establish
and maintain friendly relations. We greet and say farewell, introduce people
(including ourselves), express thanks, apologies, and regrets as well as good
wishes, congratulations, and condolences and make offers. Each of these is a
social act. We do things with words. In other words, we perform speech acts.
While doing so, we use more or less fixed or formulaic expressions. These are
matters of conventions. These create well mannered and social as well as
business etiquette. This paper critically analyses the etiquettes and various
useful expressions in English.
Keywords: Etiquette, Expressions, Principles, Social, Professional.
Email: editorliteraryhorizon@gmail.com Page 74

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ISSN: 2583-0201
What is Etiquette?
The word ‗etiquette‘ means conventional rules of social behaviour, or professional
conduct. These rules are unwritten rules, which act as norms to be observed by all
professionals who work as a team in a particular organisation or department. So, etiquette
means behaving yourself a little better than is absolutely essential. In business, as in life,
etiquette is a self-rewarding trait of appropriate conduct. Successful professionals know how
to conduct themselves at organisation meetings, parties, celebrations and dinners. They are
aware of their company‘s culture and etiquette. If we ignore these norms of group attitude
and behaviour, we run the risk of being singled out as ‗loners‘ or ‗headstrong‘ persons. Our
behaviour may disrupt the smooth working of the team by causing misunderstanding and
tension among fellow workers.
Basic Principles of Etiquette
Every workplace evolves its own set of norms of behaviour and attitude. For example,
you may find that everyone resumes working without even a minute‘s delay, after lunch time,
while in some others, taking an extra 15 to 20 minutes for lunch may be a general practice. In
such cases, the sense of responsibility and punctuality are governed by no rules written in the
work manual. In an organisation, our basic concern is to create a smooth work environment
where each person helps the others to carry on their jobs with ease. Business etiquette
describes the behaviour and customs that would be considered appropriate and acceptable in
most business organisations/offices/workplaces across the modern ―educated‖ world. This
approach to business etiquette considers that each business setting has its business protocols
which an employee learns by working in that environment and, by observing others. But there
are general rules of business etiquette, based on the fundamental principles of organisational
behaviour. Learning the rules of business etiquette will help you, as a professional, to act with
ease in any business setting. Let us, therefore, consider some common situations in business
and find out how to act appropriately. The business etiquette rules discussed here relate to the
following points:
 Introductions  Telephone calls

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 Business dining  Inter-personal business etiquette

 Interaction with foreign clients
Introducing Yourself:
As a norm of business etiquette and the first step towards cordial business
transactions, people greet each other by stating their full names and positions at the very
outset. During a conversation, the other party may forget your name or may have missed
hearing it. At such moments you should help the host/the other party immediately by politely
repeating your name ―I am Shaswat Dash, I am sorry, I should have told you.‖ If you simply
say, ―I am Shaswat Dash‖, it may suggest that the other person faulted in forgetting your
name. Therefore, re-state your name tactfully. In case of a prior fixed business meeting, if
you are an expected visitor, first you should introduce yourself by telling your name and
purpose: ―I am Nibedita Dash and I have come here to meet Mrs Arundhati Mishra in the
Marketing Department.‖ Only after introducing yourself, should you ask for the name and
position of the other party.
1. Don‘t use honorific words, such as Sri, Smt, Mrs, Mr, Ms, or Dr. any other titles before your
name, while introducing yourself. Other persons can call you as Mr Sharma. But you should
refer to yourself just ―Ajay Sharma‖. If it is a degree earned by you, such as Ph.D. you may
use Dr. before your name and refer to yourself as ―Dr. T. K. Dash, or Dr. Dash‖. But if you
are a doctor by profession, people regard and know you as Dr.Sonali Dash. The point to be
understood is that others may call us by adding titles or professional words or degrees or
other salutations, but we ourselves should not use them with our names.
2. Speak your name slowly and clearly. As personal names sound unfamiliar, therefore, they
should be articulated as distinctly as possible.
Handshake: In modern societies a handshake is a non-verbal, communication of friendly
dealings. As a winning form of non-verbal communication, handshakes must be accompanied
by eye contact and a gentle smile. It is done immediately after introduction by extending your
right hand and firmly holding the other person‘s right hand very briefly. The handshake is so
spontaneous that both the parties almost simultaneously put forward their right hands towards
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each other. In some situations, you may express your feelings by saying- ―pleased to meet
you‖. And the other generally responds- ―My pleasure‖ or ―So, am I‖. But these words are
just pleasantries. They do not mean much as verbal communication. The Arabs shake hands,
embrace, and also kiss to communicate their warmth and respect for the other person. Asians
in general bow to one another. But if you are not sure of the cultural and personal sensitivities
of your visitor or host, the best thing is to shake hands, which is the general norm of business
greetings across the world. In some professional settings, such as anchoring, hosting an event,
film awards, or a serials such as ―Carry on Sushree‖, it is customary to hug and ―air kiss‖ the
guest. Air kissing is done by bringing right cheeks together and mimicking a kiss. Air kiss is
done only between men and women, never between men and men or women and women. In
fact, an air kiss is an intense form of non-verbal communication of good feelings of love
between two individuals. However, in some culture-specific countries, such as India, many
advanced and senior business heads, executives, and officers still prefer to receive or bid
adieu to highly placed guests in the traditional form-folded hands, slightly bowed head, and
eye contact. As a visitor, you should greet the host accordingly.
Failing to Recall Someone‟s Name
To be tactful in such situations is also good business etiquette. If you let the other
person know that you have forgotten his/her name, it may take the person feel that he/she is
not important enough to be remembered by name. So, we should act as if we know the name,
but we wish to have more details about the person. Before the other person detects your
failure, you should ask for his/her visiting card. You can say, ―Could I have your latest
business card for your telephone number/ and address?‖ or you can just say, ―Could I know
your full name? I have your initials.‖
How to Introduce other Person
One of the difficult things you have to do is perhaps to introduce other persons at a
business meeting. We should know each other in terms of their names and professional status
before we conduct the meeting or discuss the transaction. The status communicates the role
the person plays in the business transaction. Therefore, a clear and complete introduction of

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each person, members of visiting part, and host party, makes everyone feel relaxed and
creates a congenial atmosphere for the meeting.
The Protocol (rule) for introducing others
Normally, the senior most people among the visitors, or the host team, introduces the
other members of his/her group present there. The practice is that first visitors are introduced
to the host. Then, members of the host group are introduced. The rule is that we do not
introduce a senior to a junior. Instead, we always introduce the lowest ranked person to the
highest ranked person. The polite way to introduce one by saying ―May I introduce...‖ is
appropriate and formal, when you are speaking to a superior. But to others you can just say,
―This is Prakash Mishra. He is a....‖
Telephone Etiquette
In telephonic conversation, the way we receive, respond, speak or hang up is often as
important as what is communicated.
Making a call - Be brief and concise
The first few words spoken by you as a caller or receiver are important for
establishing your identity and purpose.
 Prepare before calling  keep a pen and pad ready to note
 To be brief and concise down any information
 jot down the points you want to  keep the duration of the
discuss conversation as short as possible
Business Dining
Business occasions of meals with colleagues, clients, or consultants have their own
protocol (code of behaviour) and they must be followed for cracking business deals. You can
observe the following established norms regarding business meals.
Host
As a host, invite the guest personally, may be over telephone. However, confirm the
date, time and place.
Food Preferences
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As a guest you should stick to your dietary preferences. If you do not or cannot, as
laid down by caste, creed, or religion or personal choice, take something, you should, feel
free to refuse. If you are served, say politely. The same must be your attitude to drinks. Just
say, ―Thanks, I would like to have...‖
Table Manners
Business dinners are formal occasions in the manner of using forks, knives, and
spoons are an indicator of your culture. But Indians, prefer to eat food with their hands. The
only cutlery used by them should be a spoon.
How to set the table
Setting a table is not as difficult as it seems. The basic rule is: Utensils are placed in
the order of use; that is, from the outside in. A second rule, with only a few exceptions, is:
Forks go to the left of the plate, and knives and spoons go to the right. And finally, only set
the table with utensils you will use. No soup; no soup spoon. The basic rule is: Utensils are
placed in the order of use; that is, from the outside in. A second rule, with only a few
exceptions, is: Forks go to the left of the plate, and knives and spoons go to the right. And
finally, only set the table with utensils you will use.
In General:
 Knife blades are always placed with the cutting edge toward the plate.
 No more than three of any implement are ever placed on the table, except when an
oyster fork is used in addition to three other forks. If more than three courses are
served before dessert, then the utensils for the fourth course are brought in with the
food; likewise the salad fork and knife may be brought in when the salad course is
served.
 Dessert spoons and forks are brought in on the dessert plate just before dessert is
served.
The placement of utensils is guided by the menu, the idea being that you use utensils in an
―outside in‖ order. The order of the menu is:
 Appetizer: Shellfish  First Course: Soup or fruit

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 Fish Course  Entrée and salad

From Dawn to Dusk:
When it comes to dining etiquette, there are certain norms with regard to what time of
day you are eating with the colleague/client, i.e., whether it is the morning breakfast, or noon
brunch, or afternoon lunch, or evening tea/coffee, or night-time dinner.
 Business Breakfast 7-8 a: m
 Business Brunch 11a: m-1p: m
 Business Lunch 1-2 p: m
 Business Tea/Coffee 5-6 p: m
 Business Dinner 8-10 p: m
Buffet Etiquette: Not “The Last Supper”
The following points are the buffet etiquette:
1. Be patient 6. Use the magic 9. Think twice about
2. Do not whine words: use ‗thank second helpings
3. Use serving spoon you‘ and ‗please‘ 10. Keep the traffic
4. Never eat in queue 7. No food to go moving
5. Use different 8. No staring at the
plates guest
Tips for restaurant buffet etiquette:
1. Walk around and look at all the food items before making your selection.
2. When dining out at a buffet style restaurant, always get a fresh plate before putting food
on it.
3. Never reach around someone.
4. Keep the lines moving. If you aren't sure, move on and come back later after you decide.
5. Don't touch any of the food in the serving dishes.
6. Place all serving utensils in the original dishes.
7. When you get up from your table to return to the buffet, place your napkin on the seat of
your chair to let others know you are returning.
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8. If you feel the urge to cough or sneeze, turn your head away from the serving table.
9. Even though you are serving yourself at a buffet, you will want to leave a tip. The staffs
still have to remove dirty plates and clean the table.
10. Most buffet style restaurants have a policy of not allowing doggie bags with leftovers.
Hosting tips:
 Consider having stations for each course. Separate stations for salads, meats, vegetables,
desserts, and drinks.
 Provide extra plates, bowls, forks, knives, and spoons.
 Have plenty of towels and napkins for spills that will inevitably happen with everyone
serving them and pouring their own drinks.
 If you plan to have ice cream at the dessert station, keep it in the freezer until time to
serve it.
Etiquette tips for the buffet guest:
 Only take what you know you can eat.
 Don't crowd others when they are serving themselves. Give personal space.
 Offer to assist when you see someone having trouble balancing a plate or pouring a drink.
 Help children and get them seated before serving yourself.
 Due to the casual nature of buffet dining, it is acceptable to start eating as soon as you sit
down with your plate, unless the host or hostess states otherwise.
 Don't expect other people to watch your children for you.
Interaction with foreign clients
Foreign visitors should not be allowed to feel like a stranger in other countries.
Normally, we believe that when we visit abroad we should behave according to the business
norms and etiquette of the place. Accordingly, we assume that foreign business visitors
would observe our business norms such as trade practices, working hours, office culture, and
so on. But, there may be some aspects of social and religious beliefs of our foreign visitors
which we should try to respect in our business environment. As a host, it is our primary duty
to make our guest feel fully comfortable in every way. Respecting cultural needs, religious

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beliefs, and the attitude of the foreign visitors will go a long way in developing good business
relations.
Inter-personal business etiquette
The norms for interpersonal behaviour apply also to company –to-company
behaviour. Each individual is the company‘s image builder. The individual should know how
to conduct himself/herself as a representative of the company. Good business behaviour
includes the following:
 be loyal to your organisation  feel proud of your organisation‘s
 promise corrective action achievement
 always speak well of your  keep confidential matters
company  secure records
 help others develop trust in you
Business Etiquettes and Modern Technology
E-mails
E-mails are one of the most commonly misused tools in the new technology space.
However, you must ensure that the e-mails that you send do not violate the code of conduct
of your organisation or create a bad image and reputation for yourself. Here are some
guidelines that you must follow when you are sending e-mails:
 Write like a normal letter  Ensure the email id for similar
 Introduction, body, and a names
salutation are a ‗must‘ for all e-  Check the address book carefully
mails. before sending the mail.
Instant Messaging
 Follow the basic practice of saying  Do not start off the conversation
‗good morning‘, ‗good afternoon‘, immediately.
‗welcome‘, or ‗thank you‘.  Do not use emotions.
 Give attention to your language.
Text Messaging and Mobile Phones

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 Be precise  If you have received a wrong call,

 Do not use short forms. say so, politely, to the caller.
 Do not talk loudly in public places.  If you dialled a wrong number,
 Never mix personal with identify yourself and apologize.
professional.  Do not use fancy ring tones.
 Switch off or keep it silent mode if  Keep your phone book update.
you are busy with work or meeting.  When you are making a call,
 If you are in a group and a call ensure that you do so at a time
comes, excuse yourself, move out, convenient for the other person.
and take the call.
Social Networking Sites
 Find out your company‘s policies  Be considerate about the content
on social networking. that is posted against your profile.
 Respect your company‘s rules on  Do not post any inflammatory
social networking sites and do not messages on your company‘s
bypass them. blogs.
 Do not put up anything harms the
image of your company.
Using Software and Hardware
 Do not misuse software or hardware available in the organisation.
 Even if there are loopholes in the organisational system, avoid misusing them.
Audio/Video Conferencing
 Prepare well and organise yourself.  Do not talk in parallel.
 Dress appropriately.  Circulate call details to all
 Take some time initially to participants a day before
introduce one another. conference.
 Shut down the conferencing system  Never try to multitask during a
when it is not in use. conference call.

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 Look at the camera while you talk.

Advantages of good etiquettes
 You can build a better reputation and relationships.
 You can create a brand called ‗you‘ that differentiates you as a person.
 You can persuade others to trust and have confidence in you.
Key business etiquette tips:
 Draft ‗Thank You‘ Note  Don‟t interrupt.
 Know the Names of your  Watch your language.
participants that creates goodwill  Don‟t walk into someone‟s office
 Observe the ‗Elevator Rule‘ unannounced.
 Focus on the Face, Not the Screen  Don‟t gossip.
 Character, Behaviour, Honesty  Acknowledge others.
 When in doubt, introduce  Be on time.
others.  No phone during meetings.
 A handshake is still the  Don‟t be a business card
professional standard. pusher.
 Always say “Please” and  Show genuine interest.
“Thank you.”
Types of Etiquettes
Good manners combine with principles to make up etiquettes. Etiquettes are of two
types. Business etiquettes govern our behavioural conduct at work and are strictly related to
our business and workplace-for example, the guidelines for dressing for a formal business
presentation. Social etiquettes govern our behavioural conduct beyond work-for example, the
guidelines for conducting yourself at a house-warming ceremony hosted by your colleague.
Rules of Corporate Etiquette
Using proper etiquette does not mean you are old-fashioned. To me, having manners
means you are a respectful person and considerate of others. Use of etiquette can convey
respect of other cultures, traditions, or religions.

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1. The RSVP: RSVP is an acronym of the French phrase, ―Respondez s'il vous plait,‖ or
―Respond, if you please.‖
2. Thank-You Notes: The thank-you note is essential in both everyday life as well as in
business correspondence. It brings you a win - win situation. You can reach to the recipient
comfortably.
3. Punctuality: This is the key to success in work. It brings social and professional strength.
Social Etiquette Rules –
 Chew with your mouth closed
 If you bump someone, say something like ―Excuse me.‖
 Don't talk louder than you need to
 Wait your turn in line, just like everyone else
 Say ―goodbye,‖ when you end a phone conversation
 Say ―thank you,‖ if somebody does something for you that they didn't have to
 Say ―I'm sorry,‖ if you've accidentally wronged someone
 Manners & Etiquette – General
In addition to these etiquettes we should use proper language for social and business
etiquettes. Let‘s discuss:
Useful expressions in English
1. Introduction My name is (familiar)
May I introduce Dr. Abhisek Rout 4. Common
Dash? (formal) 2. Greetings on Responses
This is Rakesh Introduction I am fine. How are
Sharma. Glad/ pleased/ nice you?
This is my wife. ( to meet you. Very well, thank
familiar) Hello! (informal) you.
Let me introduce 3. Conversation After Very well, thank
you to Dr. Dash Greeting you. And you?
(more formal) How are you? 5. Greeting Someone
I am Anil Mishra How are things? Good mooring /
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afternoon / evening 9. Attracting It does not matter

Hello, Shaswat / Someone‟s Don‘t worry. Forget
Hello, how are you? Attention it.
Hi, All right? Ok? Excuse me, Mr Das. 12. Saying Goodbye
Are you ok? Excuse me. Well, I must be
6. Greeting Excuse me Sir/ going now.
Responses Madam I have to go now,
Good mooring / Hey (impolite) Goodbye, Pratik
afternoon / evening Pabitra (informal) See you
Ok, thanks. Dr/ Mr Sahoo See you later
Fine thanks. (formal) Bye! (Informal)
Not so bad, thanks. 10. Expressing See you tomorrow.
7. Giving Offer Apologies I am afraid I really
Let me help you. I am sorry. must go.
Would you like tea / Sorry. I think I would
a coffee? (formal) I am extremely / better be off.
Coffee / tea? terribly / very / Nice to have met
8. Response to offer awfully sorry you.
Yes, please. Thank I beg your pardon Good bye. Good
you very much. Pardon night.
That‘s very kind of Excuse me. Have a nice day.
you. Pardon me 13. Expressing Regret
I would like a I apologize I am sorry to say
coffee / a cup of tea, I do apologize this.
please. (more formal) I am afraid…
No, thank you. It‘s 11. Accepting an Unfortunately …
all right. I can Apology Sorry, I am late.
manage. That‘s all right Sorry
I am ok, thanks. OK Excuse me
No thanks Please don‘t worry Pardon

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14. Expressing … 21. Invitations

Agreement How wonderful! May I invite you to
Yes, definitely That‘s really lunch next
Yes, absolutely wonderful! Thursday?
Yes, I quite agree 18. Suggestions Would you like to
Your are quite How about / what have …?
right! about… What about / How
That‘s what I think Shall we ….? about joining the
too! Why don‘t you …? party?
15. Expressing Let‘s … 22. Accepting
Disagreement Perhaps we should Invitations
Definitely not … That‘s very nice of
It certainly won‘t I think we should … you. Thank you.
I have a different I suggest we … Yes, fine.
view. It would be better Lovely, I‘d be
That‘s not what I … delighted to com
think. I would advise you 23. Refusing an
I‘m afraid I don‘t/ … Invitations
can‘t agree. 19. Agreeing to a Well, that‘s very
16. Expressing suggestion kind of you, but I‘m
Opinion Good idea leaving next week
I think… OK I‘d love to, but I‘m
In my opinion … Fine afraid I‘ve my
I would like to say Yes, let‘s do that exam.
that … Yes, why not? I‘m afraid; I won‘t
I must say … 20. Disagreeing with a be here, but thank
17. Expressing suggestion you all the same.
Pleasure I am sorry… 24. Good Wishes
I‘m so happy! That would be nice Have a nice Puja.
I am delighted that but I‘ve just … Happy Diwali!

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Merry Christmas! splendid job. What a surprise!

All the Best. Good That was really a 29. Expressing
luck! good of you. Wonder
Many many happy We are all proud of That‘s incredible
returns of the day. your achievement. That‘s amazing
Happy Birthday. My heartiest Fantastic/ Incredible
Enjoy yourself (for congratulations to 30. Condolences
a holiday) you. I was extremely
Have a good time. This is a great day sorry to hear about
Look after yourself. for all of us. your mother / that
Take care of 26. Consoling someone your mother passed
yourself. Better luck next away.
Have a good trip. time. I am very sorry to
Safe Journey. Bad luck. Never hear that …
Bon Voyage (long mind This is the most
journey) Hard luck. Never unfortunate …
Say Hellow to mind This is truly a great
Rahul. (Good 27. Expressing sorrow loss for you …
wishes sent to a / regret It‘s really
third person) How sad! unfortunate that …
Please, give my best How terrible! 31. Expressing
wishes to Ranjan. I am really sorry to disappointment
(Good wishes sent hear that … What a pity!
to a third person) 28. Expressing Oh, how sad!
25. Congratulations surprise 32. Over Telephone
Well done. Really! Hello. This is Amit.
Congrats. Amazing! / Amit Speaking /
Congratulations. That‘s most Amit here
Great job. unexpected! Is Amit there,
You‗ve done a I can‘t believe it! please?

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Can I speak to No problem! 38. Refusing

Amit? 35. Refusing to a permission
Is that Dr. Dash? Request Sorry!
Who am I speaking I‘m sorry but I‘ve I am afraid that‘s
to, please? … not possible
Hello? Are you I‘ afraid I‘m not No, you can‘t.
there? getting there. 39. Expressing
33. Expressing Sorry I have no Gratitude
Request time. Thank you so much!
Would you mind I am afraid that‘s I don‘t know how to
passing this? not possible. thank you.
May I have a glass 36. Permission I am most grateful
of water? Do you mind if I …
Will you wait a use your computer? 40. Response to
minute, please? Can/may I borrow Gratitude
Could you please your book? You are welcome!
…? Where is the toilet, Not at all.
Please … please? Oh, that‘s nothing.
Can I request you? 37. Granting 41. Enquiring Health
I would be grateful Permission How are you?
if you … Certainly / Response-
34. Agreeing to a Absolutely Fine/OK/Very well
Request /Definitely thanks
OK Yes, of course. Go Are you all right /
All right ahead. OK (someone looks
Yes, of course You can / you may. unwell?)
Sure No I don‘t mind at Are you better?
Certainly/ all. How are you feeling
Definitely By all means! now? (Someone has
I‘ll be glad to … Of course! been ill)

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I hope you get I am sorry to say 47. Criticising/

better soon. that … Reprimanding
(Someone says they I‘m afraid I must I must point out that
are ill) tell you that … …
I‘m terribly sorry to There‘s something I That was a terrible
hear about your must tell you … mistake on your
wife. (You hear I have a complaint part.
about someone‘s to make … I‘m afraid I have to
death) 45. Persuading tell you that …
42. Polite Queries on Someone 48. Giving Order
Health I really think you Do as I tell you!
How are things? should … Listen carefully!
How‘s everything? You should really 49. Direction
Are you OK? consider … Could you please
Everything OK? 46. Dissuading tell me how to reach
All right? Someone the railway station?
43. Replies on Health It would be unwise 50. Giving Direction
OK, Thanks. of you to … Go straight…
Fine, thanks. I don‘t think you Turn left …
Can‘t complain. should … Take right turn …
Not so bad. Thanks. You mustn‘t think This is what you
44. Expressing of … have to do.
Complain

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Conclusion
Manners cost us nothing; yet, earn us respect when we use them. Without
respect and consideration for others, we are nothing but savages. Good manners show the best
you have to offer and encourage others to be their best. Practicing these manners on a daily basis
makes for a more pleasant life. Manners are important to make a good impression on others in
everyday life. They also help you to feel good about yourself and your identity. Etiquette is about
kindness, it is about being friendly, it is about being polite, it is about integrity, it is about good
manners. Etiquette helps us know how to treat others. Etiquette helps us to know how to behave
and conduct ourselves in different environments. English helps individuals to express themselves
in the most effective way. Your thoughts, feelings, and knowledge should be passed on in a most
desirable manner and effective communication with English helps you the same. A person
should be able to speak English in a really well manner to make an impression. Language is
obviously a vital tool. Not only is it a means of communicating thoughts and ideas, but it forges
friendships, cultural ties, and economic relationships. The importance of language is essential to
every aspect and interaction in our everyday lives. We use language to inform the people around
us of what we feel, what we desire, and question/understand the world around us. We
communicate effectively with our words, gestures, and tone of voice in a multitude of situation.
References:
1. Chand, J. K. & B. C. Das. A Millennium Guide to Writing & Speaking English. Cuttack;
Frinds‘ Publishers, 2004.
2. Dash, Bipin Bihari. Professional English. New Delhi; JTS Publications, 2020.
3. Rizvi, M. Ashraf. Effective Technical Communication. 4th Ed. New Delhi; Tata McGraw
Hill Publishing, 2007.
4. Emily Post‘s Etiquette, 19th Ed. Manners for Today. 2017.
5. Smith, R. W. and Barnes. Technical Writing, Noble Inc., New York, 1963.
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OFFICIAL WRITING/CORRESPONDENCE
AMADI, D. C AND NWULU, F. N
4.0 Introduction
Letter writing or correspondence is an umbrella word to denote

communication between persons, a person and an organisation(s),
communication between two bodies or organisation(s), or communication
between an organisation and an individual, and so on. Basically it refers to
the letters we receive as well as the ones we send to persons or
organisations. Letters or correspondence vary from formal, semi-formal and
informal letters. Each of them has unique features and occasions of use.
4.1.1 The Formal Letter
A formal letter is one which is written where the relationship between the
writer and the receiver is shown to be impersonal. The tone of such a letter
is usually very polite, written for official or formal purposes. The writer does
not risk familiarity by compromising the convention. Even when the recipient
is well known to the writer, the basic rules and conventions for writing such
a letter must be observed. A nephew writing an official letter to an uncle
who is a governor of a state, requesting for a road to be tarred will address
the chief executive formally and follow all the conventions of writing a formal
letter. To stick to formality, for instance, abbreviations and colloquial
expressions must be avoided.
Formal letters include: letter of application for a job, protest letters, letters
of request, letters of complaints, letter to editors, letters of recommendation
etc. One distinguishing feature of a formal letter is that it must carry two
addresses: those of the sender and the recipient. The modern method
prescribes the indented, modified or fully blocked styles.
4.1.2 Structure of a Formal Letter
36
The following conventional methods need to be followed in the writing of a
formal letter:
1. Originator’s address at the right hand corner.

2. Date of origination also at the right hand corner, immediately under
the address
3. The recipient’s designation and address at the left hand corner
immediately after the date
4. Salutation e.g. Dear Sir,
5. The title of the letter
6. The message or body of the letter
7. Complimentary close e.g. Yours faithfully,
8. Signature of the originator
9. The originator’s name
10. Designation under the originator’s name (if need be), e.g. Managing
Director.
4.1.3 Format for Writing Addresses
Two acceptable formats now in use in the structuring of addresses for letters
are the block form and the indented form. Let us consider an example of the
block format
Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Federal University of Technology, Owerri,
Imo State.
5th April, 2016.
The Commissioner of Police,
Police Headquarters,
State Secretariat,
37
Owerri, Imo state.
Take note of the pattern of punctuating the addresses. Addresses can also
go without punctuation. E.g.
4 Eni Njoku Street

Ikenegbu Lay Out
Owerri
Imo State
April 4, 2016
The Registrar
University of Lagos
Lagos
It is now outdated to write names of originators on top of the addresses at

the right hand corner e.g.
*Nelson Uche Ibekwe
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Example of indented address
Department of Project Management Technology
Imo State
August 4, 2016
38
This is because the name of the originator forms part of the complimentary
close, hence serves no purpose in the address. A formal or business letter is
a serious correspondence and can only admit what is necessary. All
irrelevancies should be avoided.
4.1.4 Salutation: Any of these could serve as the salutation in a formal

letter: Dear Sir, Sir, Dear Madam, Madam. When one is not sure of the
gender of the receiver of the letter, Dear Sir, or Sir is more appropriate.
Furthermore, in a business letter, salutations such as Dear Chief…,
Professor…, etc. are acceptable. Note that the salutation should not be
indented from the margin, and there should be a coma after it.
4.1.5 Title or Subject Heading: Every formal letter should have a title or
subject heading that gives the receiver an idea about the content of the
letter. Ensure that the title of your letter is not ambiguous or wordy. A title
is meant to be catchy and in phrase form. Avoid including unnecessary
articles E.g.
A REQUEST FOR A PERMISSION TO TRAVEL
The two articles in this title are redundant and unnecessary. It is better as:
REQUEST FOR PERMISSION TO TRAVEL
All the letters of the title of your letter could be written in upper case as the
example above. You can also make use of upper case only in initial letters.
This applies to only content words. Structural words such as articles and
prepositions, unless where they begin the title, should be written in lower
case, e.g. Request for Permission to Travel.
4.1.6 Body of the Letter: The first thing to note about the body of any
letter is that the ideas must be orderly presented, using paragraphs. Proper
organisation of ideas is an important index in assessing good writings. Again,
39
the language should be strictly formal in terms of choice of words and the
tone of the letter. Slang, colloquialism, contracted forms, expressions that
require indirect or relative interpretations such as figures of speech and
idioms should be avoided. Remember the letter is for formal or business
relationship and you will not be there when it would be read. Let your
language be direct and precise.
4.1.7 Complimentary Close: Formal letters close with Yours faithfully.

However, where the salutation includes the name of the recipient, for
instance, Dear Professor Ibe, the complimentary close could be Yours
sincerely or Sincerely yours or Yours truly. There should be a comma
after the complimentary close. The writer’s signature comes immediately
after, followed by the full name of the writer. The name may appear in
surname first order or beginning with the first name. In surname first order,
there should be a comma after the surname name. E.g
Yours faithfully,
Amadi, Felicia Ngozi
OR
Yours faithfully,
Felicia Ngozi Amadi
40
SAMPLES OF FORMAL LETTERS
Sample (i)
4 Eni Njoku Street,

Ikenegbu Lay Out,
Owerri,
Imo State.
April 4, 2016.
The Registrar,
University of Lagos,
Lagos.
Dear Sir,
APPLICATION FOR RESULT TRANSCRIPT
I wish to apply for the transcript of my M.Sc result, to enable me pursue a

doctoral programme at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri. I
graduated from the Department of Accountancy in 2010 and went ahead to
obtain M.Sc. degree from the same department in 2012. My matriculation
numbers are 2006172546 and 2010176218 respectively. I have attached
copies of my receipts of the payments during the M.Sc programme. I shall
be grateful if the transcript is forwarded to:
The Dean
School of Post graduate Studies,
Federal University of Technology, Owerri,
41
Imo State.
Thank you for your usual kind considerations.
Yours faithfully,
(signature)
Abanimo Akaranye.
Sample (ii)
44 Zlk Avenue,
Uwani,
Enugu.
7th September, 2016.
The Editor,
Daily Sun Newspaper,
2 Coscharis Street,
Kirikiri Industrial Layout,
Apapa-Lagos.
Dear Sir,
APPLICATION FOR THE POST OF A PROOF READER.
In response to your advertisement in the Daily Sun Newspaper of 4th August,

2016, I wish to apply for the post of a Proof Reader in your publishing
company.
42
I hold a B.A (Hons.) degree in English Language (Second Class Upper
Division) of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. While in the University, I
edited the students’ departmental magazine, The Muse, and also did my
Industrial attachment with The Guardian Newspapers, Lagos.
If I am given the opportunity, I shall do my best to contribute in maintaining

the high standard and reputation which your newspaper has established.
Attached are photocopies of my credentials and curriculum vitae for your
perusal and consideration.
I look forward to positive consideration of my application.
Yours faithfully,
(signature)
Dennis Ibe.
4.2.1 SEMI-FORMAL LETTER
The weight of language of a semi-formal letter gravitates between the

formal letter and the informal. While familiarity and condescending tones (as
in informal letter) are absent, mood control, politeness, courtesy, and
deference to the recipient (as in formal letter) are expected. A letter on
personal subjects to an uncle, your former school principal, your lecturer, an
individual of good standing in your community are examples of semi-formal
letter.
43
4.2.2 FEATURES OF A SEMI-FORMAL LETTER.
a. The writer’s address at the right hand corner.

b. The date at the end of the writers address.
c. Salutation.
d. The body.
e. The Conclusion.
f. The complimentary Close.
A Sample of a Semi-formal Letter
Department of English Language,

Faculty of Arts,
University of Benin,
P.M.B 1234,
Benin, Edo State.
4th April, 2
Dear Mr. Abu,
My name is Ngozika Eze, the class prefect you personally appointed in our
final year in 2004. I gained admission into the University of Benin where I
am currently pursuing a degree course in English Language.
I write this letter to express my profound gratitude for the counseling which
we received from you, which also contributed to my securing university
admission immediately after our secondary school education. I am also
aware that you would be fascinated by my choice of a course which you
exhibited so much passion in teaching. You really motivated us, and I
remain indebted to you for all these. Kindly relay my appreciation to other
44
teachers in our great school. I eagerly look forward to a day I would visit the
school. May you remain blessed.
Thanks.
Yours sincerely,
Ngozi Eze
Note that this letter has both the tone and language features of a formal
letter. However, it cannot be said to be formal because it has only one
address (the writer’s address), there is no subject heading, and no provision
for signature.
4.3.1 INFORMAL LETTER

These are letters written to relations, friends and close pals. In an informal
letter, intimacies are shared. Therefore, slang, abbreviation and colloquial
expressions can be accommodated in such a letter.
A Sample of Informal Letter

2 Ekene Street,
GRA Benin Phase 11
Benin
5th June, 2016.
Dear Ekene,
I write this letter to tell you how it has been since you left for UNILAG, and
myself, for UNIBEN. To have realised that we could stay for months without
seeing each other makes me believe that no condition is permanent. But I
am optimistic that you are doing great in Lagos.
45
Boy, it has not been easy for your guy here, especially with some newly
introduced courses for us. You remember I never took arts subjects seriously
while we were in the secondary school. So having to do compulsory courses
in English language, government and Igbo as General Studies (GS) courses
is really a problem. To make it worse, one is expected to do weekly
assignments on them, in addition to the reports on lab activities which one
does every Friday.
In any case, I thank God for the admission because I can’t imagine what
could have been our fate by now. I know you are doing good with Lagos
campus life. Please take it easy and always remember our target, first class
and nothing less. My regards to your friends.
Your good friend,
Uzo
4.4.1 CURRICULUM VITAE AND RESUME
Curriculum vitae is a written description of a person, his or her previous job

or work experience, interests and goal. It is usually a brief write-up with
sub-headings, and it is tailored to suit a job application or a political
appointment. Curriculum vitae or CV for short is preferred by Britain.
On the other hand, resume (also spelled résumé) which is preferred by

America, clearly outlines a person’s profile or portrait. However, both
curriculum vitae and resume must present the owner in a positive light to
enable authorities consider him or her for a position. Although there is no
single acceptable format for the presentation of any of them, the following
should always be included: the writer’s personal data, educational data,
cognate job experiences, personal interests, and referees.
46
Common sense should be applied in the choice of referees. A likely hostile
referee should not be used as his comment when reached by a requisite
organization could be very damaging. His standing in the society should not
be the sole consideration. What he thinks about you should be deeply
considered. Presented below is a sample of a curriculum vitae:
CURRICULUM VITAE
PERSONAL DATA
NAME: Arinze Ikeme
GENDER: Male
MARITAL STATUS: Single
L.G.A OF ORIGIN: Umuahia South
STATE OF ORIGIN: Abia State
NATIONALITY: Nigerian
DATE OF BIRTH: 10 April, 1981
HOME ADDRESS: 14 Bishop Okoye Steet Uwani, Enugu.
POSTAL ADDRESS: P.M.B 1514 Ogbete, Enugu.
E-MAIL ADDRESS: arinze2012@yahoo.com
TELEPHONE: +234080999999999
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS WITH DATES

M.Sc. Civil Engineering 2005-2008
47
University of Nigeria, Nsukka
B.Sc. Civil Engineering 1998-2003
Dennis Memorial Grammar School, Onitsha

WASC/GCE 1992-1998
St. Mary’s Primary School Uwani, Enugu

First School Leaving Certificate 1986-1992
WORK EXPERIENCE
Engineering Officer 11 Ministry of Works Owerri, ImoState 2007-till date.
Construction Site Supervisor, Julius Berger Plc 2003-2005
Six months industrial attachment at Anambra-Imo River Basin Authority,

Owerri. 2004
Two months Industry attachment with MCC Construction Company, Owerri.

2000
AWARDS
1. Best Pupil, St Mary’s Primary School,
Uwani, Enugu. 1992
2. Best entry for Shell Secondary School
Essay Competition 1994
3. Best graduating student,
Dept of Civil Engineering,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka 2003
SPECIAL SKILLS
48
Typing, Short hand and Computer Literacy
LANGUAGES SPOKEN
Igbo, Yoruba and English.
REFEREES
1. Dr Kingsley Ode
Head, Dept of Civil Engineering,
Federal University of Technology, Owerri.
0802333333333
Email: ode2014@gmail.com
2. Engr. C.I. Ojo
Managing Director,
Fribion Nig. Ltd.
165 Ikorodu Road, Lagos.
0701888888888
3. Prof Isidore Abonye,
Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs,
Federal Secretariat,
Abuja.
090255666666
49
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HOW TO WRITE AN EFFECTIVE
RESEARCH PAPER
• Getting ready with data
• First draft
• Structure of a scientific paper
• Selecting a journal
• Submission
• Revision and galley proof
Disclaimer: The suggestions and remarks in this presentation are based on

personal research experience. Research practices and approaches vary.
Exercise your own judgment regarding the suitability of the content.
–P. Kamat
Getting ready with data
Gather all important data, analyses, plots and tables
Organize results so that they follow a logical sequence (this may

or may not be in the order of experiments conducted)
Consolidate data plots and create figures for the manuscript

(Limit the number of total figures (6-8 is usually a good number).
Include additional data, multimedia in the Supporting Information.)
Discuss the data with your advisor and note down important
points
Important: KNOW the focus of your paper
It takes a wise man to know whether he

has found a ROPE or LOST A MULE.
- Anonymous quote
?
First draft
Identify two or three important findings emerging from the

experiments. Make them the central theme of the article.
Note good and bad writing styles in the literature. Some are simple
and easy to follow, some are just too complex.
Note the readership of the journal that you are considering to

publish your work
Prepare figures, schemes and tables in a professional manner

(Pay attention to quantification of data accuracy, significant digits,
error bars,)
0.001 1x10-3 -- one sig fig

0.00100 1.00x10-3 -- three sig figs
Structure of a scientific paper
Title
Abstract
TOC Graphics
Introduction
Experimental Section
(Some papers require this section to be at the end)
Results and Discussion
Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Supporting Information
Title
Compose a title that is simple, attractive and accurately reflects the
investigation
-Phrases to avoid: Investigation, Study, Novel, Facile etc.
- Avoid Acronyms that are known only to specialized community
Which of these two titles make you read the paper?
Also try to get it right

Abstract
First couple of sentences should focus on what the study is about. Include
major findings in a style that a general readership can read and understand
(i.e., avoid detailed experimental procedures and data.) Keep it short and
effective.
-Be creative in generating curiosity
Large Aggregated Ions Found in Some Protic Ionic Liquids

Danielle F. Kennedy and Calum J. Drummond
J. Phys. Chem. B, 2009, 113 (17), pp 5690–5693
Large aggregated parent ions, for example, C8A7+ (C = cation and A =

anion), have been observed within some protic ionic liquids (PILs) using
electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). We have shown that
the formation and size of aggregates is dependent on the nature of the anion
and cation. Solvent structuring in select PILs through aggregation can
contribute to their classification as “poor ionic liquids” and can also strongly
influence the entropic component to the free energy of amphiphile self-
assembly in select PILs.
Keep it simple and informative

TOC Graphics
A scheme or figure to convey the theme of paper
Graph
Make use of TOC Graphics to convey the theme
versus
Scheme
Introduction
• Start the section with a general background of the topic.
• Add 2-3 paragraphs that discuss previous work.
• Point out issues that are being addressed in the present work.
Experimental Section
• Divide this section into Materials & Methods, Characterization,
Measurements and Data analysis
Results and Discussion

(These two sections can be combined or separate)
• Describe the results in detail and include a healthy, detailed
discussion
• The order of figures should follow the discussion themes and not
the sequence they were conducted
• Discuss how your data compare or contrast with previous results.
• Include schemes, photographs to enhance the scope of discussion
Avoid
• Excessive presentation of data/results without any discussion
• Citing every argument with a published work
Conclusions
Include major findings followed by brief discussion on future
perspectives and/or application of present work to other disciplines.
Important: Do not rewrite the abstract.
Statements with “Investigated” or “Studied” are not conclusions!
Acknowledgments
Remember to thank the funding agency and
Colleagues/scientists/technicians who might have provided assistance
References
The styles vary for different journals. (Use ENDNOTE, RefWorks)
Some journals require complete titles of the cited references
Please check for the accuracy of all citations
Supporting Information
Include methods, analysis, blank experiments, additional data
Selecting a journal
Each journal specializes in a specific area of research. Hence its

readership varies. A proper choice of journal can make a larger
impact of your research.
Get to know the focus and readership of the journal that you are
considering. - general vs. specialized area journal
Select 2 or 3 journals in the chosen area with relatively high impact

factors. Discuss with your advisor and decide on the journal
Find out the journal’s submission criteria and format
Tip: Does your references cite journals in the appropriate area?

2008 IMPACT FACTORS OF POPULAR JOURNALS
Angew.Chem. 10.879
NanoLett 10.371
Adv.Mater. 8.191
JACS 8.091
PRL 7.180
Small 6.525
AdvFunctMat 6.808
ACSNano 5.472
Chem.EuroJ 5.454
ChemCom 5.340
ChemMater 5.046
JPCB 4.189
08 Langmuir 4.097
JMatChm 4.646
PCCP 4.064
APL 3.726
ChmPhyChm 3.636
JPCC 3.378
PRB 3.322
JChmPhys 3.149
JPCA 2.871
JEchmSoc 2.437
CPL 2.169
0 2 4 6 8 10
Impact Factor
No. of 2006&2007 citations in 2008

IF(2008) =
No of papers published in 2006&2007
2008 EIGENFACTORS OF TOP 11 PHYS CHEM JOURNALS
(PLUS JACS AND ANGEW CHEM)
JACS 0.951
AngewChem 0.513
JPCB 0.438
Langmuir 0.253
AdvMater 0.213
2008 NatMater 0.185
JPCA 0.181
ChemMater 0.161
ChemPhysLet 0.140
JMaterChem 0.099
PhysChemPhy 0.088
JCollInterf 0.081
AdvFunctMat 0.080
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

Impact Factor
Eigenfactor Score:
•Impact factor based on citations of past 5 years.
•Eliminates self-citations.
•Weighs each reference according to a stochastic measure
Submission
Read the finalized paper carefully. Check for accuracy of figures and
captions. Are the figures correctly referred to in the text?
Get feedback from advisor and colleagues.

Make sure the paper is read by at least one or two colleagues who is
not familiar with the specific work.
Provide a cover letter to the editor along with a brief paragraph

highlighting the importance of this work and names of possible
reviewers.
Have all coauthors approve the finalized version of the paper
Submit the paper online along with copyright form.

Revision and galley proof
• The manuscript is usually reviewed by 2-3 reviewers
• Reviewers point out deficiencies and/or suggestions to improve the
scientific content
• Read their comments carefully. (If reviewer misunderstands a point,
the point probably needs revision or additional support.)
-Do not blame the reviewer for his/her misunderstanding!
• Be polite and respectful when disagreeing a reviewer’s comment
• Include a point-by-point explanation of changes made in the text in
response to reviewers’ comments
• Once again, carefully read the paper for its accuracy in presenting
the data
• Submit the revised version
• Once accepted for publication you should receive the galley proof
within a month. This is one last chance to make any final
corrections.
What to do if a paper gets rejected……
Do not get discouraged. Read editorial comments and discuss

with advisor/students/collaborators. Find out how you can make
this study stronger and acceptable for publication.
Do not just turn around and submit the paper to another journal.
Read carefully the comments and find ways to improve the
scientific quality of the papers
Carry out additional experiments and improve the quality of

scientific discussions. (Journals often look for papers with
quantitative and mechanistic information that represent new
physical insights )
Rejected papers can be resubmitted if and only the concerns of

the reviewers are adequately addressed and new results are
included.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact the

editorial office.
What to Avoid?
• Data without scientific discussion, applications of data, or

reviews of the literature are not sufficient.
• Routine synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials or

studies that report incremental advance are not considered
suitable for publication.
• Use of the phrase “Novel” or “First-time” in the title or

abstract. Such descriptions do not impress the reader or
the reviewer.
(Other over used phrases “One-pot synthesis”, “Facile” )
• Names of flowers, fruits and vegetables to describe the

nanoparticle/nanostructure shapes/morphology
To do even better ….
The authors should make every effort to make a
good presentation with proper usage of English
grammar.
Ask a colleague to comment on your paper before

sending it for publication.
“English is not my Native Language” is not a valid

justification for reviewer who cannot comprehend.
Reviewers do not wish to review papers that are not

readable. Badly written papers are often
recommended as “REJECT” by the Reviewers
ACS Publication office helps to edit the language for

accepted manuscripts, but this only happens if the
English was good enough to be reviewed.
Ten characteristics of an incredibly dull paper
Sand-Jenson in Oikos 2007, 116 723 (C&E News Sept 10, 2007)
1. Avoid Focus
2. Avoid originality and personality
3. Make the article really really long
4. Do not indicate any potential implications
5. Leave out illustrations (…too much effort to draw a
sensible drawing)
6. Omit necessary steps of reasoning
7. Use abbreviations and technical terms that only
specialists in the field can understand
8. Make it sound too serious with no significant
discussion
9. Focus only on statistics
10. Support every statement with a reference
For more research tips
See http://www.nd.edu/~pkamat
Good Luck!
Do not ever give up!

ACADEMIC WRITING AND ISSUES OF PLAGIARISM
*Mr Ashok Singh
**Dr Sarita Verma
***Mr Badal Kumar Thakur
Keywords : Plagiarism, IPR, Citation, Academic writing, Fair use, Turnitin, CC licenses.
Academic writing and issues of Plagiarism is one of the hot topics which need to be discussed among all
students, researchers, faculties and LIS professionals etc. The topic has been widely discussed in academic
community for bringing more awareness regarding the research misconduct and how one can write an effective
academic writing without plagiarizing.
Academic writing is characterized by evidence-based arguments, precise word choice, logical organization, and
an impersonal tone. It is used in academic environment in all the disciplines to convey ideas, arguments and
scholarly conversation. While Plagiarism is intentional coping of someone else’s work or ideas as your own,
with or without their consent and without acknowledging the work of the author. It is academic theft or research
misconduct.
The paper will discuss and highlight how one can write or publish their manuscripts in reputed national or
international journal with research ethics and integrity. The core concern is to make aware the targeted audience
as what is plagiarism, its types and various tools and techniques to find plagiarism in the submitted manuscripts
before publishing it. The paper will highlight why students or researchers do academic misconduct or theft
either accidentally or intentionally. With the availability of UGC guidelines in order to curb plagiarism it will be
analyzed how India is dealing with the plagiarism issues. The scenario will be also compared to internationally
accepted standard for research writing and various open source softwares for detecting the plagiarism in the
manuscripts.Academic Writing requires more honesty towards research writing and the paper will be immense
beneficial to all students, researchers, faculties etc. for writing or publishing any manuscripts.
1. INTRODUCTION
Academic writing and issues of Plagiarism is one of the significant topics, which need to be discussed among all
students, researchers, faculties, authors and LIS professionals etc. The topic has been widely discussed in
academic community for bringing more awareness regarding the research misconduct and how one can write
an effective manuscript without plagiarizing. Academic writing is characterized by evidence-based arguments,
precise word choice, logical organization, and an impersonal tone. Students, professors, and researchers in
every discipline use academic writing to convey ideas, make arguments, and engage in scholarly conversation.
While Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent, by
incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement. All published and unpublished material, whether
in manuscript, printed or electronic form, is covered under this definition. Plagiarism is also known as academic
theft or research misconduct.
2. ISSUES OF PLAGIARISM IN RESEARCH OR ACADEMIC WRITINGS
I. What is Plagiarism and its types?
The word Plagiarism is derived from Latin word ‘Plagiare’ which means to kidnap or abduct. Plagiarism
means when one is using someone else words, ideas, thoughts, expressions without citing original creator. In
simple words, whenever we are using other’s work in our research work, we must give proper credit to original
creator. Plagiarism is also known as Academic theft and considered as unethical in Academic Community. By
paying homage to original source we are doing ethically right and easily we are in safe zone because Research
Misconduct is serious offence and attracts fines, suspension, legal penalties as per existing law of a country or
nation. It varies country to country.
According to Oxford College of Emory University, Plagiarism means the use of “a writer's ideas or phraseology
without giving due credit”.
According to Stanford University, defines plagiarism as the "use, without giving reasonable and appropriate
credit to or acknowledging the author or source, of another person's original work, whether such work is made
up of code, formulas, ideas, language, research, strategies, writing or other form."

According to The U.S.A. Naval Academy, Plagiarism is “the use of the words, information, insights, or ideas of
another without crediting that person through proper citation."
According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to ”plagiarize” means:
– To steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own.
– To use (another’s production) without crediting the source.
– To commit literary theft.
– To present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing
Now we are understanding the importance of Citation and required more awareness regarding Academic
Misconduct in the research community in India in order to curb the issues of Plagiarism and needs attention to
mobilize the academicians regarding the UGC norms and regulations relating to Academic theft or literary
theft.
Important types of Plagiarism as follows:
 Direct Plagiarism
Direct Plagiarism means when an researcher copies exact words, without using quotation marks or
attribution, presenting it as his or her own, known as Direct plagiarism or Verbatim Plagiarism.
 Paraphrasing Plagiarism
This is the most common type of Plagiarism and required more attention. In this type of Plagiarism, when
someone is using another’s writings with minor changes such as either grammatical change or restructuring
the sentences but the core idea or theme will remain same. This also falls under the umbrella of Academic
misconduct and we need to maximizes the awareness in academic community.
 Self-Plagiarism
Self-Plagiarism means when an author reuses some or whole part of his or her previously published
manuscript without any citation or attribution. This is referred as Self-Plagiarism or Auto Plagiarism. Even
it is his or her real work but it required attribution while an owner again uses some part of it, in its another
research or academic writings otherwise it will be considered as Auto Plagiarism. Many reputed National
or International Academic journal strictly follows the rules and check the plagiarism issues before
publishing any manuscripts. This is beneficial for the research ethics and integrity.
 Mosaic Plagiarism
This type of Plagiarism is hard to detect because when a researcher or student intentionally borrows
someone else’s exact phrases or text in his or her writings without any quotation marks or any attribution,
called as Mosaic Plagiarism or Patch writing. It attracts serious consequences and considered as Academic
Misconduct.
 Accidental Plagiarism
Accidental Plagiarism occurs whenever an author forgets or neglects to cite sources, or unintentionally
paraphrases a source by using similar words or sentences without giving proper due is also considered as
unethical in research writings and needs to be avoided in order to bring more just and ethical writings
which is beneficial for the society.
 Fabrication and Falsification
Data Fabrication means generating or creating data and findings that never had been actually done or
observed in real survey. Data is created and analysis without any actual surveying process.
Creating imaginary data or information without any real survey is known as Data Fabrication. While on the
other hand, Data Falsification means altering or manipulating the existing data or information to say
something else. Changing or altering answers from real respondents in a survey is known as Data
Fabrication. Both terms i.e. Data Falsification & Fabrication falls under the ambit of Academic Misconduct
or Plagiarism.
 The concept of ‘FAIR USE’ means whenever a person using any copyrighted work for
educational purposes, not for profit motive, critiquing a work, commenting’s or suggestions etc.
falls under the doctrine of Fair Use. This is not considered as Copyright Infringements but
copying an original work and representing it as your owns, brings legal actions against the person
as per law of that country or nation.
 The concept of ‘COMMON KNOWLEDGE’ means a well-known fact or information that is
likely to appear to numerous time and familiar to everyone’s as a universal truth or ideas, not need
to be cited because it is a common knowledge to the academic world. Now we can say that the
notion of ‘FAIR USE’ & ‘COMMON KNOWLEDGE’ are the exceptions of Plagiarism.
II. Various Open Source Softwares, Tools and Techniques for detecting the issues of Plagiarism in the
Academic writings as follows:
Most of the Academic Institutions like Universities, schools, Research Institutions, Educational bodies etc.
are facing the threat of Plagiarism or Academic Misconduct. In the age of Digital era, students are doing the
Plagiarism either intentionally or unintentionally because they are lack of the consequences of Plagiarism
and needs more attention and awareness regarding the Academic theft in the Academic world. We should be
more focus on how we can curb the issues of Copy & Paste culture in Scholarly writings. Some of the
famous either subscription-based softwares or Open Source softwares and techniques are used for avoiding
and detecting the menace of Plagiarism as follows:
 TURNITIN:
This is a product from i-Paradigms. It is a web based service. Turnitin is an American commercial, Internet-
based plagiarism detection service, which is a subsidiary of Advance.
 URKUND:
Another server based plagiarism detection web service which offers an integrated and automated solution
for plagiarism detection. It utilizes standard email systems for submission of documents and viewing
results. This tool also claims to search through all available online sources giving priority to educational
ones.
 COPYCATCH:
A client based tool used to compare locally available databases of documents. It offers ‘gold‘ and‘campus
versions’ , giving comparison capabilities for large number of local r sources. It also offers a web version
which extends the capabilities of plagiarism detection across the internet using the Goggle API.
 WCOPYFIND:
An open source tool for detecting words or phrases of defined length within a local repository of documents
The product is being modified to extend searching capabilities across the internet net using the Google API.
 EVE2 (ESSAY VERIFICATION ENGINE):
This tool works at the client side and uses its own internet search mechanism to find out about plagiarized
contents in a suspected document.
 GPSP - GLATT PLAGIARISM SCREENING PROGRAM:
This software works locally and uses an approach to plagiarism detection that differs from previously
mentioned services. GPSP detection is based on writing styles and patterns. The author of a suspected
submission has to go through a test of filling blank spaces in the writing.
 MOSS - a Measure of Software Similarity:
MOSS Internet service “accepts batches of documents and returns a set of HTML pages showing where
significant sections of a pair of documents are very similar ”. The service specializes in detecting plagiarism
in C, C++, Java, Pascal, Ada, ML, Lisp, or Scheme programs.
 JPLAG:
Another internet based service which is used to detect similarities among program source codes. Users
upload the files to be compared and the system presents a report identifying matches. JPlag does
programming language syntax and structure aware analysis to find results.
 PLAGIARISM-FINDER:
This application compares the given document with sources on the Internet and generates HTML reports
highlighting concurrent passages and providing links to the source, for verification. It runs on Windows
2000 and XP systems and accepts files in several standard formats such as PDF, DOC, HTML, TXT and
RTF files etc.
 i-THENTICATE:
iTHENTICATE is a product of Turnitin and widely used for Plagiarism detection. The application
compares a given document against the document sources available on the World Wide Web. It also
compares the given document against proprietary databases of published works (including ABI/Inform,
Periodical Abstracts, Business Dateline), as well as numerous electronic books and produces originality
reports. The originality reports provide the amounts of materials copied (in percentages) to determine the
extent of plagiarism.
 PLAGIARISMDETECT:
This is a freely available Internet service. Users need to register by providing their names and email
addresses. Once registered, text can be entered in the text box provided or a file uploaded for analysis.
A report is then sent back to the user with a list of the links where the information has been copied from
with percentages referring to the amounts copied.
 PLAGSCAN:
This online software used for textual plagiarism checker. PlagScan is often used by school and provides
different types of account with different features. PlagScan use complex algorithms for checking and
analyzing uploaded document for plagiarism detection, based on up-to-date linguistic research. Unique
signature extracted from the document’s structure that is then compared with PlagScan database and
millions of online documents. So PlagScan is able to detect most of plagiarism types either directs copy and
paste or words switching, which provides an accurate measurement of the level of plagiarized contents.
 CHECKFORPLAGIARISM.NET:
CheckForPlagiarism.net was developed by a team of professional academic people and became one of the
best online plagiarism checkers that used to stop or prevention of online plagiarism and minimizes its
effects on academic integrity. In order to maximize the accuracy CheckForPlagiarism.net has used the some
methods like document fingerprint and document source analysis to protect document against plagiarism.
III. UGC GUIDELINESS ON PLAGIARISM AS FOLLOWS:
The UGC apex body of Higher Educations in India under MHRD, Govt. of India trying to curb the issues of
research misconduct by the proper execution and implementations of Plagiarism Policy of UGC 2018.
The academic writings should be based on originality of contents, ideas and thoughts etc and if authors
borrowed some part of the content from other’s work must be cited and 10% of the borrowed contents
exempted from Research Misconduct, but more than 10% plagiarized contents is considered for stern
actions and measures taken accordingly to UGC norms and as per law of Govt. of India.
Therefore, the proper attribution and citation becomes essential before publishing any manuscripts , seeking
permission of the author wherever required, acknowledgement of source compatible with the needs and
specificities of disciplines and in accordance with rules and regulations governing the source is essentially
required. In case of found guilty of plagiarizing, they shall be considered under following class :
Level 1: Similarities above 10% to 40% - Shall be asked to withdraw manuscript submitted
for publication and shall not be allowed to publish any work for a minimum period of one
year.
Level 2: Similarities above 40% to 60% - shall be asked to withdraw manuscript submitted
for publication and shall not be allowed to publish any work for a minimum period of 2 years
and shall be denied a right to one annual increment in case of academician. They also shall
not be allowed to be a supervisor to any UG, PG, Master's, M.Phil., Ph.D. student/scholar for
a period of two years.
Level 3: Similarities above 60% - shall be asked to withdraw manuscript submitted for
publication and shall not be allowed to publish any work for a minimum period of three years
and in case of faculty, shall be denied a right to two successive annual increments and shall
not be allowed to be a supervisor to any UG, PG, Master's, M.Phil., Ph.D. student/scholar for
a period of three years.
IV. WHY STUDENTS OR RESEARCHERS DO IN PLAGIARISM:
Students and Researchers involves in Academic Misconduct either intentionally or unintentionally due to
following key points:
o Some students have poor study habits due to which they are used to plagiarism.
o Cut, Copy & Paste culture are increasing day by day among various academic users such as Students,
Faculties, Researcher Scholars etc. because it is very easy to use in era of digitalization and computerization
and need to be avoided.
o Due to study pressure, students are prone to use someone else contents without acknowledging them.
o Lack of awareness about the concept of Plagiarism and its consequences.
o Lack of the referencing skills leads to Academic theft.
o Sometimes unintentionally, leads to Plagiarism such as forgetting to cite or using required attribution.
o Due to the lack of strict academic disciplines and heavy penalties.
o Careless attitude also brings users to Plagiarism and needs more attention while writing or publishing any
manuscripts to national or international journals.
o Last but not least, Laziness is one the factor for the Plagiarism.
V. WHAT STEPS OR MEASURES MUST BE TAKEN IN ORDER TO AVOID THE ISSUES OF
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY AS FOLLOWS:
We can take major steps, measures in order to avoid the issues of Plagiarism, and brings more research
ethics and integrity in the Academic world by implementing these golden rules as follows:
 Be honest with your writings or work is the first virtue in order to avoid the issues of Research misconduct.
 By clear understanding of what is Plagiarism and its consequences.
 By clear understanding of IPR, Plagiarism and Copyrights etc. should be in mind before publishing any
manuscripts.
 When you have used a source in your paper, give credit where it is due. Pay tribute or homage to real
source of information.
 Citation is basic and foremost thing while you are using someone else contents in your writings.
 Reference management tools are always helps and saves you from the menace of Plagiarism. So that
researchers must know how to cite.
 By using various softwares such as Grammarly, Turntin, i-THENTICATE etc. while writing and publishing
any paper for reputed international journals.
 Must know resources at your disposal.
 Put your paper in the Open Access for more visibility and Citations.
 Make clear understanding between what to be cited and what not to be cited.
 Read UGC regulations and your writings should be original along with as per format and required standard
of the particular journals or publishers.
 We must follows International standard and format in our writings. Such as CC Licenses etc.
VI. INTRODUCTION TO CC LICENSES
VII. WHAT STANDARD SHOULD BE FOLLOW WHILE WRITING A PAPER FOR
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL AND HOW ONE CAN MAXIMIZES ITS RESEARCH OUTPUT
AS FOLLOWS:
VIII. CONCLUSION
RESUME NOTES
I. Basic Facts
A. Writing Skills
o Hiring personnel likely to hold a poorly written resume against the applicant
o Used as a weed-out tool
o Should use minimal wording, thus making sure each carefully chosen fact produces a lasting
impression on an employer
B. Time Allotted and Length
o Average time spent on a resume is 10 to 30 seconds
o Should be one page
C. “Does it Help” Rule
o When adding information, ask yourself “does it help?”
o Will the piece of information help get the interview
o Is it relevant to the position I want
o Does it solve their problem
o Is it more important than something else
II. Resume Defined
A. Purpose
o A resume is a summary of your experiences and skills relevant to the field of work you are entering.
o It highlights your accomplishments to show a potential employer that you are qualified for the work
you want. It is not a biography of everything you have done.
o Its purpose is to get you an interview.
o A resume can and should reflect more than just your paid work experience. Include the details of your
more important extracurricular, volunteer, and leadership experiences.
B. Tailored Resumes
o Tailor separate resumes to fit each career field in which you are job searching. You can create slightly
different resumes tailored to each job opening.
III. Resume Types:
 Chronological Resume
 Most common
 Objective statement followed by chronological job history, including some highlighted achievements at
each position
 Shows progress in a single profession, thus puts emphasis on work experience (may not be the best choice
for a college graduate)
 Functional Resume
 Emphasis on abilities instead of work history
 Objective statement followed by list of skills an employer wants with a brief example of the qualifications;
employment history follows at the bottom in a brief format
 Chrono-Functional Resume
 Combines the strengths of both resumes
 Objective statement followed by a list of a few key skills followed by an in-depth employment history
similar to a chronological resume
 Good for students who have internship experience and career-oriented extracurricular activities
IV. Getting Started

Step 1: Make a list of your various activities over the years
 Include paid work, volunteer positions, extracurricular activities (especially those in which you had a
leadership role) and internships.
 Can go as far back as four or five years. Graduating seniors will often have one or two items from high
school on their resume if those items stress an important skill.
Step 2: Write a paragraph about each important item in your list.
 "Important items" would include most paid work, internships, extended volunteer activities, and activities
in which you had a leadership role.
 Don't worry about the wording of your paragraphs at this point ; “resume language” will come later
 Describe accomplishments as well as duties (provide a skill and its result)
 An example of a duty might be "I maintained ten computers, loading new software and resolving problems
as needed," while an example of an accomplishment might be "I created two self-paced PowerPoint
presentations to train people in our office on the new company software, and it was so successful that my
manager asked me to present it to five other managers in the company."
Note: You will eventually change your wording into "resume language," dropping any
"I's" and making your phrases more concise. For now, use whatever language you want.
Step 3: Pick the items that you will highlight or emphasize on your resume.
 Give this some thought. Consider two factors here:

o What are your greatest strengths, and how can you demonstrate those strengths through your
experience? All employers value certain qualities: team player; good communication skills; leadership
abilities. In addition, you have particular skills that you consider your strong points, you would
generally try to bring those to light, as well.
o What are the requirements and needs of this particular industry, this particular employer and this
particular job?
Here's an example of the needs of an industry and a job:
 Advertising industry - account executive:

 The industry tends to value creativity, high energy, and the ability to work in a hectic, deadline-driven
environment.
 The job of account executive demands that you be detail-oriented, good with people and able to handle
many projects at once.
 Your task, then, would be to demonstrate those qualities through the activities described on your resume.
Step 4: Create the sections of your resume.
 Section 1: Name and Address

 Put your name in at least 14-point. Recruiters often must look through stacks of resumes in search of a
particular one. Make it easy for them to see your name.
 Include both your school address and phone number, as well as the address and phone number where you
can be reached during school vacations or after you graduate.
 Include your e-mail address. If you check your e-mail during school vacations, you may want to center the
address on your resume in a way that implies it is not just associated with your school address.
 Section 2: Objective
 Objective: An objective is optional, but should be included. If you have worked out a clearly targeted job
objective, then definitely include it.
 1-2 sentences about the job sought and why you would be a valuable part of the team
 Avoid pronouns and flowery language; don’t be too general (“a challenging position enabling me to
contribute to organizational goals while offering an opportunity for growth and advancement”)
 Focus on what you have to offer rather than on what the job can offer you. Employers want to know if you
fit their needs, not what you hope to get out of a job.
 Example: "OBJECTIVE: Editorial assistant position in the publishing industry, utilizing my academic
background in literature and my three years of experience writing for campus and local newspapers.”
 Section 3: Education
 This section always goes first on your resume, as long as you are in school.
 Include major, minor, type of degree, honors distinctions, GPA
 If you are still an undergraduate and applying for an internship, list your high school below your college in
this section. Note: Your significant activities from high school can be listed in this section, though many
students benefit more from listing those in more detail in their Experience or Activities sections.
 Once you have graduated from college, your education section goes first on your resume from one to three
years, depending on such factors as whether your education was relevant to your career field and how
impressive your work experience has been in the intervening years. If you have recently received a
graduate or professional degree, your education would usually go at the top of your resume.
 As a graduating senior, your GPA should always be mentioned, as long as it is above 3.0. Most recruiters
will assume that it is below 3.0 if they do not see it on your resume.
 "Courses studied" or Relevant Coursework" is an optional section. If you have taken courses outside your
major that are relevant to the job (or if you simply want to emphasize your academic training relevant to
the job or internship), you would definitely benefit from including this section. For example, if you were a
Philosophy major trying to find work in the computer industry, and you had taken three courses in the
Computer Science department; you would definitely include them in a "Relevant Courses" section.
 Significant honors and awards can be included as a sub-category of your Education section.
 Section 4: Experience
 Don't limit this section to paid work experiences. Employers understand that the most valuable or most
challenging experiences often occur in internships, volunteer work or other extracurricular activities.
 Opportunity to show how transferred skills learned in the classroom to the workplace.
 Student Teaching Experience - Include name and location of placements, dates involved, and grade level of
assignment. Major responsibilities in teaching area should be emphasized.
 How should you describe your experiences?
 Consult the paragraphs you wrote about each of your jobs or activities: choose from one to eight sentences
that encapsulate the skills you used at this job or activity, your duties and your significant
accomplishments. (skill and result)
 Include both your duties and your accomplishments.
 Duties tell the employer you can do the job. Accomplishments indicate that you will go above and beyond
the call of duty:
 Duties alone can sound bland: "Wrote articles, researched topics, filed documents"?
 When you add your accomplishments and contributions, you set yourself apart from the other applicants:
"Researched and wrote weekly Music Notes for local arts newspaper. Created archival database that saved
staff several hours of work per week. Chosen from among seven interns to represent newspaper at
MusicFest 2001 festival; wrote feature story that ran on front page."
 Use action verbs ("wrote," "managed," "researched," "coached," "planned," etc.).
 Where possible, use keywords.
 Cite numbers to make a point (e.g. number of people supervised; size of event created).
 Be concise; use telegram rather than narrative style.
 Include "buzz" words only if you are sure of their meaning.
 Include employment dates (month and year).
 Section 5: Activities, Volunteer work, Interests
 If you choose to separate your work experience from your extracurricular activities or volunteer work, they
can go in a separate section, but they don't have to go in a separate section.
 You do not need to demote these activities to the bottom of your resume. What's left at the bottom of
your resume may not get any attention.
 Listing your "interests" or hobbies on a resume is okay, but generally you should not do so at the expense
of leaving out other, more important information.
 When should you list your interests?
 When your interests or hobbies are so unusual that they are bound to attract positive attention.
 When your interests or hobbies reflect positively on your job skills. For example, if you are applying for
work as a paralegal and you love chess, the recruiter may equate your hobby with analytical abilities.
 Section 6: Skills
 This is an optional section depending on the type of resume written.Computer skills:
 You may wish to list the systems (Macintosh, IBM, UNIX, etc.) and applications (Filemaker Pro, Microsoft
Word, PageMaker, HTML, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) with which you are capable.
 List specific programming languages
 You may even want to use italicized sub-categories:
 Systems:
 Applications:
 Programming Languages:
 Languages:
 List languages in which you are proficient or conversational and indicate your level of ability ("basic
conversational ability," "proficiency," "near-fluency," "fluency") or the number of years of college-level
study.
 Laboratory skills:
 If you are applying for scientific or laboratory positions, you may want to create a list of your lab skills. A
biology major student might break those skills down into sub-categories such as "histology," "cell culture,"
and "staining." Of course, the sub-categories and skills mentioned should be relevant to the particular job.
 Always check your skills list with a professor or mentor, unless you have significant professional experience
in that career field.
 Section 7: References
 Don't write "References Available on Request" on your resume.
 Do create a references list as soon as you can and have it available, in case an employer asks for
references.
Step 5: Format your resume.
 Direct the employer's eye to the most important information: (remember, 10-30 seconds)
1. Leave plenty of white space on your resume - don't make your resume look crowded.
2. Emphasize job titles by boldfacing them (except where the name of a prestigious organization you
have worked for will grab their attention first).
3. Place the most important information closer to the top of your resume. (For example, if you are a
student and your paid work has been fairly mundane, but you have great computer skills or excellent
extracurricular leadership experience, then put the skills or the extracurriculars near the top of your
resume.)
4. Where appropriate, descriptive category headings can attract an employers attention (for example,
"Counseling and Tutoring Experience" or "Leadership Experience" instead of just "Experience").
5. Leave blank space between the separate sections and items on your resume.
 Other formatting details:
 Condense to one page. Exceptions: two-page resumes for nursing, for education and for those alumni who
have over two years of experience in that field (however, before going with a two-page resume, check with
others in your career field).
 Center and balance your resume on the page, leaving approximately 1 inch margins.
 Design your resume for easy skimming: emphasize by boldfacing, capitalizing and italicizing.
 Use 8 1/2" x 11" white, off-white or very light-gray bond paper. Do not use colored paper.
 Proofread carefully and have others review your final draft.
V. General Resume “Don’ts”
 Include information for leaving a job

 Letters of recommendation
 Race, religion, age, sexual orientation
 Starting date (should be included in the cover letter)
 Photographs
 Inflated jargon
 Use “I”
 Use clichéd adjectives like “dynamic” or “self-starting”; use detailed descriptions of accomplishments to
convince employer;
 Just use job duties—prove what you have done
 Send a resume without a cover letter
 Use a resume wizard or place your resume in a table
 Use elaborate fonts (Arial or Times New Roman will suffice)
 Avoid unnecessary personal information such as marital status and date of birth.
VI. General Resume Do’s
 Use consistent format and alignment

 Keep in plain text
 Vary sentence structure to avoid bored
 Keep sentences to under 25 words; average about 18 words, but change it up so the resume is not the
same line after line
 Shorter sentences: start with a clause: follow with a colon, then add bullets of information relating to the
introductory clause
 Add bullets to accomplishments to make them stand out
 Proofread by you and other people; watch out for spelling and grammar—spell-check does not catch
everything (manger v. manager)
 Use quality paper (at least 50% cotton); no scented or decorative paper
 Potentially include preferences on job location and personal hobbies
 Revise, revise, revise
VII. Electronic Resume Formats
 Never attach a resume or cover letter to your e-mail unless specifically requested. Some employers
automatically delete e-mails with attached resumes. Always put your cover letter and resume as text
within the body of your e-mail message.
 Though the content of your resume remains the same, whether you send it by e-mail, by fax, over the Web
or by snail mail, you will need to put your resume into several distinct formats:
o A fully-formatted text resume (created in word-processing software, such as Microsoft Word). Most
people start by creating a fully-formatted resume and then convert that resume to the other two
electronic formats.
o A plan-text resume, (also know as an ASCII resume) when applying for jobs by e-mail or submitting
your resume via a form on the Web.
 Use a plain-text resume for the following situations:
 When you are applying for a job through an e-mail link (or when an employer has asked you to e-mail them
a resume). You place your plain-text resume in the body of the e-mail message, preceded by your cover
letter. Never send a resume as an attachment to your e-mail, unless an employer specifically instructs you
to do so.
 When entering a resume onto most resume databases on the Web. (A few job sites, such as Net-Temps
and JobOptions.com, allow you to upload your Microsoft Word resume to their database.)
o Scannable resumes are printed on paper, in a format that can be easily scanned into a computer
database (rarely used today).
 This is a paper resume that an employer can physically scan into a resume database, to be retrieved later
by computer. Scannable resumes contain no extra formatting - no bullets, no italics, no bold, no
underlining, no fancy fonts and no tabbed columns.
 Few employers go to the trouble and expense of scanning paper resumes into a computer database. When
an employer requests that you send a resume through the postal system, ask if they would prefer a fully-
formatted resume or a scannable resume. If you do not know the answer, you may want to send both
types, and add the words "Scannable Resume" at the bottom of that resume.
VIII. Using Resume Keywords
 Many employers use database technology to store and search the resumes that are sent to them by
potential employees. Employers and recruiters search these databases using industry-specific keywords.
Keywords are nouns and phrases that highlight technical and professional areas of expertise, industry-
related jargon, achievements, projects, task forces, job titles, etc.
 If your resume does not contain at least some of the keywords that the employer is using, then your
resume will be skipped by the computer, even if you have all of the experience and skills required by the
job.
 Some experienced job seekers may enhance their resume by including many of these keywords in a
"Summary of Qualifications" near the top of their resume. This section may also be called a "Professional
Summary" or "Skills." And while most graduating seniors' resumes do not benefit from such a summary, it
is still imperative to include the appropriate keywords in the text of your resume.
 Here a few basic principles for using keywords in your resume:
 The best source of keywords is the actual job listing, which is likely to contain many, if not all, of the
keywords that an employer will use to search the resume database.
 Talk to people in the career field you are targeting, and ask them what keywords are appropriate to the
positions you are applying to.
 Visit professional association Web sites, and read the content carefully. Many of these are loaded with
industry-related jargon which may be appropriate for your resume.
 Link: Galenet-Association search (be sure to unclick the ALL box, and click on "National Associations," THEN
enter a career field in the "Description of Purpose and Activities" or "Subject Descriptor" lines.)
 Find a copy of Electronic Resume Revolution, by Joyce Lain Kennedy
 Try the Occupational Outlook Handbook, an excellent resource produced by the U.S. Dept. of Labor.
 Try Rebecca Smith’s “eResumes and Resources”.
 Include plenty of keyword nouns and noun phrases throughout your resume. If you have a "Summary of
Qualifications" section at the beginning of your resume, try not to repeat verbatim the contents of this
section.
 In some fields, a simple list of skills does not sufficiently describe the job seeker's background. Where
appropriate, include accomplishments, as well, but be sure to include enough keywords to satisfy the
computer searches.
 Here are two examples, taken from Job Searching Online for Dummies, by Pam Dixon:
 Keyword summary, example 1
 PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY: Award-winning corporate controller with more than ten years' experience in
two $500 million corporations. Impressive record in implementing financial record database architecture
that saved over $2 million annually. Proficient in Oracle, Prism, Red Brick, and SAP systems, as well as MS
Project, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and FrontPage."
 Keyword summary, example 2
 SKILLS
 Languages: C, SQL, C++, Assembler, Pascal
 Software: Oracle Developer 2000, Informix NewEra, FoxPro
 OS: UNIX, Windows NT/95/3.11, MS-DOS
 RDBMS: Oracle7, Informix 7
 Other important ideas:
o If you're still in college, try to get at least one internship in the career field you're targeting. Even if
you're internship lasts only a few weeks, you will significantly increase your keyword count.
o You should have a minimum of 4 industry- or job-specific keywords. The ideal is to have at least 12
keywords.
o Choose both general and specific keywords: For example, general = psychology; therapist;
psychologist. Specific = addiction; behavioral therapy.
IX. Online Resume Banks

 Resources
o JobStar.org - highly recommended - topics include "Descriptions of Major Resume Banks," "Should You
or Shouldn't You? Evaluating Resume Banks," and "Let's Get Electronic: Why Employers Use Resume
Banks."
o eResumes.com - Great advice, well-organized. Also, links to select resume databases.
o ResumeRabbit.com - enter your resume on this site, and the site posts your resume to multiple major
job sites. NOTE: There is a fee of $59.95 for this service.
 Cautions
o Confidentiality of your resume.
o Marketing surveys - many resume databases include marketing surveys on their Web sites, often
integrating them into the forms used to post your resume. If you start seeing questions about your
age, your gender or how you heard about their Web site, you are responding to a marketing survey.
You may even be asked about your race or nationality. Skip all these questions. If the Web site is set up
so that you must respond to them in order to proceed with your resume submission, ditch that Web
site (there are plenty of others that won't make you respond to those questions).
o Upgrades for a fee - some resume databases now offer you an "upgrade" for your resume, charging a
fee so that your resume is in front of others who do not pay the fee. We recommend not using these
databases - why should you pay extra when any good resume database system will allow your great
resume with great keywords to stand out?
o Co-branding agreements - some employment sites on the Web have joined forces with one or more
other Web sites. When you post your resume to one site, you might be sharing that resume with up to
fifteen other databases. Always read the privacy agreement at any Web site where you're considering
posting your resume.
o Cover letters - don't submit a cover letter with a resume you send to an online resume database. Cover
letters are discarded from most of the employment databases that accept resumes.
 Don't depend solely on resume databases. Maybe they will help in your job search, and maybe not. But
your best bet is to proactively network with professionals in your targeted career field, and use a wide
variety of other job search strategies.
 If your resume does not contain at least some of the keywords that employers are using to search the
database, then your resume will be skipped by the computer, even if you have all of the experience and
skills required by the job.
 Specialized vs. general resume banks - The large commercial resume databases are easy to locate. BUT - in
many fields, the smaller, career-specific databases are more effective (seek out the Web sites of the
professional organizations in your career field, or ask other professionals for recommendations).
 Cost - Most resume databases are free (if you find a database that charges a fee, and you are considering
using it, ask for information on number of searches the database receives before paying any fee; the
number of resumes on the system; etc.).
 Should you use resume databases? The main consideration is the time it takes to enter your information.
o On the one hand, people in a wide variety of career fields attract good job leads this way (it's not just
the techies' world anymore).
o On the other hand, many resume databases have specialized forms through which you must
painstakingly enter your information. Others allow you to upload an ASCII-formatted resume version,
but unless you know what you're doing, your resume may appear misaligned or almost unreadable to
the viewer.
 Keeping your resume and job search private
o The Problems:
 If you are currently employed, your current employer may be searching for your resume on the
Internet (many employers do this).
 Your resume is pirated by other databases and by recruiters, and it may float around the Web for
months or even years.
 Identity thieves may use the personal information in your resume to establish credit in your name
or to post inflammatory messages to the Internet.
o The Solutions:
 Don't put your full name or address on a resume you post to an Internet resume database. But
remember that potential employers need some way of getting in touch with you, so list an e-mail
address.
 As a general rule, only post your resume to databases that offer password protection, which limits
viewers to legitimate employers. Otherwise, anybody can view your resume.
 Many employers and recruiters still prefer to contact you by phone, so if you don't include a phone
number, you may be overlooked.
 Reports are circulating that identity thieves have been placing fake job postings on online job
boards in an attempt to trick job seekers into giving out personal information. The perpetrators
then contact those job seekers who have replied and ask for personal information, such as social
security numbers and bank account information, supposedly for the human resources department.
Never give out social security numbers or bank account information to someone over the phone or
via email or the Internet.
 Set up a separate e-mail account to receive correspondence from employers. This way, when you are done
with your current job search, you can simply close out the e-mail account, rather than continue to receive
messages from recruiters and employers for months or even years to come.
 If you are currently employed and don't want your employer to know you are job-hunting, don't list your
current company name on your resume. Instead, list the industry. (Monster.com recommends this
strategy.)
 If you want to be as safe as possible, don't post your resume onto Usenet (otherwise known as
"newsgroups" or "bulletin boards"), and don't post to resume databases that are not password protected.
Only legitimate employers are allowed access to most password-protected resume databases.
 Put a date on your resume. Your resume may float around in cyberspace for months or years after you
have found a job, bouncing from one resume database to another, while you receive unwanted phone calls
or e-mails.
 If you have a Web site that includes your resume, you may want to protect it with a password, which you
then only give out to the employers you choose. Be sure to sign up for a Web-hosting service that offers
password protection.
X. Curriculum Vitae
 What is the difference between a resume and curriculum vitae (CV)?

o A resume is a one-to-two-page document that lists your experience and education in a concise form.
Often your resume will only receive up to sixty seconds of attention, and so it must convey the most
relevant information in an easily grasped format.
o A CV usually contains three or more pages and, in addition to the items on a regular resume, can
include separate sections for your teaching experience, research, publications, presentations, grants
and fellowships, professional affiliations, associations and licenses, awards and any other information
relevant to the opportunity for which you are applying for.
 When do you use a CV rather than a resume?
o A CV may be required when:
 Applying to graduate or professional school
 Applying for research positions
 Providing information related to professional activities (e.g., applications for professional
memberships and leadership positions, and presentations at professional conferences)
 Creating proposals for grants or fellowships
 Applying for academic positions, including
 Elementary or secondary principals, superintendents, deans of schools,
 Institutional research positions,
 Teaching, research, and upper-level administrative positions in higher education.
o Though the CV has traditionally been limited to those who have completed a Ph.D. (or are pursuing
one), many more employers and organizations are asking for CV's from their applicants with only a
Masters or even a Bachelors degree.
o A CV should only be used when specifically requested. If you have any uncertainty about whether to
submit a resume or a CV for a particular position, don't hesitate to call the organization and ask which
they would prefer.
 Details
o Cover Letters - your CV should always be accompanied by a cover letter which focuses on those skills
and accomplishments that are most relevant to the opportunity at hand. The cover letter is your
opportunity to draw out key abilities on which you want the reader to focus. Though you often can
ignore the "one-page cover letter" rule, you still must be concise and focused in your letter.
o Proofreading - always have your CV and cover letters critiqued by both an experienced career advisor
and by someone with experience in your field of expertise. In addition, be sure to have all your
application materials carefully proofread.
 Possible Sections To Include In Your CV
o NOTE: These are suggested categories, and most CV's will not include every category included below.
Just as with a resume, you should tailor your CV to the particular opportunity for which you are
applying.
o You have a great deal of flexibility in the choice, naming and placement of your categories. While your
heading and education will usually be listed first, other categories can be place in virtually any order,
based on your strengths and the requirements of the position or opportunity.
 Heading: Name, address(es), phone number(s) and email address.

 Education: list academic degrees, beginning with the degree most recently earned or in progress. You may
wish to include the title any thesis or theses you have written, using the format appropriate to your
discipline (check with a professor in your field if you do not know the proper format).
 Certifications: list all relevant certifications and the year received.
 Honors and Awards: Receipt of competitive scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships; names of
scholastic honors; teaching or research awards.
 Relevant Experience: Listing of positions (part-time, full-time, volunteer, temporary and permanent)
related to the type of work sought. The section of your CV is written following the same principles of a
strong resume -- list accomplishments as well as duties; use action verbs; wherever possible, quantify
accomplishments. List in reverse chronological order.
 Other Experience: Groupings of other experiences (including volunteer work and/or internships) can
enhance your CV. Your experience can also be broken into other categories such as: Teaching, Counseling,
Administration, Volunteer, Community, Internship, etc. Entries within each section should be in reverse
chronological order.
 Publications:
o Give bibliographic citations (using the format appropriate to your particular academic discipline) for
articles, pamphlets, chapters in books, research reports, or any other publications that you have
authored or co-authored.
o If you have more than a few publications, you would generally divide your publications section into
sub-categories.
o In fine arts areas, this can include descriptions of recitals, performances and art exhibits.
 Presentations: Give titles of professional presentations (using the format appropriate to your particular
academic discipline); name of conference or event; dates and location; if appropriate in your discipline,
also include a brief description. Presentations should be listed in reverse chronological order.
 Areas of Expertise: Particularly appropriate when applying for teaching positions.
 Grants Received: Include name of grant; name of granting agency; date received; title or purpose of
research project, etc.
 Professional Associations: Memberships in national, regional, state, and local professional organizations
should be listed Also list significant appointments to positions or committees in these associations. Student
memberships in professional associations are appropriate.
 Recent/Current Research: Description of research projects recently conducted or in progress. Include the
type of research and a brief description of the purpose.
 Institutional Service: List institutional committees you have served on, including offices held, student
groups you have supervised, or special academic projects you have assisted with.
 Courses Taught: List the names of courses you have taught, institution and dates where taught, and brief
course descriptions.
 Community Involvement: Appropriate and relevant volunteer work, church work, community service
organizations, etc.
 Educational Travel: Names of countries, dates, purpose (typically, only include if relevant to the
position/grant for which you are applying).
 Qualifications or Skills: A summary of particular or relevant strengths or skills which you want to highlight.
Typically, this is not included as a separate section, but addressed in other sections. Occasionally, however,
it may be appropriate to list special computing, language or laboratory skills.
 References: Optional to end vita with statement "References Available upon Request." If you are
responding to an advertisement that asks for references, include those requested on a separate addendum
sheet.
 Sample CV's and CV templates
o The best resource we know of is “How to Prepare Your Curriculum Vitae,” by Acy L. Jackson, Kathleen
Geckeis, and C. Kathleen Geckesis, 2003, McGraw-Hill Companies.
o University of California website for a CV
o Harvard School of Public Health for a public health CV template

Unit 2 Communication

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When does a child begin writing a composition?

Writing a composition depends on a number of factors some of which

what is stipulated in the curriculum is examinable and therefore

These and many other questions dictated how a composition should

SKILLS IN COMPOSITION WRITING.

A script should be such that ideas tend to flow in a logical manner.

COMMON CHALLENGES IN COMPOSITION WRITING.

(a) Mother tongue influence

(b) Spelling errors:

Word Short form

(d) Wrong use of vocabulary, expression, phrase

(f) Omission and commission

2. The monitor put some on the table

This is a major concern in the writing and speaking of English. We

(h) Poor sentence construction:

I wake up very early in the mourning and headed to the bathroom. I

The Importance of Etiquette and Useful Expressions in English: A Critical

Article · November 2022

Bipin Bihari Dash

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The Importance of Etiquette and Useful Expressions in English:

Dr. Bipin Bihari Dash

The world was my oyster but I used the wrong fork.

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 Business dining  Inter-personal business etiquette

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 Fish Course  Entrée and salad

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 Be precise  If you have received a wrong call,

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 Look at the camera while you talk.

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afternoon / evening 9. Attracting It does not matter

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14. Expressing … 21. Invitations

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Merry Christmas! splendid job. What a surprise!

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Can I speak to No problem! 38. Refusing

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I hope you get I am sorry to say 47. Criticising/

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Chapter · May 2019

Dan Chima Amadi

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Letter writing or correspondence is an umbrella word to denote

4.1.2 Structure of a Formal Letter

1. Originator’s address at the right hand corner.

4.1.3 Format for Writing Addresses

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

The Commissioner of Police,

4 Eni Njoku Street

It is now outdated to write names of originators on top of the addresses at

*Nelson Uche Ibekwe

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Federal University of Technology Owerri

Example of indented address