CMNHONE/301/0/2023

Tutorial Letter 301/0/2023

Honours Studies
CMNHONE

Year Module

Department of Communication Science

This tutorial letter contains important information about your module.

BARCODE
CONTENTS
Page

1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 3
2 CONTACTING THE UNIVERSITY AND THE DEPARTMENT ....................................................... 4
2.1 The university ................................................................................................................................ 4
2.2 The Department of Communication Science ............................................................................. 5
3 MYUNISA AND MYLIFE E-MAIL ACCOUNT................................................................................. 6
3.1 myUnisa ......................................................................................................................................... 6
3.2 myLife e-mail ................................................................................................................................. 7
4 ORIENTATIONS TO HONOURS .................................................................................................... 8
5 PRESCRIBED AND RECOMMENDED BOOKS AND ARTICLES .............................................. 20
6 LIBRARY GUIDE FOR COMMUNICATION SCIENCE STUDENTS ........................................... 20
7 REFERENCING TECHNIQUES ................................................................................................... 21
8 FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT ........................................................................ 21
8.1 Formative assessment (assignments) ...................................................................................... 23
8.2 Summative assessment (examination) ..................................................................................... 24
9 PLAGIARISM AND COPYRIGHT ................................................................................................. 25
10 TURNITIN ..................................................................................................................................... 25
11 COMPILING A PORTFOLIO – SOME GUIDELINES................................................................... 25
12 COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES ......................................................................................... 25
13 STUDENT HEALTH AND WELLNESS ........................................................................................ 26
14 IN CLOSING ................................................................................................................................. 27

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Dear Student

1 INTRODUCTION
Welcome as a postgraduate student in the Department of Communication Science. We sincerely
hope that you will successfully complete the postgraduate studies for which you have registered.
All your tutorial matter will be available on myUnisa as soon as you have registered.

This tutorial letter contains generic information applicable to all honours modules. The contents of
this tutorial letter have been divided into smaller documents (all available on myUnisa under the
option Additional Resources). This is done to make the tutorial letter more user-friendly, to enable
you to access details quicker, and to enhance your manoeuvring between various online
documents. You need to access all the documents available under Additional Resources in your
respective modules. We trust that these smaller documents will also assist you to gain more
confidence in using technology.

The smaller documents to which we refer are:

• Assignment checklist – important aspects about the technical care of assignments
• The declaration, in Word format, which you can copy and paste before inserting it into your
assignments
• Details on academic writing and correct assignment structure
• Very importantly: Prescribed and recommended books, referencing techniques, copyright
issues and how to avoid plagiarism
• How to compile a portfolio
• Library
• National Research Foundation
• Student guide on how to use Turnitin
• What next? Masters

To access sites, you need to copy and paste links referred to into your browser window. For
example, access a website on writing for academic integrity at: https://sites.google.com/a/unisa
commscience.co.za/writing-for-academic-integrity/home. This website offers a series of videos that
walk you through most of the conventions as outlined below.

Under each applicable section of this tutorial letter, a link will be posted to the specific
corresponding pages of the website.

You are expected to use this tutorial letter together with your Tutorial Letters 101 (of your respective
modules), as well as the information posted under Additional Resources, when doing your
assignments. These documents should answer all your questions regarding the correct
presentation of your assignments and, where applicable, your portfolios.

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Note that:

• The requirements in each of the Tutorial Letters 101 (of your respective modules) take
priority and have to be met.
• All assignments should be in English.
• No faxed assignments may be submitted via myUnisa.
• All assignments MUST include the declaration of own work provided under Additional
Resources – any assignment without THIS declaration will be returned unmarked.
• YOU HAVE TO ADHERE TO THE TURNITIN PROCEDURES, and all assignments
have to be submitted online as all the honours modules are online – thus, you must
have access to the internet!

In some modules, digital technology might be used as a method of interaction for honours
modules. The dates and venues, if applicable, for these interactions will be communicated
to you via myUnisa. We encourage you to attend these sessions as they will be of value to
you.

To ensure that you obtain the maximum benefit from these discussions, prepare for each
session in advance to enable you to highlight any issues in the study material that you do
not understand.

You will receive notifications of the times and dates as well as material to be discussed during
these sessions on myUnisa, and this information will also be found on the Calendar menu on
myUnisa under each module. Please take note of any announcements in this regard.

2 CONTACTING THE UNIVERSITY AND THE DEPARTMENT

2.1 The university

You can contact the University as follows:

• Unisa website: https://www.unisa.ac.za and https://mobi.unisa.ac.za

All study-related information is available on the Unisa website in both web and mobi
formats.
• myUnisa: https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/myunisa/default/
Access your own information via the myUnisa website or mobi site.
• E-mail: [email protected]

For information on how to contact Unisa via e-mail:

• SMS: Send an SMS to 32695 for more information on how to contact Unisa via SMS. An
auto-response SMS with the various SMS options will be made available. (International
students should send an e-mail to [email protected].)
• One telephone number for all Unisa queries: Call 0800 00 1870.

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Remember: One query per request will speed up the response. Do not send numerous queries
in one e-mail, or the same enquiry to various lecturers.

Enquiries related to your studies and module content should be directed to your specific lecturer.
A list of lecturers assigned to each module is available on myUnisa under Announcements.

Other specific enquiries can be sent to the respective departments or sections, such as:

E-mail Type of enquiry

[email protected] For general assignment queries
[email protected] Moodle-related queries
[email protected] For examination queries
[email protected] For remarking queries
[email protected] For purchasing exam script queries
[email protected] For student account queries
[email protected] For graduation queries
[email protected] Student admissions and registrations (master’s and
doctoral qualifications)
[email protected] For assistance with myLife e-mail account
[email protected] For assistance with myUnisa
[email protected] For application – or registration-related queries for formal
studies (prospective and registered students)
[email protected] For assistance with Turnitin problems

Include your initials, surname, and a short description of your enquiry in the body of the e-mail
and include ONLY your student number in the subject line.

The physical address of Unisa is: Unisa’s postal address is:

University of South Africa University of South Africa
Preller Street Muckleneuk PO Box 392
Unisa
Pretoria
0003

2.2 The Department of Communication Science

The Department of Communication Science can be contacted in the following ways:

The postgraduate course coordinator is Mrs Van Gass:

Telephonically +27 12 429 6423
By e-mail [email protected]

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Personal visit
You are welcome to visit your lecturer or supervisor if you experienced any problems. Please
make an appointment beforehand to ensure that the lecturer or supervisor is available.

3 MYUNISA AND MYLIFE E-MAIL ACCOUNT

3.1 myUnisa

Consult the brochure Study @ Unisa on myUnisa for more information on how to become a
myUnisa user. You need to log in to myUnisa and claim your myLife e-mail account. As
Communication Science students, you must access and use electronic media.

What is myUnisa?

myUnisa is a learning management system which has been developed to improve communication
between Unisa and its students. The system contains online components to enhance distance
learning and teaching. Your study material is available on myUnisa. You will, for example, also
have opportunities to talk to other students and lecturers through online discussion forums and e-
mail, have access to additional resources to help you learn, and you will be able to submit your
assignments electronically. At the same time, you can access administrative information, such as
academic and assignment records, examination dates, examination results and financial records.
You will also have access to learner support services provided by Unisa to help you succeed in
your studies. Notably, you must have access to the internet in order to use myUnisa.

When submitting assignments, portfolios, or any other official work via myUnisa, it is imperative that
you take note of the instructions and limitations pertaining to the file size and type.

This is especially important if your work contains additional statistical tables, or scanned images of
advertisements, newspapers, or other media. The onus is on you to determine whether your work
exceeds the online limitations. Instructions for reducing the file size are posted under Additional
Resources (Resizing your document). Please read those instructions carefully.

The following important aspects need to be kept in mind to allow for the timely processing of
your assignment when you submit assignments:

• Your assignment should not be scanned, password protected, or set for “Read Only”
mode. We are unable to make comments or indicate mark allocations on such documents.
• To access your marked assignment, visit the Assignments page on myUnisa (the same
page where you submit assignments) and click on “view” (corresponding to the module
and marked assignment).
• The contents of a marked assignment will become visible on the myUnisa Assignments
page. If the assignment has not yet been marked, you will only see your original submitted
document.

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• In order to see comments on your assignment that are presented as “sticky notes”, you
might have to “download” (not just “view”) the assignment. You can download your
assignment by clicking on the downward-facing arrow icon in the browser window.
• You can also put the cursor on a specific sticky note to reveal the comment in a sticky
note.
• Any problems experienced with the “view” function should be brought to the attention of
[email protected].

3.2 myLife e-mail

Consult the brochure Study @ Unisa for more information on how to claim your myLife e-mail
account. All registered honours students must apply for their myLife e-mail address as soon as
they are registered.

IMPORTANT:

Unisa-rules-for-students-2022 states:
Official communication from the University is sent via e-mail to a student's myLife e-mail account.

The rules for the use of the myLife e-mail account are as follows:
a) The University provides all registered students with a free myLife e-mail address. It is the
student’s responsibility to activate their myLife e-mail account as soon as their registration
is finalised.
b) The myLife e-mail account will be the only e-mail account recognised by Unisa for official
correspondence to and from the University and will remain the official primary e-mail address
on record at Unisa.
c) All official communication from the University will be sent to the myLife account. Other
additional communication channels may be used from time to time, but the University will
communicate with students primarily via their myLife e-mail addresses.
d) The management of this e-mail account remains the responsibility of the student.

Follow these instructions if you wish to re-direct your myLife e-mails to another e-mail address:

Messages that are redirected will appear to come from the original sender. When you reply to
a message that has been redirected, the reply will be sent to the original sender.

1. In the Outlook Web App, click Settings > Options > Organize Email > Inbox
Rules.
2. On the Inbox rules tab, click the arrow next to the plus symbol +, and select Create
a new rule for arriving messages.
3. Under When the message arrives, select Apply to all messages.
4. Under Do the following, select Redirect the message to.
5. Select the address you want your mail sent to by double-clicking it in the address
book view. If the address you want to redirect to isn’t in the address book, you can
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enter the e-mail address in the To line at the top of the window.
6. Click OK to save your selections and return to the new rule window.
7. Click Save to save your rule and return to the Inbox rules tab.

PLEASE NOTE: The original e-mail will still be stored in your myLife e-mail account.
Make sure that your e-mail account does not reach maximum storing capacity – if this happens,
your e-mails will start bouncing back. Empty or archive your mailbox regularly.

4 ORIENTATIONS TO HONOURS
All study material is only available online. Download it from your respective myUnisa module
sites: https://www.unisa.ac.za.

The brochure Study @ Unisa contains important information and rules which require your attention.
Also remember to access Additional Resources for important information, examples and
documents related to your study.

Your assignments should demonstrate that you have consulted numerous relevant prescribed
and/or recommended study materials. Recommended study material is meant to enhance your
understanding of the introduction to a particular module, the topics discussed, and study activities
provided. Note, however, that the recommended (and e-reserves) lists are just recommended
sources singled out to get you started on your reading. By no means do you have to read only
the sources on that list. We expect students to read widely and deeply at postgraduate level,
sourcing texts through their own research – it is one of the competencies students are expected to
display at this level.

The following links provide more orientation information to your honours studies:

Unisa library overview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPDMg6ptU20

Orientation to the CODL environment – examinations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN0npY_ElLU&list=PLFM_YQdoldPcrej_2bkBKoDzfSUo-
T6xb&index=17

Short course on English writing:

https://www.coursera.org/specializations/academic-english

As a postgraduate student, you must be critical. You must refer to various sources and take special
note of recently published research in various scientific journals. Assignments should reflect your
ability to select and integrate scientific material and to present your interpretation in a logical
manner to form a meaningful whole.
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Simply rewriting the views of one or two authors in your own words does not constitute the standard
of work expected, and the marks awarded for such assignments will reflect the unacceptable
standard. It is of the utmost importance that you prepare and present assignments with the greatest
possible care and thoroughness.

The value of assignments

Assignments are important because they allow you to determine the standard the Department sets
for its students and the quality of work it expects from you as a postgraduate student.

Lecturers provide detailed comments on assignments. You must incorporate this feedback into
your examination preparation, in order to benefit when revising the work for examination
purposes. Assignments also prepare you for the examinations by simulating the “real thing”
(thereby giving you more time to present your answers). Of special note is that assignments
contribute towards your final mark.

Your declaration

All the work submitted by you, whether as an assignment, assignment portfolio or examination
portfolio, must be accompanied by an affidavit, signed by you, verifying that the work is your own.
This declaration must be placed in the front of your assignment or portfolio. The wording of the
affidavit can be found under Additional Resources (Declaration). It is an MS Word document, and
you may copy this document into each assignment, and you must acknowledge this document in
your list of sources. In the declaration, you claim that you have read and that you understand the
regulations of the University of South Africa.

When submitting this assignment via myUnisa, it is difficult to include your original signature,
that of a witness or the date. These details can be typed on the page where applicable.

Table of contents

Each assignment must have a table of contents because you need to list the headings used in your
own assignment. An example of a table of contents is available under Additional Resources
(Table of contents).

When compiling the table of contents, bear the following in mind:

• The table of contents comes before your actual assignment. The page numbers given in
the table of contents must correspond with the page number on which the heading appears
in your assignment.
• The headings and the subheadings are numbered, but there is no full stop after
any number. Master’s and doctoral students should note that the number of the chapter
should precede the numbering of your headings. For example, your introduction to chapter
one would be 1.1 and for chapter two, it would be 2.1, and so forth.

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• The introduction and conclusion are included in the table of contents.
• The heading “List of sources” is listed in the table of contents but is not numbered.
• The content of the assignment is not presented under just one or two headings, but you
should sensibly make use of subheadings that speak to the line of argumentation offered
in the assignment. Use headings and subheadings provided on mark schemes or
memoranda where applicable.
• Note that the instructions for the assignment and question 1 are never used as headings.
A heading is a concise phrase that encapsulates the essence of the section that follows.
• Nothing is underlined in the table of contents or in the text.
• Fourth-level headings are only included if applicable and required. Generally, after
fourth-level headings, all subsequent headings are bulleted and NOT included in the table of
contents.

Introduction and conclusion or summary

Begin your assignment with a short introductory paragraph or section to state the problem and
relate it to the study material. You should end your assignment with a brief conclusion, consisting
of a paragraph or section indicating how you have solved the research problem, or in which you
summarise the main arguments.

All master’s and doctoral students should note that each chapter of your dissertation or thesis
should end with a summary, where each main heading of the specific chapter should be reviewed
briefly. The last chapter of your thesis will serve as the conclusion.

Open Additional Resources (Introductions and conclusions) to see what the University of
Melbourne offers regarding the writing of introductions and conclusions.

Using your own words in assignments

Your assignment must show that you have consulted the prescribed and recommended study
material and that you understand it. This means that you should select the appropriate material
and discuss it in your own words.

You should constantly check whether you are actually answering the assignment question(s)
set. You should not merely be providing a summary of the prescribed and recommended study
material.

Important: When quoting directly from a source consulted, you MUST use quotation marks and
acknowledge the source by indicating the author(s), date and page(s).

Example

It is argued that “the primary need of the mass communication system is money” (Jansen
& Steinberg 1991:17) and such finances are provided by the recipients.

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In the example above, “the primary need of the mass communication system is money” is a direct
quotation from a book written by Jansen and Steinberg.

Example

Seduction was defined as “to lead astray, tempt into sin or crime, corrupt; persuade into
surrender” (Fowler & Fowler, in Bredenkamp et al 2002:120).

The example illustrates a quotation by a secondary source. The secondary source in this example
is represented by Fowler and Fowler, but because you have not actually read the book by Fowler
and Fowler, you have to acknowledge your source reference, which happens to be Bredenkamp
et al (2002:120).

IMPORTANT: In general, you are discouraged from using secondary sources. If you want to refer
to such a source, you are expected to actually consult and acknowledge the source in your list
of sources (as a primary source).

Meanings of action words

The following are examples of action words that are usually found in assignments and the kind
of answers they indicate. Based on this list, determine the action words that are used in the
assignment you are currently working on.

Analyse
Divide into sections or elements and discuss in full.

Compare
Identify the similarities or differences between facts or examine the differences between ideas,
facts, viewpoints and so forth.

Contrast
Point out the differences between certain sets of objects or characteristics.

Criticise
Point out the good and bad characteristics and give your own opinion after taking all the facts,
arguments or assumptions into consideration.

Define or give the definition

Give a short and concise description of the subject or topic.

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Describe
Name the characteristics of a topic. This should be done in a logical and well-structured manner.

Discuss
Discuss a topic by examining its various aspects. A critical approach should be followed.

Distinguish
Note the differences that distinguish two topics from one another.

Evaluate
Give an informed opinion on a topic, as measured against certain standards.

Examine
Examine and critically discuss a topic in terms of definite criteria or guidelines.

Explain
Explain and clarify to ensure that the reader clearly understands your arguments. Make use of
illustrations, descriptions or simple but logical explanations.

Give
Give only the facts without any discussion.

Give an outline
Present the data in a brief, logical and systematic manner.

Identify
Name the most important characteristics of a topic.

Illustrate
Give examples or draw a diagram to elucidate a particular topic or subject.

Interpret
Explain or give the meaning of something in terms of a more common concept. Your explanation
should be as practical as possible.

List
Give a list of names, facts, items and so on in a specific order or according to a specific
category.

Name
Give the names, characteristics, items or facts.

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Offer comments
Give a more personal opinion on the matter.

Point out
Present a premise logically by means of thorough reasoning.

Summarise
Give the key aspects of a topic.

Spelling

You should use British (-s-) spelling, not American (US) (-z-) spelling, except where you quote
an American author.
• Examples: Organisation (not “organization”), generalise (not “generalize”).

If you feel unsure about the spelling of a word, get into the habit of consulting a dictionary.

Layout of your assignment

As in the case of the table of contents, the content of your assignment must also be presented
according to specific technical or presentation guidelines.

Open Additional Resources (Layout of an assignment) for an example explaining the order of
the declaration, table of contents, introduction and conclusion or summary of your assignment.

Note:

• The body of your assignment (usually commencing with the introduction, if required)
follows the table of contents on a separate page.
• All the pages of the body of your assignment should be numbered (at the top, as in
this case, or at the bottom of the page).
• The headings in the body of your assignment should correspond exactly to those
indicated in your table of contents.
• In-text referencing is used in the body of your assignment. For example, in the
case above, the following two references are used:

“mines whenever deaths occur” (Macharia According to Dolphin (2005:173) internal

2009) communication can…

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Remember:

• After the conclusion of your assignment, your list of sources follows on a separate page.
• The sources must be listed alphabetically by author surname. Access Additional
Resources (Referencing techniques) for comprehensive details and examples.

Labelling figures, illustrations and tables

In your work, you may want to insert figures, illustrations and/or tables to substantiate or inform
your writing. Apart from always making sure that you use these sparingly and only when it is
warranted (i.e., relevant to your discussion), you must also make sure that they are labelled
correctly, and that the source is acknowledged.

When you label a figure or an illustration, the label follows the figure or illustration (appearing at
the bottom).

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Figure 3: Authoritarian and participative cultures

When you label a table, however, the labelling precedes the table (appears at the top).

For example:
Table 1: Responses to positively and negatively phrased questions

Positively phrased Negatively phrased

item item
Item This organisation can This organisation cannot
be relied upon to keep be relied upon to keep

Cumulatively its promises. its promises.

disagree 70.1% (N=281) 66.6% (N=281)
Cumulatively 70.1% (N=281) 66.5% (N=281)
agree 29.9% (N=281) 33.5 (N=281)
29.9% (N=281) 33.5 (N=281)
Note:
The label is always centred, in bold and numbered from 1 onwards. If the work has chapters,
each label begins with the chapter number followed by the label number, for example, 2.1.

Other technical and presentation requirements

None of us was born with the ability to write. Writing is a skill and like any skill, it has to be
practised. This is especially true of an academic style of writing, which you have to learn as you
progress as a student.

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Here are a few guidelines that you ought to follow and that relate to other matters concerning the
presentation of the content of your assignment:

• Your arguments or discussions should relate to the applicable headings or subheadings. If

not, ask yourself whether you need a new or separate subheading.
• Avoid unnecessary repetition of the same material or the same argument in various
paragraphs.
• Avoid material that is not relevant to the task or assignment.
• Avoid simply copying study material without showing any level of interpretation or insight,
as this constitutes plagiarism. It also does not contribute to your personal or academic
development.
• Lengthy quotations must be avoided. Formulate the central argument or assumption in
your own words and, where applicable, acknowledge the source.
• Study the section on plagiarism in this tutorial letter. The detail also appears under
Additional Resources.
• Sentences that are longer than three lines very often result in poor sentence construction
and lack of clarity. Consider using short sentences while you are writing.
• Personal ways of expressing yourself, such as “I think...”, or “our needs...”, or “in my
opinion...” are not suitable for an academic style of writing. You are the researcher and if
you have an opinion, claim that, for example, “According to the researcher…”. Do not use
any personal forms of address. You should develop the habit of using impersonal language,
such as “the recipient in this case...”, or “the communicator...”, or “Steinberg (2007:16) states
that...”.
• Avoid the use of contractions (such as can’t, don’t).
• Abbreviations such as “comm” (for communication), “ads” (for advertisements) or “TV” (for
television) are not suited to an academic style of writing and should not be used.
• Approved abbreviations (such as “e.g.”, “i.e.” or “etc.”) should ideally only be used between
brackets; they must be written out in full, as “for example”, or “that is”, or “et cetera” in
the text. However, if you are referring to organisations that are better known by their
abbreviations or acronyms, the convention is to write out the name of the organisation in
full the first time that you refer to it, followed by the acronym in brackets, after which you
may use the acronym only (University of South Africa – UNISA).

For example:

During 2004, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) published
a position paper on new regulations pertaining to the ownership of broadcasting companies.
Overall, the industry responded well to ICASA’s action on the matter.

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As in the case of the table of contents, the content of your assignment must also be presented
according to specific technical guidelines:

• The pages of your assignment must be numbered, either at the top or bottom of a page.
(This numbering must correspond with that provided in the table of contents.)
• Use a sensible font (preferably Arial or Times New Roman), size 12, single or 1.5 spacing.
• Leave a 5 cm margin on the right-hand side of each page for the lecturer’s comments.
• After completing the assignment, proofread your work for spelling, grammar and/or typing
errors.
• When referring to amounts in your assignment, write 1 to 9 in full (one; two; three, et
cetera) and from 10 onwards use numbers (10; 11; 12; et cetera).
• Bold text is reserved for display purposes, such as for headings and subheadings. The
headings and subheadings in this tutorial letter as well as in documents posted under
Additional Resources provide examples.
• Unlike bold text which has limited uses, italic text has many roles, of which the principal
one is to provide emphasis in a text.

Other uses of italic text include:

• book titles
• names of newspapers
• names of art works, including musical compositions
• names of films and television programmes
• titles of periodicals, magazines, and journals
• foreign words and phrases (e.g., Weltschmerz [German], jolie-laide [French])
• third-level headings
• technical terms used in your assignment for the first time

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List of commonly misunderstood editorial terms

Please take note of the following editorial terms that should be used in the correct context
(Kindly compiled by Dr Mark Kirby-Hirst):

Addendum (pl Addenda): Material added at the end of a work, typically after it is first
published, that corrects, updates or clarifies an element of the author’s original text.

Annexure (pl Annexures): Primarily used in legal and policy documents, it indicates a
section of text that is added to a document and is typically complete in itself. Conversely, an
appendix is entirely supplementary and means nothing without the main body of text to which
it is attached.

Appendix (pl Appendices): Material that can range from maps to tables and sections of
additional text that are added at the end of a work. The material is deemed to be useful to the
reader and germane to the overall discussion, but not important enough for inclusion in the
main body of the work. An appendix is added prior to a work’s first publication.

Corrigendum (pl Corrigenda): An error that is discovered after a work has been printed. It is
supplied alongside its correction on a separate page in later editions or in later volumes of a
journal.

Erratum (pl Errata): Simply an error that appears in a printed work. A complete list of corrected
errors that appears in a book or journal is typically headed “Errata”.

Note: Corrigenda and errata are often used interchangeably as indicating something requiring
correction in a text. Such corrections are only used in extreme cases in which an error could
cause misunderstanding of the original text and are never used to correct simple
typographical
errors which can be corrected in a subsequent printing of a
work.

Presentation of the contents

Please see videos regarding these aspects here:

https://sites.google.com/a/unisacommscience.co.za/writing-for-academic-integrity/technical-
guidelines-in-academic-writing/1-2-the-presentation-of-assignments

Where reference is made to assignments, it includes other work that you prepare and
submit, such as chapters or portfolios. See videos on this here:
https://sites.google.com/a/unisacommscience.co.za/writing-for-academic-integrity/technical-
guidelines-in-academic-writing

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Refer to the checklist below to ensure that your work meets the technical and academic
requirements.

CHECKLIST FOR TECHNICAL PRESENTATION

þ Make sure you can “check” all these boxes BEFORE you submit your assignment.

(Use your own discretion and read all the tutorial letters before making any decisions. You
must not to include the checklist in your assignment – this is just to be used in your
preparations.)

I HAVE FOLLOWED the Turnitin procedure, and I have included:

□ a declaration of own work

□ a table of contents an introduction and a conclusion

□ references to the sources consulted in the assignment

□ all appropriated addenda/appendices

IN THE ASSIGNMENT

□ All the headings, subheadings and required information as per mark scheme in
Tutorial Letter 101 of the module for the applicable assignment are reflected.

□ First-level headings are in UPPER CASE AND BOLD.

□ Second-level headings are in lower case and bold.

□ Third-level headings are in lower case, italics and in bold.

□ Fourth-level headings are in lower case, italics and not in bold.

□ Generally, after level-three headings, all subsequent headings are bulleted and not
included in the table of contents.

□ I used a sensible font (e.g., Arial or Times New Roman), in a sensible size, for example
12 pt.

□ The headings and subheadings in the body of the assignment correspond exactly with
those used in the table of contents.

□ The headings and subheadings are adequately numbered (bulleted text is not included
in the table of contents).

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□ The page numbers in the table of contents only show the first page number on which
a heading or section appeared (not page 5–7, but page 5).

□ All pages are numbered.

□ In-text sources are referenced correctly.

□ A list of ALL sources consulted is listed.

□ The list of sources is consolidated and in alphabetical order.

□ The academic register (language) is formal, objective and impersonal (as applicable).

□ There are no:

□ abbreviations outside of brackets
□ shortened words (e.g., exams instead of examinations)
□ contractions (e.g., can’t instead of cannot)
□ exclamation marks, or any other forms of emotive language
□ slang

THE DOCUMENT

□ does not exceed the page allotment as indicated in Tutorial Letter 101
□ has been checked for spelling, grammatical or syntactical errors
□ is reflective of academic maturity, and an assignment/document to be proud of

(Source: Oxford English Dictionary Online and Merriam-Webster Learner’s Dictionary

Online)

5 PRESCRIBED AND RECOMMENDED BOOKS AND ARTICLES

Open Additional Resources to read the document on Prescribed and recommended books
and articles.

6 LIBRARY GUIDE FOR COMMUNICATION SCIENCE STUDENTS

A detailed list of library guides is available under Additional Resources (Library guide for
Communication Science students).

Important contact information:

• https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/ask – ask a librarian
• [email protected] – for technical problems accessing library online services
• [email protected] – for general library-related queries
• [email protected] – for queries related to library fines and payments

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7 REFERENCING TECHNIQUES
It is an established academic norm that, when writing, all information, theories, ideas, facts,
statistics and direct quotations taken from other sources must be acknowledged. The latter is done
by citing the sources used. Unisa uses the Harvard method according to which the list of sources
consulted is arranged alphabetically by author and then chronologically according to the date
of publication.

An extensive list of examples applicable to each source to be referenced can be found in the
document Referencing techniques under the option Additional Resources on myUnisa.

Using Wikipedia

Wikipedia is increasingly used by people in the academic community, from first-year students to
professors, as it is an easily accessible tertiary source for information about anything and
everything. Although Wikipedia is a useful source of information, it should not be used for academic
purposes. Wikipedia is community-based online information, and anyone can edit the information
found there. Therefore, Wikipedia is not considered a credible source.

It is always considered a bad idea to cite an encyclopaedia in academic research papers.

This difficulty can be avoided by doing your research properly. Remember that any encyclopaedia
is a starting point for research, not an end point (Wikipedia. 2006. Wikipedia: academic use. [O]).
http://sladow.wordpress.com/2006/06/16/wikipedia-not-an-academic-source/

8 FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT

The due dates for formative and summative assessment are set in advance and these
assessments must be concluded within a specific timeframe. Academics can only achieve this
if assignments and portfolios are submitted on or before their respective due dates and it is
imperative that you meet these due dates. Why?

In 2010, researchers from the University of Georgia (United States of America) set out to
answer the question: What are the competencies, skills and resources needed by communication
graduates that will enable them to meet industry needs? Citing directly from their study (Morgan
2010:19:

Thirty-seven participants from industry came to consensus on 85 statements.

Statements were categorized using curriculum categories from Terry et al. (1995). The
ten statements receiving the highest level of agreement were ‘Conduct activities in an
ethical manner,’ ‘Ability to meet deadlines,’ ‘Dependability,’ ‘Strong work ethic,’
‘Reliable,’ ‘Organizational skills,’ ‘Demonstrate professional/business etiquette in
workplace,’ ‘Ability to multi-task,’ ‘Time management skills,’ and ‘Ability to be a
productive member of a team’.
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What is interesting to note is that these competencies or skills – those that received the highest
rating among specialists and recruiters in the communication industry – mostly have less to do with
content knowledge and more to do with the ways in which students conduct themselves in the
professional communication environment. It highlights one of the underlying tenets of our teaching
in the Department of Communication Science: making sure that graduates from our Department
are ready for the communication industry involves more than the imparting of content knowledge.
We strive to make sure our graduates are able to embody the competencies and skills that will see
them make a success of their careers, in the holistic sense of the word.

For this reason, you are challenged with more than just content knowledge when you submit
assignments to our Department. We want to see that you are ready for the communication industry,
because you are competent to do the following:

• Complete the assignments with academic integrity, making sure that you have not
plagiarised. (See the statement above Conduct activities in an ethical manner.)
• Adhere to the instructions for submission. (See the statement above Organizational skills.)
• Hand in your assignment on time (see the statement above Ability to meet deadlines),
because

o you have a work ethic that sees you start early on your assignments (see the
statement Strong work ethics above)
o you know how to juggle work, study and family life (see the statement on Time
management skills above)
o you understand that different assignments from different modules can be due at the
same time, and you need to plan for this (see statement Ability to multi-task above)
o your lecturers can depend on you to do what you are tasked with doing (see the
statements about Dependability and being Reliable above)

Lastly, when you communicate with your lecturers (via e-mail, myUnisa, telephonically or in
person), you should do so in a manner that is becoming of your competence as an individual
pursuing a postgraduate degree in Communication. You should be able to demonstrate
professional or business etiquette in this setting as you would in the workplace.

Making sure your display of these competencies is almost as important as the content knowledge
of this module. They both speak to your readiness to enter the industry we are preparing you
for.

With this in mind, we would like to reiterate that we do not accept late assignments on honours
level, as we are working to prepare you for industry. Communication is a deadline-driven industry.
Exceptions to this rule are only made in circumstances surrounding hospitalisation, death, illness
or truly exceptional and extenuating situations. Please contact your lecturer, with documentation,
to support your request.

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Source: See publications written by AC Morgan (Assistant Professor; The University of Georgia)
to the Journal of Applied Communications (2010).

8.1 Formative assessment (assignments)

Formative assessment is directly linked to the assignments set for each module. This type of
assessment is developmental (formative) in nature and the aims are to:

• support your learning by diagnosing your strengths and weaknesses and by giving feedback
on your progress
• extend our teaching
• serve as incentive for and proof of your constructive engagement with the study material
• assist you in planning, preparing for and writing the examination or your examination
portfolio
• assist you to decide on your readiness for summative assessment

Therefore, formative assessment means that your assignments are evaluated as part of your
learning and as part of an ongoing development process.

Technical presentation

The Department of Communication Science adheres to the following technical care standards
on a postgraduate level. You have to consult your Tutorial Letter 101 for your respective
modules and meet the requirements applicable to each module. Use the documents under
Additional Resources and use this checklist to ensure that you meet the minimum technical
requirements for each assignment.

Description of key technical areas

1 Declaration • The declaration must be structured as per the customised

version presented in Additional Resources.
2 Table of contents • A proper table of contents as per Additional Resources should
be provided in the correct format.
• Headings and subheadings must correspond with the headings
and page numbers in the assignment.
3 Structure • The structure pertains specifically to the correct format of the
headings (first level, second level and third level).
• The headings must also correspond with the table of contents
and the page numbers.
• The structure also entails that the student’s work should have a
proper introduction, body (various subheadings) and conclusion (if
applicable).

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4 Sources should be • The student must give credit to ALL sources consulted.
cited in text • If no sources have been used in the text, the assignment will NOT
be marked and 0% will be awarded.
5 List of sources • A complete list of sources consulted should be included at the
consulted end of the assignment.
• The sources must be listed alphabetically and should be
chronologically correct.
• The relevant tutorial letters used to complete the assignment
should also be acknowledged.
• At least 10 sources should have been consulted (if applicable).
• Please note, if a list of sources has been omitted, a mark of 0 will
be awarded for the assignment.
6 Referencing style • The Harvard referencing style should be used as per CMNHONE
7 Grammar, typing • UK spelling conventions (“s”, not “z”) are used.
errors, terminology, • All words should be spelt correctly and used in the correct context.
spelling rules, and • Correct punctuation should be used.
so forth • Abbreviations should, where applicable, be avoided.
8 Academic writing • Avoid reference to the first person.
style • Integration of sources should be evident.
• A critical argument should be devised and/or substantiated
arguments should be provided (where applicable).

If you omit in-text references, the list of sources consulted or both, 0% will be awarded for the
entire assignment, as it constitutes plagiarism.

Feedback on assignments

You will receive feedback on your assignments and work via myUnisa. Visit the Assignments
page on myUnisa and click on View (corresponding to the module and marked assignment).

8.2 Summative assessment (examination)

(EXAMINATION, PORTFOLIO OR ADVANCED RESEARCH REPORT)

Summative assessment differs from formative assessment. Summative assessment is a final

evaluation that takes place, for example, in the form of an examination or examination portfolio.

The main aim behind summative assessment is to determine whether you have demonstrated
that you have:
• reached a required level of competence
• achieved the level of competence in terms of the learning outcomes specified for each
paper/module

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While formative assessment (the assignments) is only based on a portion of the syllabus, the
summative assessment (the examination or examination portfolio) is based on the entire
syllabus, for each paper/module.

9 PLAGIARISM AND COPYRIGHT

Ensure that you read the University’s Policy on Copyright Infringements and Plagiarism:
https://www.unisa.ac.za/static/corporate_web/Content/Apply%20for%20admission/Documents/
Policy_copyright_infringement_plagiarism_16November2005.pdf.

By including a declaration at the beginning of your assignments or portfolios that the work
submitted is your own work, you are also declaring that you are aware of Unisa’s policy documents
and that you are aware of the legal consequences if found guilty of plagiarism. Ignorance of
applicable University rules and related institutional policies will not be accepted as an excuse for
any transgression. If no declaration is included in an assignment, that assignment will be returned
unmarked and 0% will be awarded.

If you copy an idea or actual words from another student, a tutorial letter, a study guide, an article,
a book, or any other source, without giving full acknowledgment of the source together with
quotation marks, you are committing plagiarism.

A comprehensive discussion on plagiarism and copyright − what it entails, how to avoid it −

complete with guidelines for academic writing to avoid plagiarism as well as taking into account the
rights of copyright holders and guidelines for ethical research and study practices is available on
myUnisa under Additional Resources in the document labelled Plagiarism and Copyright.

10 TURNITIN
The use of Turnitin is compulsory. It is therefore important that you familiarise yourself with the use
of Turnitin. A detailed explanation of Turnitin appears on myUnisa under Additional Resources in
the document Student Information on using Turnitin.

11 COMPILING A PORTFOLIO – SOME GUIDELINES

The document on myUnisa under Additional Resources (Putting a portfolio together) contains
valuable information and guidelines provided by Dr Van Niekerk. Please acquaint yourself with the
details as it will save you much time and trouble.

12 COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES

The College of Human Sciences is committed to providing maximum support to all its students. We
want to assist students to complete their degrees in the shortest possible time and to achieve
the best results they can. We also know that studying for a postgraduate degree may be difficult
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and lonely. As a result, the College for Graduate Studies has been tasked by the executive
dean to put in place effective support services for postgraduate students. Contact the College for
Graduate Studies for more information on the support programme(s) available. The contact details
of the College for Graduate Studies are as follows:
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: 012 429 2520

13 STUDENT HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Health-related conditions

If you are a student with a health-related condition or have a close family member with this or
another health condition, then you need to take cognisance thereof in planning your studies. It will
be unwise to cram tasks as this creates enormous stress, which has a negative impact on your
performance as a student as well as your health. E-mail your health-related queries to
[email protected].

Counselling and career development

The Directorate for Counselling and Career Development supports prospective and registered
students before, during and after their Unisa studies. The Directorate provides the following
services:

• career advice and how to develop your employability skills

• study skills
• academic literacy (reading, writing and quantitative skills)
• assignment submission
• examination preparation

Address your query to ONE of these e-mails or telephone numbers:

[email protected]
[email protected] 043 709 0423
[email protected] 047 504 1311
[email protected] 041 392 0117/8

Coronavirus resources
• Unisa Covid-19 resources and messages:
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/myunisa/default/Announcements/Coronavirus-
(COVID%E2%80%9319)-update
o Emergency hotline: 0800 029 999
o WhatsApp support line: 0600 123 456
o COVID-19 (coronavirus) South African resource portal: https://sacoronavirus.co.za/

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The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) offers online resources related to
your mental health and COVID-19. Learn more about managing stress and anxiety as well as
living with a mental illness on their website at http://www.sadag.org/.
Find information about reporting and receiving assistance related to gender-based violence here:
http://gbv.org.za/.

Students with disabilities

The Advocacy and Resource Centre for Students with Disabilities provides services for students
with disabilities registered with Unisa. For information on the services, you can contact the
Directorate telephonically on 012 429 6981 or 012 429 6540 or by e-mail at [email protected].

14 IN CLOSING

It is essential to follow the guidelines and information in this tutorial letter and to study all the
components under Additional Resources on myUnisa which go hand in hand with this tutorial
letter. These documents are all supportive of the Tutorial Letter 101 of each respective module for
which you have registered. If these documents are studied thoroughly and are used together, you
should produce well-structured and technically sound assignments. Remember that you are
most welcome to consult your lecturer(s) or module coordinator(s) at any time (telephonically or
via e-mail) when you need help.

Have fun, enjoy your studies, and remember:

You may never know what results come from your action, but if you do nothing, there will be no
results – Gandhi

Best wishes
Department of Communication Science

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