Professional and Academic Communication
Professional and Academic Communication tests whether you can use appropriate conventions across workplace and academic contexts: email, reports, summaries, source use, citation, and audience adaptation. The exam rewards clarity, ethical source handling, and a tone that fits the relationship and purpose.
Core rules and concepts
- Email: write a specific subject line; state the purpose and requested action in the first two sentences; give a deadline; keep paragraphs short. 'Thank you for...' is fine, but do not bury the request under apology.
- Reports: separate findings from recommendations. An executive summary states purpose, key findings, and recommended action, not every detail. Use headings and numbered recommendations.
- Academic source use: paraphrase by changing structure and wording, not by swapping synonyms; quote exact language with quotation marks; cite both paraphrase and quotation. Unattributed paraphrase is plagiarism.
- Audience adaptation: define terms for lay readers; remove unnecessary jargon for clients; keep precision for specialists.
- Register: formal does not mean obscure. Prefer 'decide' to 'make a determination' unless the technical term is required.
Worked example
Poor email: 'Hey, I need more time.' Reasoning: there is no subject, no context, no new date, and no action beyond a vague request. A professional revision: 'Subject: Request for extension - Q3 report (new date: 14 May). Dear Ms Chen, I am writing to request a one-week extension for the Q3 report because the audit data arrived late. I can send a complete draft by 14 May and will keep the original summary section. Please let me know if that works.' This version gives purpose, reason, revised date, and a specific request, while remaining concise.
Traps that cost marks
- Using a vague subject line such as 'Quick question' that hides the action needed.
- Mixing recommendations into findings without labeling them.
- Paraphrasing too closely and calling it original work.
- Over-apologizing or over-explaining, which obscures the request.