Summer 2015 George Brown College COMM 1138: Diagnostic Writing Sample

This diagnostic writing sample, submitted for a College English course (COMM 1138) at George Brown College, reflects on the course's objectives and its impact on the student's personal and professional life. The student discusses how the course aims to develop essential skills such as communication, critical thinking, and academic writing. The sample highlights the importance of precise and concise communication, the different formats of academic writing including APA and MLA, and the significance of avoiding plagiarism through paraphrasing and proper citation. The student also expresses expectations regarding argumentative essays, critical analysis, and research skills, emphasizing the relevance of these skills in both academic and professional contexts. The assignment adheres to essay format, with approximately 3-5 paragraphs, utilizing standard English and correct grammar and spelling, as requested in the assignment brief.

Diagnostic writing 1
Diagnostic writing sample
Author
Institutional affiliation

Diagnostic writing 2
Diagnostic writing sample
College English is a unit that has been developed to help students gain a strong
foundation as they start their studies in the different careers. The main objectives as per the
outlined outcomes, is to equip the learners with skills necessary for communication, critical
thinking and in future research. These skills are not only necessary in the course of learning but
also hold a very fundamental role I their future professional lives.
Communication skills will enable me plan and organize communication in an attempt to
pass information in a more coherent and accommodative manner. Communication is a very
important aspect of any human interaction. Understanding and passing of the expectations
requires a more organized process to facilitate the passing of right information and in a way that
the target audience can interpret. One of the objectives of the unit is to enable the student to
communicate in a precise and concise way to suit the audience. It will help me learn the different
ways I can use language to pass the same information to diverse groups of audiences.
Academic writings are some of the methods of communication between the tutors and
the students. Different academic writings will require different styles of writing. At the end of
the course I expect to know all the formats in academic writings and be in a position to use them
efficiently. I also expect to be able to organize my information in a more coherent manner. To
introduce a paragraph with an introductory statement and then formulate other supporting
sentences to ensure that the information is passed in chronological manner that the audience can
easily follow.
I also expect to gain skills on interpreting and understanding the expectations of an
assignment. I expect to know the way to handle an argumentative essay in contrast to a

Diagnostic writing 3
persuasive essay. In writing, the skills of paraphrasing, summarizing and critical analysis are
necessary. Having a better understanding and learning how to gain and implement them will
improve the qualities of my articles. Critical analysis skills will be necessary when multiple
sources of information are used to develop an academic writing. I expect to be able to express the
supporting ideas while also being able to consider the conflicting ones in the same assignment. I
will be able to weigh the arguments and decide on which one will be more compelling to use in
relation to a particular topic.
The formats of academic writing are a very simple way of presenting ideas in a
chronological and appealing manner. It provides a particular way to organize information. It
makes the communication easier between the writer and the reader. In this unit, APA and MLA
methods will be a point of major concern. I will have an opportunity to learn how to avoid
plagiarism by paraphrasing and ensuring that I cite all the documents used in the writing. I will
have a clear idea of the resources I can use in academic writing; primary and secondary
depending on the type of assignment. Research goes far beyond school. In professional life, it is
a major concept.