ESL Student Guides

Basics of Western Argumentation

American business often involves making arguments rather than simply stating facts. In both your academic and professional experience, you may be tasked with creating and delivering—either in written or oral form—a coherent, logical argument. An argument...

American Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal Communication Direct communication refers to the actual spoken words someone uses to express his or her meaning. In contrast, nonverbal communication refers to unspoken ways of expressing meaning, such as gestures, facial expressions, and tone of voice. In...

Persuasive Writing in Business

Persuasive Writing in Business In business courses, your writing often must include a recommendation, which will be based on careful research and analysis of information. In this way, professors are asking students to write persuasively rather than just...

Intellectual Property and Ownership

Overview Students entering American academia often encounter unfamiliar rules regarding intellectual ownership. Students who intend to follow all rules of their new school may still face difficulty adapting to these new rules, and they sometimes accidentally violate...

Classroom Expectations

This resource was prepared by the Business Communications Lab at the Sam M. Walton College of Business Overview What do you expect from your professor in a class setting? And what does your professor expect from you? Students and professors both have expected roles to...