GUIDELINES FOR UNDERSTANDING AND USING VISUALS IN BUSINESS TEXTS
Abstract
The business field depends on disseminating information through formal and informal presentations to managers, clients, and stakeholders. Visual representations, such as tables, graphs, and charts, are recurrent tools in business texts. Such elements have gained more momentum in the act of communication in today’s global business world. Consequently, business students ought to know what type of visuals to use and should attain mastery over visual representations in order to demonstrate professional communication skills in both oral and written communication contexts. Therefore, business students need to be taught about visuals in order to acquire the necessary skills to comprehend and interpret visuals included in business textbooks. Because of the absence of clear guidelines and the lack of detailed instructions on visuals, business college students have difficulty utilizing, interpreting, and explaining the information presented in graphs, tables, etc. To develop and enhance business students’ competency in utilizing and interpreting visuals, this paper presents the basics of utilizing and interpreting visuals in business texts. More specifically, it aims to introduce business instructors and students to essential knowledge concerning the use and implementation of visuals in business texts and reports and enable English for Specific Purposes (ESP) instructors to help develop students’ linguistic and communicative competency in mastering this important skill.
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