A4 Organization and Channel Check the organization and channel by answering the following questions about your assignment. Organization Are there four distinct sections in the assignment? Channel undefined To From Date Subject Section 1 – Attention Does the subject line give away the request? YES? IT IS TOO DIRECT! Revise the subject line. Does the subject line grab your attention? YES? Good! NO? Subject line needs revision! Does the opening give away the request? YES? IT IS TOO DIRECT! Revise the opening. Is the opening effective? Is it a good way to get your boss’s attention? Did it grab your attention? Is it written with the you’ view in mind? Can you think of a better way to grab the reader’s attention? Remember!: Opening paragraph should be no more than two sentences. Example: in this scenario, the writer of the message is trying to convince Harvest Grocery to stop using plastic bags. You’ll see, in the subject and opening of this letter, that at no point does the writer mention plastic bags at all. Instead, the writer tries to hook the reader with a tantalizing question–one that cannot be answered yes or no Section 2 – Interest Highlight any signal phrases in this section. No signal phrases? That means there’s either no research in this section, or that research is plagiarized. Revise. How do you build interest? If the opening asked a question, does this paragraph answer that question? Does the paragraph present research by: Using statistical information to help you to explain why this is an important issue in which the reader should be interested? using specific evidence to avoid vague, generalized, and unsubstantiated statements? Or presenting the issue as a problem that going paperless could solve (supported by research)? If your opening asked a question, does this paragraph answer that question? Do you: customize all facts to meet the specific concerns of the reader? introduce all paraphrased information from sources with an informative signal phrase? (e.g. ‘According to Jones, ’) Note that this (partial) interest paragraph uses a signal phrase to introduce research that relates directly to the question asked in the opening. The Main Purpose/Ask/Request Find the sentence that clearly states the subject/makes a request. Is it positioned at the end of the second section or the beginning of the third? If so, congratulations! It’s in the correct spot! If not, it needs to be moved If it’s missing, it’s time to write it! Section Three – Desire Underline each signal phrase No signal phrases? Time to Write Them! Put a star (*) beside the sentence(s) that reduces resistance. No star? Time to add some sentences that reduce resistance. Does this paragraph: Outline the benefits of the action? Use signal phrases to introduce researched information? Ex: According to a national report by the Senate Acknowledge reader’s resistance and offer a counter argument to reduce that resistance? Tailor all reader benefits and counter-arguments to meet the specific information needs and concerns of the reader? This example starts by recognizing the reader’s resistance (“customers will react negatively”), and cites research, complete with signal phrase, to counter that resistance. Section 4 – Action Does this paragraph: Restate the request? Get the reader to take action by suggesting a concrete first step? Tell the reader how to contact the writer without making demands? Build goodwill by personalizing the message? Underline the action statement. Is the action clear? Is it easy to follow? Does it focus on the action and not a time frame? Assignment Presentation Does the message use a professional business style and presentation by Following all the grammar and business style points taught so far? Using correct email format? Using full-block format, single-spaced, readable 11- or 12-point font, and a ragged right margin ? Limiting message to one page of content (without shrinking print size or margins)? Avoiding APA-style page citations and reference list? Avoiding cliché, stereotypical business-speak, and tired expressions? Tags: Persuasive Argument professional business Business Style informational needs organizes information User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool’s honor code & terms of service.
Reference List: Basic Rules
Note: This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style can be found here.
This resource, revised according to the 7th edition APA Publication Manual, provides fundamental guidelines for constructing the reference pages of research papers. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (7th ed.).
Note: Because the information on this page pertains to virtually all citations, we’ve highlighted one important difference between APA 6 and APA 7 with an underlined note written in red.
Formatting a Reference List
Your reference list should appear at the end of your paper. It provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the body of the paper. Each source you cite in the paper must appear in your reference list; likewise, each entry in the reference list must be cited in your text.
Your references should begin on a new page separate from the text of the essay; label this page “References” in bold, centered at the top of the page (do NOT underline or use quotation marks for the title). All text should be double-spaced just like the rest of your essay.
Basic Rules for Most Sources
- All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. This is called hanging indentation.
- All authors’ names should be inverted (i.e., last names should be provided first).
- Authors’ first and middle names should be written as initials.
- For example, the reference entry for a source written by Jane Marie Smith would begin with “Smith, J. M.”
- If a middle name isn’t available, just initialize the author’s first name: “Smith, J.”
- Give the last name and first/middle initials for all authors of a particular work up to and including 20 authors (this is a new rule, as APA 6 only required the first six authors). Separate each author’s initials from the next author in the list with a comma. Use an ampersand (&) before the last author’s name. If there are 21 or more authors, use an ellipsis (but no ampersand) after the 19th author, and then add the final author’s name.
- Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work.
- For multiple articles by the same author, or authors listed in the same order, list the entries in chronological order, from earliest to most recent.
- When referring to the titles of books, chapters, articles, reports, webpages, or other sources, capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns.
- Note again that the titles of academic journals are subject to special rules. See section below.
- Italicize titles of longer works (e.g., books, edited collections, names of newspapers, and so on).
- Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as chapters in books or essays in edited collections.
Basic Rules for Articles in Academic Journals
- Present journal titles in full.
- Italicize journal titles.
- Maintain any nonstandard punctuation and capitalization that is used by the journal in its title.
- For example, you should use PhiloSOPHIA instead of Philosophia, or Past & Present instead of Past and Present.
- Capitalize all major words in the titles of journals. Note that this differs from the rule for titling other common sources (like books, reports, webpages, and so on) described above.
- This distinction is based on the type of source being cited. Academic journal titles have all major words capitalized, while other sources’ titles do not.
- Capitalize the first word of the titles and subtitles of journal articles, as well as the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and any proper nouns.
- Do not italicize or underline the article title.
- Do not enclose the article title in quotes.
- So, for example, if you need to cite an article titled “Deep Blue: The Mysteries of the Marianas Trench” that was published in the journal Oceanographic Study: A Peer-Reviewed Publication, you would write the article title as follows:
- Deep blue: The mysteries of the Marianas Trench.
- …but you would write the journal title as follows:
- Oceanographic Study: A Peer-Reviewed Publication
- So, for example, if you need to cite an article titled “Deep Blue: The Mysteries of the Marianas Trench” that was published in the journal Oceanographic Study: A Peer-Reviewed Publication, you would write the article title as follows:
Please note: While the APA manual provides examples of how to cite common types of sources, it does not cover all conceivable sources. If you must cite a source that APA does not address, the APA suggests finding an example that is similar to your source and using that format. For more information, see page 282 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed.
