THE PAPER'S FORMAT
FOLLOWING THESE DIRECTIONS IS ESSENTIAL. TO ENCOURAGE YOUR DOING SO, REINFORCEMENT THEORY WILL BE APPLIED. IF YOU FOLLOW ALL FIVE DIRECTIONS, FIVE POINTS WILL BE ADDED TO YOUR PAPER'S GRADE. IF YOU FAIL TO FOLLOW THE FIVE DIRECTIONS, TWO POINTS WILL BE SUBTRACTED FROM YOUR PAPER'S GRADE FOR EACH DIRECTION NOT FOLLOWED. PLEASE NOTE THAT DIRECTION #5 -- PROOFREADING -- HAS SEVEN PARTS: YOU MUST COMPLY WITH ALL SEVEN PARTS TO RECEIVE CREDIT FOR FOLLOWING THIS DIRECTION.
1. Pages -- The paper should be double spaced (Foot- and end-notes, and bibliography do not count towards the page limits; neither do tables.) Your name should not appear anywhere in the paper or on the title page: submit using only your student identification number.
2. Margins -- one inch all around (1 2" allowed on left margin when paper is bound).
3. Justification -- full justification (on left and right margins)
4. Size of type -- maximum of 12 pt.; minimum of 10 pt.
5. Proofreading -- the paper should contain no mechanical errors:
a. The first line of each paragraph is indented.
b. Spacing between paragraphs is double NOT QUADRUPLE.
c. Spacing between sentences is double NOT SINGLE.
d. All sentences begin with a capital letter.
e. All sentences contain a verb.
f. All sentences end with the appropriate punctuation.
g. Words are spelled correctly and make sense grammatically.
In writing the paper, some students will find the text and lecture notes are sufficient; others may elect to do further library research for additional material. Your proofreading will be made easier by using spell check and grammar check (as found in WordPerfect 6.0). These programs do a good (but not perfect) job of assuring that the paper is both correctly spelled and punctuated and is grammatically correct. The spell check and grammar check programs not only will analyze your writing for spelling, punctuation, tense consistency, plural/singular agreements and so forth, but they will also check those correctly spelled words that make no sense grammatically (e.g., using to instead of too). However, using spell check and grammar check does not relieve you of the responsibility for accurately proofreading your paper.
DIRECTIONS FOR REFERENCING THE PAPER
To avoid plagiarism -- that is, the theft of another writer's or speaker's words, ideas, or thoughts -- authors who use facts, opinions, and statements from outside sources (WHETHER IN DIRECT QUOTATIONS OR BY PARAPHRASING) acknowledge them in references. STUDENTS WHO PLAGIARIZE WILL EARN A ZERO ON THE PAPER. References may be:
A. footnotes (or endnotes)
a raised number next to and directly following the borrowed material and a corresponding number and explanation at the foot of the page (or on a page that follows the text of the paper). The first time a work is mentioned in a footnote (endnote) the entry should be in complete form; that is, it should include not only the author's full name, the title of the work, and the specific reference (i.e., volume, if any, and page number) but the facts of publication as well. Once a work has been cited in full, subsequent references to it should be in abbreviated form.
B. bibliographic citations
a parenthetical next to and directly following the
borrowed material that identifies the work and page by reference to a bibliography. The bibliography, on a page that follows the text of the paper, is alphabetized by the last names of the (first) author of a work and lists the name(s) of author(s) (last name first), full title of work, place, publisher, date of publication, and page numbers when the item is part of a whole work -- a chapter in a book or an article in a periodical. One may identify the work inside the parenthetical citation by author, date, and page or by number and page when the bibliography has been numbered.
Whichever citation format you choose to use in your paper, your citation must identify the exactly where the material quoted or paraphrased can be found. You must also give citations for those people you interviewed (should you do so); these references must contain full name of the interviewee, his/her exact job title, the name of the company for which s/he works, its location, and the date of the interview.
I. Quotations -- Five or more words taken from another must be
identified by quotation marks (or appropriate indentation) and must be referenced.
THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS REQUIREMENT.
a. Direct quotations should correspond exactly with the originals in wording, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. (See d. below for an exception.)
b. Short quotations should be incorporated into the text of the paper and enclosed in double quotation marks.
c. Longer (block) quotations -- two or more sentences which run to four or more typewritten lines -- should be set off from the text in single spacing and indented in its entirety four (or five) spaces from the left marginal line, with no quotation marks at beginning or end. Double space between the text and the block quotation.
d. Any omission of words, phrases, or even paragraphs in quoted matter is indicated by ellipsis points, which are period dots. There should be a space before each dot and a space also after the last dot if a word follows. Since ellipsis points stand for words omitted from the quotation itself, they are always placed within the quotations marks or block quotation.
EX: "What we require to be taught . . . is to be our own teachers."
II. Paraphrasing -- A full reference -- footnote, endnote, or
bibliographic citation -- is also required next to and immediately following the borrowed material that you have either paraphrased or summarized in your own words. Facts and/or assertions taken from class lectures (or other sources) must be referenced.
You may use any referencing style you wish as long as your use of it is consistent throughout the paper. As noted above, citations must include author(s), title of book or article, publisher or journal name (as applicable), date, and page number(s). If you use endnotes or a bibliographic format be sure that the specific page number(s) of the quotation or paraphrase is(are) given. Please note that the American Psychological Association's referencing format is misapplied more frequently than other formats; students are advised against its use. The easiest, and currently most popular, referencing style is the bibliographic format, especially the version that references the bibliography by number and page.
See your student handbook for CSUN's policy on plagiarism.
It has been this instructor's experience that although students think they know the rules of referencing, they do not. Consequently, many students receive grades of 0 on their papers. You are strongly advised to use a style manual. Kate L. Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertation is an excellent style manual. You would do well to use it both to look up the various referencing rules and to help you in learning them.
WRITING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PAPER:
All course requirements, including the paper, are considered "work assignments" (such as those requested by a manager). Sloppiness and incorrectness in grammar, spelling, punctuation, word choice, and/or syllabication are not acceptable in a job's work product -- nor are they acceptable in this class. You are expected to produce a professional work product.
While it is grammatically correct to do so, sophisticated writers do not introduce ideas, facts, or theories by saying:
According to Lucinda Harper in the Wall Street Journal's "Labor Letter" of December 14, 1993, "[T]he most underutilized employee benefit in American is the dependent-care spending account, which allows employees annually to set aside up to $5,000 of their pay, tax-free, toward child or elder care."
Instead one says: "The most underutilized employee benefit in American is the dependent-care spending account, which allows employees annually to set aside up to $5,000 of their pay, tax-free, toward child or elder care."
This paper is not a book report: therefore you should not present information you have collected by saying: "Ms. X of the ABC Company, who was interviewed on March 22, 1993 stated . . . " Rather, you present the information by saying: "Three of the four firms interviewed did . . . " (One references this type of statement by saying (See Appendix A or See Table 1.)
Strunk and White's Elements of Style is an excellent source book for correct English use.
PRODUCING AN ACCEPTABLE, POLISHED, AND PROFESSIONAL WORK PRODUCT REQUIRES APPLYING THE VARIOUS RULES OF ENGLISH. AGAIN, TO ENCOURAGE YOUR DOING SO, REINFORCEMENT THEORY WILL BE APPLIED. IF YOU MAKE NO ERRORS IN GRAMMAR, WORD SELECTION, OR PUNCTUATION, FIVE POINTS WILL BE ADDED TO YOUR PAPER'S GRADE. IF YOU MAKE ERRORS IN GRAMMAR, WORD SELECTION, OR PUNCTUATION, ONE POINT WILL BE SUBTRACTED FROM YOUR PAPER'S GRADE PER ERROR TYPE. HOWEVER, PLEASE NOTE THAT TWO POINTS WILL BE DEDUCTED FOR EACH OF THE ERRORS DISCUSSED BELOW. IN ADDITION TO POINTS (POSSIBLY) DEDUCTED FOR REFERENCING ERRORS, A MAXIMUM OF AN ADDITIONAL 20 POINTS MAY BE LOST DUE TO FORMATTING PROBLEMS AND GRAMMAR, WORD SELECTION, SYLLABICATION, AND PUNCTUATION ERRORS.
AS NOTED, SPELL CHECK AND GRAMMAR CHECK WILL GREATLY ASSIST YOU IN AVOIDING ERRORS. HOWEVER, THEY ARE NOT PERFECT. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ERRORS EVEN IF SPELL CHECK AND GRAMMAR CHECK MISSED THEM.
GENERAL GUIDELINES TO BE FOLLOWED ARE:
A. Writing in the plural when referring to people avoids the awkwardness of s/he, he/she, him/her, or his/hers. (Please see #1 under specific errors to be avoided.)
B. Avoid ending a sentence with a preposition when possible.
Common prepositions are: about, against, amid, among, at, atop, between, by, down, for, from, in, into, of, off, out, over, through, throughout, to, toward, under, up, upon, with, and within. (This list is not exhaustive -- when in doubt, use a dictionary.)
C. Avoid using double prepositions -- e.g., off of, in on, etc.
D. Get -- the most overused verb in the English language -- it means to gain possession of, to receive as a return, to obtain, to catch, to prepare, to seize, to overcome, to irritate, to cause, to understand, to deliver -- use these synonyms rather than 'get.'
E. Go -- the next most overused verb in the English language -- it means to move, to proceed, to leave, to depart, to follow a procedure, to pass, to elapse, to break,
to fare, to succeed, to apply oneself, to intend, to run -- it definitely does not mean to speak, to talk, or to orate -- again, use sparingly.
SPECIFIC ERRORS TO BE AVOIDED (TWO POINT LOSS):
1. AGREEMENT BETWEEN VERB AND SUBJECT. Singular verbs are used with singular subjects; plural verbs are used with plural subjects.
2. AGREEMENT BETWEEN NOUNS AND PRONOUNS. A singular pronoun is used to refer to a singular noun; a plural pronoun is used to refer to a plural noun. Personal pronouns refer to people; impersonal pronouns are used to refer to things.
3. ADJECTIVES/ADVERBS. Use adjectives to modify nouns and adverbs to modify verbs.
4. TENSE AGREEMENT. Do not switch verb tenses within sentences or paragraphs unless there is a reason for doing so. Also be very careful to use the proper verb form.
5. CAPITALIZE APPROPRIATELY. For example, the names of languages and nationalities are always capitalized.
6. HOMONYM CONFUSION.
a. they're (they are) vs. there (in that place) vs. their (of or relating to them)
b. theirs (belonging to them) vs. there's (there is).
c. it's (it is) vs. its (owned by it)
d. to (=toward) vs. to (+verb) vs. too (=also) vs. two (=2)
e. you're (you are) vs. your (owned by you)
f. hear (one of the five senses) vs. here (in this place)/ here's (here is)
g. affect (=verb, to act upon) vs. effect (=noun, result)
h. who's (who is) vs. whose (owned by whom)
I. then (adverb, at that time) vs. than (adjective, used when comparing two or more items)
7. ABBREVIATIONS AND CONTRACTIONS ARE NOT ALLOWED.
8. MISAPPLICATION OF THE APOSTROPHE -- See Strunk and White.
Be particularly careful when using the word company (definition; a single firm): company's (belonging to one firm) vs. companies (more than one firm) vs companies' (belonging to multiple firms).
9. REDUNDANCIES. For example, at this point in time is redundant -- 'at this point' and 'at this time' both convey the same idea.
10. USING SLANG AND/OR NONSENSE WORDS. For example, regardless is correct while irregardless is incorrect and sneaked is correct while snuck is incorrect.
11. IMPROPER COMBINATIONS. For example, a lot or all right; each is two words -- never alot or allright.
12. PRECISE USE OF WORDS. For example, a writer/speaker implies whereas a reader/listener infers.