(Mt) – East Texas Baptist McDonalds Coffee Spill Heard Round the World

FIND A SOLUTION AT Academic Writers Bay

Guidelines for Written Assignments Original “Guidelines for Term Papers” By Dallas Brozik (2006) Adapted by Christopher M. Cassidy (2007, 2011, 2019) Written assignments are a necessary evil of college life. They exist to give the student an opportunity to practice writing the types of reports that will be required by employers. The student should make every effort to do a respectable job on any assignment, if for no other reason than the skills acquired will be useful in later life. Those who cannot write will need to master other job skills, like flipping burgers and cleaning toilets. What is common with many collegiate written assignments, unfortunately, is the poor quality of the writing. While there is certainly room for the creative expression of ideas, many students have not yet mastered the basics of written English. Sometimes it is impossible to determine what a student is trying to say simply because the writing is so poor. While the quality of writing may be due in part to lack of skill or procrastination, there is also reason to blame the lack of practice across the entire collegiate curriculum. For this reason, practice is a legitimate reason for college writing. At the upper division and graduate levels of college coursework, there is absolutely no excuse for poor writing. It makes no difference where you come from or what you have done; these rudimentary communications skills should have been mastered before graduating from high school. It is expected that you can write correctly, and part of your grade on assignments will be determined by your writing ability. In short, you will write correctly and effectively or you will lose points on the paper. No attempt is being made to dictate the fine points of writing. Feel free to express yourself in any appropriate manner. But while there are many acceptable styles of written communication, there are some major errors that are never allowable. These are the types of errors that will count against your grade. Listed below are the cardinal sins and major errors that will be counted against you on your assignments. Read this list well and understand it. Consult it frequently while writing. If you do not understand something, ask your instructor for clarification. This is the one and only warning you will get, and if you ignore it you will suffer the consequences. ***** filename: 2020summer-guidelines for written assignments.docx page 1 of 16 THE CARDINAL SINS At the minimum, cardinal sins will earn you a zero for the assignment. Cheating and Plagiarism – Plagiarism is not allowed under any circumstances or in any form. Should you plagiarize and be caught at it, you will suffer severe consequences. Since all written assignments are filtered through plagiarism detection software, you will be caught if you plagiarize. Plagiarism is not confined to copying exactly from another source. It is not sufficient to change merely a word or two in a sentence. For the purposes of this class, if you use ideas taken from an uncited source you are guilty of plagiarism. Ideas found in other sources must be referenced. For the purposes of this class, if you have a string of seven words lifted directly from an uncited source you are guilty of plagiarism. If you are incapable of writing creatively, you must at least learn to paraphrase. All material borrowed from other sources must be properly referenced with a brief in-text citation referencing the source and a complete reference listed at the end of your paper. Quotations must be properly punctuated and referenced in an appropriate style. Unless you have a favorite, use the APA 6e style guide. Late Papers – Papers are due on time. Since all assignment descriptions and deadlines are provided on the first day of class and you literally have weeks or months to complete most assignments, there is no excuse for late work. If you know that you will be absent the day an assignment is due, plan ahead and complete the assignment in advance. You have plenty of warning. No excuses for late papers will be accepted. I do not care if your dog eats your iPad or your hard drive crashes on the morning the assignment is due, if I do not have it by the deadline, you will get a zero. All assignments must be submitted to earn a passing grade. The truly unfair thing about late papers and earning a zero is you still have to complete and submit the work or you will fail the course. In my opinion, it is better to do the work on time and get credit than to have to do the work and earn nothing. Identify yourself and the assignment – Provide the names of all authors/contributors, the course number, the course section, the due date, the assignment description, and a title in your assignment. Do not depend on Blackboard to annotate your assignment with your author information. I routinely print assignments from Blackboard. If you do not include your identifying information in the document, you force me to play detective. If I have to play detective to figure out who submitted a paper or what assignment the paper was intended to fulfill, I will assume you do not really want the points. filename: 2020summer-guidelines for written assignments.docx page 2 of 16 MAJOR ERRORS These errors count 2% each. Five fatal errors will lower your grade one full letter. You are cautioned to read and understand this list well. The average number of major errors for the average student on an eight to ten page paper seems to be around twelve. That is enough to turn an “A” into a “C” or a “C” into an “F”. If you are going to be better than average, you will have to work harder than average. General Appearance – A paper that contains inconsistent formatting, looks sloppy, or otherwise distracts the reader, will interfere with your intended message. Ensure your paper looks consistent throughout. As a rule of thumb, set all defaults prior to writing your paper and check them again when the assignment is complete. Formatting issues include: consistent margins, spacing, tabs, etc. Provide 1.25 inch margins on the left and right. The MS Word default margins are preferred because they provide plenty of marginal space. Except for identifying information in the header, references, long quotes, lists, tables, and figures, double space the text throughout. Include page numbers for assignments with three or more pages. If the assignment consists of more than one sheet of paper, staple the pages together. Do not submit a formal writing assignment unstapled, with the corner crimped, or bound with a paper clip. Unless I provide them to you, do not use report covers. Do not exceed maximum length restrictions. Do not stretch an assignment to reach the maximum length unless you have something substantive to say. The fluff and filler used by some students to reach maximum length restrictions will generally detract from an otherwise good paper. Each occurrence that detracts from the general appearance counts as a separate error. Misspelling – This includes improper hyphenation, misuse of homophones, and the use of archaic forms of words. It is best to have a good dictionary by your side at all times. Turn on the spell check function of your word processor using the most restrictive settings. Even if you use a word processor with a spelling checker, you will still have to check your work. Homophones are words that look or sound alike but are used differently. Because homophones are similar, they are commonly interchanged or misused. For example, the computer will recognize the homophones “to”, “too”, and “two” as proper spellings no matter where they appear in the text. Another frequent mistake is substitution of the words “there,” “their”, and “they’re.” When people lose their jobs, it is sometimes called a “layoff” (noun, one word). The managers who make the decision choose to “lay off” (verb, two words) the workers. Make sure you know the difference between other commonly confused words such as personal and personnel, affect and effect, capital and capitol, and principle and principal. If you use a grammar checker, you still will have to be careful; even grammar checkers can make filename: 2020summer-guidelines for written assignments.docx page 3 of 16 mistakes and miss errors. The writer bears the final responsibility for spelling. Each occurrence of a misspelling counts as a separate error. Typographical Errors – These are regarded as misspellings. Check your work carefully. Contractions, Abbreviations, and Acronyms – Contractions do not belong in formal reports. Do not use contractions unless they are part of a direct quote. Any abbreviation or acronym must be properly spelled out on its first usage. If your paper includes more than 10 different abbreviations or acronyms, provide an exhibit at the end of your paper that defines all of them in one place. Run-on Sentences – If you are going to use a compound sentence structure, the independent clauses must be separated by proper punctuation and a coordinating conjunction if required. Sentence Fragments – Sentences require both a subject and verb. Some forms of creative writing might relax this requirement, but this is not creative writing; this is formal business writing. You will tend to make this error if you use a lot of compound sentences. In general, a sentence should convey only one idea. If you are trying to convey more than one idea, you will tend to write long complex sentences. Sometimes the careless writer will make the second independent clause a sentence fragment. If you tend to commit this error, err on the side of safety and reduce the complexity of your sentences. Paragraphs That Run an Entire Page – Keep paragraphs reasonably short. A paragraph is meant to convey several ideas that complete one thought. A typical paragraph will be four to eight sentences long. This means that there will be between two and four paragraphs on a page. Be careful of overly long sentences and paragraphs. Avoid paragraphs with 10 or more sentences. Single Sentence Paragraphs – A paragraph that is one sentence long either tries to do too much in one sentence or should be part of another paragraph. This type of paragraph is often a very long run-on sentence. Subject Verb Agreement – This refers to mistakes such as “They is…” and “She are…”. This type of error is offensive to the eye and the ear. You are most likely to make this kind of error if you are writing a complex sentence with a number of subordinate clauses. For example, “The director of one of the country’s largest corporations that specializes in the manufacture of consumer specialty goods is…” has a singular subject (“director”) and requires a singular verb (“is” instead of “are”) even though “…goods is…” looks and sounds funny. Complex sentences can get you into trouble, so be careful. You need to use them to give your writing a little life, but they are dangerous to the careless writer. filename: 2020summer-guidelines for written assignments.docx page 4 of 16 Incorrect or Unclear Antecedents – When you use a pronoun, it refers to another noun somewhere else in the text. This relationship must be unambiguous and correctly stated. Consider the following sentences: “Bankers, state and local government officials, and members of the general public are all working together in an effort to prevent the possible failure of a number of savings and loan institutions from damaging the financial infrastructure of this nation. They feel that some of their current work may actually hasten these failures.” Exactly who is the “they” and “their” in the second sentence? The relationship is not at all clear. This makes it impossible to tell who is doing what to whom. This type of error can be avoided by avoiding pronouns or using them sparingly. Every time you use a “he”, “she”, “it”, or “they” you must be sure that there is absolutely no doubt to whom or what the pronoun refers. You should refer to a company or an organization as “it”. Companies are singular and never referred to as “he” or “she”. Do not start a paragraph with a sentence whose subject is a pronoun. Tone: Formal business communications should be written in the third person and past tense. Do not use any first person pronouns (“I”, “we”, “me”, “us”, “our”) or second person pronouns (“you”, “your”) except in quotations. Exhibits including Appendices, Figures, Pictures, Tables, etc. – You are expected to provide data and evidence to support your analysis and arguments. Such data must be presented sequentially and logically. In research papers, you are required to provide that supporting evidence in exhibits placed either at the end of the paper or embedded within the text. Introduce exhibits in the text in sequential order. If you find that your exhibits are not in the same order as they are introduced, fix the order. If the exhibit is not needed, discussed, and explained in the text, it doesn’t belong in your paper. Your analysis or argument should be complete prior to the conclusions and recommendations section of your paper. No new information or exhibits may be introduced in the final section of the paper where recommendations are made or you draw your conclusions. All exhibits must support your analysis, and the recommendation section must stand by itself. Be sure to mention any assumptions that are relevant to the exhibits either in the text, in the exhibit, or in both locations. Be sure every exhibit is followed by an appropriate citation and is listed in the reference section. You may include the exhibits before or after the references but should arrange them in the order specified by the style guide you select. One comment on photographs is worth mentioning. The cliché that a picture is worth a thousand words may be true of art but is rarely true in formal reports. Include pictures only when their filename: 2020summer-guidelines for written assignments.docx page 5 of 16 inclusion enhances understanding by the reader. For instance, a picture of an airplane on the cover of a report about an aircraft producer is of questionable or minimal value. Most readers can recognize an aircraft so a photo does not provide anything new for the reader. On the other hand, photos of manufacturing assembly lines, design schematics, or unique forms of marketing that are necessary for the reader to understand the discussion or your analysis might be both valuable and essential. Repetitive or Weak Structures – Some writers seem to start every sentence the same way. That is one sure way to put the reader to sleep. Many people tend to start sentences with “Although…” or “Also,…” or some other indirect form. This is a very weak style and makes for dull reading. Try to start sentences (at least those which begin paragraphs) with subjects. Under this error type, the following specific items will count as 2% errors. 1. Beginning a sentence with an adverb followed by a comma is forbidden, such as “Recently,…”. This error includes forms like “However, …” and “Therefore, …”. 2. Use of the word “also” is forbidden. “Also” is a very fine four letter word, but students tend to over use it. Parallel Construction – There are times when repetitive structures are useful. When you compose compound sentences, or are making comparisons across different sentences or paragraphs, use parallel construction. Parallel construction clarifies the communication of complex ideas and helps the reader follow your thoughts more easily. But be sure to balance the use of parallel construction used to enhance understanding with repetition that would otherwise put a reader to sleep. When balancing the competing needs for repetition and clarity, write for clarity. Ambiguous Time References – It is essential to be precise with time references. Research papers and consultant reports are typically retained and reread many months or years after being published. Substitute the use of time references such as, “currently”, “last year”, “in the next quarter” with references to specific dates, such as “On 1 January 2020,…”. This ensures that future readers will understand time references and not have to conduct research and compute your intended dates. Inappropriate Phrases and Poor Word Choice – This is a catchall for poor wording. Business communications use formal English exclusive of slang, regional dialects, and modern colloquialisms. There are some phrases that are never appropriate in report writing. For example, no person or company is ever “looking to” do anything. Do not use rhetorical questions: they insult the intelligence of the reader and waste space. The only question marks in a formal report (if any) should be in direct quotations. Under this error type, the following items will count as 2% errors. 1. Use of ordinal adverbs is forbidden. This means words like “firstly”, “secondly”, …. , and filename: 2020summer-guidelines for written assignments.docx page 6 of 16 “lastly” are proscribed. 2. Use of any form of the verb “to look” is forbidden unless it pertains to the use of the eyes. It is incorrect to write that “People are looking to accomplish their goals.” 3. Use of any form of the word “current” is forbidden, unless you are writing about the flow of water or electric current. This means that the word “currently” is proscribed. 4. Use of the word “obvious” is forbidden. The truth of the matter is that nothing is ever obvious. There is always something that you do not know. When you start describing things as obvious, you are guilty of hubris. You will not do that in your writing. 5. The word “impact” is a noun, not a verb. Only over aged yuppies would use the word as a verb, and you will not do so. 6. Be careful when describing measurement concepts. A “number” of things can be counted, like the number of books of a shelf. An “amount” of things can be measured, like the amount of knowledge in those books. You do not have a “number of water in a glass” nor do you have an “amount of dollars in your wallet”. Consider which is appropriate with commodities like rice, which cannot in practice be counted but which can be measured in pounds. This means you will treat “rice” differently from “pounds of rice.” Be especially careful when measuring people or capital. Be careful to use measurement concepts correctly and precisely. Should other forbidden phrases be noticed, you will be informed of them in class. There are many fine points of writing that are open to interpretation. In these cases, you will receive the benefit of the doubt, but you could lose points if you become unreasonable. 1. Be careful about the use of commas. There are several rules for comma use and several areas open to interpretation. In those areas where you have discretion, it is easy to get carried away. When in doubt use the guidelines provided by the Business Communications faculty in BUAD 3335. 2. Avoid the use of endnotes to clarify facts or analysis that should have been included in the text of your paper (footnotes are forbidden). 3. Unless you have a strong desire to use another format, use the APA 6e citation format for your bibliography and in-text citations. 4. Margins and fonts must be reasonable, too. This typically means either the MS Word defaults or 1.25″ margins all around. Do not adapt the margins to influence paper length! The exception to this requirement is that I would prefer everyone to compose papers that do not unnecessarily waste paper. If you can save a sheet of paper by eliminating unnecessary blank spaces, please do so. (Let’s try to save the planet everywhere we can.) 5. The font should be either a standard serif (Times Roman) or sans serif (Arial or Courier) variety. Do not get cute with all those neat little fonts you find on the computer. Your intent is clarity of communication, not entertainment. 6. Assignment length: I typically do not provide an assignment length. The length should be determined the amount of writing needed to make your argument, convey the information, or complete the analysis. Determining the optimal length, determining what should be included and what should be excluded, is part of the assignment and is the responsibility of the author. I expect you to thoroughly cover any assigned topic but be succinct. I do not grade on weight! I realize that this may be new for you so I will provide guidance on how to determine a reasonable length if asked in class. If I do provide a recommended assignment length, do not stretch an assignment to meet an upper limit! See my comments on fluff. filename: 2020summer-guidelines for written assignments.docx page 7 of 16 HOW TO WRITE A BETTER PAPER At this point you might be considering either changing your major or slitting your wrists. Neither action is career enhancing, so accept the fact that you will have to work on your writing. Do not think that you can put a few scribbles down on a piece of paper and let some typist figure it out for you; that technique never works. Good typists are very expensive, too. You will do a better job if you do it yourself. Before actually writing your paper, prepare an outline. By organizing your thoughts, the writing will be easier and you will make fewer mistakes. The outline is neither required nor expected to be turned in with the paper. It is strictly for your benefit. If you think that you are good enough to write with the outline “in your head”, you are very, very wrong. There are no professional writers who can write without an outline. The authors of this guide used an outline when writing it. Structure your paper logically. In this class you will be making complex arguments involving several logical steps, ambiguous causality, and unspoken assumptions. If certain facts are needed to draw a conclusion, those facts must be introduced before the conclusion. While this statement seems both trivial and obvious, it is frequently violated in papers especially when a logical argument is complex, causality is presumed, and assumptions are taken for granted. As you construct your outline pay particular attention to logical order in which you introduce facts, information, theories, and models. Include facts prior to conclusions. Consider carefully any dubious assertions about causality. If you believe that one event causes another or that one fact logically leads to another, consider all possible challenges. If you consider and counter those challenges in your paper, as opposed to being challenged after the fact, it will establish that you thoughtfully considered alternatives and it will strengthen your paper. State any assumptions that underlay your argument. By stating your assumptions you define the conditions by which you will be assessed and reduce the challenges to your argument. The use of a thesis statement, topic sentences for each section, and topic sentences for each paragraph, will greatly enhance the readability and logic of your paper. Topic and concluding sentences are like street signs for your readers; they help the reader find their way through your analysis without getting lost, confused, or frustrated. Concluding sentences and statements will signal to your readers when you are finished with one idea or section and segue them to your next idea. It is extremely helpful to organize your paper with section and subsection headings. When you complete and are ready to proofread your paper, you are advised to go into a room, filename: 2020summer-guidelines for written assignments.docx page 8 of 16 close the door, and read the paper aloud. At times you will be unable to understand what you wrote. Many written sins become obvious when they are spoken aloud. It is much better for you (and your grade) if you find and correct these mistakes before the evaluator does. Another variation of reading aloud is to read your paper to a friend or family member. If the listener cannot understand what you are trying to say in the paper, the paper is probably poorly written. Remember that you are writing for an audience that will only know what you present in the paper. If you intend to be understood, your writing must be clear and concise. There are some restrictions to using an audience for correcting your paper. If you are writing an assignment that is supposed to represent individual work, say as part of a take-home test, you may not use another member of that class as your audience and your audience cannot make content corrections. Consult with your evaluator if you have any question on this issue. HOW TO COMMUNICATE YOUR IDEAS BETTER The preceding comments should help you construct a better paper. The following suggestions are intended to help you improve the content of what you are trying to say. While the content of written assignments really should be the subject of a specific assignment guide, a few general comments can be made. Avoid vague descriptions and generalities in your writing. Like the other comments in this guide, this may seem obvious and trivial. It is also violated so frequently that it has to be reiterated to every group of writers. Consider the issue of vague and general writing in the context of organizational performance. You should immediately recognize that statements like “The XYZ company is performing great” or “The XYZ company is performing better than expected” are vague to the point of meaninglessness. Neither example is quantifiable, yet any graduating senior in a business program should know that performance is inherently measurable even if only ordinally measurable. The reason for this is that all performance including organizational performance is relative to some fixed or variable standard. Instead of saying that the company is performing well, assess its performance using objective measures of performance or compare the company’s performance to the performance of its rivals or its industry. Carefully evaluate and critique the content and precision of your writing. If you did not find the above statements related to organizational performance obviously vague, consider what other assumptions you may have unconsciously adopted as truisms. Consider what other written comments your instructor might find vague. When comparing performance measures be sure you are making valid comparisons. In order to compare the performance of two companies or to compare company to its industry average you need filename: 2020summer-guidelines for written assignments.docx page 9 of 16 comparable numbers. Revenues and profits are not valid measures for comparing different organizations because bigger companies produce more profit for size reasons not efficiency reasons. In order to make profit comparable you need to divide profit by some factor that is proportionate to size. Examples of proportionate measures include profit as a percentage of employees, revenues, assets, equity, market value, etc. You should avoid exaggerations and unwarranted superlatives. Examples include: “All politicians are corrupt”, “This company is the best”, “No CEO could have made a better decision”, “Monopolists can charge any price they want”, and “This company is poised to earn unlimited profits because of its superior position.” Exaggerations and unwarranted superlatives weaken your analysis because a reader can usually find one or more examples where the statement can be proven wrong or false. False statements undermine your credibility as an author and analyst. It is difficult to believe the analysis of an author who is factually wrong or draws false conclusions from data. This is true even when the remaining analysis, exclusive of the exaggeration, is sound and valid. Specifically, you should purge the following dangerous superlatives from your vocabulary: all, always, best, every, everyone, limitless, never, perfect, and unlimited. Instead of making a general claim about the superiority of a company, describe the specific superior capabilities of the company and the source of those capabilities. Instead of saying “This company is poised for unbelievable growth”, give a realistic forecast of how much internal growth the company might experience over a given period of time given its past internal growth controlling for growth from mergers, increased investment, and leveraged growth. You must think, reason, and write logically. Logical errors seem common in the press and other forms of non-academic writing so you may have seen and been influenced by many logical fallacies. You may even have committed these logical errors in your previous writing. Logical errors and fallacies of logic (Labossiere, 1995) have no place in academic or business writing. Write logically because, even if I agree with your conclusions, you won’t get away with logical errors in this class. Sometimes you will need to evaluate the accuracy or veracity of claims made by others. Accuracy refers to whether the information provided is accurate or distorted. Veracity refers to the intention of the claimant. If management is making what appear to be unrealistic performance claims, point it out. Find a way to independently verify the data you are analyzing. If analysts are repeating biased data from another source, point it out. Then try to figure out why such claims are being made or propagated. Why would these people be distorting information? Is it irrational exuberance, lack of knowledge, or is their motivation self-interested deception? filename: 2020summer-guidelines for written assignments.docx page 10 of 16 When you are done writing, reread your own writing with skepticism. Ask yourself as a reader if you as the author have been convincing. If reporting information conveyed by companies and other individuals, evaluate the reliability and veracity of that information. Many companies use their public documents as an extension of their marketing and put out comments that are trite and vague, and comments that would sound good to potential customers and stockholders without really providing useful information for analysis. You are strongly urged to take advantage of the Writing Center. They will help you become a better writer, but you must be careful. You are responsible for applying course content correctly, adhering to course policies, and with complying with the rules presented in this document. If you should receive recommendations from someone in the Writing Center that are contrary to these Guidelines and you follow them, you could lose points on your paper. Counselors from the writing center will ask you to bring in a complete and polished paper at least a week before the due date in order to help you improve your paper. Do not waste their time or your own with short notice requests or incomplete drafts. If they provide good advice, use it to improve the quality of your paper through a careful revision that preserves the hard work you have put in. If you know you need help or your skills need a refresher, obtain and use a writing style guide. Many writing guides are available in hard copy (Strunk & White, 2000; University of Chicago Press, 2003) or on the internet (Starbuck, 2006). By taking a little time and care, you can produce a good quality paper. A good paper is the only way you will be able to get a good grade. A good paper is something you can be proud of, so make the effort to do a good job. REFERENCES Brozik, D. (2006). Guidlines for Term Papers. Retrieved 5 Jan, 2006, from http://webpages.marshall.edu/~brozik/ Labossiere, M. C. (1995). Fallacy Tutorial. Retrieved 5 Jan, 2006, from http://nizkor.com/features/fallacies/ Starbuck, W. (2006, Spring 1999). Fussy Professor Starbuck’s Cookbook of Handy-Dandy Prescriptions for Ambitious Academic Authors or Why I Hate Passive Verbs and Love My Word Processor. Retrieved 5 Jan, 2006, from http://www.stern.nyu.edu/~wstarbuc/Writing/Fussy.htm Strunk, W., & White, E. B. (2000). The Elements of Style (4 ed.): Longman. University of Chicago Press, S. (2003). The Chicago Manual of Style (15 ed.): University Of Chicago Press. filename: 2020summer-guidelines for written assignments.docx page 11 of 16 Appendix 1: Submission Checklist I strongly urge you to use a writing checklist before submitting written assignments. The following is an example of a Submission Checklist that would work for this assignment. Checked Identification: include each if applicable Grammar & Mechanics Word Usage References & Citations Name(s) of author(s) Course Section Group number Title, assignment description, draft number Date and term Pages numbers (for all assignments with more than 3 pages) Run Spelling and Grammar checker in word processing software. Manual check of spelling including homophones. Punctuation used correctly and consistently: Question marks, commas, apostrophes, colons and semi-colons. All abbreviations must be spelled out on first use. No contractions (spell out all contractions). No double negatives. No endnotes or footnotes. No blank pages or large blank sections. No orphaned lines. No orphaned headings. No rhetorical questions (except in quotations). Use number and amount words correctly. Spell out numbers 1-10. Use precise time references: avoid vague time references Verify correct subject – verb agreement. Correct use of prepositions. Do not end sentences with propositions. Use appropriate discipline specific terminology. Avoid pronouns unless the subject is unambiguous. Use parallel construction to enhance readability. Minimize the use of passive voice. Sentences with dependent and independent clauses must use conjunctions correctly and logically No factually inaccurate or illogical statements Write in 3rd person, past tense (except in quotes). Consistent formatting: font, font size, margins, line spacing, tabs, italics, underlining, bolding Thesis statement included at beginning of writing. Organized consistent with Strategic Management Process. Use headings, subheadings, and topic sentences to organize writing. Verify word usage is precise. No prohibited expressions or words. No slang, clichés, jargon, or colloquialisms. No imprecise metaphors, analogies, and similes. No vague, ambiguous, or meaningless statements Exaggerations and superlatives must be supported with data. Judgements and conclusions must be supported with data or evidence. All data in paper cited where used. All citations listed in references. Data used to support all assertions and generalizations. All exhibits cited and discussed in the text of paper. If quotes are used, they must be accurate, relevant to the analysis, flow with the authors writing, and be cited using appropriate format. References complete with sufficient information for retrieval. filename: 2020summer-guidelines for written assignments.docx page 12 of 16 Appendix 2: Style Suggestions When you entered SHSU, it was assumed you were proficient in the use of formal written English. I expect you to have used your time at SHSU to improve on those basic skills. I expect your writing for this class to reflect that improvement. I am not an English teacher and require an excessive amount of time to read and score poorly written papers. In the past, I have spent as much as an hour to interpret and score a single assignment. Consider the impact of ten or more poorly written assignments. It is entirely unfair to your classmates to submit a poorly written paper because it unnecessarily delays the return of the well-written assignments to students who did the assigned work correctly. The first rule for any form of writing is you must manually proofread your paper. Then, use your word processor’s spell check and grammar check using the most stringent “Formal Business English” settings. Even if you use spell check, I strongly recommend you invest in a good dictionary and keep it close when you are reading and writing. If I detect errors in a quantity that it appears you did not proof-read your writing in an effective way (exceeding 3-4 errors per page), I will stop scoring and give you 48 hours to revise the errors in the assignment for 50% credit. If I have difficulty understanding your essay, I will return the paper to you for rewriting. In either case, I will require you to provide documentation that you visited the SHSU Writing Center to get help with all future writing assignments. Formatting and Essay Structure This is a technical writing, research paper. The first goal of technical writing, enlightenment, is to successfully communicate your thesis to the reader (a second desirable goal is entertainment). Always include a thesis statement in all business and technical writing. A thesis describes the purpose of the writing, essentially telling the reader what they are about to read. An example of a thesis statement in technical writing might be “This is a strategic analysis of “Company X” and is intended to provide actionable recommendations to management for improved company performance.” Include section and subsection headings to divide the parts of your analysis. Each section and paragraph should include an introductory or topic sentence. Use appropriate segues between paragraphs and sections. Ensure consistent formatting throughout. The reader must be able to distinguish between paragraphs through the author’s use of indents or spacing. Eliminate unneeded blank pages. Eliminate inconsistencies in the use of fonts, headings, subheading, and margins. Use normal sentences and paragraphs. A standard sentence contains both a subject and a predicate, which together express a single idea. A paragraph contains a number of sentences (ideas) that express one complete thought. A normal essay will generally contain 4-6 sentences per paragraph and 2-3 paragraphs per page. Anything that deviates from this general pattern will draw attention and scrutiny. A single sentence paragraph or a paragraph that approaches the length of a full page will attract a lot of unwanted and undesirable attention. Say what you mean and mean what you say. It is the author’s responsibility to communicate his or her ideas in the most efficient way possible. Several sentences that are short and concise are always better (easier to write, easier to understand) than one longer or more complex sentence that says the same thing. Two sentences with simple structure are usually better than a compound sentence, unless you are dealing with statements of causality or ideas that possess complex dependencies. Edit sentences that are wordy or overly verbose to effectively communicate your ideas. filename: 2020summer-guidelines for written assignments.docx page 13 of 16 Making a sentence longer by adding unnecessary filler words will confuse a reader. There are numerous expressions we use in our informal speaking that reduce the clarity of formal writing. In conversation, we filter out these extra, filler, words. When writing, avoid filler words and expressions. Examples of filler words and expressions include: “As already stated…”; “With this being said…”; “As is obvious…”; “Clearly,…”; and “Obviously,…”. Negative statements are almost never as effective as positive statements; for instance compare the following sentences: 1. “Wal-Mart worries about NOT selling products at low prices” 2. “Walmart worries about selling products at high prices”. Which is easier to understand? As a general rule, if you can shorten a sentence, eliminate words, or delete an expression from a sentence without changing its meaning, do it! Avoid weak and “passive voice” verb forms. There are always more precise verbs than “have” and “is”. Avoid sentences where your reader must infer your intended subject. The passive voice expression, “The report was written”, is weaker compared to the more active expression, “She wrote the report”. Provide the reader with facts, theory, models, and an explanation for the implications and conclusions you can derive from them. It is perfectly okay to make reasonable assumptions related to data that is unavailable and to use those assumptions throughout your analysis. To use assumptions, you must state them explicitly and use them consistently. Absurd, illogical, or obviously wrong assumptions will be treated pejoratively. Basic Rules of Formal Business English for technical writing assignments 1. Identify yourself and your writing (name, date, title, assignment, version, etc.) 2. Include page numbers for essays that exceed three pages. 3. Format your paper consistently: margins, font style and size, headings and subheadings, spacing, indents, headers and footers. 4. Standardize your format for in-text citations and end of paper references. Use APA 6e unless you strongly prefer to use another style. You can find most reference formats in the OWL: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html 5. Write in 3rd person and past tense (except in direct quotations). 6. Avoid, grammar, spelling, and word choice errors. 7. Do not end sentences with prepositions. 8. Do not use double negatives. 9. Do not use slang, colloquialisms, or common jargon. 10. Define acronyms on first use. Spell out all contractions. 11. Use punctuation correctly (commas, colons, semi-colons, and apostrophes). 12. Use number and amount words correctly. 13. Avoid passive verbs. Select verbs that are precise and avoid verbs that are vague. 14. Avoid pronouns. If you use pronouns, make sure they unambiguously refer to a noun in the same or preceding sentence. 15. The tone of your paper should be professional, accurate, precise, and objective. Use business terminology where appropriate. 16. Do not use exaggerations, unnecessary superlatives, imprecise metaphors, inaccurate statements, and judgmental or biased language. Anticipate reasonable objections or exceptions to what you write and attempt to resolve those objections. Avoid asking rhetorical questions 17. Avoid words like all, always, every, everyone, impossible, never, no one etc., unless you are absolutely certain such absolute concepts apply in every possible relevant situation. 18. Unless you justify their use through data, analysis, and persuasive logic, avoid exaggerations and unjustified superlatives such as: awesome, endless, exceptional, fantastic, giant, huge, infinite, filename: 2020summer-guidelines for written assignments.docx page 14 of 16 invaluable, massive, outstanding, revolutionary, unprecedented, etc. Do not use them unless you are absolutely sure they apply. Use more objective ways to convey your intended idea. 19. Avoid imprecise terminology, truisms, and meaningless statements. Examples of statements that fail to convey meaningful strategic information include: a. “This company is truly one of a kind.” b. “This company is poised for limitless expansion.” c. “This company is well respected.” 20. Do not use vague, judgmental, or biased language. Instead provide objective data that would allow the reader to draw their own conclusions about such judgements. Strive to use precise quantitative language over qualitative language, and precise qualitative language over vague and imprecise statements. Examples of vague statement that require more precision include: a. “Revenue dropped by a significant amount” – List the amount revenue dropped by and at least the initial or final revenue. Even better would be financial statements or a partial table summarizing the company’s financial position over time that show how all expenses and revenues affected company profits over several years. b. “Last year…,” is an especially vague date/time reference. Instead state the exact date/time. E.g. “On 23 January 2017…,” The vagueness comes into focus when you consider that your report may be read several years in the future by someone in the organization unfamiliar with the event. Vague date/time references may be undecipherable to people in the future. 21. Prohibited Expressions. a. The word “current”, in all its forms, may only apply to the flow of electricity or fluid. Do not use it in its colloquial form to mean “the present time”. See the comment above about vague time references. b. The word “look”, in all its forms, must only involve seeing with the eyes. Do not use it in its colloquial verb form as a substitute for “to do”. c. The verb forms “to be” and “to have” are two of the weakest in the English language. Please consider eliminating them (or at least reducing them) from your written vocabulary. Never use either as nouns by starting a clause with “Having…” or “Being…”. d. The verb “to try” is a weak substitute for more precise verbs. e. Avoid other colloquial and more “creative” uses of language that can have multiple meanings. 22. When you proofread, delete all words and expressions that do not add meaning to your writing. If you find yourself using filler expressions, delete them. Examples of filler expressions include: a. “Like stated earlier…”, b. “As said before…”, c. “As stated previously…”, d. “With that being said…” e. “…without a doubt…” f. “As is obvious,…” Logical Expressions A strategic analysis will necessarily require you to draw non-obvious conclusions from existing data, information, and theory. To do this you need to structure an argument for your reader. How you structure your data and logic is critical to the success of your argument. Arguments are structured in steps which, if presented in the proper order, will lead your reader to the conclusion you desire conclusion. A generic example using deductive logic might resemble the following: 1. Given a known relationship that if “A” occurs, then it will cause “B” filename: 2020summer-guidelines for written assignments.docx page 15 of 16 2. And given the that “A” occurred 3. We can conclude that “B” will occur The persuasiveness of an argument is undermined or negated if the author fails to present the evidence in step 1 and step 2 in the argument, before jumping to the conclusion in step 3. Building logical arguments can also help the author determine if there is sufficient evidence (information and theory) to make logical inferences. Common Typos and homophones I see a lot of typographic errors that automated grammar checkers will NOT catch, but that normal proofreading will catch. I expect you to find and correct these errors Examples of common Homophones Ate eight Know No Bear bare Lay Lea Break Brake Mail Male By Buy Main Mane Capitol Capital Meet Meat Deer dear Night Knight Four for fore Nose Knows Hall Haul One Won Hair Hare Pain Pane Here Hear Pail Pale Hour Our Peak Peek Knew New Pear Pair Knot Not Read Red filename: 2020summer-guidelines for written assignments.docx Ring wring Roll role Some Sum Stairs Stares Steak Stake Tale Tail Tea Tee There They’re Their Toe Tow Two To Too Week Weak Write Right page 16 of 16 702 Case 21: McDonald’s – The Coffee Spill Heard “Round the World As the trial date approached, no out-of-court sel- tlement occurred. Morgan, the attorney, said that at one point he offered to drop the case for $300,000 and was willing to settle for hall that amount, but McDonald’s would not budge Days before the trial, the judge ordered the two parties to attend a media- tion session. The mediator, a retired judge, recom- mended McDonald’s settle for $225,000, using the argument that a jury would likely award that amount Again, McDonald’s resisted settlement THE TRIAL The trial lasted seven days, with expert witnesses duel ing over technical issues, such as the temperature at which coffee causes burns. Initially, the jury was annoyed at having to hear what at first was thought to be a frivolous case about spilled coffee, but the cvi- dence presented by the prosecution grabbed its atten- Lion Photos of Liebeck’s charred skin were introduced (These dramatic photos are shown in the documentary, Hot Coffee.) A renowned burn expert testified that cof- lee at 170 degrees woull cause second degree burns within 35 seconds of hitting the skin. The Defense Helped Liebeck Defense witnesses inadvertently helped the prosecution. A quality assurance supervisor at McDonald’s testified that the company did not lower its collee heat despite 700 burn complaints over ten years. A safety consultant argued that 700 complaints about l in every 24 million cups sold-were bxsically trivial. This cortiment was apparently interpreted to imply that McDonald’s cared more about statistics than about people. An executive for McDonald’s testified that the company knew its col fee sometimes caused serious burns, but it was not plan- ning to go beyond the tiny print warning on the cup that said, “Caution: Contents Hot!” The executive went on to say that McDonald’s did not intend to change any of its coffee policies or procedures, saying, “There are more serious dangers in restaurants.” In the closing arguments, one of McDonald’s defense attorneys acknowledged that the coffee was hol and that that is how customers wanted it. She went on to insist that Liebeck had only herself to blame as she was unwise to put the cup between her knees. She also noted that eleck failed to leap out of the bucket seat in the car after the spill, thus prevent- ing the hot coffee from falling off her. The attorney concluded by saying that the real question in the case is how far society should go to restrict what most of us enjoy and accept THE JURY DECIDES The jury deliberated about four hours and reached a verdict for Liebeck. It decided on compensatory damages of $200,000, which it reduced to $160,000 after judging that 20 percent of the fault belonged to Liebeck for spilling the coffee. The jury concluded that McDonald’s had engaged in willful, reckless, malicious, or wanton conduct, which is the basis for punitive damages. The jury decided upon a figure of $2.7 million in punitive damages. Company Neglected Customers One juror later said that the facts were overwhelm- ingly against the company and that the company just was not taking care of its customers. Another juror felt the huge punitive damages were intended to be a stern warning for McDonald’s to wake up and real- ize its customers were getting bumed. Another juror said he began to realize that the case was really about the callous disregard for the safety of customers. Public opinion polls after the jury verdict were squarely on the side of McDonald’s, Polls showed that a large majority of Americans-including many who usually support the little guy-were outraged at the verdict. But, of course, the public did not hear all the details presented in the trial. JUDGE REDUCES AWARD The judge later slashed the jury award by more than 75 percent to S640,000. Lacbeck appealed the reduction, and McDonald’s continued fighting the award as excessive. In December 1994, it was announced that McDonald’s had reached an out-of-court settlement with Liebeck, but the terms of the settlement were not disclosed due to a confidentiality provision. The settlement was reached to end appeals in the case. We will never know the final ending to this case because the parties entered into a secret settlement that has never been revealed to the public. Since this was a public case, liti- gated in public, and subjected to extensive media report- ing, some lawyers think that such secret settlements after public trials, should not be condoned.” Debate over Coffee Temperature Coffee suddenly became a hot topic in the industry. The Specialty Coffee Association of America put Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning Rights Reserved. May not be copied searned ar duplicated, in whole or input WCM 62-800 Case 21: McDonald’s – The Cotlee Spill Heard ‘Round the World 703 collee safety on its agenda for discussion. A spokes person for the National Coffee Association said that McDonald’s coffee conforms to industry temperature standards. A spokesperson for Mr. Collee, the coffee machine maker, said that if customer complaints are any indication, industry settings may be too low. Some customers like it holler. A collee connoisseur who imported and wholesaled coffee said that 175 degrees is probably the optimum temperature for cof- fee because that’s when aromatics are being released Coffee served at home is generally 135-140 degrees. McDonald’s continued to say that it is serving its cof- ſee the way customers like it. As one writer noted, the temperature of McDonald’s coffee helps to explain why it sells a billion cups a year.’ LATER INCIDENTS In August 2000, it Vallejo, California, woman sued McDonald’s, saying she suffered second-degree burns when a handicapped employee at a drive-through win- dow dropped a large cup of coffee in her lap. The suit charged that the handicapped employee coukl not grip the cardboard tray and was instead trying to balance it on top of her hands and forearms when the accident occurred in August 1999. The victim, Karen Muth, said she wanted at least $10,000 for her medical bills, pain and suffering, and “humiliation.” But her lawyer, Dan Ryan, told the local newspaper that she wils entitled to between $400,000 and $500,000. Attorney Ryan went on to say, “We recognize that there’s an Americans with Disabilities Act, but that doesn’t give them (McDonald’s) the right to sacrifice the safety of their customers.” It is not known how this lawsuit was settled Suits Go Global It was also announced in August 2000 that British solicitors had organized 26 spill complainants into a group suit against McDonald’s over the piping hot nature of its beverages. One London lawyer said, “Hot coffee, hot tea, and hot water are at the center of this case. We are alleging they are too hot.” Since that time other lawsuits have been filed around the world Burned by a Hot Pickle In a related turn of events, a Knoxville, Tennessee, woman, Veronica Martin, filed a lawsuit in 2000 claiming that she was permanently scaurred when a hot pickle from a McDonald’s hamburger fell on her chin. She claimed the burn caused her physical and mental harm. Martin sued for $110,000. Martin’s hus- band, Darrin, also sought $15,000 because he has been deprived of the services and consortium of his wife.” According to Veronica Martin’s lawsuit, the hamburger was in a defective condition or unreason- ably dangerous to the general consumer and, in par- ticular, to her.” The lawsuit went on to say, “while attempting to eat the hamburger, the pickle dropped from the hamburger onto her chin. The pickle was extremely hot and burned the chin of Veronica Martin.” Marlin had second-degree burns and was permanently scurred, according to the lawsuit. One report was that the McDonald’s owner settled this Case out of court. ISSUE WON’T GO AWAY The Stella Awards For 25 years now, the coffee spill heard ’round the world continues to be a subject of heated debate. The collee spill and subsequent trial, publicity, and resolu tion “prompted a tort reform storm that has barely abated.” One school of thought held that it represents the most frivolous lawsuit of all time. In fact, a pro gram called the “Stella Awards” was begun to recognize each year’s most outrageous lawsuit. The awards were the creation of humorist Randy Cassingham, and his summaries of award-winning cascs may be found on the Stella Awards Web site. In actuality, most of the lawsuits he chronicles are far more outrageous than the coffee spill in which Stella Liebeck did get seriously injured. On the other hand, consumer groups are still concerned about victims of what they see as dangerous products, and they continue to assail McDonald’s cal- lous unconcern for Stella Liebeck. In the ensuing decules, lawsuils over spill be crages have continued to come and go, but most of them have been resolved with less fanfare than Stella’s case. As for S. Reed Morgan, the lawyer who success- fully represented Stella Liebeck, he has handled only three cases involving beverages since Liebeck’s suit Morgan has turned down many plaintiffs, but said he is interested in such cases only if they involve third-degree burns A Lawsuit in Moscow Coffee spill cases have even gone global. In fact, long-running case against McDonald’s in Moscow Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning Al Rights Reserved. May not be copied scanner, or duplicated, In whole or input WCK 02-800 704 Case 21: McDonald’s – The Coffee Spill Heard “Round the World was closed in 2005 by a Moscow court after the daim- ant withdrew her $34,000 lawsuit. Olga Kuznetsova filed a lawsuit against the company after hot coffee was spilled on her in a Russian McDonald’s, Kuznetsova claimed that a swinging door hit her while she was walking out onto the restaurant’s terrace with a full Tray. She demanded 900,0XX) rubles (ther about $34,000) in damages. McDonald’s lawyers said she had nobody to blame but herself because the paper cup carried it warning that the collee was hel, which prompted her to go to court.” Coffee Spill Suits Continue There is likely no end in sight for coffee spill-type cases. In a 2013 lawsuit, a woman passenger on Con- tinental Airlines sued the company for $170,550 after a cup of hot coffee was spilled on her during her flight. She claimed the hot coffee resulted in second- degree burns and permanent scarring on her inner thighs.” Consumers can learn more about the Stella Lie- heck case and many others by visiting Ralph Nader’s newly opened American Museum of Tort Law in Winsted, Connecticut, his home town.” The new museum features groundbreaking civil cases on auto safety, tobacco, asbestos, and, yes, spilled coffee, along with many others.” QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What are the major issues in the Liebeck case and in the following incidents? Was the lawsuit “Triv clous” as some people thought, or serious business regarding safety and treatment of consumers? 2. Whil are McDonald’s social (economic, legal, and ethical) responsibilities toward consumers in the Liebeck case and the other cases? What are con- sumers’ responsibilities when they buy a product such as hot coffee or hot hamburgers? How does a company give consumers what they want and yet protect them at the same time? 3. What are the arguments supporting McDonald’s position in the Liebeck case? What are the argu- ments supporting Liebeck’s position? Should McDonald’s have settled this case when it had a chance? 4. If you had been a juror in the Liebeck case, which position would you most likely have supported? Why? What if you had been a juror in the pickle burn case? 5. What are the similarities and differences between the coffee burn cases and the pickle burn case? Does one represent a more serious threat to con- sumer harm? What should McDonald’s, and other fast food restaurants, do about hot food, such as hamburgers, when consumers are injured? 6. Why did Stella Liebeck win this case and what implications does it pose for businesses responsi- bility toward consumers? 7. What is your assessment of the “Stella Awards”? Is this making light of a serious problem? 8. Do we now live in a society where businesses are responsible for customers’ accidents or care- lessness in using products? We live in a society that is growing older. Does this fact place a special responsibility on merchants who sell products to senior citizens? ENDNOTES 1. Hot Coffee, http://www.hotcoffecthemovic.com/ Accessed June 8, 2016. 2. Andrea Gerlin, “A Matter of Degree: How a Jury Decided that a Coffee Spill Is Worth $2.9 Mil- lion, The Wall Street Journal (September 1, 1994), A1, A4 3. Theresa Howard, “McDonald’s Settles Coffee Suit in Out-of-Court Agreement,” Nation’s Restaureni News (December 12, 1994), 1. 4. Aric Press and Ginny Carroll, “Are Lawyers Burning America?” Newsweek (March 20, 1995). 30-35 5. Howard, 1. 6. “Coffee-Spill Suits Meet ADA.” Overlawyered.com, http://www.overlawyered. com/archives/00augi.html. Accessed June 8 2016. 7. Gerlin, A4 8. “The Actual Facts about the McDonald’s Coffee Case,” The ‘lectric Law Library, http://www lecilaw.com/files/cur78.htm. Accessed June 8, 2016. 9. Ibid. 10. Associated Press, “Couple Seeks $125,000 for Pickle Burn on Chin,” Athens Banner Herald (October 8, 2000), 6A. Also see Associated Press, “Couple Sues over Hot Pickle Burn” (October 7, 2000), http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv aponline/20001007/aponline154419 000.htm. Accessed June 8, 2016. Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning Al Rights Reserved. May not be copied. Soares, or duplicated, in whole or in pat WCH 02-800

• WE OFFER THE BEST CUSTOM PAPER WRITING SERVICES. WE HAVE DONE THIS QUESTION BEFORE, WE CAN ALSO DO IT FOR YOU.
• Assignment status: Already Solved By Our Experts
• (USA, AUS, UK & CA PhD. Writers)
• CLICK HERE TO GET A PROFESSIONAL WRITER TO WORK ON THIS PAPER AND OTHER SIMILAR PAPERS, GET A NON PLAGIARIZED PAPER FROM OUR EXPERTS

QUALITY: 100% ORIGINAL PAPER – NO PLAGIARISM – CUSTOM PAPER

Why Choose Us?

How It Works

• Click on the “Place Your Order” tab at the top menu or “Order Now” icon at the bottom and a new page will appear with an order form to be filled.
• Fill in your paper’s requirements in the “PAPER DETAILS” section.
• Fill in your paper’s academic level, deadline, and the required number of pages from the drop-down menus.
• Click “CREATE ACCOUNT & SIGN IN” to enter your registration details and get an account with us for record-keeping and then, click on “PROCEED TO CHECKOUT” at the bottom of the page.
• From there, the payment sections will show, follow the guided payment process and your order will be available for our writing team to work on it.

About AcademicWritersBay.com

AcademicWritersBay.com is an easy-to-use and reliable service that is ready to assist you with your papers 24/7/ 365days a year. 99% of our customers are happy with their papers. Our team is efficient and will always tackle your essay needs comprehensively assuring you of excellent results. Feel free to ask them anything concerning your essay demands or Order.

AcademicWritersBay.com is a private company that offers academic support and assistance to students at all levels. Our mission is to provide proficient and high quality academic services to our highly esteemed clients. AcademicWritersBay.com is equipped with competent and proficient writers to tackle all types of your academic needs, and provide you with excellent results. Most of our writers are holders of master’s degrees or PhDs, which is an surety of excellent results to our clients. We provide assistance to students all over the world.
We provide high quality term papers, research papers, essays, proposals, theses and many others. At AcademicWritersBay.com, you can be sure of excellent grades in your assignments and final exams.