Technical Writing/Researching Assignment APA style Think of your paper like you are building something

Where do I start? Topic broad/narrow Keywords Start searching Cut and paste references Mind/concept map 5W’s Make sure you have found enough information Look at sample reports Start writing Reference page Edit/proof

Searching Like gathering building materials Books Library page – scholarly peer reviewed articles - subject guides, Credo database cut and paste citation Credible websites (author, date)– companies, associations, gov., encyclopedias, edu

Word bank Database Journal Article Scholarly Peer reviewed APA style Credo Subject guides

Taking Notes like the house plan Avoid plagiarism Read the information, think, then put what you’ve read in your own words Avoid cutting and pasting Identify direct quotes Document your sources as you take notes

Concept Map - Web  Gothic Architecture  When  Who  materials  Where What is it define  3 characteristic elements  3 period works  Abbot Suger  Why

Creating an Outline I.Introduction A.Grab audience attention B.State thesis II.Body A.Build points B.Develop ideas C. Support main claim III.Conclusion A.Reemphasize main idea

Details Site visit APA words Third person Double spaced 12 pt. Arial Unicode MS Page number upper right References inet.or.jp/org/orion/eng/hst/gothic/milanoc.html History report APA 3000 words 13 images Third person Double spaced 12 pt. Arial Unicode MS References Flying buttress

The Technical Report  Executive Summary  Acknowledgements (optional)  Table of Contents  List of Illustrations  Introduction  Body of Topic  Conclusions  Recommendations  References  Image References Architecture Moderne France 

Executive Summary  Very important part of the Technical Report  Condensed overview of the project  Identifies purpose, scope, methodology, recommendations, conclusions  Created after the paper has been completed  Clear and concise  Tell people what’s inside 

Acknowledgements  Optional  Like a dedication  Thanks people or groups for support of and assistance with the project

Table of Contents LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS v 1.0 INTRODUCTION Purpose Background Scope Methodology BODY OF TOPIC 2.1 Backup Procedures ……………… Types of Backup Hardware External Hard Drives Blu-Ray DVD Data Security …… CONCLUSIONS RECOMMENDATIONS REFERENCES APPENDIX: Comparison of Various Types of External Hard Drives

List of Illustrations  Like a table of contents for graphics  Allows readers to access your graphics with ease Figure 1: Timeline: Data Backup Storage.. 5 Figure 2: Solid State Hard Drive Chart 1: Methods of Data Encryption

Documenting Illustrations  Figure 1. Timeline: Data backup storage

1.0 Introduction 1.1 Purpose goal, problem 1.2 Background brief history of the purpose 1.3 Scope defines what is (and is not) part of the project 1.4 Methodology research methods used, how information was collected

Thesis Statement  States the topic / main idea of the paper  Shows the purpose of your paper  Shows the direction of your argument  Written in focused, specific language  It is interesting

2.0 Body of Report  The research results and findings  Facts and figures  Divided into second and third level headings

3.0 Conclusion  Solves the problem presented in the introduction by connecting to the data in the body  Suggested actions drawn from the conclusions  4.0 Recommendations

References  List of your sources  Printed  Electronic  Audiovisual  APA (American Psychological Association) format  Alphabetical order by author

 Melbourne 1903 

Plagiarism and APA style apastyle.org What is Plagiarism? Taking credit for work that isn’t your own!

Plagiarism includes…  Copying an entire paper and claiming it as your own  Copying part of a paper and claiming it as your own  Copying information from a source and passing it off as your own  Cutting and pasting from the web or any other electronic resource and passing it off as your own

Accident or Not It’s Still Plagiarism When…  Copying text word for word and failing to put quotation marks around it even if you cite it  Inaccurately quoting a source  Omitting in-text citations even though the source is cited on the works cited page  Failing to include the citation on the works cited page

How do I Avoid It?  Use your own words and ideas  Give credit for direct quotes using quotation marks and citing the source  Give credit for websites, photos, diagrams, graphics, multimedia  Paraphrases, restating the author’s words or ideas in your own words, must be cited

Sources to cite  Books  Journal Articles  Web Sites  Government Documents  Statistics  Images/Charts/Tables  Video recordings  Interviews 

Quotations  Double quotation marks around short quotations (<40 words).  Longer quotations (>40 words) block indent and omit quotation marks.

Short Quotation (<40 words) “An honor code usually consists of a signed statement in which students promise not to cheat and not to tolerate those who do” (Harris, 2001, p. 117).

Long Quotation (>40 words) Athletes are searching for anything that will make them more competitive including nutritional supplements, such as vitamins, energy bars and drinks that may compensate for dietary deficiencies, and over-the-counter products like shark cartilage and amino acids, which purport to increase muscle mass, boost energy and endurance, prompt weight gain (or loss), or reduce recovery time between workouts. (Jollimore, 2004, p. 54)

In-Text Citation (APA Style) Jollimore (2004) states that “For all the progress athletes are making in eating well, many continue to rely on risky dietary supplements, which are often tainted by banned substances such as nandrolone” (p. 54).

Paraphrasing  Restating the author’s ideas into your own words  Need to do more than just change a word or two

Reference List  Acknowledges all the sources you have cited in your project  Organized in alphabetical order  Strictly follows citation style format (APA, MLA... )

References Anderson, D. (2001, August 3). Statement by Environment Minister David Anderson on Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Retrieved July 24, 2004, from Blicq, R. (2001). Guidelines for report writing. Toronto: Pearson Education Canada. Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (1995). The craft of research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Harris, R. (2001). The plagiarism handbook. Los Angeles: Pyrczak. Health Canada. (2004). West Nile virus. Retrieved July 19, 2004, from Jollimore, M. (2004, June 21). Fuel’s gold: Why Canada’s athletes pay so much attention to what they eat. Time, 163(25), Reitman, J. (2004). The Baghdad follies. Rolling Stone, 952/953,

Capitalization Rules  Title of a journal article, books, videos and web documents – capitalize the first letter only of the title. Example: The dangers of the work place. Remember to capitalize proper nouns: example: The education system in Canada.  Titles of newspapers, journals and magazines – Capitalize all major words in the title. Example: The Globe and Mail  Always capitalize the word following a colon [ : ]. Example from a book title: The sweat off our brows: Working the field  Don’t capitalize minor words like: and, or, the, is except when?

Rules of Italics  Italicize the titles of journals, magazines, newspapers, books, videos and web documents: Some examples:  Book: The sound and the fury  Video: Saving Private Ryan  Magazine: Time  Italicize the volume number of a journal but not the issue number: Example: Canadian Art, 24(3)  Do not italicize article titles from journals and magazines:  Example from an article from Time: The wayward winds of change [Not italicized]

 Reference List Rules to Remember  For journal articles, books, videos, and websites: Only capitalize the First letter of the title, proper nouns & first word after a colon.  Authors’ names must be inverted, using only the first & middle initials. For more than one author use the “&” before the final name.  There is no period at the end of a website citation.  Personal communications are only cited in text, not in reference list.

Figure Example Figure 1: Certificate installation (Curran & Canning, 2007, p. 141)

Image References Curran, K., & Canning, P. (2007). Certificate installation [Diagram]. Information Systems Security, 16(3), 141. doi: / Rodríguez, E., Zúñiga, H., Calvo, M., & Tepichín, E. (2008). Logic and arithmetic microprocessor operations [Chart]. AIP Conference Proceedings, 992(1), doi: /

Chart Example Chart 1: Logic and arithmetic microprocessor operations (Rodríguez, Zúñiga, Calvo, & Tepichín, 2008, p. 1101)

List of Illustrations Figure 1: Certificate installation ………………………………………2 Chart 1: Logic and arithmetic microprocessor operations …………7

References Curran, K., & Canning, P. (2007). Wireless handheld devices become trusted network devices. Information Systems Security, 16(3), doi: / Rodríguez, E., Zúñiga, H., Calvo, M., & Tepichín, E. (2008). Opto- electronic emulation of a programmable digital circuit. AIP Conference Proceedings, 992(1), doi: /