Citing Your Work; How and Why by Daniel White

As a writer, it is extremely important to document where you obtain your facts, quotes, and ideas whether it be from a book, an email or any other form of media available. By citing your sources, you obtain three important purposes:

• Your readers have the ability to look at where you got your information and facts so that they can then go and find more information on the subject.

• It allows writers to give support to the original writer in their ideas and assertions in documents such as proposals and reports.


• It gives writers credit for their work, thus avoiding plagiarism.

There are many different ways to cite your sources and they differ between each format meaning that there is no ONE correct way of citing your work (Citing a book is different from citing a website for example). In your works cited for each piece of media used, included should be the title of the work, when it was written and who it was written by as a bare minimum.

The best way to ensure precision when citing your work is to use a website that deals purely with citing your work such as easybib.com. This website allows you to select the format you wish to use (MLA or APA etc.), the type of media you are citing (article, website, book, etc.) and various other pieces of information. Then when you are done filling in the certain fields, it will generate an accurate citation based on the information provided.


Works Cited

EasyBib: Free Bibliography Maker - MLA, APA, Chicago citation styles. 30 Mar. 2009 .

Writing That Works: Communicating Effectively on the Job ninth edition (2006). Authors: Charles T. Brusaw, Walter E. Oliu, and Gerald J. Alred

The Do's and Don'ts of Instant Messaging at Work by Evan Grant

Instant messaging (IM) is practically the text equivalent to a phone call. Nowadays, businesses use IM to collaborate on projects because of the ease of use and the immediate response it brings. However, there are some guidelines that would be wise to follow when using IM at work, so I am going to provide a list of do’s and don’ts when using IM in the workplace.

Do’s

1. Separate your business contacts from your personal contacts on your buddy list.

- This will eliminate the possibility of a business contact accidently becoming involved in a personal conversation or vice versa.

2. Know that IM’s can be saved.

- Don’t type anything in an IM that you wouldn’t want repeated or read by another party. You may feel secure in making bold statements or making fun of your boss but the recipient can just as easily copy and paste something you wrote. Some IM services automatically archive every conversation you have ever held through each screen name, making what you type very insecure.

3. Be wary of viruses and other potential security risks.

- When collaborating on a paper, file transfers are a very helpful utility but you need to make sure you aren’t being sent a virus. IM file attachments can penetrate firewalls much easier than e-mail file attachments. Be sure to double check the quality of your firewall before accepting file attachments.

4. Know how to keep your messages short and to the point, and know when to say “ttyl.”

- With IM you can easily avoid pleasantries and get right to the point. Just ask your question, get your answer, and go back to work. For example:

managerdude: hey did you finish your TPS report?
whitecollardude: ill have it on your desk by noon.
managerdude: k

Don'ts

1. Don’t communicate confidential or sensitive messages over IM.

- If your business gives advice concerning stocks, medicine, law, or financial information, it would be best to not do so over IM. Better to stick with quick questions and conversations.

2. Don’t share personal information with others over IM.

- NEVER GIVE OUT CREDIT CARD INFORMATION OR PASSWORDS OVER IM. Even if you have complete trust in the person you are talking to avoid it completely. When you send IMs the text is relayed to a server before it gets to the recipient. If an employee from the IM provider or a hacker sees your personal information, it won’t be personal for much longer.

3. Don’t use a confusing user name or status.

- User names should be consistent throughout your company. (ex. Use the first initial, middle initial, and last name, like “emgrant.” Managerdude and whitecollardude should not be used.). Users should also be courteous by updating their status to let others know if they are available or not.

4. Don’t damage the reputation of you or your company.

- Again, be careful about what you say in an IM, but most importantly be sure not to put your company’s reputation in jeopardy. It could cost you your job…



Works Cited:

"10 tips for using instant messaging for business." Microsoft Corporation. 30 Mar. 2009. http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/technology/communications/10-tips-for-using-instant-messaging-for-business.aspx#tipsforusinginstantmessagingforbusiness.


"AOL's Third Annual Instant Messenger Trends Survey." Instant Messenger - AIM - Instant Message Your Online Buddies for Free - AIM. 30 Mar. 2009. http://www.aim.com/survey/.

Birth of Writing by George Erkvania

One of the most important developments and discoveries of humankind has been writing, but often people do not realize how long and complicated this path has been.

The invention of writing happened in different way in different ancient civilizations, but it followed the same basic fundamental steps of development.
First, to indicate something people used it’s picture or conventional sign:

Later they made it to the phonetic writing system based on the mechanics of the Rebus.Than they went to a syllabic writing and at the end they started alphabetic writings

The Tigris-Euphrates river valley is often called the “Cradle of Civilization,” as it is the place where one of the earliest civilizations and the earliest writing system developed. (Image)
People living in southern Mesopotamia developed one of the earliest writing system in the world. Around 3100 B.C barley was the most important crop in Southern Mesopotamia and farmers needed to record the trades and amounts of received barleys.

Later, tool was used to wedge shapes into clay called cuneiforms. (From the Latin cuneus, meaning "wedge"). Cuneiform writing was developed and was used to express variety of information such as temple activities, business, trade, myths and personal letters.

Today Latin alphabet has become the most used alphabet in the world today. It is used all across Europe and around the world for thousands of different languages.








Reference: British Museum's website.(2001). Mesopotamia covering Sumer, Babylonia and Assyria. Retrieved March 28, 2009 from

http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/

Preparing For a Job Search, Finding and Obtaining Employment by Jennifer Flowers

Everyone goes through the same difficulties of finding and obtaining a job. Whether it's trouble with deciding on what type of job to apply for, how to go about applying for a position, or being non productive at all, we all end up in the same place. Unemployed. Following are a list of helpful steps that are encouraged to be followed while applying for a job. The benefits will be shown with the results of a position in a firm or by an employer that you are happy and can become successful with.

• To start off, the most important thing is to determine the best job for you. You can find this out by:
• 1. Assessing your skills / what you enjoy doing
• 2. Your abilities
• 3. Career goals and values
• 4. What different areas interest you (for example, helping people, computers, animals, the environment etc.)

Next once you have figured out a few areas that interest you and would be possible candidates for a future job/career start researching via Internet, networking, newspapers/journals and college placement offices on campus. This will allow you to see which job opportunities are available and which you could imagine working as.

Once you have found some good prospective job listings the next step is to send a letter of inquiry or set up an informational interview with the employer to obtain information on the position as well as make a great first impression.

Next produce an accurate resume that tells of all your qualities as well as past work experience and awards or recognitions you have received over time. When preparing to write your resume remember to keep in mind the job you are aspiring to receive and to only include relevant information that will help you get that job!

If these simple steps are followed when preparing for a job search I guarantee you will be one step ahead of everyone else and finding and obtaining employment will be a breeze. Good Luck job hunting!

references:

Writing That Works: Communicating Effectively on the Job ninth edition (2006). Authors: Charles T. Brusaw, Walter E. Oliu, and Gerald J. Alred

Tips on How to Analyze Your Reader/Audience by Megan Clipse

Analyzing and deciphering your audience is a crucial step in the writing process. An effective analysis will lead to a more personalized document with all the pertinent information rather than a bunch of extraneous padding that often results in an undefined audience. According to Air University (2009), there are four types of readers:

1. General-Someone who has no specific experience in the area being written about and often is reading to be informed, persuaded, or entertained.


2. Decision Maker-Most demanding and important reader who is looking for the "bottom line" information and conclusions.


3. Operator-Those whose experience levels may vary and are looking for "how-to" or "step-by-step" wordings.


4. Expert-Reader has formal education and is familiar with the area. Will require more data to support your ideas since the expert is very knowledgeable in the given field already.

Here are a few things to consider before you start writing to better understand your reader.

• Responsibilities of the reader


• Reader's predetermined point of view


• Audience's education/formal background


• Their experience


• Who is the primary reader (external/internal, superior/peer/subordinate)?


• Who are my secondary readers, if any? (Find out their level of expertise too!)


• What does my reader already know about my topic? (Eliminates the extraneous info that the reader could care less about. Keeps the writing on track rather than beating around the bush)


• What does the reader want and their main concerns?


• How will the reader use the information?

It is crucial in professional writing to always keep the reader in mind and that all effective communication is done by knowing as much as possible about the reader. The more you know the better off you will be and the writing process will flow much easier!

Below is a short video discussing how to understand your audience in writing; although it says web writing the same tips can be applied to any form of communication.



References:

Air University (2009). Writing and Editing Tips. Retrieved March 28, 2009, from the AU Website: http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/army/writing_tips.htm

ULiveandLearn (2002-2007). Business Writing Tips from The Writing Center. Retrieved March 28, 2009, from the iContact website: http://community.icontact.com/p/uliveandlearn/newsletters/biztips/posts/business-writing-tips-from-uliveandlearn-analyze-your-audience

Youtube LLC (2009). Writing for the Web-Understanding Your Audience. Retrieved March 28, 2009, from the Youtube website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdiSvltMxPQ

4 Things To Keep In Mind Before Any Presentation by Andrew Kam

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International Pro. Writing Tips by George erkvania

The ability to write well in international business world is crucial part of the successful business communication. U.S businesses are trying to develop the international presence for number of reasons, some of them are: weaker dollar, cheap labor and better communication technology. Even though the value of the dollar and the trade deficit may fluctuate, globalization progresses really fast. To be able to compete in global business one should be able to write professional letters that emphasizes with culture and values of partner company’s country of origin.
Improving communication and letter writing across countries weather it is personal or business letters are so important because we are living in multicultural business world. It is totally normal today that people that we work with, have business with or socialize with to be from other countries. The fact is that all cultures are different U.S companies who trying develop global business, need to be very sensitive and aware of things that can help to improve the communications and break down some barriers, so they can understand each other better.
The clear examples of possible cultural misunderstanding are so called “Americanisms.” Americanisms are special phrases that are unique for U.S culture but can be confusing for any other international citizens. For example:

a) Knock on wood
There are several theories on the origin of this phrase. ”The most common is that in the Middle Ages, pieces of the wooden cross on which Jesus was crucified would be displayed for the public to touch. A touch of the holy wood was thought to bring good luck. The Briticism for this same thought is “Touch wood;” it means the same thing, but stayed closer to the origin. How Americans went from “touch” to “knock” is a mystery.”(www.prowritingtips.com)
b) Let the cat out the bag
If anyone ever accused you of revealing a secret is same as “letting the cat out of the bag”. “At market, these traders would advertise pigs for sale, but when a customer bought one, the con men would hand them a bag and instruct them not to open it until they got home. When the customer opened the bag, they would find a cat instead of a pig and realize they had been duped.”(www.prowritingtips.com)
Personally, I learned to write in British English and it was a huge adjustment for me to understand all those idioms and colloquialisms (kick the bucket, call in sick, ain’t, ganna, wanna.)
References: http://prowritingtips.com/2009/01/americanismsorigins/