RUTH’S NOTES: SOME WRITING TIPS
August 17, 2010

SOURCES

Some sources are great fun to explore and are very handy in everyday life. But they are not considered “scholarly. These include a wide range of general information sites on the internet: wikis, ask.com, and so on.

Some other internet sources are screened and edited with rigor: these are considered scholarly. Some sites that include sources of this caliber are listed below. When you include the source as a reference, the link to the web is not enough. Include all the appropriate data for the individual source just as you would if you had found it in print.

http://scholar.google.com/

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/

REFERENCE LIST

These are some examples you can use as a guide. Note: Ruth considers it an acceptable option to use an author’s full name. She has often been confused with Robert House when only initials are used.

Book.

Item B, p. 248.

House, Ruth Middleton. (2005). It’s time to change the way you change. Kennesaw, GA: Middleton-House & Company.

Journal Article.

Item 1, p. 240.

Mellers, B.A. (2000). Choice and the relative pleasure of consequences. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 910-924.

Nonperiodical document on the Internet.

Item 78, p. 274.

Chou, L. McClintock, R., Moretti, F. & Nix, D.H. (1993). Technology and education: New wine in new bottles: Choosing paste and imagining educational futures. Retrieved August 24, 1000, from Columbia University, Institute for Learning Technologies Web site: http://www.ilt.Columbia.edu/pulicaions/papers/newwine1.html

Internet article based on a print source.

Item 71, p. 271.

Philpot, J. (2007). Something wiki'd this way comes. People Management, 13(25), 28-31. Retrieved May 21, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1409844801).

Personal Communications.

Item 3.102, p. 214.

Since personal communications cannot be recovered for review, they are not included in the reference list but they would be cited as a source in the text.

(Dana Lemon, personal communication, June 18, 2010)

Video.

Item 65, p.266.

Morgan, Faith (Writer/Producer/Director), Murphy, Pat (Writer/Producer), Bachman, Megan Quinn (Writer/Producer) (2006). The power of community [DVD]. Yellow Springs, OH: The Community Solution.

WTTW National Productions (Producer). (2000). CEO exchange: Mastering the art of Corporate reinvention. [VHS] (Available from www.pbs.org.)

IN-TEXT CITATIONS.

Item 3.101, p. 213. Citing specific parts of a source.

You must always cite a specific part of a source if you have used a quotation. Ruth prefers that you do it as a rule so the diligent reader (like Ruth!) knows where exactly to look for more information.

(House, 2005, p. 159)

(House, 2005, chap. 9)

If an electronic source does not provide a page number, use a paragraph number preceded by the symbol ¶ or by the abbreviation para. If the document you are citing is a long one, identify the section and the paragraph following it.

(House, 2005, ¶5)

(House, 2005, concluding section, para. 5)

Item 3.102, p. 214. Citing Personal Communications. Since personal communications cannot be recovered for review, they are not included in the reference list but they would be cited as a source in the text.

(Dana Lemon, personal communication, June 18, 2010)

GRAMMAR WATCHLIST.

An vs. and.

Use an instead of a to modify a word that begins with a vowel sound. Please make me an appointment with Mr. Smith on Tuesday morning.

Use and to link ideas, objects or names of people and places that go together. Robert and Evelyn have been partners in this business for a long time.

Go vs. goes.

Use go with a singular subject. They go to the New York office four times a year.

Use goes with a plural subject. He goes to the New York office once a month.

Has vs. have.

Use has with a singular subject. He has been late to every meeting.

Use have with a plural subject. They have been complaining about this problem for a long time.

Had gone vs. went.

Use had gone to show that one event had occurred prior to another event or prior to another point in time. Mr. Smith had gone to court before Mrs. Jones arrived.

Use went to show that something happened in the past without comparison to another event or point in time. He went to court yesterday.

Sentence Structure.

A complete sentence must make sense by itself. It must include an action-taker and an action.

Their vs. there.

Their is the possessive form of they. “They left the records they needed back at their office.”

There points to a location. “That folder is over there on the counter.”

Where vs. were.

Where refers to a location. “Where did the students go?”

Were is the plural past tense of the verb “to be.” “The last time I saw them, they were walking toward the lab.”