APP 110 Business Computer Fundamentals
Week 2 Discussion
DQ 1 Academic Referencing
Learning Objectives Covered
LO 04.02 – Demonstrate the use of Microsoft Word for creating citations and references
Career Relevancy
Writing in the business world is much like academic writing, in that it involves more care and attention to detail. In the workplace, there is an expectation of formality, as in educational settings. Learning to write in a formal style is essential to career and academic development, as is the presentation of facts and research to support personal statements. In both work and university settings, integrity in written documents is critical and may be subject to ethical guidelines. Plagiarism is the act of using statements, thoughts, and ideas without giving credit to the original author. The following discussion post is designed to help students learn how to use references in their formal writings to ensure integrity in academic and professional papers.
Background
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Writing is a part of our everyday lives. Posting on social media, sending emails to friends, and text messaging is something most everyone does on a daily basis. With these everyday writings, little concern is given to phrasing, punctuation, or the origin of the message presented. However, academic writing, as with business writing, is more formal, takes more time and involves more thought. Academic and business writing also needs to be presented with integrity and a presentation of facts (Raimes, 2012). As you begin your academic career, it is critical that you have integrity in your writing and validate the source of information being presented. Writing in college is subject to ethical guidelines that must be followed by the student who submits the work. Students are responsible for their submissions, and Independence University has strict policies in place to ensure academic honesty. Microsoft Office has built in several features to help authors document thoughts or content that is not their own. Attend a live session this week to see a demonstration of the 'Reference' tab in Microsoft Word that will help you learn to craft in-text citations and the references that allow others to review the complete work.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined as the misrepresentation of presenting the intellectual work, writing, ideas, and information of others and claiming it as your own. Misuse of others’ information, regardless of intentional or unintentional use, is a serious concern that can lead to severe consequences (Independence University, 2017). As a student, you will often be using the intellectual work of others as research in your discussion and assignment submissions. However, to ensure academic integrity and avoid plagiarism, it is critical that you cite the original author and provide references to validate your statements, assuring honesty in your writing (Raimes, 2012). Academic integrity is a serious concern. However, the good news is that incorporating references in your work is easy and doing so will ensure that you have solid integrity in your submissions.
The following video explains ways to recognize and avoid plagiarism. (3:39 min)
Quotations, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
In addition to giving credit to the author of the research, quotes, paraphrasing, and summarizing give credibility to your written statements. They also allow you to expand an expert opinion on a topic and provide a position on a subject that you are just learning ("Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing," n.d.). Quotations, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing are used in the following ways:
Quotations are direct, word-for-word statements found in the source. Anytime you use five (5) or more words from the original source, you must cite as a quotation. These are presented with quotation marks, indicating that this is a direct quote created by another source ("Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing," n.d.). Hint: These should be used sparingly or not at all; better to paraphrase. Use a quotation if there is no other way to say the statement, or if needed for expert validation.
Paraphrasing is the process of using information from the original source but written into your own words. Paraphrasing is often shorter than the source, more of a mix of your thoughts combined with the original work. As you are not the originator of the information, citations and references are required ("Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing," n.d.).
The following video specifically explains how to use paraphrasing in research papers. This information will come in handy when presented with various research topics throughout your scholastic career. (11:06 min)
Summarizing is a process of using key points from the article. Also written in your own words, summaries are shorter than the original work and also need to be cited and referenced to give credit to the originator ("Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing," n.d.).
Tips to use Quotations, Paraphrases, and Summaries
When developing your academic writing, you first start out by reading the entire article(s) you are researching. Make a note of key points and summarize them in your own words. Paraphrase essential concepts and supportive information, again into your own words. If needed (and indicated), use a direct quote to emphasize a brief statement or critical fact ("Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing," n.d.).
This short video will help explain the differences between quoting material and paraphrasing information in your work. (3:07 min)
In-Text Citations and References
References within your written submissions consist of two parts: in-text citations, and the reference itself. These two elements work together; in-text citations appearing in the text with the information shared, and the complete reference in a separate section at the end of your writing.
Hint: The two parts (in-text citations and references) always appear together. You never have just one or the other, as the in-text citation flags the information and the reference allows the reader to see where they can view the full, original source.
Regardless of how you use information from research (quotations, paraphrasing, or summarizing), it is critical that you provide details on how the reader can view the original work. References will give validity to the written work and ensure academic integrity.
In-Text Citations
An in-text citation can be thought of as a flag that alerts the reader that the information presented was gathered from another source ("Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing," n.d.). Anytime that you use information collected from another source, the addition of an in-text citation including the author's last name and year in parenthesis should be added to the end of the sentence for paraphrased and summarized statements, for example (Hansen, 2017). If there is no identified author of the source (common with online articles), then the title of the article is used. Also, if no date is available, use the letters n.d. to indicate no date. The complete reference would be added to the end of the paper (see reference section below).
Additionally, if you are using a direct statement of five or more words that have appeared in succession in the original work, then the information should be identified with quotation makers, and the addition of a page or paragraph number is added to the in-text citation. If the statement comes from a source that has a page number, then the addition of a “p” is inserted after the year; example (Hansen, 2017, p. 17). If the source of information was an online article (no page numbers), then the addition of the paragraph number in which the quote was found is added as “para 17” after the year, for example (Hansen, 2017, para 17). In-text citations should appear immediately after the sentence or sentences that use the information. Again, it is important to note that direct quotes should be used sparingly in academic writing.
To help explain in-text citations a bit more, watch the following video to see an informative break down. (2:50 min)
References
The reference provides all of the information necessary for the reader to review the original source. Every source that was used in your written work must be included in the reference list; again, references and in-text citations work in tandem with one another. Each citation can be linked to a complete reference, and every reference on your list will have a citation in your text ("Reference list: Basic rules," n.d.).
There are several different ways in which you would create a reference depending on the source. For now, we will focus on the three most common reference types, a book, an article with an author, and an article without an author, and how to use them in weekly discussions. In your next course, you will learn about other reference types, as well as how to use them in papers. All references contain the author (if available), the year published (or n.d. for no date), and how to access the information (publisher or website address).
A book reference: For a book reference, start with the author's last name, followed by initials. If there is more than one author, then use a comma between authors, with an ampersand (&) before the final author. Include the year the book was published in parenthesis, then a period. The title of the book is added, capitalizing only the first letter of the first word and all proper nouns followed by a period. Add the city of publication, and two-letter state code, then a colon and lastly, add the publisher of the book (Raimes, 2012). Book.jpeg
A website article with an author: As much of the research you use will be taken from the web, a slightly different style is used for this reference type. As with a book, start with the author's last name, followed by initials. If there is more than one author, then use a comma between authors, with an ampersand (&) before the final author. The year the article was published is then placed in parenthesis followed by a period. If no date is available (common for online sources), use n.d. to signify no date. List the title of the article, capitalizing just the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns followed by a period. Finally, add the phrase "Retrieved from" with a colon, and then the website address where the article can be found (Raimes, 2012).
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A website article without the author: If no author is available, the reference is changed to list the title of the article first, followed by the website information (Raimes, 2012).
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Your discussion posts should always contain at least one reference source. References should be added for any information that is obtained from an outside source, regardless of whether you paraphrase, summarize, or use direct quotes.
Please watch the video below for a step-by-step explanation of how to use references in your posts using the tools within Microsoft Word. (7:45 min)
Video Takeaways:
The importance of references and in-text citations in documents.
Creating of in-text citations and references using Microsoft Word Tools.
How to add a reference list to documents and submissions.
Prompt
For this week’s discussion, write a post that discusses why it is important to reference research in your assignments. Is it ethical to use someone's work without citing it? Why or why not? How will you use the above citation styles (paraphrase, summarize, or direct quote) in your weekly discussions? Share any other insights you made after reviewing the above, such as how using citations will help you to develop your discussion posts or how you can utilize MS Word to make citations and references simple additions to your work. Make sure to use proper citations in your post.
Reply Requirements
You must submit:
1 main post of 150+ words with 1 in-text citation and reference (follow the Institution Writing Guidelines)
2 follow-up posts (replies) of 50+ words
Responses can be addressed to both your initial thread and other threads but must be:
Your own words (no copy and paste)
Unique (no repeating something you already said)
Substantial in nature, which means there has to be some meat to the reply not something like: "Good job, Rasha, your post is excellent." A substantial post will do one of the following:
Extend the conversation deeper,
Challenge the post being responded to, or
Take the conversation in a career-relevant tangent
Remember that part of the discussion grade is submitting on time and using proper grammar, spelling, etc. You're training to be a professional—write like it.
Click here for info on the Institution Writing Guidelines (IWG) if you have questions.
References and Resources
Raimes, A. (2012). Keys to successful writing: A handbook for college and career. Boston, MA: Wadsworth.
Purdue Writing Lab. (2018). Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing. Retrieved from The OWL at Purdue: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/using_research/quoting_paraphrasing_and_summarizing/index.html (Links to an external site.)
DQ2 Tracking Changes in Microsoft Word
Learning Objectives Covered
LO 04.04 – Demonstrate how to track changes in a Microsoft Word document, including responding to proposed changes, creating, and responding to comments, and how to manage multiple versions of a document in a collaborative development
Career Relevancy
Being able to produce and write understandable and professional work doesn’t just apply to your academic career. It will apply to your future career as well. Communicating professionally and being able to critique another associate’s work is common in various types of professions. Businesses focus on producing the highest quality product and work in every instance, so if you are prepared to write professionally, accept edits and suggestions professionally, and work collectively you can be a positive addition to any company.
Background
In most professional or academic environments, you will experience having someone critique the work you do. Whether you are writing essays, business proposals, or submitting a manuscript for a book idea, you will fall under the scrutiny of various audiences. Although the connotation of someone scrutinizing your work can seem like a negative experience, very often it can benefit you as a writer. It is easy to overlook mistakes, even after reading and rereading what you have written, so having an extra pair of eyes to look over your work can result in refined and clean writing.
Microsoft Word contains editing features that aide writers and editors in collaborating and suggesting changes and embellishments to documents that are in progress. Besides having the option of one person editing your work, these editing features can also be used collectively as a group to provide input and suggestions on such things as a project document. In Word you can track changes made to an original document by using the Review tab on the Ribbon. In the image below, you can see the many options that are available to you when using the Review tab in Word. From Read Aloud in the Speech group to Comparing documents in the Compare group you really have a wide array of possibilities when you select the Review tab on the MS Word Ribbon.
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Creating and Responding to Comments
As you may have guessed from looking at the image above, you probably noticed that there is an option to create comments in a document. Let’s say you are proofreading through a document of a colleague to ensure everything looks correct. When you read the first line, you notice that something needs to be changed. You want to notify the writer that they should put the word “hiding” in between the word “cat” and “underneath”. To create a comment, you would click on the “New Comment” button to create a comment field. See the image below for an example:
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After you have clicked on the “New Comment” button a dialog box with your name will appear on the right side of your screen like this:
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You can then enter your comments or suggestions in the dialog box. The “Reply” button can be utilized by simply clicking on it. It can be used in instances when someone else (such as the original creator of the document or a new reviewer) has additional information to share. You can respond to any previous comments by clicking the Reply button to add more content in the “Comments” box.
Another way for users to track changes or suggestions in a document is by entering the changes they want to see directly into the text. They can do this by selecting the “Track Changes” button in the Tracking group as pictured below:
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You will then see drop down options where you can choose to Track Changes or Lock Tracking:
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When you choose to “Track Changes” the text you enter in to the document will be highlighted so others who look at the document will know what has been suggested as a change. If you don’t want others to be able to delete or change your suggestions, then the “Lock Tracking” option would come into play. Let’s go back to the first example screen you saw, where the reviewer of the document wanted to include the word “hiding” in the sentence. This is what the text would look like if they had entered the text in using the “Track Changes” button:
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As you can see, adding comments and suggested text is an easy way for writers to collaborate with other writers, reviewers, and editors using a few easy steps.
Managing Multiple Versions of a Document in a Collaborative Development
Collaboration is essential to quality work and well-functioning businesses. Imagine what board room meetings, or company projects would be like if people didn’t work together and only focused on individual contributions. Microsoft Word makes the process of working together on one document and one final product easier than emailing suggestions back and forth or marking up a printed version with a red pen. With Word, documents can be marked up with suggestions and colors and interchange hands multiple times. One important guideline to follow is to make sure you have one person heading up each document that is being reviewed. Instead of a whole team being in charge, having one person head up a collaboration effort will prove to be more effective. If you have more than one person in charge of a document, the work around could get complicated and even result in setbacks because too many people are trying to direct. To help ease the complication of having multiple people working on a document you can use features such as Microsoft SharePoint where only one person can work on a specific document at a time. Another feature in Word that can aide groups working in a collective way is the Compare or Combine features found in the Compare group in the Review tab. With this feature you can compare and combine different documents into one. Just remember that collaboration isn’t fully successful unless everyone is on the same page and reaching toward the same goal.
Prompt
It is mentioned in the background information above that it is wise to have one person heading up a document to be collaborated on. Why do you think this is true and what do you think is the best method for having a group of people collaborate on contributing to a document or project?
For your citation, you might use articles that show examples of ways to lead a group in collaborating together. You can also find articles from experts that suggest the best way to use Microsoft Word to manage collaboration efforts.
Your initial and reply posts should work to develop a group understanding of this topic. Challenge each other. Build on each other. Always be respectful but discuss this and figure it out together.
Reply Requirements
You must submit:
1 main post of 150+ words with 1 in-text citation and reference (follow the Institution Writing Guidelines)
2 follow-up posts (replies) of 50+ words
Responses can be addressed to both your initial thread and other threads but must be:
Your own words (no copy and paste)
Unique (no repeating something you already said)
Substantial in nature, which means there has to be some meat to the reply not something like: "Good job, Rasha, your post is excellent." A substantial post will do one of the following:
Extend the conversation deeper,
Challenge the post being responded to, or
Take the conversation in a career-relevant tangent
Remember that part of the discussion grade is submitting on time and using proper grammar, spelling, etc. You're training to be a professional—write like it.
