Writing StandardsCommunicating professionally an.docx

Writing Standards
Communicating professionally and ethically is one of the most
important skillsets we can teach you at Strayer. This guide gives
you a starting point for ensuring;
Your writing looks and sounds professional
You give credit to others in your work
Writing Assignments
Title Page
Start your paper with a title page and include assignment title,
your name, the course title, your professor’s name, and date.
For all other writing assignments, see assignment guidelines.
Body
Include page numbers.
For your paper, use double spacing. For all other writing
assignments, see assignment spacing guidelines.
Use Arial, Courier, Times New Roman, or Calibri font style.
Use 10-12 point font size for the body of your text.
For tables/charts/graphs/image, see assignment guidelines.
Clear and Ethical Writing
Writing should be in active voice when possible, use
appropriate language, and be concise.
Use the point of view (first, second, or third person) required by
the assignment guidelines.
Use spelling and grammar check tools to help ensure your work

is error free.
Include in text citations and a reference page when the
assignment requires research.
If a source is cited within the paper, then it needs to be listed on
the reference page.
If a source is listed on the reference page, then it needs to be
cited within the paper.
Reference Page
Include a reference page only when the assignment requires
research.
Type Reference Page centered on the first line of the page.
Organize references in a numbered list and in order of use
throughout the paper. If a source is cited more than once, use
the original number.
In Text Citations
When quoting or paraphrasing another source in your writing,
you need to give credit by using an in text citation. An in text
citation includes the author’s last name and the number of the
reference from the reference page list. Remember, only writing
assignments that include research require in text citations.
Incorporate in text citations into sentences by using signal
phrases (a group of words or phrase that tells the reader
someone else's thoughts or ideas follow) and/or parentheticals
(source information contained in parenthesis). A well-written
paragraph focuses on one idea and normally includes 1-2 in text
citations. Try to use a mix of signal phrases and parentheticals
to avoid sounding dull and to make sure your paper is well
balanced.
Option #1: Quoting - citing another person's work word for
word
Do not quote more than one sentence (approximately 25 words)
at a time.
Place quotation marks at the beginning and the end of the

quoted information.
Do not start a sentence with a quotation.
SIGNAL PHRASE EXAMPLES:
As Smith wrote in his book, “Writing at a college level requires
informed research” (1).
Smith (1) explained in his book, “Writing at a college level
requires informed research.”
PARENTHETICAL EXAMPLE:
Many authors agree that “Writing at a college level requires
informed research” (Smith, 1).
Option #2: Paraphrasing - rewording ideas to better fit your
paper
Paraphrasing helps incorporate outside sources while keeping
your voice.
Remember you cannot just replace words with their synonyms
(words that mean the same thing). An appropriate paraphrase
changes the order of the words in the original sentence.
Step away from the original source to allow time to paraphrase
without repeating the same words and phrases.
EXAMPLES:
Original version: “Writing at a college level requires informed
research”
As Smith wrote, when writing a paper for higher education, it is
important to do research and cite sources (1).
When writing a paper for higher education, it is important to do
research and cite sources (Smith, 1).
Reference Page
The reference page is a new page that you will add at the end of
your paper. It will list the sources that you used in your
research. The word References should appear centered at the
top of the page. Remember, only writing assignments that
include research require reference pages.
The reference page should include a numbered list of the
sources you used in your paper. The numbers indicate the order

in which you used them in your paper. A well-researched paper
has at least as many sources as pages.
Other reference page guidelines:
If you list a source as number one in the reference list, it is the
first source used in the paper.
If you use one source multiple times, use the same reference
number each time.
If you use a source with an International Standard Book Number
(ISBN), list the reference number, the author, and ISBN (ex. 1.
Jane Smith, Title of Book, ISBN: 1234567890).
If a source has a permalink or webpage address, list the
reference number, the author (if any), and perma link or
webpage address (2. Joe Smith, Title of Article or Page,
Permalink or URL).
PROJECT DESIGN WORKSHEET page 1
Name of Project: Engage-Explore Project
Start Date: ?
Course:
Instructor:
Due Date: ?
Key Knowledge and Understanding (CLO’s)
1, 3, 4-5
Project Overview

Choose career interest, and an interview with a professional to
choose a professional issue or problem that you will then
research in order to create a project. This project is intended to
help you begin to develop strong critical thinking and
communication skills while establishing relationships.
Completion of will require the creation of some type of finished
product that has integrated all of the resources introduced and
explored during the course in order to communicate a clear
picture of the issue or problem. Completion of these steps and
the final product will account for
Driving Question
After exploring and investigating an important issue or problem
in society related to your professional interests, consider the
following question:
How can I create a final project that will best synthesize the
research to help myself and others better understand the
underlying elements and factors causing and relating to my
chosen issue or problem?
Examples of Professional Issues:
School of Business
1. Career Interest Area of Business Management: After the
interview analysis, an issue that stands out is management’s
ineffectiveness in the workplace due to the lack of proper
training and development. Because of this lack of proper
training and development, managers are not equipped with the
skills and abilities needed to motivate and engage a diverse
population of employees. This situation is leading to poor
performance outcomes in many organizations. For the final
product, a business student could create a video of several
workplace scenarios that would reveal that issues/problems
caused by this lack of training.
Criminal Justice and Social Sciences
1. Career Interest Area of Law Enforcement: One issue is

women have long been underrepresented in the criminal justice
workforce. This underrepresentation is despite the fact that
research has repeatedly shown the benefits of women in
policing, including the likelihood of not using excessive force,
the ability to diffuse volatile situations, and their inherent skill
at addressing violence against women. Underrepresentation of
women in the law enforcement profession has been an ongoing
problem for as long as women have sought it as a career. For
the final product, a CJSS student could collect images of police
officers in the surrounding cities/towns (or his or her own
city/town) and compile a collage revealing the gender disparity
with accompanying statistical support in the form of referenced
data and sources.
Arts and Sciences
1. Career Interest Area of Exercise Science/Nutrition: One issue
is the growing obesity epidemic in America. This proliferating
crisis is causing many healthcare related problems, such as
childhood obesity, rising healthcare costs, and obesity-related
deaths. Therefore, addressing this issue would prove to be quite
beneficial to society.
Step 1:
Interview
choose a career interest area that you are most interested in
pursuing after graduation and write it below: Cyber Security
Career Interest Area Choice: (use a different color font for all
your responses on this worksheet)
Now that you have narrowed your career options to a particular
area, identify and interview someone in that chosen area in
order to learn more about the career and discuss some important

issues or problems they encounter/experience on a regular basis.
Turn in completed interview question handout with interview
signature and contact information for interview component
grade.
Interview Response Here:
Possible Issues Identified in Interview:
Step 2:
Project Ideas
Discuss Possible Issues or Problems with your peer research
group, then research them in DragonQuest, and take notes here:
What is your chosen issue/problem? What is your rationale for
that choice (why did you choose this issue and why is it
important?):
Step 3:
Interview Analysis
Discuss what you learned from your interview on the chosen
issue or problem and answer the following questions:
· How does what you learned from your interview align with
your current understanding of the issue or problem? What are
some possible causes and effects of the issue? What are some
gaps in this knowledge that you need to better understand this
issue?
Response Here:

Step 4:
Annotated Bibliography: Research Findings and Analysis
(20 points)
Now that you have gathered some insight and perspective on the
issue or problem from your interview. You will conduct on the
chosen issue or problem and includes a summary and evaluation
of three scholarly sources. After completing this, you need
reflect on your overall research findings by responding to the
following questions:
· Based on your research findings, in what ways is the
culture/community involved in the issue/problem? Does the
issue affect them? Explain. Do they affect the issue? Explain.
(You could answer yes to both)
· What additional information about your chosen issue did you
discover in your research and how does it add to your current
understanding of the issue? What seems to be at the center of
the issue or problem?
Response Here: (Please include proper in-text citations in your
response and conclude with the list of your three scholarly
sources, which can be copied from your Annotated Bib)
Reference List:
Step 5:
Conclusions
Based on your interview analysis and research
findings/reflection above, consider the following:
· What type of final product will best synthesize the research to
help myself and others better understand the underlying
elements and factors causing and relating to my chosen issue or

problem?
Possible Options Here:
Final Product Choice and Rationale:
For more PBL resources visit bie.org ©2015 BUCK
INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION

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