Extension and Tips about the Homework Assignment

New Deadline for Letter Assignment

Since some of you spent Saturday, Sunday, and possibly Monday digging snow for hours on end, I am extending the deadline for the assignment. You can submit it on Wednesday at 11:59 pm.

Homeword Tip

Again a few students have asked what they need to write about. 

The first step that you must embrace before you can effectively: Writing is not primarily a physical act. Writing is thinking. Writing is the act of transferring what you think to a written format. 

The topic for the letter assignment is Internet marketing. Therefore, you need to read the two essays about advertising and Internet marketing, whose links I have posted on the syllabus: "Marketing and Advertising" and "Internet Marketing."

You should also read the blog entries.

Read the material a second time and take notes. 

(Too many students do not take nearly enough notes of material presented in lectures or about material they read. Remember take notes on what the author says, the facts he/she uses, and the ideas and questions that this information generates in your mind. If the essay does not generate any of your own ideas, then you are not engaging with the material. My guess: You are reading just to get through the assignment. Also do not presume that you will remember the information or even where you will find it again. That form of arrogance defies logic as well as the findings of cognitive scientists regarding learning.)

After you finish taking notes on your second read of all the material and without looking at the material or your notes, write down your ideas as they relate to all the material that you have read. Remember to write your ideas. If you have read carefully and taken notes, you should come up with five to 10 ideas. The quality of the ideas counts, not the volume.

Review your ideas. Read them over and over. Walk away from them for a while if nothing comes to mind. Ideas do not appear magically. Your mind must mix all the concepts and facts that you learned from the readings. That can take time. After giving yourself a break of an hour, three hours, or even after a nap, eventually you should come up with a thesis. In all probability, the thesis will  incorporate many ideas you wrote down. Make sure that your thesis is where you want to start the essay and not where you want to finish the essay. If it is where you want to conclude the essay, then take the idea and think of all the ideas needed for it to be true. You will find your thesis. And yes, it does take work. 

(Remember your thesis should be a declarative sentence of less than 10 words. In other words, no defining, no passive voice, no questions. You do not have to use that thesis in the report. It's your guide.)

Most likely, your thesis will incorporate several of the other ideas that you have already written down. These ideas will make up your propositions. You may discover that your thesis includes an idea that you have not written. Great. Another proposition. (Too many propositions helps with your writing. Why? It makes your argument more logical for the reader and it gives you something else to write about, making writing a 1000 words easier.) 

Arrange the propositions in a sequence that makes logical sense, making sure that each idea feeds into the next idea. If it does not, figure what idea will help. Then add it.

When you finish that process, you can take one of two paths. Some authors writes from the thesis created and the propositions listed. They do not refer to their notes or look up facts or quotations. They create what they would call the core of the essay. Once they finish, they then go to their research hunting for teh quotations and facts that will support their ideas.

The second path: Go back to your research. Look for facts and quotations that support your various ideas. Insert the quotation or fact with the appropriate proposition. In essence you now have an outline. You are ready to write. 

Remember that you cannot quote the blog. So go to the original sources (links or URLs are provided with all the blog entries). Don't forget that you must have at least six in-text citations, and that your sources must appear as a Works Cited page--all in APA format. Make sure that you attribute all ideas that are not yours to a source.

Then you are ready to write. My suggestion: Write the report in a separate file. When you finish editing the report, copy and paste it into one of the letterhead templates. Then make the necessary changes in the template. Remember your Works Cited information. 

Homework Tip: APA Citation

During the semester you will cite sources using APA techniques. I used examples of in-text and Works Cited citations in the previous two posts. I will continue for another week and then return to the traditional link format. 

When you quote or paraphrase an author, the citation immediately follows the quote or the paraphrase -- with no punctuation. 

"For example, this is an in-text citation for a quotation" (Author's Family Name, Year). 

For example, this is an in-text citation for a paraphrase (Author's Family Name, Year). 

At the end of your email, letter, presentation, or report, you will list the source on a separate Works  Cited page. It appears as follows.

Family Name, First Name (Month [abbreviated when appropriate] Day, Year). Title with only the first word capitalized. Name of  publication or website in italics. Retrieved from <URL>

Noticed a Decline in Readers

I've noticed a decline in the readership of the blog. Only six people read it yesterday and three of them aren't even in the United States.

It's your education.
It's your money.
It's your learning.
It's your writing, which will stink unless you read.

An Academic or English 202 Advantage to Social Media

Millions find social media engaging--whether they get in lather about some triviality on Facebook, Twitter or a blog. They are so busy kibbitzing that they do not notice that social media enables users to track. For example, I have noticed that most students in English 202 (more than 70%) have not viewed this blog. Not the wisest of choices. I strongly recommend reading "Welcome to English 202" and the item about APA citation.

Welcome to English 202

Welcome to English 202.

Various individuals have given English 202 different names. The school calls it advanced exposition. I call it business writing. I should rename it "Reading and Thinking."  The name probably sounds odd or too elemental. Not so. Most individuals do too little of both--in the world of school and the world of business.

To perform at an average level in this class, you will need to read all the assignments and more about Internet marketing.You will need to read in order to have enough data in your imaginations so you can formulate a unique concept that you will write to a reader, a person with blood in his/her veins, who gets bored, who wants information, who does not give a darn about you or me because in the end reading is an egocentric act.

To achieve above-average work, you must think--not merely parrot the ideas you will have read. In other words, you must learn how to integrate new ideas with old ones in order to create a different perspective for the reader.

Otherwise you are wasting the reader's time. When you write to another individual, you ask him/her to spend time reading your ideas. Why should the reader trouble him/herself with your ideas? Are you offering the reader a "new" way of seeing a problem? Are you proposing a concept that will make the reader's life easier? Are you advancing knowledge--whether the subject is particle physics or the latest cosmetic disaster for a pop diva? Are you offering your ideas clearly and logically--based on standard American English?

You earn a reader's respect by offering him/her a new perspective or new idea in a format that makes it easier for the reader (not the writer) to understand. If you cannot achieve that, you fail--in business and in this classroom.

How do you come up with new ideas or perspectives? Reading. And you do not merely repeat what you have read. In that case, you only rehash information that a reader could already access. You read to pick up facts and ideas from experts in the field. You then take that information and integrate it into how you think. Eventually an original idea or perspective (original for you) will come out.

You will need the following for this class: a computer with Internet access and a office suite product. Use your own, a friend's, or one of many in the school's library.

You will not need to buy a text. I provide you your reading material through links on the syllabus. You can access the syllabus from the class web page: http://www1bpt.bridgeport.edu/~jconlin/. Here are the links that you need for now.

Syllabus: <http://www.bridgeport.edu/~jconlin/Spring2012English202.pdf>
Course Description: <http://www1bpt.bridgeport.edu/~jconlin/CourseDescription.pdf>
Class Webpage: <http://www1bpt.bridgeport.edu/~jconlin/>
Class Blog: <http://dana238.blogspot.com/>

Start the semester right. Read the syllabus.

Finally, you will use APA citation formats for everything that you write this semester. Most students already have learned, and maybe mastered MLA. APA is not that different. Scroll down two posts and you will find the format for APA. Why am I making you use APA? Because UB's Business School has designated APA as its citation method of choice and the citation method that its MBA students must use.

See you on Wednesday.

You Will Cite Sources Using APA , not MLA.

During the semester you will cite sources using APA techniques. I used examples of in-text and Works Cited citations in the previous two posts. I will continue for another week and then return to the traditional link format. 

When you quote or paraphrase an author, the citation immediately follows the quote or the paraphrase -- with no punctuation. "For example, this is an in-text citation for a quotation" (Author's Family Name, Year). For example, this is an in-text citation for a paraphrase (Author's Family Name, Year). At the end of your email, letter, presentation, or report, you will list the source on a separate Works Cited page. It appears as follows.

Family Name, First Name (Month Day, Year). Title with only the first word capitalized. Name of  publication in italics. Retrieved from URL

APA Again

Apparently some of us have been mixing up MLA and APA. (Some have even created their own versions of citation.) Here's the correct version as reported on the Purdue University website called Owl:

For a works cited page listing:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Online Periodical, volume number(issue number if available). Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/

If there is no date of publication, put (n.d.). If there is a month and day, (Year, Month day).

For in-text citations:
(Author's Surname, year).

If the website does not list an author:
(Two words from title, year).

In-text citations should appear as follows:
....the end of the quotation" (Author's Surname, year).

If you have any additional questions, go to http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/.

Using APA Citation for Previous Posts

During the semester you will cite sources using APA techniques. I used examples of in-text and Works Cited citations in the previous dozen posts. I will not for the remainder of the semester.

When you quote or paraphrase an author, the citation immediately follows the quote or the paraphrase -- with no punctuation. "For example, this is an in-text citation for a quotation" (Author's Family Name, Year). For example, this is an in-text citation for a paraphrase (Author's Family Name, Year). At the end of your email, letter, presentation, or report, you will list the source on a separate Works Cited page. It appears as follows.

Family Name, First Name (Month Day, Year). Title with only the first word capitalized. Name of  publication in italics. Retrieved from URL

Ideas for Long Report

Coke's Internet marketing campaign: http://www.google.com/search?q=Coke%27s+internet+marketing+&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Toyota's Internet marketing campaign: http://www.google.com/search?q=toyota%27s+internet+marketing+&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

If you want to write about a company's Internet marketing campaign, go to Google.com. Type in the following: Companyname's Internet marketing campaign. You should get a long list of stories. Now you have to figure out which one's a relevant.

Short Report Instructions

Internet Marketing: The Title You Give the Report

You are writing one 1800-word (minimum)  report that incorporates your reading for the semester. From the information you have read, you will come up with an idea regarding Internet marketing that you will show as being valid to the reader.

You will simulate what business executives call an executive summary. Executive reports save time for top executives. Think of an individual who manages any large corporate, institution, government agency, or even country. For the president (executive officer) to keep abreast of the happenings in his organization, she/he needs information from a variety of departments. She, however, does not have the time. The executives in charge of the departments, therefore, send her summaries. As with any writing, each summary has an objective, which relates to the primary idea someone is attempting to show. So will your short report.

Format: The format of an executive summary resembles that of an email or letter: single-spaced and block paragraphs (no indenting). Unlike an email or letter, the writer gives the report a title but the writer does not put his/her name on the report. The writer centers the title, boldfaces it, and leaves it at the same point size of the report (Times New Roman, 12 pt). Look at these instructions. They follow the format.

Number of sources and citations: You will use a minimum of five sources, which must include the following: (1) either one of "Search Engines" or "Internet Marketing," (1) one of either "HD Marketing" or "Interactive Marketing," and (3) three original sources, whose links you picked up from the class blog. Within the report itself, you will use a minimum of two in-text citations per 300 words or 12 for this entire report. Do not include artwork (graphs, pictures, charts). They will appear in MLA style.

You will submit it to jconlin@bridgeport.edu on March 7 (not March 4) as a Word document attachment. Deadline: 11:59 pm.

Should you be thinking, "How can I write differently about Internet marketing," then I would suggest that you read more, or read more carefully, or re-read. Each time you add two ideas (which you would find in at least two of the articles) you get a new idea. For example, the mix of Celtic folk music and African folk music led to Blues and Bluegrass. Classical music and New Orleans Blues evolved into Jazz. From Blues/Jazz and Jute Joint Music came Rhythm and Blues in the 40s, which split into Rock n Roll and R&B and so on. Therefore, a student who has read the material and who has thought about how the material relates will have some ideas. So if your ideas have come up short, re-read the material carefully (do not read new material), take notes, and think about why some ideas seem important to you.

During the semester, I have given you several reasons why individuals find writing difficult. One remains, the one that drives even professional writers crazy.

Applied science and mathematics, engineering, and business administration ask four basic questions: who, when, what, and how. They rarely ask the question behind writing: Why? The question starts with children. Daddy (Mommy) why is the sky blue? Why does grandpa fart? Why do farts smell? As people age, the question becomes more complex. Why do I exist? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why does she (he) not love me? Most of us hate the question because it rarely evokes a definitive answer as you can get with business administration of engineering.

When writing, you ultimately are answering one question: Why should the reader believe you? Why should she/he trust you? Why should the reader give you her valuable time to read your ideas? The reader finds the answer to those questions in how you explain how one idea relates to another. You cannot trick the reader into belief. You first must discover why you believe by unearthing why one idea relates to another—for you. Then you explain that to the reader. The more you understand a subject, the more complex the relationship among ideas.

Finally, when I grade your work, I am concentrating primarily on how you present your material not on what you present.

Stop Quoting this Blog

Some students take what appears on the Business Writing blog and use the material as if I wrote it. I do not write. I quote other sources. Each posting has a link to the site, usually the name of the site in italics. You quote that site, not the blog.

Tips and Instructions for the Feb. 4 Assignment

Thanks to the weather we are running behind. You still need to do the writing assignment, which you should submit by email on Feb. 4 by 11:59 pm. (Remember you lose a letter grade for every “day” you submit it late.)

First step: Relax. Every student who submits the assignment as specified here will receive an “A” regardless of what errors I find in the paper's presentation. The assignment has two goals: to demonstrate your writing skill and to give you an opportunity to see how I comment.

Minimum Requirements for an A

• Copy and paste your report into your email window. Do not send attachments.

• Your email and the report should appear in the format that I covered in class. Have you forgotten? Click this link, read, and follow the directions.

• You need to have in-text citations and a works cited page (bibliography) at the end of the email. You will use MLA style. For assistance, you can click this link or you can refer to the works cited page for the “Internet Marketing” essay.

• You must cite both articles, “ Search Engines” and “Internet Marketing.” (The class blog is not a source. If you want to use ideas from the blog, click the link in the post to the original article, which you can use as a source.)

• Your report should run at least 750 words. Word counts in this class indicate a minimum—not a maximum. The word count also does not include “words” on the works cited page.

• Do not use first or second person for reasons that I will explain in class: I, we, me, my, mine, our, ours, you, your, and yours.

Avoid Defining and These Words

You should begin the semester attempting not to define. To repeat yesterday's lecture: Defining is using a “to be verb” (TBV) as the only verb in a sentence. TBV's include am, is, are, was, were, has/had/have been, will/could/should/would have been . How do you avoid it? You cannot. You usually must rewrite the entire sentence. You can use a to-be verb with an “ing” word, such as saying, writing, repeating, beginning.

You also should delete the following words from your writing: important, very, really, interesting, lot, lots, “going to” instead of will for future tense. Some students ask, “But what if it is important?” Then explain the importance with details and facts. Saying something is important merely defines a point with an opinion—which strangers (readers) rarely find convincing.

Do not use expressions such as I think, I believe, I feel . You are hedging. Of course, you think, believe, or feel. You wrote it so the reader already knows that you thought it, believed it, or felt it. You never state the obvious to a reader—unless you want to insult him/her. Not convinced? Tell me which sentence sounds more assured: 1. I believe in God. 2. God exists. The first affirms a personal belief; the second states a fact (albeit one of faith).

Finally, do not use contractions, such as isn't, aren't, won't, and hasn't.

You can check this link for a simpler explanation.

What Do I Expect?

In terms of content, I expect you to do the following:

• To read the two assigned readings, “Search Engines” and “Internet Marketing,” and

• To create your own theme, idea, or thesis by merging the ideas that you read with your own thinking, creating an “original” idea, a compelling reason why an individual should read your work. I mean original for you and the material you have read—not universally original. This link to the blog may help if you are having trouble.

I do not expect you to do additional research. I am not teaching you how to research. You should focus on how you present your ideas to a reader in a convincing manner. I expect you to struggle in your quest for that manner.

Should you want to do more research, fine. Save time and start with the blog. You will see Label lines at the end of each post. Find one that reads: Internet marketing overview. Read the postings. If one supports your idea, then click the link and read the article. If you use it, cite the article – not the blog.

Homework Tip for Spring 2011

You should read the blog daily. Then you go to the syllabus and read the assignments. 

There's no quiz. No test. I presume students are spending thousands of dollars annually because they want to learn. 

By reading the assignments, you will find the lectures easier to understand and you will discover that the assignment for next week easier to do.

Remember each class builds on the next. The learning progresses with the semester. You easily will understand the material in bits and pieces, but if you wait until the middle of the semester to do the work, to learn formats, to understand how to set up Word, then any student will feel overwhelmed and will not do as well as he/she should.

Welcome to English 202

Every day, I will post short items about Internet marketing trends. They will vary, some being overviews, some being about specific companies. You should make it habit to visit the site daily. It will talk only seconds to read, but more importantly, you gradually come to understand Internet marketing. This will play an important role when you start to write your short reports in about six weeks and when you begin your research, preparation, and writing of your long reports in eight weeks.

In-Text Citations and Works Cited--Again

At this point you have had several opportunities to refresh your knowledge of copying MLA format. It ain't neurosurgery. It doesn't require thinking.

Many students have done well. Some have confused past MLA formats with the current, which is understandable. Finally there are those who by all appearances of their work don't give a damn. You should because a poorly maintained, work-cited paper could cost you at least one letter grade, a waste. Citing works is an act of generosity that could save a reader hours of research and that takes only a minute of clerical time for the writer. In other words, if you don't give a damn about the works you have cited, you don't give a damn about the reader. If you don't give a damn about the reader, you probably won't write nearly well enough for the reader to care about what you think.

Format for Words Cited Page for the NYTimes article in the "Where's Waldo..." Posting:

Brustein, Joshua. "Tag-Along Marketing." NYTimes. 7 Nov. 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.

Let's presume the NYTimes did not give the article a byline. Here's how the Works Cited listing would appear:

"Tag-Along Marketing." NYTimes. 7 Nov. 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.

Can you vary the punctuation at your pleasure? Sure. Can you capitalize words as you see fit? Why not? There would be a problem, though: You would be wrong. Your grade would suffer. 

Should I quote Brustein, how would the in-text citation appear?

"Everything is in place for location-based social networking to be the next big thing" (Brustein).

What would happen if the article did not have a byline? Keywords from the article's title.

"Everything is in place for location-based social networking to be the next big thing" (Tag-Along).

Deadlines for Semester's End

• Plain text and Word cover letters/resumes--Nov. 10 at 11:59 pm.
• Draft of long report--Nov. 13 at 11:59 pm.
• Final version of long report--Nov. 29 at 11:59 pm.
• PowerPoint Presentation (should you want to present using PowerPoint or Impress)--Nov. 30 at 11:59 pm.
• Presentations. Attendance mandatory. Dec. 1, 6, and 8.
• Final versions of resumes and cover letters as well as extra credit assignments--Dec. 8 at 11:59 pm. Nothing accepted beyond that deadline.

US Recovery Elusive; Job Competition When You Graduate

In class on Wednesday I referred to the economic troubles that plagued Japan a few years ago. I claimed that the U.S. could face similar troubles in the next few. The New York Times recently reported:

In the United States, a robust recovery remains stubbornly elusive, and Mr. Bernanke is said to be ready to take new, unconventional steps to increase the money supply in order to maintain the uncertain growth of the past year. He is also said by close associates to favor further fiscal measures to stimulate the economy. But in the current political climate, with Republicans poised to make strong gains in the midterm elections while preaching fiscal austerity, the prospect of more federal stimulus spending seems remote, and it is unclear if monetary policy alone will be enough to restore healthy growth.
Partly as a result, some economists now predict that it could take years or even a decade for the American economy to regain the levels of employment and vigor achieved before the 2008 crisis. The growing political pressure for cuts in federal spending — along with plunging consumer confidence and companies that seem more intent on cutting costs and hoarding cash than investing in new growth — have led economists to talk of the United States’ entering a grim new era of austerity.

If memory of U.S. history serves me well, the U.S. has not faced deflation since the mid-1950s. What does this mean for you? Competition for jobs will be tougher when you graduate. Therefore, creating a good resume becomes an even more important priority.

More Thoughts about Your Thesis

Temptation and ease might draw some students to write theses such as the following:

XYZ Company uses digital marketing to further its marketing goals.

XYZ Company will achieve its marketing goals.

Neither is acceptable. Why? Because you can substitute any company's name into those slots.

Some students might want to write about Google, Bing, Facebook, or YouTube. You can only if you describe how these companies use digital marketing to solve their own particular marketing problems. The thesis is not acceptable if you write about how these companies became powerhouses in the digital marketplace or how other companies use these sites to further their goals. You did that in the first half of the semester.

Now you must use what you have learned. You must read, think, and analyze. Apply your new found skills to the digital marketing campaign of a company or institution. I have mentioned plenty in the blog (see the next blog entry) and I listed several in class the other day. You cannot simply wing this. You must think.

Having Trouble with Your Thesis

You need a thesis sentence. Let's assume you have not paid attention in class or were missing from class. The definition of a thesis sentence: A sentence that describes what you intend to show as valid. A well-done thesis runs 10 words or less. Do not use passive voice. Do not define.

(In case you do not yet understand: a definition by the very definition of the word is a given, much as this sentence is. The reader has two choices: accept or reject, much as I am forcing you to do with my concept of excessive use of defining. It is wrong when used as thesis statement because you are telling the reader what is true rather than persuading her/him what could be true. As a writer, you must persuade. [Did you notice my excessive defining in this paragraph and my lack of even attempting to persuade? Did you not feel a tad annoyed by the tone? That's what defining does.])

Second, you need to find a company or organization that has a strong digital marketing campaign. You may want to write about a company you "like," but actually you probably do not like the company. You like one of its products. Or you want to write about something different, some company never mentioned in class. Fine approaches. If they fall short, try this:

At the end of each blog entry, you will see a "label." Look for one that says "Company's Marketing Campaign Profiled." Click the phrase. The latest 25 entries about companies using digital marketing will appear.

Investigate the company on the Web. Type the following into a search window, including the quotation marks and spacing: "Company name"+"digital marketing". What kind of results do you get?

Read a few of the results. You cannot come up with a helpful thesis unless you know what you are writing. Knowledge--meaning knowing extensively about what you want to write--is a major requirement of writing a report well.

Class Canceled for Today

I will not make class today. Read the syllabus. And bring in a thesis for your long (not short) report on Monday. In your long report, you will write about how a company or institution, such as the American Cancer Association or the National Football League, is using Internet marketing to further its aims. Do not come in with generic thesis, such as: The National Football League is using Internet marketing to accomplish its goals. Why? You could insert the name of most strong marketing organizations into that sentence. Original idea. You need to research your company or institution. If you want to write about a search engine, fine but you must discover how the search engine is using Internet marketing to accomplish its marketing goals -- not how it earns revenue from its search ads or ad network.

I will be at the library on Sunday from 3:00 to 4:00. See you Monday.