Strategies in Using Source Material

Outcomes addressed in this activity:

Unit Outcomes:

• Apply introductory skills with the online library.
• Prepare correctly-written quotes, paraphrases, and summaries with an understanding of plagiarism avoidance.
• Prepare APA-standard in-text citation and reference entries for professional journal articles and web sources.
• Apply additional document formatting skills.

Course Outcome:

IT513-1: Illustrate information technology ideas with professional language and attribution.

Purpose

You will practice various methods to use and identify source material in this Assignment, including quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Complete the Unit 2 Reading before beginning work.

Assignment Instructions and Requirements

Go to the Academic Tools tab in this course and select the Library link. Then select the link that indicates resources for this course. Direct links to article pages are found in this location. Choose any two articles from the list, depending on your interest or curiosity. Should a link not work, report it to your instructor and then choose a different one from the list.

Part 1: Quoting

Required source: A professional journal article from the list presented in the Library section of the classroom as explained above.

Your writing must follow the rules for formal writing style as explained in the Unit 1 reading.

Quotation 1: Placing the citation within the quote

• Choose a meaningful statement of 25–39 words from the article and quote it properly, starting your sentence with According to or a similar introduction, and inserting proper citation as explained in the Reading.

Quotation 2: Citation at the end of a quote

• Choose a different meaningful statement of 25–39 words from the same article and quote it without introduction, using in-text citation after the end-quotation mark.

Required adjustment:

• Edit just one of your two quotes using brackets, an ellipsis, or [sic] correctly. These techniques are explained in the Reading.

Reference entry:

• Provide a full APA-standard reference entry for the journal article at the end of your document (last page). Hint: Use the library system to find the reference entry and then make corrections if necessary, as explained in the Reading. You may have to look at the article itself for volume, issue, and page numbers.

Part 2: Paraphrasing and Summarizing

Required source: Choose a different journal article from the Library list. It is recommended that you pick an article from the list that is relatively easy for you to understand for this section, especially if you are rather new to the technology field.

Paraphrase:

• Choose a paragraph or short section of the article.
• Write a one paragraph, 175–225 word paraphrase. Do not include any quotes. Write formally, following the rules presented in the Unit 1 reading.
• Follow the paraphrase with proper in-text citation.

Summary:

• Read through the entire article.
• Write a one paragraph, 200–250 word summary (overview) of the article. Do not include any quotes, and write formally.
• Follow the summary with proper in-text citation.

Reference entry:

• Provide a full APA-standard reference entry for the article on the last page of your document.

Formatting Requirements

• Please see the Unit Reading to understand how these actions should be accomplished. Again, do not use a ready-made template; as an IT professional, you must be able to accomplish formatting on your own:
  • Header with correctly written Running head and page numbers.
  • Appropriate content for the cover page, including a descriptive paper title.
  • The title reiterated on the top line of the first body page, centered and not bold.
  • Subheadings (Quotes, Paraphrase, and Summary), properly centered and bold.
• Also include the same parameters as learned in the Unit 1 assignment:
  • 1″ margins on all sides.
  • The entire paper properly double-spaced.
  • The first lines of paragraphs indented ½” using the indent tool.
  • All font the same size and style: Times New Roman size 12.

Directions for Submitting Your Assignment

• Name your Word® document with the following convention: IT513-Unit2-LastName-FirstName (using your own name).
• Make sure you read all instructions carefully and review the rubric before submitting to the Dropbox for Unit 2.

Reminders

• Proofread your work for grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and formality.
• Ensure that your work is not copied from sources. Copying does not prove an understanding of the material, and plagiarism will not be tolerated. In accordance with the University’s Academic Integrity policy, your assignment will be automatically submitted to TurnItIn.