Should the Saudi PIF invest in Nike?

  How Factories have Changed Before and After Internet of Things : A Comparison

Instructions and warnings:

Don't use plagiarized sources. Get Your Custom Essay on
Should the Saudi PIF invest in Nike?
Just from $13/Page
Order Essay

first: fill in the progress report after that start writing the report

The report must contain:

1- At least 1600 words

2- An introduction, Comparison in two body paragraphs, and in conclusion 

3- It must not be plagiarism. You should be writing by using your own ideas.

4-The report must contain at least 6 source to support the facts or anything you write 

5- Get the top 6 sources and don’t use Wikipedia. You should search on trusted and famous sites like BBC

4- To understand how to write the report, carefully read the attached files bellow.

5- Please do not give this report to anyone else.

MEMORANDUM

TO:

Mr. Josh Billam, instructor, English 214

FROM: Hamad Al-Ghanim (AME) 201853720, English 214-07 AA

DATE: 19 June 2021

SUBJECT: Progress Report for library research project:

Provisional title: “How Factories have Changed Before and After Internet of Things : A Comparison”

I.

INTRODUCTION

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

II. WORK COMPLETED

A. Sources

I have found five potential sources so far and have read four of them. (See the working bibliography below.) I have written source evaluations for three of the listed sources, and have made 28 note cards for them. Two of the sources below are full-text PDF articles found using the Library’s Summon search engine; two were found on the Internet using Google Scholar and Magportal, respectively; and one was found in the Library’s print collection of current journals.

Fedoroff, N. V., Battisti, D. S., Cooper, P. J., Hodges, C. N., Beachy, R. N., Fischoff,

D. A., . . .Zhu, J. K. (2010). Radically rethinking agriculture for the 21st century.

Science, 327(5297), 833-834. doi: 10.1126/science.1186834

Gomiero, T., Pimentel, D., & Paoletti, M. G. (2011). Is there a need for a more

sustainable agriculture? Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 30(3), 6-23.

Parris, K. (2011). Impact of agriculture on water pollution in OECD countries.

Water Resources Development,27(1), 33-52. doi: 10.1080/07900627.2010.531898

Scheierling, S. M., Loomis, J. B., & Young, R. A. (2006).Irrigation water demand: A meta-

analysis of price elasticities.Water Resources Research, 42, Retrieved from

http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2006/2005WR004009.shtml

B. Preliminary outline

I have developed my initial rough plan into the following two-level topic outline:

INTRODUCTION

I. first Comparison about ————

II. second Comparison about ————

III. Comparison about ————

CONCLUSION

C. Source evaluations

ENGLISH 214SOURCE EVALUATION # 1

NAME: Ali Al-Ali ID: 201012340 SEC/SN: 99 / 28

REPORT TITLE (Provisional): The Effects of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

1. THE SOURCE

How long is your source?
3
pages.

How did you find the source?:
I typed in “Chernobyl nuclear disaster effects” into the Summon search

engine. This article was the third on the list.

Write a complete APA reference for your source:

Day, A. (2011, September 18) Cleaning up the Chernobyl mess. BBC News.

Retrieved from

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/123BD33

2. SUMMARY OF THE SOURCE

In about100 words, summarize the main points of your source.

This article discusses the main effects of the Chernobyl nuclear explosion that

happened in Ukraine in 1986. It firstly explains the main cause of the disaster,

human error, and then discusses the main effects both in the local area and in

Europe as a whole. It gives statistics on the number of people who became ill

with cancer over the following 20 years and it describes how farming in Europe

was severely affected for several years. It concludes with the methods used to try

and clean up the radioactivity that had fallen in Europe.

3. EVALUATION:

In about 100 words, explain why you chose this source for your report.

Relevance: connect relevant parts of the source with your outline.

Article: what level is it? How up-to-date is the information?

Publication / website / author: are they reputable, unbiased and knowledgeable?

I chose this article because it is all relevant to the main parts of my report. It

Contains information about the type of nuclear plant, which fits in my Background

Section and it has some brief information about the reasons for the explosion,

which belongs in the Causes section of my report. Most of the article, however, is

concerned with my main idea, which is the effects of the explosion and the problem

of cleaning up.

The BBC is a reliable website and the level of the article is aimed at the average

reader. The article is quite new, about six months old, so it has the latest information

about the disaster. I googled the author, Agnes Day, and she has been the BBC’s

science editor for the past 15 years so is knowledgeable on this subject.

ENGLISH 214SOURCE EVALUATION # 2

NAME: Ali Al-Ali ID: 201012340 SEC/SN: 99 / 28

REPORT TITLE (Provisional): The Effects of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

1. THE SOURCE

How long is your source?
3
pages.
How did you find the source?:
I typed in “Chernobyl nuclear disaster effects” into the Summon search

engine. This article was the third on the list.

Write a complete APA reference for your source:

Day, A. (2011, September 18) Cleaning up the Chernobyl mess. BBC News.

Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/123BD33

2. SUMMARY OF THE SOURCE

In about100 words, summarize the main points of your source.

This article discusses the main effects of the Chernobyl nuclear explosion that
happened in Ukraine in 1986. It firstly explains the main cause of the disaster,
human error, and then discusses the main effects both in the local area and in
Europe as a whole. It gives statistics on the number of people who became ill
with cancer over the following 20 years and it describes how farming in Europe
was severely affected for several years. It concludes with the methods used to try
and clean up the radioactivity that had fallen in Europe.

3. EVALUATION:
In about 100 words, explain why you chose this source for your report.
Relevance: connect relevant parts of the source with your outline.
Article: what level is it? How up-to-date is the information?
Publication / website / author: are they reputable, unbiased and knowledgeable?
I chose this article because it is all relevant to the main parts of my report. It
Contains information about the type of nuclear plant, which fits in my Background
Section and it has some brief information about the reasons for the explosion,
which belongs in the Causes section of my report. Most of the article, however, is
concerned with my main idea, which is the effects of the explosion and the problem
of cleaning up.
The BBC is a reliable website and the level of the article is aimed at the average
reader. The article is quite new, about six months old, so it has the latest information
about the disaster. I googled the author, Agnes Day, and she has been the BBC’s
science editor for the past 15 years so is knowledgeable on this subject.

Write

down all the sources you used here

It should be written in the same way as these source, and please do not use them:

References

Garside, M. (2020, March 3). Rio Tinto’s total revenue from 2001 to 2019 (in million U.S. dollars). Statista.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/272615/rio-tinto-revenue-since-2001/

Hodge, M. (2020, April 21). Rio Tinto PLC ADR. Morningstar, Inc. https://www. morningstar.com/stocks/xnys/rio/quote

Jamasmie, C. (2020, April 3). Rio faces investor rebellion over Oyu Tolgoi. Mining.Com.

https://www.mining.com/rio-tinto-grapples-with-fresh-investor-revolt-over-mongolia-mine/

Nicholas, L. (2020, April 17). Rio Tinto experiences recovering demand in China for iron ore product. Small Caps.

https://smallcaps.com.au/rio-tinto-experiences-reco vering-demand-china-iron-ore-product/

NYSE. (2020, October 26). Apple Inc. StockCharts.

https://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=AAPL

Premsingh, M. (2019, November 26). Why even 625% returns don’t convince me to invest in this FTSE 100 share. The New York Times. https://www.fool.co.uk /investin g/2019/11/26/why-even-625-returns-dont-convince-me-to-invest-in-this-ftse-100-share/

Rio Tinto dividend payout ratio. (2020, April 6). Gurufocus. https://www.gurufo cus.com/term/payout/NYSE:RIO/Dividend-Payout-Ratio/Rio-Tinto-PLC

How Factories have Changed Before and After Internet of Things : A Comparison

This report is concerned with comparing factories before and after the Internet of Things (loT), determine the differences in terms of cost, time, waste, and accuracy.

The foremost reason why KFUPM students should obtain part-time jobs is to increase job

opportunities. Part-time jobs help students form realistic conceptions of the work environment. This

gives them a better understanding of the nature of work and renders them preferable workers due to

their awareness and competence. According to Maverick (2015), eight out of ten business owners favor

applicants with former work experience, regardless of the field. This means that students who have

taken part-time jobs are more competent in the market field than those who have not, as a result, they

are considered as high in demand, which means they have better odds of having an occupation right

after graduation. Also, part-time jobs can lead to networking opportunities which can help students

when they are looking for a full-time job. Johnson (2016) states that part-time jobs expand connections,

which leads to increased job chances. This means that part-time jobs can provide students with better

chances of acquiring prominent and distinguished positions. So, having part-time jobs can prepare

students mentally and help them build up their connections which brings about more life opportunities.

1| P a g e

Term Report

Sources

Finding your sources

You must use four to five sources to write your term report. Your choice of sources is very important.

Choosing ‘good’ sources makes it easier to write your report. Choosing bad sources makes it difficult.

Some sources are likely to be unsuitable. Avoid academic journals. They are usually too difficult. Avoid

blogs or ‘open’ sources. Contributors may not be experts. Good sources are encyclopedias for basic

background information, reputable websites, magazines like Popular Science and The Economist and

general-interest magazines such as Time and Newsweek. Quality newspapers such as the Arab News and

Saudi Gazette are also very good sources.

Your teacher may set particular guidelines for the sources you find. For example, he may expect

sources to be fairly new (published within, say, the last one or two years); he may expect sources to

adhere to a minimum and maximum length (e.g., between one and five pages long, he will expect you to

use reputable websites and read online sources whose authors have a relevant background; he may

forbid certain websites, such as Wikipedia. Following your teacher’s guidelines will affect your report

grade so be sure you fully understand them before you begin your research.

Find your sources through the Internet by entering specific search terms into a search engine such as

Google. Your teacher will give you some basic classroom instruction in research methodology,

particularly in the choice of effective search terms.

Evaluating your sources

Whenever you find a potential source, you must first evaluate it before you can start using it to write

your report. Using effective search terms will increase your chances of finding relevant sources but many

of the sources you find which look useful at first glance may turn out to be irrelevant after you have read

them critically. The following points set out the criteria that will help you evaluate your sources.

1. Is the source relevant?

Your chances of finding relevant sources will increase if you use more specific search terms. For example,

using “Three Gorges Dam environmental impacts” is likely to yield more relevant sources than simply

using “Three Gorges Dam. In order to write your source evaluation later, you will also need to be able to

connect specific information in the source with the corresponding topics in your evolving plan. If you

can’t, your source will not be relevant.

2 | P a g e

2. Is the source written at an appropriate level?

Your search may turn up some sources that are too difficult to understand and others that are too

simple. Choose your sources carefully: if you cannot understand them, you cannot use them.

3. Is the article biased?

A biased article is written from one particular point of view and so does not give a balanced or objective

account of an issue. If you detect bias in an article, you may still be able to use the information in your

report but introduce such ideas as opinion rather than fact: for example, “the environmental group

claims that … .”

4. Is the author competent?

An author could be one or more individuals, a government department, an organization, an online action

group, and so on. Often, online sources and even certain reputable magazines like The Economist publish

anonymous articles. As a general rule, it is always better to use reputable sources with named authors.

Presenting a source evaluation

You must use four sources to write your term report and you must present a source evaluation for ONE

of them as the final minute of your oral presentation.

• Source evaluation

Where did you find the article?

How old is the article?

What is the audience for the article?

Is the Author qualified?

Is there any bias?

ENGL 2

1

4

Progress Report (10%)

Academic & Professional Communication

1

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Aims
To introduce the source evaluation
To overview its parts
To learn about source evaluations

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
1. signal phrase + author + (year, page), + citation.
According to the Ministry of Food (2013) Josh makes the best kabsa.
2. citation + (author, year, page).
Josh makes the best kabsa (Ministry of Food, 2013).
3. author + (year, page) + reporting verb + citation.
The Ministry of Food (2013) stated that “Josh makes the best kabsa” (p. 3).

Check homework

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Weeks 3,4

Week 8

Weeks 5,6,7

Week 1,2

The report writing process
Select topic
Is topic too general?
Narrow topic
Purpose statement
Write 2 level outline
Are the sources good enough?
Take notes
Submit
Proposal
Is the proposal approved?
Source evaluations
Submit Progress report
Write first draft (in class)
Write introduction, conclusion and references page
Revise and
edit:
Content, organization, style
Check spelling, punctuation, grammar, referencing
Write final copy
Submit to Turnitin
Get more sources
Modify proposal
Find sources
Write 3 level outline
yes
no
no
yes
yes
no

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Source
Parts of this slide are adapted or taken from the document “Summaries & abstracts; source evaluations; notes & outlines; progress report; quotation” (Dale, 2012)

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
PRE-
REPORT

20%
15%

10%
FINAL REPORT
ORAL PRESENTATION

Report:
The report is a priority in this course.
The pre-report, final report, and presentation are worth almost half of the course grade.
If you are going to screw something up, do it with another assessment.
45%

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
The Progress Report (10%)
The purpose of a progress report is to inform the reader of the current status of a particular project.
This type of report is common in both study and work environments.
It shows:
how much progress has been made so far on the project;
what problems have been encountered and how those problems were solved;
how much work remains to be completed together with a schedule for completing it.

PROGRESS

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
In English 214…
you submit a progress report for your major report at about the half-way stage of your research project.
It is written as a memorandum addressed to your teacher and consists of the following four sections:
I. Introduction
II. Work Completed
III. Problems & Solutions
IV. Work to be Completed

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
MEMORANDUM
At the top of your memorandum page, write the identification details: the recipient’s name and title; your name, major, ID number, section number and serial number; the subject of the memorandum; and, finally, the provisional title of the report. If you are sure that you will not modify this title, you can omit the word ‘provisional.’

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
I. INTRODUCTION (100-150 words)
Your purpose statement should (a) show a narrowed, focused topic and (b) clearly link your major with the theme of the semester.
Provide your reader with some background about your topic such as any necessary definitions or historical and theoretical description.
Also explain why your topic is an important one.

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
II. WORK COMPLETED
This has three parts:
II.A. Sources
II.B. Outline (two-level)
II.C. Source Evaluations (two)

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
II.A. Sources
12
Explain how many sources you have found so far and how you found them; mention the source evaluations you have written for them.
Supply proof of your claim by writing a working bibliography of the sources found so far. Your teacher will expect to see about four sources on your list.

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
II.B. OUTLINE
13
Provide your reader next with a logical, coherent two-level topic outline that sets out the main sections of your report.

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
II.C. SOURCE EVALUATIONS (2)
14
Provide your reader with source evaluations for two of your best sources.

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
III. PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS
15
Explain the difficulties you have encountered so far in your research and, equally importantly, explain how you overcame them.

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
IV. WORK TO BE COMPLETED
16
Begin with a paragraph that explains what the remaining research tasks are.
Set out a schedule that specifies by when each of the remaining tasks will be finished.

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Final words
This progress report is not simply about the 10% grade it carries.
It is about your efficiency, organization, and determination over a period of several weeks to successfully complete a difficult research task.
See template on next page.

PROGRESS

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Template for the progress report
18

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

Source evaluation

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Why evaluate sources?
You must use at least six sources to write your major report and you must write a source evaluation for at least two of them.
You will also write a source evaluation for your midterm.
You will become quicker and
more expert at finding quality
sources.
20

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
What is a source evaluation?
A description of the length and origin of the source.
REFERENCE
A full APA reference.
SUMMARY
A summary of the source.
EVALUATION
A paragraph discussing the suitability of the source for use in your intended research.
21

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

The source
First, briefly explain how you found the source, including any search terms, databases or search engines you used. Secondly, provide complete bibliographical information in the form of an APA reference.
A typical source evaluation has three parts:

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

REFERENCE (10%)
Publication. [italicised] (capitalise all words except prepositions, conjunctions)
Article title. (capitalise only first letter, letter proceeding punctuation, and proper nouns)
Place (for digital articles a URL; for hard-copy articles, a publishing city or if outside the USA, a country as well)
Surname, Initial.
(Date). (put in brackets)
Example:
Formula: S.I.D.A.P.P – Surname, Initial. Date. Article title. Publication. Place

Hanging indent

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
SUMMARY
24

Summary of the source
Read the whole article and then write a summary of about 100 words. This is a summary paraphrase so you must use your own words. Begin with the overall idea of the source, followed by its main points.

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

You are already familiar with summary from ENGL102
“The essential purpose of a summary is to re-state concisely the main ideas of an article, book, or report in order to save the reader the time and trouble of reading the original full-length document.” (Dale, 2012)
Length varies depending on the audience, but they are generally between 5% – 20% of the original.
SUMMARY

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
A good summary should include …
the overall idea or purpose of the original;
the essential main ideas of the original;
any essential supporting details, but not too many.
26
A bad summary would include …
new information not contained in the original;
irrelevant information, such as the author’s biographical details;
your own opinions or knowledge about the topic;
referencing data.

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Sample summary
It should be a single, cohesive paragraph starting with a topic sentence or overarching statement.
It should encapsulate the text’s main ideas without changing its meaning;
It should not contain any strings (>3 words) of source wording.
Don’t include too many details. Just focus on the big picture.
No numbers or statistics, no quotes, no examples, no opinions, no unnecessary information.

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
EVALUATION
28

Source evaluation
This is the most important section. Explain in about 100 words why you chose the article. Address some of the criteria mentioned above. Try and link the content of the article to parts of your outline.

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

Evaluation
Sources can be evaluated according to the following questions:
Is it a suitable source or not?
Does the source meet your teacher’s requirements?
Is the source relevant?
Is the source written at an appropriate level?
Is the article biased? (facts or opinions?)
Is the author competent?
Is the organisation trustworthy?
Is the source current?
Source evaluation

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Make comments about C A T L A B P R
Currency ∼ How old is the source?
Acceptability ∼ Is it acceptable for use?
Teacher’s preferences ∼ Does it match your instructor’s requirements?
Language ∼ What is the language like?
Author ∼ Is the author qualified / experienced?
Bias ∼ Is there any evidence of bias?
Publication ∼ Is the publication reputable?
Relevance ∼ Does it match specific parts of your outline?

30

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Example evaluation (good source)
This article is one year old.
It is suitable for the purposes of this report.
It satisfies all of my teacher’s requirements.
The language is academic and technical.
The author has a nobel prize, seven PhDs, has written 54 books, and is currently serving on the United Nations.
The article is balanced, objective, and free from bias.
The publication is a respectable, international journal, whose articles are peer reviewed.
It is useful for the solutions in section four of my report.
31

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Example evaluation (bad source)
This article is 19 years old.
It is not really suitable, but it has some really pretty pictures and I am too attached to it to let it go.
It doesn’t really satisfy my teacher’s requirements, but nobody cares about his opinion anyway.
The language is all slang, emotional, and informal.
The author is a high school student from China who is an expert on skateboarding and playing Call of Duty.
The article is heavily biased, but whatever.
The publication is a website with no affiliation to any kind of respectable organisation. It has had 12 visitors.
It is basically useless, except for the pictures, but I’m going to use it anyway.
32

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Sample evaluation
33
Make it a single paragraph.
There is no need for signposting or linking words (firstly, in addition, to sum up). Just jam all the sentences together.

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Template for the progress report
34
Please note that the quality of the source evaluations in this template is very poor. You should not use them as a model. Write your own evaluations according to the CATLABPR model mentioned in previous slides.

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Questions
35

Discussion
Thank you

ENGLISH 214 ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

Unit 1c

Summaries & abstracts; source evaluations; notes & outlines; progress report; quotation

SUMMARIES & ABSTRACTS ……………………………………… 2

Summaries …………………………………………………………… 2

Abstracts …………………………………………………………… 4

informative abstracts …………………………… 4

descriptive abstracts …………………………… 4

EVALUATING YOUR SOURCES …………………………… 6

NOTE TAKING & OUTLINING …………………………… 10

Note taking …………………………………………………………… 10

Outlining …………………………………………………………… 12

PROGRESS REPORT ……………………………………… 16

Example …………………………………………………………… 19

APA QUOTATION ………………………………………………… 22

Short quotations ………………………………………………… 22

Long quotations ………………………………………………… 23

Changing the original words …………………………… 24

Other changes ………………………………………………… 25

The 214 Major Report:

1c: Summaries, evaluations, notes, outlines, progress report, quotation

SUMMARIES & ABSTRACTS

Summaries

You will already be familiar with the idea of a summary from your English 102 course, in which you had to summarize the articles you found for your term report. In addition, summarizing can be an important part of note taking. (See below pp. 10 to 12.)
To re-iterate, the essential purpose of a summary is to re-state concisely the main ideas of an article, book, or report in order to save the reader the time and trouble of reading the original full-length document. Summaries, in fact, can also be made for a variety of media including PowerPoint presentations, business meetings, lab experiments, audio files and TV programs. In the world of work, employees are often asked by managers to produce summaries of lengthy reports that the manager himself does not have the time to read.
The length of a summary varies according to the complexity of the original and the specific needs of the audience, but, generally, they are between 5% and 20% of the length of the original. Given the large amount of content to be omitted, it is important that summarizers select all, and only, the significant information contained in the original.

Include:
· The overall idea or purpose of the original
· The essential main ideas of the original
· Any essential supporting details for the main ideas
· A reference for the original source

Exclude:
· New information not contained in the original
· Irrelevant information, such as the author’s biographical details
· The summarizer’s own opinions or knowledge about the topic
· “I” and “we”
· Footnotes
· Reference data such as an end-of-article bibliography

To summarize an article for a source evaluation, follow these steps:
1. In a first reading of the article, focus on its specific purpose, its organization and its intended audience, and look also at any conclusions or recommendations. In this initial run-through, you may be helped by headings and sub-headings, typographical clues such as boldface and italics, lists, and informative side bars. Remember also that good articles and reports follow certain widely accepted formats. Knowing where the various parts of a document can be found will help you to find and summarize them. However, not all articles—for example those found on websites—will provide you with information that is easily accessible.
As you proceed step by step through the whole process, you may find it helpful to work with a hard copy—a photocopy or print-out—which you can annotate and mark with underlining and highlighting.
2. Having obtained an overall idea of the article and its audience, read it again at least twice more looking for the main ideas and any essential supporting detail. Well-written articles will provide you with informative topic sentences and a logical, coherent presentation of content. Also, pay particular attention to linking words that, for example, enumerate (another, secondly), compare (similarly, both), contrast (however, whereas), show importance (principally, crucial), and so on.
3. Gather your text annotations and notes into an outline to guide your writing. Summaries are generally expected to follow the sequence of the original but, if the original organization is weak or repetitive, your outline will show where deletions can be made without altering the basic meaning of the original. If you are summarizing a report rather than an article, you may find that the table of contents can be used as a substitute for your own outline.
4. With a usable outline, write the first draft. Try to paraphrase and to be as concise as possible. At this stage, it does not matter if the draft is wordy or contains some source wording. A more important aspect is the accuracy and completeness of the content.
5. Finally, revise and edit your first draft to make an acceptable final version. Delete irrelevant or repeated information to make your writing more concise; condense ideas and combine sentences; paraphrase any source wording; make your writing coherent by supplying logical links between ideas. Refer continually to the original article or report to confirm that your summary is fair, complete and accurate. Finally, supply a reference for the original document so your reader knows what text your summary is based on.
Your goal is to produce a summary that will tell your reader everything of importance that he needs to know. If the task is done well, the reader can rely on your summary without having to read the original document—the summary should be able to stand alone without reference to the original document. In the world of work, such summaries are often referred to as “executive summaries.” Typically, they aim to save the busy manager time by summarizing the contents of a lengthy report and presenting him with a list of recommendations to help him make an informed decision.
In English 214, your source evaluation summaries will help you to better understand your source, and they will help your teacher by giving him the essential details of the original article without his having to spend considerable time reading it himself.

Abstracts
See also Successful Writing at Work pp. 324-25, 339.
The terms “summary” and “abstract” are often used interchangeably but this is only partly correct. There are in fact two types of abstract: an informative abstract and a descriptive abstract. Only the informative abstract is comparable to a summary.

informative abstracts

The description of a summary given above broadly applies to informative abstracts as well. The main difference between them is that informative abstracts tend to be shorter, usually only a paragraph or two long, whereas summaries, especially executive summaries, can stretch to a couple of pages. Like summaries, informative abstracts aim to give readers a concise, accurate and complete re-statement of the original document by, for example, describing what research has been carried out, the conclusions that were arrived at, and any recommendations for further action.
You will find an example of an informative abstract on page 339 of Successful Writing at Work (and it is also re-printed on the next page). Like all abstracts, it is placed early in the report—on or immediately after the cover page—and begins with the overall idea of the original document that it is summarizing. Like a typical summary, it aims to give the reader the substantive facts of the report so that the reader does not have to read the full report himself. (One weakness of the abstract on page 339 is that the writer uses the words “we” and “our” instead of the more objective third person. This could, however, be defended on the grounds that the report and summary are both meant for internal consumption only.)

descriptive abstracts

A descriptive abstract typically consists of only two or three sentences, perhaps fifty words in total. Unlike an informative abstract, which can be regarded as a substitute for the original document, the aim of a descriptive abstract is to help the reader decide if he should read the original document or not. Descriptive abstracts, therefore, merely state what an article contains without providing the specific detail. For example, while an informative abstract will explicitly state any recommendations, a descriptive abstract is more likely merely to mention that “the article contains a set of recommendations.” If the reader wants to know what these recommendations are, he must read the original document.
Descriptive abstracts are commonly found at the start of most journal articles and in special books of abstracts (such as Chemical Abstracts and Information Science Abstracts) which are indispensable to researchers all over the world. It should be pointed out, however, that the distinctions between descriptive and informative abstracts are not always maintained in these publications: often, an academic abstract in a journal article will have the characteristics of both descriptive and informative abstracts.
You will write a descriptive abstract on the cover page of your English 214 major report.
Compare the two abstracts below. They are both based on the model long report in Successful Writing at Work (pp. 338 – 354), titled “Adapting the RPM Workplace for Multinational Employees.”

Example of an informative abstract.
(
Begin the informative abstract with the purpose (overall idea) of the original document.
)

Abstract

(
Note the use of connectors like
“Instead,”

Y
et,” “
T
o do this,”
“also,”

E
qually important,” “
A
dditionally.”
) (
Specific recommend

ations
are given.
) (
The solution is stated.
) (
The problem is stated.
)This report investigates how U.S. businesses such as RPM must gain a competitive advantage in today’s global marketplace by recruiting and retaining a multinational workforce. The current wave of immigrants is in great demand for their technical skills and economic ties to their homeland. Yet many companies like ours still operate by policies designed for native speakers of English. Instead, we need to adapt RPM’s company policies and workplace environment to meet the cultural, religious, social, and communication needs of these multinational workers. To do this, we need to promote cultural sensitivity training, both for multinationals and employees who are native speakers of English. Additionally, as other U.S. firms have done, RPM should adapt vacation schedules and daycare facilities for an increasing multicultural workforce. Equally important, RPM needs to ensure, either through translations or plain-English versions, that all documents can be easily understood by multinational workers. RPM might also offer non-native speakers of English in-house language instruction while providing foreign language training for employees who are native speakers of English. (197 words)

(
After the
initial
topic sentence, do not mention “this report” or “this article” again. Rather, give the information
without further reference to the original
document
.
)

(
This is not a composition; there is no need for a conclusion.
)

(
Like the other abstract, the descriptive abstract begins with the overall idea of the report or article.
)
Example of a descriptive abstract.

Abstract
(
It gives
the main ideas of the report, but without specific details. This type of abstract cannot stand alone.
)
This report investigates how U.S. businesses such as RPM must gain a competitive advantage in today’s global marketplace by recruiting and retaining a multinational workforce. It states the current problem and offers a solution. The report then sets out a number of recommendations to achieve this solution. (47 words)
(
This type of abstract
refers explicitly to the original article or report.
) (
If the reader wants to know about the
solution or
recommendations, he must read the original report.
)

(
A descriptive abstract

can
often
be completed in
about 50 words.
)

EVALUATING YOUR SOURCES

Whenever you find a potential source, you must first evaluate it before you can start using it to write your report. Using effective search terms will increase your chances of finding relevant sources but many of the sources you find which look useful at first glance may turn out to be irrelevant after you have read them critically. The following points set out the criteria that will help you evaluate your sources.

1. Does the source meet your teacher’s requirements?

There is no point in using a source if it does not meet the requirements laid down by your teacher regarding length, newness, bibliographical completeness, and so on. So always check this first.

2. Is the source relevant?

You cannot judge a source simply by its title; you have to read it first. For example, an article titled “The Three Gorges Dam Electric Power Plant” may look relevant to your topic about the environmental impacts of a dam but it may turn out to be a highly technical description of the turbines with little or no useful information for your report. Your chances of finding relevant sources will increase if you use specific search terms related to your focused topic. For example, using “Three Gorges dam environmental impacts” is likely to yield more relevant sources than simply using “Three Gorges dam.” In order to write your source evaluation, you will need to be able to connect specific information in the source with the corresponding topics in your evolving plan. If you can’t, then your source is not relevant.

3. Is the source written at an appropriate level?

Your search may turn up some sources that are too difficult to understand or others that are too simplistic. For example, an experimental article in a journal is likely to have been written on a very narrow aspect of the general topic with high-level information appropriate for academics and specialists. At the other extreme, plenty of websites are designed for high-school students at lower and intermediary levels, where the tone is conversational and informal and the ideas simplified and generalized for the benefit of the target audience.

4. Is the article biased?

A biased article is written from one particular point of view and so does not give a balanced or objective account of an issue. Often the bias is subtle and hard to detect; at other times, it is explicit and unmissable. Articles in reputable journals will typically be peer-reviewed and consequently reliable and objective. This is not the case for the vast amount of information contained in websites, particularly business websites and single-issue activist websites or blogs. Read carefully to see if opposing views are included, and included fairly; check if the tone is formal, professional and objective, or jokey and sarcastic; click on the “About us” link to find out what you can about the purpose and motives of the website.
Apart from the actual content, the writer of an article is often an important clue to bias. Take, for example, two articles entitled “Villagers evacuated to make way for dam reservoir,” one appearing on an activist environmental website and the other in an official Chinese government press release. How would you expect bias—if any—to be expressed in both articles? If you detect bias in an article, you may still be able to use the information in your report but introduce such ideas as opinion rather than fact: for example, “the environmental group claims that … .”

5. Is the author competent?

An author could be one or more individuals, a government department, an organization, an online action group, and so on. Often, online sources and even certain reputable magazines like The Economist publish anonymous articles. We have seen above that authors can sometimes be biased; they can also be incompetent, disorganised and unintentionally misleading. As a general rule, it is always better to use reputable sources with named authors. Sometimes, the source will include a short biography of the author which will indicate his expertise and reliability; if it doesn’t, you may be able to google the author yourself and uncover his background. Is he an expert in the field or simply someone with an interest in it? Has he published before in this field? How long has he worked in this field? Is he well known? These are some of the questions that will help you determine if the author is competent. If he is, the article is more likely to be credible and reliable.

6. Does the source deal in facts or opinions?

Facts are pieces of information that can be proved to be true. For example, “the installed capacity of the Three Gorges Dam make it the biggest power station in the world” is a fact that can be verified by government statistics and academic research. On the other hand, opinions are ideas or beliefs about a particular topic, such as “The Three Gorges Dam project is an environmental disaster.” An opinion is not necessarily wrong but, to be credible, it must always be supported by solid evidence. So read your sources critically to see if the author is providing facts or opinions. If it’s the latter, then he must also provide sufficient evidence to support his opinions and make them credible.

7. Currency

“Currency” refers to the relevance of information based on its date of publication. Students sometimes find sources which contain apparently useful information but which is already out of date. For example, a 2010 source might mention an international conference to be held the following year to discuss the environmental impacts of the Three Gorges Dam. The source sounds promising. However, since that conference has already taken place—in 2011—it makes more sense to find a newer article from late 2011 or 2012 that deals with the actual outcome of that conference. Take care, therefore, with older sources; always try to be current with your information. If the article has no date, be suspicious.

Writing a source evaluation

You must use at least six sources to write your major report and you must write a source evaluation for at least four of them. An example of a typical source evaluation is given on the following page. Notice that it contains three parts:

· The source

First, briefly explain how you found the source, including any search terms, databases or search engines you used. Secondly, provide complete bibliographical information in the form of an APA reference.

· Source summary

Read the whole article and then write a summary of about 100 words. This is a summary paraphrase so you must use your own words. Begin with the overall idea of the source, followed by its main points.

· Source evaluation

This is the most important section. Explain in about 100 words why you chose the article. Address some of the criteria mentioned above. Try and link the content of the article to the topics on your outline.

ENGLISH 214 SOURCE EVALUATION # 1

NAME: Ali Al-Ali ID: 201012340 SEC/SN: 99 / 28

REPORT TITLE (Provisional): The Effects of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

1. THE SOURCE

How long is your source? 3 pages.
How did you find the source?: I typed in “Chernobyl nuclear disaster effects” into the Summon search

engine. This article was the third on the list.

Write a complete APA reference for your source:

Day, A. (2011, September 18) Cleaning up the Chernobyl mess.

Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/123BD33

2. SUMMARY OF THE SOURCE

In about100 words, summarize the main points of your source.

This article discusses the main effects of the Chernobyl nuclear explosion that
happened in Ukraine in 1986. It firstly explains the main cause of the disaster,
human error, and then discusses the main effects both in the local area and in
Europe as a whole. It gives statistics on the number of people who became ill
with cancer over the following 20 years and it describes how farming in Europe
was severely affected for several years. It concludes with the methods used to try
and clean up the radioactivity that had fallen in Europe.

3. EVALUATION:
In about 100 words, explain why you chose this source for your report.
Relevance: connect relevant parts of the source with your outline.
Article: what level is it? How up-to-date is the information?
Publication / website / author: are they reputable, unbiased and knowledgeable?
I chose this article because it is all relevant to the main parts of my report. It
Contains information about the type of nuclear plant, which fits in my Background
Section and it has some brief information about the reasons for the explosion,
which belongs in the Causes section of my report. Most of the article, however, is
concerned with my main idea, which is the effects of the explosion and the problem
of cleaning up.
The BBC is a reliable website and the level of the article is aimed at the average
reader. The article is quite new, about six months old, so it has the latest information
about the disaster. I googled the author, Agnes Day, and she has been the BBC’s
science editor for the past 15 years so is knowledgeable on this subject.

NOTE TAKING

With a workable rough plan and a source that has passed a thorough evaluation, you are ready to start taking notes. Note taking is simply a way to record the information you have read so you won’t forget it. There are a number of ways to do this ranging from short annotations in the margins of sources to large-scale copy & paste techniques on a computer and the use of special note-taking applications such as Evernote and Google Notes. Your teacher will instruct you in whichever method he prefers.
However, regardless of the method that is eventually used, all students are expected to be familiar with one very common method of note-taking: note cards.
The advantage of using the card method is that it allows information to be manipulated easily. As you obtain new information, you can add cards to the pack, remove cards from it, or re-arrange the cards in a better order. To do this efficiently, every note card based on a source must contain a reference to the topic of the note and to the author and source page number.
The notes you make will mainly consist of information extracted from a source, which is then summarized, paraphrased and condensed into its essential meaning using numbers, symbols, abbreviations, and so on. This type of note is often referred to as a “condensed extract.” Notes could also include quotations, statistics, simple illustrations, and reminders to yourself of work that needs doing. For a report of 1500 words or more, a student should have a minimum of 60 note cards.
A typical note card contains information on one topic only, is written on one side only, and contains three pieces of information: the topic, the source and the note:

Topic
Source

Habitat loss: deforestation (Jackson 8)
30% of Amaz r-forest lost in last 20 yrs.
wood used for furniture exports

Note

As a general rule, it is better to take more notes than you think you will need. It is only through ongoing research that you sharpen your focus and cover your topic completely so that notes that once seemed relevant may later become unimportant. So, take lots of notes, but be prepared to discard many of them.

The topic

Each information card must contain a note on a single topic. Indicate this topic using two or three words at the top left of the card. Ideally, these topic indicators should correspond to your outline topics. In general, notes should only appear together on the same card if they will appear together later in the same paragraph or section of your report. If it is clear that two notes on the same general topic will be used in different parts of the report, they should be written on different cards. A single note need not be restricted to the space available on one card; if necessary, continue the note on another card.
When you have finished note taking, the topics you wrote top left on your cards will help you to rearrange your cards according to your evolving outline. Later on in this note-taking stage, you can also add some outline notation (e.g. II.B.1) to each topic, showing exactly where each information card belongs in relation to your outline; however, this is only advisable if you are working with the final version of your outline.

The source

Write a short bibliographical reference at the top right of each note card to indicate the source of the information. Write the author’s name or, if the article has no author, the first couple of words of the title in quotation marks, together with the relevant page number, section heading or paragraph number. If you enclose the source details in parentheses (round brackets) following the APA style format, then your card will already show the documentation you will need when you expand the note later in the first draft.

The note

You cannot rely on your memory when you have so many sources to read so note taking will provide the essential link between reading and writing. As you summarize, paraphrase and condense the original idea onto your card, take care to record the idea accurately. If you are quoting, record the quotation and the accompanying bibliographical information exactly.

Examples

When you select a useful piece of information from a source, try to formulate the essential idea in your own mind. Summarize this—in your own words as far as possible—in condensed form on your note card. Use indentations, spacing, numbers, abbreviations and symbols to speed up the process, but be sure that the notes you take will still be intelligible later when you come to write the first draft.

Summary paraphrase

(
Source
) (
Note
)
(
Topic
)

Solar ponds: basic principle (Sale 127)
Heated freshwater at bott. of pond ↑
then loses heat to atm.
But, saline layer at bott. more dense than FW above
so cannot rise
remains at bottom,
temp. ↑ to 100 deg.C

This heat can be used for elect. prod.

Original source

Thanks to solar ponds, the salt in the Colorado River could be put to beneficial purposes. Normally, when water at the bottom of a freshwater pond is heated, it rises to the surface, where it loses heat to the atmosphere. However, a pond with a layer of saline water at the bottom works differently. It warms up and attempts to rise, but cannot because the salt is much denser than the freshwater above. So, it remains trapped and continues to heat up to boiling point. The heat harnessed from such ponds is able to generate electricity
.

Quotation

Occasionally, you may want to record a quotation on your note card but find out, first, what restrictions your teacher has placed on the number and length of the quotations that he will allow in your report. Select your quotations carefully—writers quote other writers in order to support their ideas and the quotations used are often chosen because they are express an idea particularly succinctly or memorably. Never quote original wording simply because you do not know how to paraphrase the idea.
In the example card below, notice how the quotation is enclosed in quotation marks and the identity of the original speaker is given. If you need to change the original wording, follow the rules outlined later in this unit.
(
source
) (
topic
)
(

Form.

of
E’s su
rface: PT

(Erdmann 65)

Eldridge M.
Moores
, geologist, U of C at Davis
:
Continents of ancient E (
>2.5 bill.
yrs
) shaped by

a
different form of plate tectonics, producing

terrain
that . . . resembles modern Venus.”
)Original

(
quotation
) (
context
)
(
Original speaker
)
Geologists have direct evidence that sea-floor spreading and plate tectonics have shaped the Earth’s surface for the past 200 million years. Indirect evidence for plate tectonics goes back a billion years, but the oldest continents are much more ancient, 2.5 billion years old. What forces shaped that ancient Earth? Eldridge M. Moores, a geologist at the University of California at Davis, suggests that it may have been a different form of plate tectonics, producing terrain that in some ways resembles modern Venus

OUTLINING

When you first start taking notes on your sources, you may have only a very basic outline to guide you. The more you read, however, the more information you will obtain and so you will gradually be able to modify that first rough outline. Parts of that outline may need to be deleted while other parts can be retained with some minor adjustments. Mainly, however, you should be able to expand and fill the gaps in that initial plan.
As your initial plan grows, the relationships between the parts will become more numerous and complex and so it will become necessary to produce a more formal outline using indentations and standard outline notation. During the research stage of report writing—while you are finding sources, reading them and taking notes—your teacher will require from you an evolving formal two-level topic outline.
The following points illustrate some general characteristics of outlines.

Informal and formal outlines

Outlines can be informal or formal. Those written for the writer alone can be quite informal, with little attention paid to the various outlining conventions. Informal outlines—also referred to as rough or scratch outlines—are typically the starting-point of a piece of writing. However, outlines that are also written for other readers, like those you write for your English teacher, or those which are intended to form the plan for longer pieces of writing such as reports, should follow certain accepted standards of formatting. These are formal outlines.

Topic and sentence outlines

Formal outlines can be topic outlines or sentence outlines. As the names suggest, topic outlines consist of “topics,” usually consisting of just a few words, while sentence outlines convey the ideas in full sentences.
In this English 102 course, you will use only topic outlines. In a formal topic outline, headings consist of single words, phrases or clauses, and they should begin with a capital letter. Full sentences should not be included, except for the initial thesis statement that precedes the outline. All headings on the same level should be grammatically parallel with one another, that is, they should all be nouns or noun phrases, all verbs or verb phrases, or all clauses.

Traditional and numerical outlines

Formal topic outlines require a consistent system of outline notation. Your teacher will ask you to use either the traditional (“alphanumeric”) method or the numerical (“decimal”) method.
Formal outline notation, together with consistent indentation, explicitly shows the relationships between the ideas in your outline. Ideas are organized by levels. With the traditional outline method, main (first-level) headings are indicated by capital Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV), second-level headings are indented and indicated by capital letters (A, B, C, etc.), and third-level headings are indented still further and are indicated by numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.). Logically, every subdivided topic must have at least two headings: if there is I, there must be II; if there is A, there must be B, and so on. Outline notation is not used for introductions or conclusions.
With the numerical method of notation, main headings are shown by numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.); second-level headings add a further number after a decimal point (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc.); and third-level headings have a third number after a second period (1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, etc.). As with the traditional method, indentations help clarify the relationships between ideas.
In this English 214 course, you may use either system of outline notation though we recommend the traditional method.

Outline Levels

EXAMPLE 1: Traditional topic outline

Thesis

Introduction

I. First-level heading
A. Second-level heading
B. Second-level heading
1. Third-level heading
2. Third-level heading

II. First-level heading
A. Second-level heading
B. Second-level heading
1. Third-level heading
2. Third-level heading
Conclusion

Thesis: Man influences the water cycle in two ways.
Introduction

I. Diversion of runoff
A. Cause: man-made canals and dams
B. Effects
1. Water flow blocked
2. Water removed from cycle

II. Reduction of water held in soil
A. Cause: destruction of vegetation
B. Effects
1. Flooding from increased runoff
2. Insufficient minerals for plants
Conclusion

EXAMPLE 2: Numerical topic outline

Thesis

Introduction

1. First-level heading
1.1 Second-level heading
1.2 Second-level heading
1.2.1 Third-level heading
1.2.2 Third-level heading

2. First-level heading
2.1 Second-level heading
2.2 Second-level heading
2.2.1 Third-level heading
2.2.2 Third-level heading
Conclusion

Thesis: Man influences the water cycle in two ways.
Introduction

1. Diversion of runoff
1.1 Cause: man-made canals and dams
1.2 Effects
1.2.1 Water flow blocked
1.2.2 Water removed from cycle

2. Reduction of water held in soil
2.1 Cause: destruction of vegetation
2.2 Effects
2.2.1 Flooding from increased runoff
2.2.2 Insufficient minerals for plants
Conclusion

After you reach the end of the note-taking stage and just before you start the first draft of the report, your teacher will ask to see a clear, coherent three-level topic outline showing the range and sequence of information in your report.
At this stage, you also need to rearrange your note cards—if you have been using this method—to make them correspond to your revised outline. As you look through your note cards, throw away those that you no longer need. At the same time, look carefully to see if there are information gaps that might require another visit online or to the Library and further research.
When you are sure that your outline is complete, that you have all the information you need, and you have sequenced your note cards according to the outline, you will be ready to start writing the first draft. (See Unit 1d for information on drafting, revising and editing.)

THE PROGRESS REPORT

The purpose of a progress report is to inform the reader of the current status of a particular project. This type of report is common in both study and work environments and may take many forms, for example a short informal telephone call, a letter or email, an internal memorandum or a lengthy report. The readers of such reports are managers, company clients, work supervisors and course instructors. In all cases, they are especially interested in knowing the following:
· how much progress has been made so far on the project;
· what problems have been encountered and how those problems were solved;
· how much work remains to be completed together with a schedule for completing it.
In English 214, you submit a progress report for your major report at about the half-way stage of your research project. It is written as a memorandum addressed to your teacher and consists of the following four sections:

I. Introduction

II. Work Completed

III. Problems & Solutions

IV. Work to be Completed

At the top of your memorandum page, write the identification details: the recipient’s name and title; your name, major, ID number, section number and serial number; the subject of the memorandum; and, finally, the provisional title of the report. If you are sure that you will not modify this title, you can omit the word ‘provisional.’

I. Introduction

Your introduction should be between 100 and 150 words. Here, you start with the specific purpose statement that informs the reader why you are writing the report. Most likely, your purpose will be to discuss a problem in which you focus on the causes, effects or possible solutions. Your purpose could also be to present an argument or to make a detailed comparison. It is a requirement that, like your provisional title, your purpose statement (a) shows a narrowed, focused topic and (b) clearly links your major with the theme of the semester.
The introduction is also the place to provide your reader with some background about your topic such as any necessary definitions or historical and theoretical description. You should also explain why your topic is an important one specifying, for example, who would most benefit from your research—individuals (eg personal health strategies), companies and other organizations (eg the protection of sensitive commercial data), countries (eg fighting inflationary pressures) or perhaps even the world in general for topics of global significance like pandemics or climate change.

II. Work Completed

The Work Completed section of your progress report informs the reader what you have accomplished so far in the major tasks of your project. The reader wants to know that you are on schedule to complete the assignment within the prescribed time limits. Your progress report provides him with a written record of your achievements to date. The research tasks basically involve your sources and your outline. Explain how many sources you have found so far and how you found them; mention the source evaluations you have written for them, and the notes you have taken.
Supply proof of your claim by writing a working bibliography of the sources found so far. At this mid-point stage in the research project, your teacher will expect to see about four sources on your list (though you may not necessarily have read, taken notes on, or evaluated all of them).
Provide your reader next with a logical, coherent two-level topic outline that sets out the main sections of your report. This outline is still evolving—as you find and read additional sources, and gather more information, your outline will change accordingly. Your outline must also of course agree exactly with the purpose statement and topic description you gave in the introduction and with the provisional title you gave in the subject line of the memorandum.

III. Problems & Solutions

In the third section, Problems & Solutions, explain the difficulties you have encountered so far in your research and, equally importantly, explain how you overcame them. Your ability to resolve the many problems that occur in such projects will give your reader a strong indication about your ability to complete the project on time.
Keeping a record of your research activities from the start of the project will help you with this section but you need not mention every problem, only the most important ones. Problems are likely to involve, initially, the finding of a suitable focus that combines your major with the theme of the semester. Many problems are linked to sources, in particular your ability to find up-to-date impartial articles written at an appropriate level by authors with expertise in the field. You may have several false starts in which promising articles turn out to be of little relevance to your topic. Changing search engines and key search terms can sometimes resolve the problems that arise with poor sources.

IV. Work to be Completed

The fourth, and last, section of your progress report is Work to be Completed. Begin with a paragraph that explains what the remaining research tasks are. These are likely to involve finding, reading and taking notes on one or two more sources and perhaps writing additional source evaluations for them. While six sources are the minimum number for this report, you need write only four source evaluations. In addition, your teacher will expect you to develop the two-level outline given in your progress report to a three- or four-level outline by the start of the first draft.
However, naming the remaining tasks to be completed is only half your task in this final section of the progress report. You must also specify your timetable for completing them. Your research project has a fixed deadline that was set at the beginning, namely the date that your final report will be submitted. (In Term 121, this is likely to be on or near Tuesday, 6 November.) You have therefore about six weeks (including the vacation) between the submission of your progress report and the submission of your major report.
In the second part of this section, you must set out a schedule that specifies by when each of the remaining tasks will be finished. These can be grouped under four main headings: the completion of the research element (sources, notes, final outline); the writing of the first draft; the report revision and final editing; and the submission of the final draft along with all the materials used to write it (ie, sources, evaluations, notes, outlines and drafts). You must supply your teacher with hard and soft copies, and must upload the final report to Turnitin.
This progress report is not simply about the 5% grade it carries. It is about your efficiency, organization, and determination over a period of several weeks to successfully complete a difficult research task.

Refer to the example on the following pages:

MEMORANDUM

TO: Mr. John Smith, instructor, English 214
FROM: Ali Al-Abdulhadi (CHEM) 200912340, English 214-99/15 AA

DATE: 26 September 2012 (class 12)
SUBJECT: Progress Report for library research project:
Provisional title: “Solving the Adverse Environmental Effects of
Agriculture”

I. INTRODUCTION

The specific purpose of my report is to investigate possible solutions to the environmental effects caused by agricultural activities, specifically by livestock farming and crop production. Agriculture is an ancient economic activity on which the world still depends for its food and in many cases for its livelihoods. It involves the cultivation of plants and animals not only for food but also for fuels, fibers, raw materials and other necessities that are vital for life. However, these same agricultural practices have had many negative effects on the environment causing considerable damage to ecological systems across the globe. For example, crop production has led to water pollution through the use of agrochemicals while the farming of animals has brought about land degradation and in some parts of the world serious desertification. The need for solutions is urgent. Several will be discussed in my report including conservation tillage and improvements to irrigation systems.

II. WORK COMPLETED

B. Outline

I have developed my initial rough plan into the following two-level topic outline:
INTRODUCTION
I. Environmental effects of crop production
A. Pollution by agrochemicals
B. Soil erosion
II. Environmental effects of livestock farming
A. Pollution
1. Air pollution
2. Water pollution
B. Land degradation
III. Possible solutions
A. Conservation tillage
B. Economic measures
1. Local measures
2. State measures
C. Irrigation system improvements
IV. Recommendations
CONCLUSION

Ali Al-Abdulhadi 3 26 September 2012

III. PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS

I arranged an interview with Dr. Fahad Al-Suwaiyan, a professor who teaches the chemistry of the environment (CHEM 431) to discuss fertilizers, pesticides and other contaminants. The interview had to be cancelled but it has now been re-arranged for Monday, 1 October. I hope that the transcript of this interview will provide me with my sixth source. My initial search for sources on the Internet produced a number of low-quality, sometimes biased, articles written by various environmentalist groups. This problem was solved by using the Library’s Summon search engine. This gave me access to the electronic databases which provided much more reliable information, though it was sometimes of a very technical nature. Secondly, by doing a biographical search of authors and choosing only those with an expert background in the field, I have been able to find Internet sources which should be as reliable as those in the Library databases.

IV. WORK TO BE COMPLETED

I must first take notes on my fourth source and write a source evaluation for it. I must then read my fifth source and decide if it is useful. If it is, I will take notes; if it isn’t, I must return to the Library to find an alternative article. In addition, after conducting the interview, I must make a transcript of it and take notes. Finally, I need to develop my outline to make it three-level. All this has to be completed before starting to write the first draft. To achieve these targets, I intend to follow this schedule of work:

Schedule of remaining work:

Researching

Thursday, 27 Sep.: Take notes on source 4 and write an evaluation for it.
Saturday, 29 Sep.: Submit SE4 (class 13). Review the corrected progress report.
Monday, 1 Oct.: Interview with Dr Al-Suwaiyan. Compose the transcript (source 6).
2 Oct. – 6 Oct.: Read and take notes on sources 5 and 6. Refine my outline.
Submit the final 3-level outline on 3 Oct.
All note taking completed by 6 Oct.
Sunday, 7 Oct.: Prepare for the 1st draft: final checking of notes, sources, outline.

Drafting

Monday, 8 Oct.: Start the first draft (class 17).
Wednesday, 17 Oct.: Complete the first draft (class 21).

Revising & editing

18 Oct. – 5 Nov.: Complete the revision; finish editing; prepare the final typed document.

Report submission

Tuesday, 6 Nov.: Submit the hard copy of the report (+ sources, notes, outlines, drafts).
Tuesday, 6 Nov.: Submit the soft copy, and upload it to Turnitin.

APA QUOTATION

When a writer quotes, he takes a word, phrase, sentence or paragraph from a text and uses it—unchanged—in his own composition or report. To show that he is using someone else’s exact words, he places the quoted material inside double quotation marks (“…”). To avoid plagiarism, he documents the source of the quotation with the name of the author, the year of publication, and (when possible) the page number. In your English 214 research report, your teacher may allow you to make one or two short quotations and/or one long quotation. A short quotation consists of fewer than forty words; a long (or block) quotation consists of forty or more words.
Writers quote other writers in order, firstly, to strengthen and support their own ideas. Quotations are also selected because they express an idea well and because the inclusion of “another voice” in one’s writing can make the writing more interesting. However, quoting other writers simply because it is too difficult to paraphrase their ideas is not a good reason for quoting.
There are restrictions on the number and length of quotations you may use in your major report (see above). Having more than three quotations in your report is discouraged since your teacher is interested in your writing—particularly your ability to paraphrase—not in someone else’s language ability. Quotations, in fact, are quite rare in writing that is based in science and technology.
Here you will be shown how to write short and long quotations using the APA style. You will also be taught how to change the original wording in your quotation if the need arises.

Short quotations

A quotation is sometimes introduced by a signal phrase, like according to …, which indicates the originator of the idea. Certain verbs are also commonly used, such as claim, state, say, explain, assert and observe. When introductory punctuation is required, the colon and comma are most common. The text you quote must fit grammatically and it must make sense within the rest of your sentence. Note also in the fourth example below that if the original text you wish to quote also contains a quotation, you indicate this ‘quotation-within-a-quotation’ by the use of single quotation marks (‘…’).
All quotations must be documented in the usual way with the author, date, and page number(s), or, in the case of unpaginated electronic sources, with a section heading and/or paragraph number. Quotation marks are placed immediately after the quotation, followed by the documentation and the sentence punctuation:

Climate affects the culture of a country. For example, according to MIT anthropologist, Dr James Scott (2011), “Tropical lifestyles are less strenuous and more casual than those in temperate climates” (Discussion section, para. 4).

In their study of cyber-crime, Peterson and Smith (2010) called for “the urgent transfer of powers to national governments” (p. 22) in order to police the “more troublesome parts” (p. 23) of the Internet.

Any free time used to improve one’s mind or body has been described as “constructive leisure” (Jackson, 2012, p. 9).

Cole et al. (2010) found that “‘the placebo effect’ exerted a far stronger influence” (para. 3) on the test population than the test drugs themselves.

Long quotations

Long quotations are quite rare in scientific and technical writing and you will require your teacher’s permission before including one in your report. As mentioned above, in the APA style, a long quotation consists of forty words or more. It is often introduced by a colon but there may be no punctuation if the long quotation is a grammatical continuation of the sentence that introduces it.
It always starts on a new line and is not enclosed by quotation marks. The whole block is indented one half inch (just over one centimeter) on the left and is double-spaced like the rest of your report. The parenthetical citation is placed after the end punctuation.
(
A
colon
introduces the long quotation if it is not a grammatical continuation of the sentence that introduces it.
)
(
The text of the report is typically double-spaced.
)

Despite the assurances of food producers that our food is indeed becoming healthier as consumers become more selective and health-conscious, Thomas Gentry (2012), President of the American Heart Foundation, is not totally convinced:

I think it has become abundantly clear to my organization over the past few years that the consumer will only be able to heed the call for lower consumption of fat, salt and calories when food producers clearly label their products to show the purchaser what they contain. (p. 136)

(
Double
-space the long quotation.
) (
Ind
ent the long quotation 0.5 inches
on the left.
) (
Write the in-text citation after the full stop.
)
Finally, note that in a long quotation any quoted text in the original wording will appear in double quotation marks in your long quotation. (Compare this with the use of single quotation marks for quoted text within short quotations. See page 22 above.)

Changing the original words

As a general rule when writing, you should not alter the original words of another writer in any way. However, in the interests of clarity, conciseness and grammaticality, it is permissible to omit some of the original wording, to alter it, and even to insert wording of your own into it. This applies to both long and short quotations.

Omissions are indicated by ellipses; alterations and insertions are indicated by brackets.

Omitting quoted text

If you leave out parts of the original wording, you must indicate the location of the omissions in your quotation by inserting three spaced dots (. . .) known as
ellipses
or ellipsis points. To indicate an omission that comes at the end of a sentence or that consists of more than one sentence, use four dots (a period and three ellipses). If you use ellipsis, be sure that the quoted text is still grammatical and well integrated with your own sentences, and that it still faithfully reflects the sense of the original wording.
Compare the short quotation below with the long quoted passage above.

Thomas Gentry (2012), President of the American Heart Association, believes that “it has become abundantly clear . . . that the consumer will only be able to heed the call for lower consumption of fat, salt and calories when food producers clearly label their products” (p. 136).
(
The
ellipses
here indicate that original wording has been omitted. Check the long quotation above to find out what has been left out.
Note how the sentence is still grammatical and still makes sense even without the missing words.
)

Inserting and altering text in a quotation

Square brackets […] are used to show that insertions or alterations have been made to the original wording. Words can be inserted into a quotation to clarify a particular word or phrase. For example, [Dr. Tom King] could be inserted to clarify “that person” in the original words, or the word [diode] could be inserted to replace the word “it” if the reader would otherwise not know what “it” referred to. Similarly, to achieve a grammatical fit with the rest of the sentence, a present tense could be altered to a past tense, as in the example below. Again, as with omissions using ellipses, any changes you make must remain grammatical and must not distort the sense of the original words.
Compare the short quotation below (showing both ellipses and brackets) with the full quoted passage above.

Thomas Gentry (2012), a leading campaigner in the USA for healthier food, said that it had become obvious “to [his] organization [the American Heart Association] . . . that the consumer [would] only be able to heed the call for lower consumption of fat, salt and calories when food producers clearly label[ed] their products” (p. 136).

While accuracy and grammaticality are important, it is also important not to overdo the omissions, insertions and alterations. The quotation above, for example, comes very close to having too many changes to the original wording. The quotation is difficult to read. When excessive changes like these produce an awkward quotation, think of other ways to convey the idea in your writing, especially the use of paraphrase.

Other changes

Finally, there are two other changes that a writer is allowed to make to the original wording.
First, using italics, it is possible to add your own emphasis to a word or phrase in the quotation in order to draw its importance to the attention of your reader. In this case, italicize the word or phrase you want to highlight and place [emphasis added] after it:

A spokesman for the oil company played down the environmental effects of the spill, but marine biologist, Martin O’Connell (2011), asserted that “the impact on the Gulf food chain [would] be felt for a decade at least [emphasis added]” (“Dead Zone,” para. 4).

Second, you will occasionally encounter writing—especially on Internet web sites—which has grammar, spelling or punctuation errors. If you want to quote text that contains such errors, and if you feel the mistake could confuse the reader, you can insert the Latin word sic in square brackets [sic] immediately after the error. (The word sic means “thus” or “so.”) This shows the reader that the error is in the original text and is therefore not your mistake.

The production problem was described as a “miner [sic] setback” that would not delay the project (Jones, 2012, p. 3).

Exercise 1 Inserting [sic]

Insert the word [sic] at the appropriate place in the sentences below.

1. Stevens (2012) described his position as a “matter of principal” (p. 11) and said he
would not change his mind.
2. In his final report on staff morale, Smith (2011) concluded that “the company’s most
serious personal problems” (p. 15) all involved employee motivation.
3. Petromin’s latest oil discovery was described as “the biggest dessert find in a
generation” by the head of petroleum research (Al-Ali, 2009, para. 3).
4. According to the report, the economic crisis would have “absolutely no affect” on the
company’s ability to invest in its future development (“The Future of,” 2012, p.8).

Exercise 2 Identifying weak quotations

Study the original wording in the box below; then evaluate the correctness

of the quotations that follow. Which one is correct?

(
ORIGINAL TEXT
Siberia is the fuel bunker of the Soviet Union. With
almost three-quarters of that
country’s known energy resources, it probably accounts fo
r half the world’s accessible
coal reserves, while its forests represent one fifth of
the world’s lumber. And just
two of its 50,000 rivers, the Yenisei and the Lena, have
greater energy potential than
all the rivers of the US combined.
)

(
Quotation 1
:
To give the reader an idea of the vast latent power of the rivers Yenisei and Lena, they are estimated “to have an energy potential greater than all the rivers
in the United States combined.”
)

(
Quotation
2
:
There can be no doubt that Siberia has enormous energy-producing potential. According to
The World Economic Atlas
, for example, “its 50,000 rivers . . . have greater energy potential than all the rivers of the US combined.”
)

(
Quotation
3
:
With about 50% of the world’s accessible coal reserves and hydroelectric potential far vaster than the USA’s, it is hardly surprising that Siberia is known as the “fuel bunker of the Soviet Union.”
)

(
Quotation
4
:
It has been reliably estimated that Siberia has “almost three-quarters of [the Soviet Union’s] known energy resources, it probably accounts for half of the world’s accessible coal reserves.”
)

Next, read Unit 1d: Drafting, revising, editing; the model report

Academic & Professional Communication T. Dale page 20

Unit 1c
MEMORANDUM

TO: Mr. John Smith, instructor, English 214
FROM: Ali Al-Abdulhadi (CHEM) 200912340, English 214-99 AA

DATE: 26 September 2012
SUBJECT: Progress Report for library research project:
Provisional title: “Solving the Adverse Environmental Effects of
Agriculture”

I. INTRODUCTION

The specific purpose of my report is to investigate possible solutions to the environmental effects caused by agricultural activities, specifically by livestock farming and crop production. Agriculture is an ancient economic activity on which the world still depends for its food and in many cases for its livelihoods. It involves the cultivation of plants and animals not only for food but also for fuels, fibers, raw materials and other necessities that are vital for life. However, these same agricultural practices have had many negative effects on the environment causing considerable damage to ecological systems across the globe. For example, crop production has led to water pollution through the use of agrochemicals while the farming of animals has brought about land degradation and in some parts of the world serious desertification. The need for solutions is urgent. Several will be discussed in my report including conservation tillage and improvements to irrigation systems.

II. WORK COMPLETED

A. Sources

I have found five potential sources so far and have read four of them. (See the working bibliography below.) I have written source evaluations for three of the listed sources, and have made 28 note cards for them. Two of the sources below are full-text PDF articles found using the Library’s Summon search engine; two were found on the Internet using Google Scholar and Magportal, respectively; and one was found in the Library’s print collection of current journals.
Fedoroff, N. V., Battisti, D. S., Cooper, P. J., Hodges, C. N., Beachy, R. N., Fischoff,
D. A., . . .Zhu, J. K. (2010). Radically rethinking agriculture for the 21st century.
Science, 327(5297), 833-834. doi: 10.1126/science.1186834
Gomiero, T., Pimentel, D., & Paoletti, M. G. (2011). Is there a need for a more
sustainable agriculture? Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 30(3), 6-23.
Parris, K. (2011). Impact of agriculture on water pollution in OECD countries.
Water Resources Development,27(1), 33-52. doi: 10.1080/07900627.2010.531898
Scheierling, S. M., Loomis, J. B., & Young, R. A. (2006).Irrigation water demand: A meta-
analysis of price elasticities.Water Resources Research, 42, Retrieved from
http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2006/2005WR004009.shtml

B. Preliminary outline

I have developed my initial rough plan into the following two-level topic outline:
INTRODUCTION
I. ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF CROP PRODUCTION
A. Pollution by Agrochemicals
B. Soil Erosion
II. ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF LIVESTOCK FARMING
A. Pollution
1. Water pollution
2. Air pollution
B. Land Degradation
III. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
A. Conservation Tillage
B. Economic Measures
1. Local measures
2. State measures
C. Irrigation System Improvements
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS
CONCLUSION

C. Source evaluations

ENGLISH 214SOURCE EVALUATION # 1

NAME: Ali Al-Ali ID: 201012340 SEC/SN: 99 / 28

REPORT TITLE (Provisional): The Effects of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

1. THE SOURCE

How long is your source?
3
pages.
How did you find the source?:
I typed in “Chernobyl nuclear disaster effects” into the Summon search

engine. This article was the third on the list.

Write a complete APA reference for your source:

Day, A. (2011, September 18) Cleaning up the Chernobyl mess. BBC News.

Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/123BD33

2. SUMMARY OF THE SOURCE

In about100 words, summarize the main points of your source.

This article discusses the main effects of the Chernobyl nuclear explosion that
happened in Ukraine in 1986. It firstly explains the main cause of the disaster,
human error, and then discusses the main effects both in the local area and in
Europe as a whole. It gives statistics on the number of people who became ill
with cancer over the following 20 years and it describes how farming in Europe
was severely affected for several years. It concludes with the methods used to try
and clean up the radioactivity that had fallen in Europe.

3. EVALUATION:
In about 100 words, explain why you chose this source for your report.
Relevance: connect relevant parts of the source with your outline.
Article: what level is it? How up-to-date is the information?
Publication / website / author: are they reputable, unbiased and knowledgeable?
I chose this article because it is all relevant to the main parts of my report. It
Contains information about the type of nuclear plant, which fits in my Background
Section and it has some brief information about the reasons for the explosion,
which belongs in the Causes section of my report. Most of the article, however, is
concerned with my main idea, which is the effects of the explosion and the problem
of cleaning up.
The BBC is a reliable website and the level of the article is aimed at the average
reader. The article is quite new, about six months old, so it has the latest information
about the disaster. I googled the author, Agnes Day, and she has been the BBC’s
science editor for the past 15 years so is knowledgeable on this subject.

ENGLISH 214SOURCE EVALUATION # 2

NAME: Ali Al-Ali ID: 201012340 SEC/SN: 99 / 28

REPORT TITLE (Provisional): The Effects of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

1. THE SOURCE

How long is your source?
3
pages.
How did you find the source?:
I typed in “Chernobyl nuclear disaster effects” into the Summon search

engine. This article was the third on the list.

Write a complete APA reference for your source:

Day, A. (2011, September 18) Cleaning up the Chernobyl mess. BBC News.

Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/123BD33

2. SUMMARY OF THE SOURCE

In about100 words, summarize the main points of your source.

This article discusses the main effects of the Chernobyl nuclear explosion that
happened in Ukraine in 1986. It firstly explains the main cause of the disaster,
human error, and then discusses the main effects both in the local area and in
Europe as a whole. It gives statistics on the number of people who became ill
with cancer over the following 20 years and it describes how farming in Europe
was severely affected for several years. It concludes with the methods used to try
and clean up the radioactivity that had fallen in Europe.

3. EVALUATION:
In about 100 words, explain why you chose this source for your report.
Relevance: connect relevant parts of the source with your outline.
Article: what level is it? How up-to-date is the information?
Publication / website / author: are they reputable, unbiased and knowledgeable?
I chose this article because it is all relevant to the main parts of my report. It
Contains information about the type of nuclear plant, which fits in my Background
Section and it has some brief information about the reasons for the explosion,
which belongs in the Causes section of my report. Most of the article, however, is
concerned with my main idea, which is the effects of the explosion and the problem
of cleaning up.
The BBC is a reliable website and the level of the article is aimed at the average
reader. The article is quite new, about six months old, so it has the latest information
about the disaster. I googled the author, Agnes Day, and she has been the BBC’s
science editor for the past 15 years so is knowledgeable on this subject.

III. PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS

I arranged an interview with Dr. Fahad Al-Suwaiyan, a professor who teaches the chemistry of the environment (CHEM 431) to discuss fertilizers, pesticides and other contaminants. The interview had to be cancelled but it has now been re-arranged for Monday, 1 October. I hope that the transcript of this interview will provide me with my sixth source. My initial search for sources on the Internet produced a number of low-quality, sometimes biased, articles written by various environmentalist groups. This problem was solved by using the Library’s Summon search engine. This gave me access to the electronic databases which provided much more reliable information, though it was sometimes of a very technical nature. Secondly, by doing a biographical search of authors and choosing only those with an expert background in the field, I have been able to find Internet sources which should be as reliable as those in the Library databases.

IV. WORK TO BE COMPLETED

I must find another three sources, particularly sources dealing with the solutions, because I haven’t got enough of them yet. I must then read all of my sources and decide if they are useful. If they are, I will take notes, and highlight sections to use when writing my draft. In addition, after conducting the interview, I must make a transcript of it and take notes. All this has to be completed before starting to write the first draft. To achieve these targets, I intend to follow this schedule of work:
Document
MEMORANDUM

TO: Mr. John Smith, instructor, English 214
FROM: Ali Al-Abdulhadi (CHEM) 200912340, English 214-99 AA

DATE: 26 September 2012
SUBJECT: Progress Report for library research project:
Provisional title: “Solving the Adverse Environmental Effects of
Agriculture”

I. INTRODUCTION

The specific purpose of my report is to investigate possible solutions to the environmental effects caused by agricultural activities, specifically by livestock farming and crop production. Agriculture is an ancient economic activity on which the world still depends for its food and in many cases for its livelihoods. It involves the cultivation of plants and animals not only for food but also for fuels, fibers, raw materials and other necessities that are vital for life. However, these same agricultural practices have had many negative effects on the environment causing considerable damage to ecological systems across the globe. For example, crop production has led to water pollution through the use of agrochemicals while the farming of animals has brought about land degradation and in some parts of the world serious desertification. The need for solutions is urgent. Several will be discussed in my report including conservation tillage and improvements to irrigation systems.

II. WORK COMPLETED

A. Sources

I have found five potential sources so far and have read four of them. (See the working bibliography below.) I have written source evaluations for three of the listed sources, and have made 28 note cards for them. Two of the sources below are full-text PDF articles found using the Library’s Summon search engine; two were found on the Internet using Google Scholar and Magportal, respectively; and one was found in the Library’s print collection of current journals.
Fedoroff, N. V., Battisti, D. S., Cooper, P. J., Hodges, C. N., Beachy, R. N., Fischoff,
D. A., . . .Zhu, J. K. (2010). Radically rethinking agriculture for the 21st century.
Science, 327(5297), 833-834. doi: 10.1126/science.1186834
Gomiero, T., Pimentel, D., & Paoletti, M. G. (2011). Is there a need for a more
sustainable agriculture? Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 30(3), 6-23.
Parris, K. (2011). Impact of agriculture on water pollution in OECD countries.
Water Resources Development,27(1), 33-52. doi: 10.1080/07900627.2010.531898
Scheierling, S. M., Loomis, J. B., & Young, R. A. (2006).Irrigation water demand: A meta-
analysis of price elasticities.Water Resources Research, 42, Retrieved from
http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2006/2005WR004009.shtml

B. Preliminary outline

I have developed my initial rough plan into the following two-level topic outline:
INTRODUCTION
I. ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF CROP PRODUCTION
A. Pollution by Agrochemicals
B. Soil Erosion
II. ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF LIVESTOCK FARMING
A. Pollution
1. Water pollution
2. Air pollution
B. Land Degradation
III. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
A. Conservation Tillage
B. Economic Measures
1. Local measures
2. State measures
C. Irrigation System Improvements
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS
CONCLUSION

C. Source evaluations

ENGLISH 214SOURCE EVALUATION # 1

NAME: Ali Al-Ali ID: 201012340 SEC/SN: 99 / 28

REPORT TITLE (Provisional): The Effects of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

1. THE SOURCE

How long is your source?
3
pages.
How did you find the source?:
I typed in “Chernobyl nuclear disaster effects” into the Summon search

engine. This article was the third on the list.

Write a complete APA reference for your source:

Day, A. (2011, September 18) Cleaning up the Chernobyl mess. BBC News.

Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/123BD33

2. SUMMARY OF THE SOURCE

In about100 words, summarize the main points of your source.

This article discusses the main effects of the Chernobyl nuclear explosion that
happened in Ukraine in 1986. It firstly explains the main cause of the disaster,
human error, and then discusses the main effects both in the local area and in
Europe as a whole. It gives statistics on the number of people who became ill
with cancer over the following 20 years and it describes how farming in Europe
was severely affected for several years. It concludes with the methods used to try
and clean up the radioactivity that had fallen in Europe.

3. EVALUATION:
In about 100 words, explain why you chose this source for your report.
Relevance: connect relevant parts of the source with your outline.
Article: what level is it? How up-to-date is the information?
Publication / website / author: are they reputable, unbiased and knowledgeable?
I chose this article because it is all relevant to the main parts of my report. It
Contains information about the type of nuclear plant, which fits in my Background
Section and it has some brief information about the reasons for the explosion,
which belongs in the Causes section of my report. Most of the article, however, is
concerned with my main idea, which is the effects of the explosion and the problem
of cleaning up.
The BBC is a reliable website and the level of the article is aimed at the average
reader. The article is quite new, about six months old, so it has the latest information
about the disaster. I googled the author, Agnes Day, and she has been the BBC’s
science editor for the past 15 years so is knowledgeable on this subject.

ENGLISH 214SOURCE EVALUATION # 2

NAME: Ali Al-Ali ID: 201012340 SEC/SN: 99 / 28

REPORT TITLE (Provisional): The Effects of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

1. THE SOURCE

How long is your source?
3
pages.
How did you find the source?:
I typed in “Chernobyl nuclear disaster effects” into the Summon search

engine. This article was the third on the list.

Write a complete APA reference for your source:

Day, A. (2011, September 18) Cleaning up the Chernobyl mess. BBC News.

Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/123BD33

2. SUMMARY OF THE SOURCE

In about100 words, summarize the main points of your source.

This article discusses the main effects of the Chernobyl nuclear explosion that
happened in Ukraine in 1986. It firstly explains the main cause of the disaster,
human error, and then discusses the main effects both in the local area and in
Europe as a whole. It gives statistics on the number of people who became ill
with cancer over the following 20 years and it describes how farming in Europe
was severely affected for several years. It concludes with the methods used to try
and clean up the radioactivity that had fallen in Europe.

3. EVALUATION:
In about 100 words, explain why you chose this source for your report.
Relevance: connect relevant parts of the source with your outline.
Article: what level is it? How up-to-date is the information?
Publication / website / author: are they reputable, unbiased and knowledgeable?
I chose this article because it is all relevant to the main parts of my report. It
Contains information about the type of nuclear plant, which fits in my Background
Section and it has some brief information about the reasons for the explosion,
which belongs in the Causes section of my report. Most of the article, however, is
concerned with my main idea, which is the effects of the explosion and the problem
of cleaning up.
The BBC is a reliable website and the level of the article is aimed at the average
reader. The article is quite new, about six months old, so it has the latest information
about the disaster. I googled the author, Agnes Day, and she has been the BBC’s
science editor for the past 15 years so is knowledgeable on this subject.

III. PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS

I arranged an interview with Dr. Fahad Al-Suwaiyan, a professor who teaches the chemistry of the environment (CHEM 431) to discuss fertilizers, pesticides and other contaminants. The interview had to be cancelled but it has now been re-arranged for Monday, 1 October. I hope that the transcript of this interview will provide me with my sixth source. My initial search for sources on the Internet produced a number of low-quality, sometimes biased, articles written by various environmentalist groups. This problem was solved by using the Library’s Summon search engine. This gave me access to the electronic databases which provided much more reliable information, though it was sometimes of a very technical nature. Secondly, by doing a biographical search of authors and choosing only those with an expert background in the field, I have been able to find Internet sources which should be as reliable as those in the Library databases.

IV. WORK TO BE COMPLETED

I must find another three sources, particularly sources dealing with the solutions, because I haven’t got enough of them yet. I must then read all of my sources and decide if they are useful. If they are, I will take notes, and highlight sections to use when writing my draft. In addition, after conducting the interview, I must make a transcript of it and take notes. All this has to be completed before starting to write the first draft. To achieve these targets, I intend to follow this schedule of work:

What Will You Get?

We provide professional writing services to help you score straight A’s by submitting custom written assignments that mirror your guidelines.

Premium Quality

Get result-oriented writing and never worry about grades anymore. We follow the highest quality standards to make sure that you get perfect assignments.

Experienced Writers

Our writers have experience in dealing with papers of every educational level. You can surely rely on the expertise of our qualified professionals.

On-Time Delivery

Your deadline is our threshold for success and we take it very seriously. We make sure you receive your papers before your predefined time.

24/7 Customer Support

Someone from our customer support team is always here to respond to your questions. So, hit us up if you have got any ambiguity or concern.

Complete Confidentiality

Sit back and relax while we help you out with writing your papers. We have an ultimate policy for keeping your personal and order-related details a secret.

Authentic Sources

We assure you that your document will be thoroughly checked for plagiarism and grammatical errors as we use highly authentic and licit sources.

Moneyback Guarantee

Still reluctant about placing an order? Our 100% Moneyback Guarantee backs you up on rare occasions where you aren’t satisfied with the writing.

Order Tracking

You don’t have to wait for an update for hours; you can track the progress of your order any time you want. We share the status after each step.

image

Areas of Expertise

Although you can leverage our expertise for any writing task, we have a knack for creating flawless papers for the following document types.

Areas of Expertise

Although you can leverage our expertise for any writing task, we have a knack for creating flawless papers for the following document types.

image

Trusted Partner of 9650+ Students for Writing

From brainstorming your paper's outline to perfecting its grammar, we perform every step carefully to make your paper worthy of A grade.

Preferred Writer

Hire your preferred writer anytime. Simply specify if you want your preferred expert to write your paper and we’ll make that happen.

Grammar Check Report

Get an elaborate and authentic grammar check report with your work to have the grammar goodness sealed in your document.

One Page Summary

You can purchase this feature if you want our writers to sum up your paper in the form of a concise and well-articulated summary.

Plagiarism Report

You don’t have to worry about plagiarism anymore. Get a plagiarism report to certify the uniqueness of your work.

Free Features $66FREE

  • Most Qualified Writer $10FREE
  • Plagiarism Scan Report $10FREE
  • Unlimited Revisions $08FREE
  • Paper Formatting $05FREE
  • Cover Page $05FREE
  • Referencing & Bibliography $10FREE
  • Dedicated User Area $08FREE
  • 24/7 Order Tracking $05FREE
  • Periodic Email Alerts $05FREE
image

Our Services

Join us for the best experience while seeking writing assistance in your college life. A good grade is all you need to boost up your academic excellence and we are all about it.

  • On-time Delivery
  • 24/7 Order Tracking
  • Access to Authentic Sources
Academic Writing

We create perfect papers according to the guidelines.

Professional Editing

We seamlessly edit out errors from your papers.

Thorough Proofreading

We thoroughly read your final draft to identify errors.

image

Delegate Your Challenging Writing Tasks to Experienced Professionals

Work with ultimate peace of mind because we ensure that your academic work is our responsibility and your grades are a top concern for us!

Check Out Our Sample Work

Dedication. Quality. Commitment. Punctuality

Categories
All samples
Essay (any type)
Essay (any type)
The Value of a Nursing Degree
Undergrad. (yrs 3-4)
Nursing
2
View this sample

It May Not Be Much, but It’s Honest Work!

Here is what we have achieved so far. These numbers are evidence that we go the extra mile to make your college journey successful.

0+

Happy Clients

0+

Words Written This Week

0+

Ongoing Orders

0%

Customer Satisfaction Rate
image

Process as Fine as Brewed Coffee

We have the most intuitive and minimalistic process so that you can easily place an order. Just follow a few steps to unlock success.

See How We Helped 9000+ Students Achieve Success

image

We Analyze Your Problem and Offer Customized Writing

We understand your guidelines first before delivering any writing service. You can discuss your writing needs and we will have them evaluated by our dedicated team.

  • Clear elicitation of your requirements.
  • Customized writing as per your needs.

We Mirror Your Guidelines to Deliver Quality Services

We write your papers in a standardized way. We complete your work in such a way that it turns out to be a perfect description of your guidelines.

  • Proactive analysis of your writing.
  • Active communication to understand requirements.
image
image

We Handle Your Writing Tasks to Ensure Excellent Grades

We promise you excellent grades and academic excellence that you always longed for. Our writers stay in touch with you via email.

  • Thorough research and analysis for every order.
  • Deliverance of reliable writing service to improve your grades.
Place an Order Start Chat Now
image

Order your essay today and save 30% with the discount code Happy