PLEASE SEE :

APA TEMPLATE INCLUDED

APA SAMPLE PAPER

GRADING RUBRIC

BUSINESS GROWTH OVER VIEW

SIGNATURE DATA BASE

MARKETING PLAN OUTLINE

Title ABC/ 1 23 Version X

1

Marketing Plan Outline and Timeline

MKT/571 Version 10

1

University of Phoenix Material

Marketing Plan Outline and Timeline

Marketing Plan

You are expected to develop a marketing plan, according to the outline below, for a product or service of your choosing. The product or service must be identified by the end of Week 1. The product or service you select is used to develop the assignments for Weeks 2 through Week 6. References must be included for each section.

There are no defined standards for the length of the marketing plan; however, your plan must disclose complete marketing strategies and provide reliable and valid references and data supporting the strategies to convince the target audience. The plan must be written in plain language that would be easily understood by stakeholders.

Marketing Plan Outline

Your final marketing plan must consist of the following sections. Refer to the timeline for due dates for each section and subsection. Assignments may include modifications to these lists. Please use lists provided in assignments only.

· Executive Summary:

· Strategic Objectives

· Products or Services

· Resources Needed

· Projected Outcomes

· Situational Analysis:

· Vision, Mission, Strategic objectives, Values

· Internal Analysis

· Strengths/Weaknesses

· Capability/Capacity

· Competitor’s Strengths/Weaknesses

· Technological Competency

· Product or Service Analysis

· Market Segments

· Research

· Primary Research

· Secondary Research

· Consumer Analysis

· Customer Profile

· Continuous Consumer Monitoring & Research

· Environmental Scanning

· Identify Market, Economic, Technological, Regulatory, Legal, Social, and Ecological Forces

· Current Opportunities

· Potential Future Opportunities

· Current Threats

· Potential Future Threat

· Target Market(s):

· Demographics

· Psychographics

· Ethical Issues

· Legal Issues

· Social Issues

· Product, Place/Distribution, Promotion, and Price Strategies:

· Product Descriptions and Product/Service Mix Strategies

· Product/Service Determinants

· Creating a Brand Image

· Maintaining Brand Image

· Branding Concerns

· Distribution Strategies

· Channels, Mass, Selective, Exclusive

· Promotion/Integrated Marketing Communication

· Advertising Strategy/Objectives

· Push and Pull

· Media Strategy

· Advertising Execution

· Sales Promotion

· Direct Marketing

· Public Relations/Strategies

· Positioning

· Dynamic/Static Pricing Strategies

Marketing Plan Timeline

Week 1: Marketing Plan Topic

· Consider your company and product or service selection in Week 1. You may select an existing type of product or service or a new product or service but it must be global or multi-regional. Once you have selected your product or service, you must define the size and type of company that provides the product or service (available from annual reports). This need not be elaborate but must include total number of employees, production volume, distribution methods, and so forth. Company and product or service selection is a critical part of this project. You must ensure your proposed company can implement the marketing methods discussed in the text.

· Key to creating an effective marketing plan is the ability to analyze the environment in which the product or service will be offered. The Week 1 assignment allows you to begin to understand various reports and how they can be used in your marketing plan.

Week 2: Understanding Target Markets

· To develop effective relationship marketing, a company must first understand its targeted consumers’ buying influences and behaviors. In Week 2, create the Research section of your plan. In addition, create the first two parts of the Target Market section, which includes performing the demographics and psychographics analysis.

Week 3: Promotion and the product life cycle

· All products/services go through a life cycle of NPI (new product introduction), growth, maturity and decline. These various stages affect the marketing strategy and promotional efforts. In Week 3, you will incorporate a promotion strategy that addresses at least three areas of the product life cycle.

Week 4: Price and Channel Strategy

· How one goes to market and the influences of the channel (channel power, strength of channel, speed of channel, etc.) affects the pricing strategy of the product or service. In Week 4 your pricing and distribution strategy will be incorporated into the marketing plan.

Week 5: Marketing Communication and Brand Strategy

· Brand strategy and the communication of the brand is essential to understanding the various phases of a product or service (viz a viz the life cycle). Brand recognition is based in the marketing communication efforts of the firm. When you hear or see the word Coke, you immediately know it is Coca Cola. When you see five interlocking rings of different colors you know that is the symbol for the Olympics. In Week 5, you will develop a brand and communication strategy for your product.

Week 6: Executive Summary, Legal, Social and Ethical Issues, Final Plan

· Review your final plan. Does the plan effectively analyze market strategies? Are the social, ethical, and legal considerations valid and accounted for? What is the relationship among quality, price, satisfaction, and perceived value within the plan?

Copyright © XXXX by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2017 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.

MKT/571: Marketing

Wk 1 – Researching Marketing Questions [due Mon]

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Assignment Content

1.

Top of Form

Purpose of Assignment 

This assignment is designed to help students analyze and interpret primary and/or secondary data and research. First, students will be provided with a marketing report that allows for preparing basic executive level data insights. Second, they will be allowed to pick a company and product or service. This assignment will help prepare students for the development of their marketing plan. Students will be creating a marketing plan refer to Marketing Plan and Outline (for overall choices to include in your papers-each student may be different) so they may want to choose a company and product or service that has
data readily available or where they can use demographic/psychographic data to provide insights
. 

Best Practices:

Review the Rubric for my expectations and style of grading. Make sure your papers look like the Sample APA paper for MBA program. This first paper as the embedded Memo in it to avoid submitting two papers. Any questions please text, call, or email me.

Meet the minimum word count of 700 words or what is required as this will avoid pulling your hair out Week 6 as you compile the weeks into the required minimum
4000 word paper.

Week Two – Six build a separate Reference Page in alphabetical order and “Hanging Indented” double spaced please. Depending on your future academic accolades if you have not already start building an Annotated Bibliography for source future use, store the citation and a two sentence explanation. Eventually, you will categorize them in your database.

Assignment Steps

Part 1:

Analyze the

Week 1 Business Growth Overview

dataset. This is a marketing report generated by an analyst for the Senior Vice President (SVP) of Marketing at a large corporation. Please use the Excel Spreadsheet: Week 1 Business Growth Overview. The four answers to this fictitious organization are to be presented in a
Memorandum Format. The analyst is new and has provided summary data but no insights or commentary for the SVP.
The easiest flow for this assignment is Title Page>Memorandum (Part 1)>Selected Global Organization that you will build upon each week>Reference Page.

Construct a minimum 525-word memorandum for the SVP providing insights and commentary. The memorandum should include your analysis of the following:

· Major areas of increase and decrease in revenue or type and/or category of business

· Trends that are evident in terms of revenue or type and/or category of business

· Insights that would help formulate marketing strategies to either continue growth or reverse decline

· Additional analysis you (if you were SVP) would like to build a marketing goal and strategy or strategies (and why) 

Part 2: 

Select a global or multi-regional (does business in more than one country) company and one of its products or services that will serve as the basis for your marketing plan. You should obtain two years of annual reports as well as two years of 10K reports (provides a comprehensive overview of the company’s business and financial condition and includes audited financial statements) for your data source. Once you have selected your product or service, you must define the size and type of your selected company that provides the product or service (available from annual reports). This need not be elaborate but must include total number of employees, production volume, distribution methods, and so forth. Record this information in a summary document as outlined below. 

Company and product selection is a critical part of this project. You must ensure your proposed company can implement the marketing methods discussed in Marketing Management. 

Prepare a minimum 175-word summary document and send it to your instructor as a record of your selection. The summary document should include the following:

· Name of Company

· Location of Company Headquarters

· Name of Product or Service selected

· General description of company (number of employees, revenue, type of ownership, web page, etc.)

· General description of product or service

Format your assignment according to APA guidelines. Please see Sample Template and Sample Paper for the MBA level
(No Running Head, just number pages unless you have perfected this format now used at the Doctoral level)

Submit your assignment.

Bottom of Form

1

3

Title of Paper

Student Name

Course/Number

Due Date

Faculty Name

Detailed expectations for a Masters Level Course

(remove this line)

Title of Paper

Triple click your mouse anywhere in this paragraph to replace this text with your introduction. Often the most important paragraph in the entire essay, the introduction grabs the reader’s attention—sometimes a difficult task for academic writing. When writing an introduction, some approaches are best avoided. Avoid starting sentences with “The purpose of this essay is . . .” or “In this essay I will . . .” or any similar flat announcement of your intention or topic. Read more: Center for Writing Excellence>Tutorials and Guides>Essay Development>Guidelines for Writing Academic Essays.

Level One Heading

Replace the level one heading with the words for your heading. The heading must be in bold font. Headings are a necessary part of helping your audience track the sub-topics discussed in the body of the essay or report.

Be sure to indent the first line of each paragraph between five and seven spaces by pressing the Tab key one time on the keyboard. In addition, remember to double space the entire paper using the double space functionality in Word. This template is already formatted for double spacing. Read more: Center for Writing Excellence>Tutorials and Guides>Software Tutorials and Guides>Formatting Tutorial for APA.

In addition, keep in mind an academic essay should contain at least five paragraphs, which includes the introduction (introductory paragraph), the body (which is generally at least three paragraphs), and the conclusion (generally one paragraph). Most well-developed paragraphs contain at least three – five sentences, one of which is the topic sentence. Limit each body paragraph to one sub-topic.

Level Two Heading

Replace the level two heading with the words for your heading. The heading must be in bold font.

Level three heading. Replace the level three heading with the words for your heading. The heading must be in bold font. Most master’s level papers will be sufficient with three levels of heading. Delete the following level four and five heading placeholders if not needed.

Level four heading.
Replace the level four heading with the words for your heading. The heading must be italicized and in bold font.

Level five heading. Replace the level five heading with the words for your heading. The heading must be italicized.

Conclusion

The closing paragraph is designed to bring the reader to your way of thinking if you are writing a persuasive essay, to understand relationships if you are writing a comparison/contrast essay, or simply to value the information you provide in an informational essay. The closing paragraph summarizes the key points from the supporting paragraphs without introducing any new information.

References

This is a hanging indent. To keep the hanging indent format, triple click your mouse on this line of text and replace the information with your reference entry. You can use the Reference and Citation Examples (Center for Writing Excellence>Tutorials and Guides>Reference and Citation Examples) to help format your source information into a reference entry.

The reference page always begins on the top of the next page after the conclusion.

Researching

Marketing

Questions 2

>Grading Guide

MKT/571 Version 10

2

Researching Marketing Questions Grading Guide

MKT/571 Version 10

Marketing

Copyright

Copyright © 2017, 2016 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.

University of Phoenix® is a registered trademark of Apollo Group, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

Microsoft®, Windows®, and Windows NT® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Use of these marks is not intended to imply endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation.

Edited in accordance with University of Phoenix® editorial standards and practices.

Individual Assignment: Researching Marketing Questions

Purpose of Assignment

This assignment is designed to help students analyze and interpret primary and/or secondary data and research. First, students will be provided with a marketing report that allows for preparing basic executive level data insights. Second, they will be allowed to pick a company and product or service. This assignment will help prepare students for the development of their marketing plan. Students will be creating a marketing plan (refer to Marketing Plan and Outline document) so they may want to choose a company and product or service that has data readily available or where they can use demographic/psychographic data to provide insights.

Resources Required

Week 1 Business Growth Overview

Grading Guide

Content		Met		Partially Met		Not Met		Comments:
Student analyzes the dataset and provides insight and commentary in the form of a memorandum.
Student’s analysis includes major areas of increase and decrease in revenue or type and/or category of business.
Student’s analysis includes trends that are evident in terms of revenue or type and/or category of business.
Student’s analysis includes insights that would help formulate marketing strategies to either continue growth or reverse decline.
Student’s analysis includes additional analysis you (as SVP) would like (and why) to build a marketing goal and strategy or strategies.
The memorandum is a minimum of 525 words in length.
Student selects a global or multi-regional (does business in more than one country) company and one of its products or services that will serve as the basis for your marketing plan.
Students prepares a summary document and sends it to the instructor that includes but is not limited to: · Name of Company · Location of Company Headquarters · Name of Product or Service selected · General description of company (number of employees, revenue, type of ownership, web page, etc.) · General description of product or service.
The summary document is a minimum 175 words in length.
	Total Available		Total Earned
70	#/70

Met

Partially Met

Not Met

Comments:

Total Available

Total Earned

 

Writing Guidelines
The paper—including tables and graphs, headings, title page, and reference page—is consistent with APA formatting guidelines and meets course-level requirements.
Intellectual property is recognized with in-text citations and a reference page.
Paragraph and sentence transitions are present, logical, and maintain the flow throughout the paper.
Sentences are complete, clear, and concise.
Rules of grammar and usage are followed including spelling and punctuation.
30	#/30

Assignment Total	#	100	#/100
Additional comments:

1

Center for Writing Excellence

© 2014 Apollo Group, Inc. All rights reserved

.

Writing Style and Mechanics

Student Name

Course/Number

Date

Instructor Name

An APA running head is not
needed for undergraduate or

master’s courses per the
University Writing and Style

Guidelines. If you are a student
in a doctoral program, or

otherwise require a running
head in your paper, consult
the doctoral APA Sample

Paper in the CWE>Tutorials
and Guides>Doctoral Writing

Resources.

Pagination: Use the
header feature in

Microsoft® Word to set
the page number (see

Appendix A).

The title: Use upper and lower case
letters, centered between the left and
right margins, and positioned on the

upper half of the page. Use black, 12-
point Times New Roman font

throughout. Arial and Courier font
types

are acceptable.

All lines are double-spaced throughout
the entire document. Use black, 12-point
Times New Roman font throughout the
document. Arial and Courier font types

are acceptable.

This APA Sample Paper is intended for undergraduate and master’s level students.

The University of Phoenix APA sample papers represent the consensus of key academic officials within the University. This particular
sample reflects expectations outlined in the University of Phoenix Writing and Style Guidelines for undergraduate and master’s courses,
which correspond with the University’s preferred style guide for most programs: The Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association, Sixth Edition. If your course materials direct you to follow MLA style, please see the MLA Sample Paper in the Center for
Writing Excellence (CWE)>Tutorials and Guides>MLA Information.

This sample paper is offered as a concise tool to help students with style, but it is not a definitive or binding representation of format for
all courses. The CWE provides many tools to help students write and format effective papers; however, the faculty member determines
the assignment grade in the course.

Abstract: Typically, an abstract is required only for
publication. If your assignment instructions indicate
a requirement to use an abstract, a sample can be
found in the CWE>

Tutorials and Guides.

2

Indent the
first line of

each
paragraph
using the
tab key,

set at five
to seven

spaces or
one-half

inch.

Direct
quotations
require a

page
number or
paragraph
number.

Writing Style and Mechanics

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) began as a

journal article in 1929. The APA reported results from a meeting of scholars “to establish a

simple set of procedures, or style rules, that would codify the many components of scientific

writing to increase the ease of reading comprehension” (APA, 2010, p. xiii). Today, the

Publication Manual is in its sixth edition and the APA style described in it is a widely

recognized standard for scholarly or professional writing in the social sciences. Although the

style guide is designed to prepare manuscripts for publication, many universities and health care

journals have adopted its use as a guide to achieve uniformity and consistency (Cuddy, 2002).

Writing in the style prescribed by the Publication Manual can be a daunting experience for

students. As with any new skill, “practice makes perfect” (S. Proofreader, personal

communication, June 28, 2004). Points of APA style most often used by undergraduate and

graduate students are listed below. However, keep in mind that this sample paper is a guide and

should not be considered as a replacement for the Publication Manual.

Format Considerations

Some commonly used rules and formats from the sixth edition of the Publication Manual

are listed below. Please note, however, that some assignments may require unique formatting,

and you should consult your syllabus for clarification.

Correct Margins

Margins are one inch on all sides. This rule is broken only to avoid placing a lone

heading on the last line of the page or a single line of text on the top of the next

page.

Use the paper
title above your

introduction,
centered not

bolded.

Personal
communication

citation: No
need to include
on the reference

page.

Use one
or two
spaces
after a

period at
the end of

a
sentence,

but be
consistent
with usage
throughout

the
document.

Level one heading:
Centered, bolded, upper
and lower case letters.

.

Level
two

heading:
Left

margin,
bolded,
upper

and lower
case

letters.

Margins should be
one inch on all

sides of the
document.

Writers
should

ensure that a
line is not tab

indented
when

centering a
heading so
as not to

appear off
center.

3

The place of publication in a reference should include city and state using two letter postal abbreviation for the state. If the
location is outside of the U.S., use the city and country. Examples: New York, NY. London, England.

Page Header

The page header contains the page number aligned with the right margin. The automatic

header function in Microsoft® Word should be used to place the page numbers consecutively in

the paper (see Appendix A). Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, and so on) are used to number each page,

beginning with 1 on the title page.

Document Headings

Paragraph headings should be used in long documents to organize the essay, to break it

up into readable portions, and to make it easy for readers to locate information. Using headings

in a short document before every paragraph can make the writing appear choppy, and the paper

may not flow smoothly from point to point. Use paragraph headings if your document is longer

than three or four pages or if the assignment instructions require paragraph headings.

Reference Page

Hanging indentation is used for the reference page. The proper format can be set in

Microsoft® Word (see Appendix B). Creating the hanging indentation by using the tab key or

space bar will not protect the formatting if changes are made to the reference page at a later time.

The reference page is alphabetized by author or by title of the work when no author is listed, and

each entry contains the date of publication in parentheses directly after the author’s name. The

title, the place of publication, and the name of the publisher follow the date of publication for a

book entry. The proliferation of electronic materials has prompted APA to create formats

designed specifically for Internet and web-based written material. Visit the APA website at

http://www.apastyle.org for additional information about formatting electronic references. You

will also find frequently asked questions and helpful free tutorials about using APA style.

http://www.apastyle.org/

4

Citation
with a
page

number:
One space
between

the p. and
the

number.

Only references that have been cited in the paper are listed on the reference page.

Personal communications are cited in the text but do not appear on the reference page because

the reader cannot retrieve them. Additional reference examples are available in the Reference

and Citation Examples tutorial in the Center for Writing Excellence (CWE) at Tutorials and

Guides.

In-Text Citations

Direct quotations. Direct quotations must mirror the original source word for word, even

if errors are contained in the original text. To alert the reader that errors are part of the original

material, the word [sic], enclosed in brackets and italicized, must follow the erroneous material.

The source of the quotation must be cited. The format of direct quotations may vary with the

placement of the quoted material in the sentence. The following is an example of how you may

use a direct quotation from a website with an author: “Diversity is emerging as one of the most

serious issues in the workplace today, yet most employers are not prepared to deal with it”

(Copeland, 2003, Erroneous Assumptions, para. 1). The author’s last name, the year of

publication, the website title or section title, and the paragraph number, when no page number is

available, are included in the citation.

The following is an example of how one may use a direct quotation from a book with one

author: Venes (2001) stated, “The types of influenza doctors must prepare for fall into three

categories” (p. 106). If the author’s name is stated prior to the quotation, include the date of

publication (in parentheses) after the author’s name, and follow the quotation with the page or

paragraph number. For a work with two authors, use both authors’ last names for every citation.

If the source has three or more authors but fewer than six authors, list all authors in the first

citation, and use the first author’s last name and the words et al. (without italics) for the rest of

Level
three

heading:
Indented,
bolded,

capitalize
only the

first
word,

period at
the end,
continue

text
same
line.

Level
three

heading
usually

only
necessary
in longer
papers,

most
commonly
in master’s

and
doctoral
papers.

“Erroneous
Assumptions”
is the heading
of a section
within the

web-based
article,

“Managing a
Multicultural
Workforce.”
Using the

heading of a
section for an
online article
citation will
help your

reader quickly
locate the

content in the
original
source.

5

the citations. If the source has more than six authors, you may use the first author’s last name and

the words et al. (without italics) for every citation (APA, 2010, p. 175). The following example

from the Publication Manual (2010, p. 42) shows a citation from a work with more than six

authors using the first author: (Good et al., 2001). Refer to the Reference and Citation Examples

tutorial in the CWE at Tutorials and Guides for more examples of in-text citations.

Quotations that contain fewer than 40 words are enclosed in double quotation marks

within the text. Use single quotation marks for quotations contained within a direct quotation.

Quotations of 40 words or more are indented in a block format without quotation marks. Use

double quotation marks to indicate a quotation within the block quotation. The block quotation is

started on a new line, and it is indented five to seven spaces or one-half inch. A sample block

quotation appears on page 7 of this document.

Paraphrased or summarized material. Paraphrasing or summarizing allows the writer

to present someone else’s ideas or intellectual property and to supply proper credit to the original

author or authors (Lawton, Cousineau, & Hillard, 2001). When an author is paraphrased or

summarized, the source must be cited in the text. If a source is mentioned more than once in a

paragraph, a citation must be included each time. Page or paragraph numbers are not required for

paraphrased material, but the Publication Manual recommends that writers include a page or

paragraph number to help the reader easily locate the information (APA, 2010, p. 171). If a

writer were to paraphrase information from an article located in an online database, the writer

would format the citation as follows: Daniels (2004) included Darden Restaurants on her list of

the 50 best companies for minorities. Here is an example where the author is not mentioned

within the text: A list of companies has been singled out as best for minority employees (Daniels,

2004). Both examples include the author’s last name and the date of publication. If the author’s

Write out
and with
authors’
names

mentioned
within the
text. Use

an
ampersand
(&) when
they are
written
within a
citation.

6

name is not provided with the paraphrased text, it must be included in the citation. Refer to the

Reference and Citation Examples in the CWE at Tutorials and Guides for examples of citing

paraphrased material.

Deciding to summarize, to paraphrase, or to provide a direct quotation is an important

question one must consider when using sources in an academic paper. Summarizing and

paraphrasing both consist of sharing a source author’s ideas by phrasing them in one’s own

words. A writer should summarize or paraphrase source material when it is important to capture

the basic idea but when the author’s exact words are not essential to the paper. Conversely, a

writer should quote directly when the source verbiage is crucial and stating it any other way

would cause it to lose its meaning. Usually writers will quote authors who are experts in their

field and whose ideas support their own. However, excessive use of direct quotations should be

avoided. Writers are encouraged to paraphrase when doing so will not change the meaning or the

impact of a source (Ede, 2011).

Plagiarism. Plagiarism constitutes a serious academic concern. According to Lawton,

Cousineau, and Hillard (2001), “Academic communities demand that writers credit others for

their work and that the source of their material clearly be acknowledged” (para. 6). Internet

access has resulted in an increase in plagiarism. McCabe noted (as cited in Sterngold, 2004),

41% of students said they engaged in cut-and-paste plagiarism from online sources. The

sentences and phrases used in one’s paper must be original or cited and referenced accordingly.

Although it may be easier for a writer to use someone else’s words, doing so discredits the

writer. When in doubt, cite. See the Plagiarism Guide in the CWE at Tutorials and Guides for

more information about avoiding plagiarism and about properly citing intellectual property.

Secondary
Sources:

Also called an
indirect

source. List
only primary

source in
reference list,

and cite
secondary

source author
only within the

text.
Secondary
sources are
not ideal in
academic
writing and
should be
avoided.

Electronic
source and
quotation:

If the
electronic

source does
not have

page
numbers,
use the

abbreviation
para. for the
paragraph
number.

Headings should not appear at the end of a page. For the sake of readability, move the
heading to the top of the next page (see Other Format Issues on page 7). This ensures

that the intended content of the following body text is clear.

7

Other Format Issues

The preferred typeface for APA style is black, 12-point Times New Roman (APA, 2010).

However, Arial and Courier font types are acceptable. Avoid using any software settings that

reduce spacing between words or letters or that add spacing between paragraphs. Use double-

spacing throughout the document. You may use one space or two spaces after sentence-ending

punctuation in the body of your essay, but use consistent spacing at the end of a sentence

throughout your essay.

Although the Publication Manual (2010) requires an abstract to precede the text, an

abstract is not used in most student papers. Some assignments may require an abstract if students

are submitting lengthy papers or project proposals. In those cases, the direction to submit an

abstract will be in the assignment guidelines. A sample abstract can be found in the CWE at

Tutorials and Guides.

Writing Mechanics

Correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure—in addition to

formatting—are essential components of scholarly writing. Strunk (1918/1999) emphasized the

importance of being succinct:

Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a

paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no

unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer

make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in

outline, but that every word tell. (para. 1)

Block
quotation (40

or more
words):

Indent to the
tab margin
and do not

include
quotation

marks. The
in-text citation
occurs outside

of the
punctuation

that ends the
sentence.

8

Grammar

In addition to the provision of a standardized format for scientific writing, the Publication

Manual (2010) emphasizes the importance of proper grammar. Important basic grammar

principles are listed below. For further information, refer to Step-by-Step Grammar Review in

the CWE. The Step-by-Step Grammar Review provides individualized practice with grammar

and punctuation.

Subject and verb agreement. A singular noun requires a singular verb and a plural noun

requires a plural verb (APA, 2010). Words that intervene between the noun and the verb do not

change this basic rule.

Noun and pronoun agreement. When writers use a singular noun, they must also use a

singular pronoun. To avoid using awkward combined forms such as he/she or (s)he, writers may

reword the sentence and use a plural noun and a plural pronoun to eliminate the problem of

nouns and pronouns that do not agree. For example, the sentence “A student applying for a job

must carefully proofread his/her application” may be reworded to read, “Students applying for

jobs must carefully proofread their applications.” Use of plural forms also helps writers reduce

bias, avoid stereotypes, and refrain from using both singular and plural in the same sentence or

paragraph.

Passive voice. Passive voice obscures the actor in this sentence: “The house was

painted,” because it omits who applied the paint. In contrast, the same sentence written in active

voice would be something such as this: “Our company painted the house.” The passive voice,

which is a form of “be” (is, was, were, will be, have been, etc.) and a participle (painted, etc.), is

useful when the actor’s identity is not important to the sentence or context. Overuse of the

passive voice causes the document to read similarly to an instructional manual, dry and

9

monotonous. According to Sigel (2009), it weakens the essay’s argument and prevents clear and

concise writing. Occasional use of the passive voice is acceptable, but documents written

primarily in the active voice are more enjoyable and more persuasive to read (Sigel, 2009).

Punctuation. Correct punctuation establishes the rhythm and readability of sentences.

Use only one space after commas, colons, and semicolons. Use one or two spaces after a period

at the end of a sentence (be consistent with use). When a hyphen or a dash is used, no space

appears before or after the hyphen or dash (APA, 2010). In academic writing, use a comma to

separate all words in a series of three or more, as in the following example: Tasks included

reading, writing, and analyzing the information in the text. Correct use of commas and

semicolons can be challenging for students. Writers should consider using a proofreading tool,

such as WritePoint®, to aid in checking proper comma use.

Capitalization. Capitalization is used to designate a proper noun or trade name as well as

major words in titles and in headings. Instances where capitalization is not used include laws,

theories, models, or hypotheses, such as ethical decision-making models and names of conditions

or groups in an experiment, such as experimental or control groups (APA, 2010). A common

error in capitalization is its use with the name of a job title or department. An example is human

resources, which is not capitalized, versus the specific title of ACME Human Resources

Department, which is capitalized.

Seriation (elements written in a series). Items contained in a list help to clarify the

point being made or help to clarify components of a subject. Bullets may be used for a list in

academic writing according to APA standards (2010). To show seriation of separate paragraphs,

however, number each paragraph with an Arabic numeral followed by a period that is not

10

enclosed in or followed by parentheses. To show seriation within a paragraph or a sentence, use

lowercase letters in parentheses (see Appendix C).

Numbers. Spell out numbers one through nine that appear in the body text. Use Arabic

numerals to express numbers 10 and above. Exceptions to this rule are discussed in the Grammar

and Writing Guides in the Center for Writing at Tutorials and Guides. Once in the Grammar and

Writing Guides, go to Grammar Mechanics and select Number Usage for a list of the exceptions.

If you have the Publication Manual, sixth edition (2010), refer to pages 111-114 for detailed

information about number usage.

Third person versus first person. Person refers to the point of view or the source of the

writer’s opinions. Use third person (he, she, or they) in academic writing. When referring to

yourself, however, stating “The writer instructed the patients” is ambiguous and may give the

impression that you did not participate. Instead, use a first person personal pronoun: “I instructed

the patients.” For the most part, reference to self in first person should be limited to personal

reflection or opinion papers.

Conclusion

By understanding mechanics and usage requirements and by referencing materials

appropriately with in-text citations and reference entries, you will clearly communicate the

content of your work. Use the information included in this paper to develop effective academic

papers. You are also encouraged to refer to the resources in the CWE and the style information

from www.apastyle.org for additional information about academic writing.

Always include a conclusion that summarizes
the main points of the paper.

11

Reference Page: Use a separate page to list the
references and double-space the entire page. The word

References is upper and lower case, centered, not
bolded, at the top of the page.

An
online
journal
article.

A book with
a corporate
author and
an edition
number.

A source
available on
a university
program or
department

website.

A source
with a
digital
object

identifier
(DOI).

An
electronic

version of a
republished

book.

A print
version

of a
book.

Italicize the
titles of

books and
journals

(including
journal
volume

numbers).

References

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological

Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Copeland, L. (2006). Managing a multicultural workforce. California Job Journal. Retrieved

from http://www.jobjournal.com

Cuddy, C. M. (2002). Demystifying APA style. Orthopaedic Nursing, 21(5), 35-42. Retrieved

from http://www.orthopaedicnursing.com

Daniels, C. (2004, June 28). 50 Best companies for minorities. Fortune, 149(13), 136-

146. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune

Ede, L. (2001). The academic writer (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Lawton, K. A., Cousineau, L., & Hillard, V. E. (2001). Plagiarism: Its nature and consequences.

Retrieved from Duke University Guide to Library Research website:

http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/plagarism.htm

Sigel, T. (2009). How passive voice weakens your scholarly argument. Journal of Management

Development, 28(5), 478-480. doi:10.1108/02621710910955994

Sterngold, A. (2004). Confronting plagiarism: How conventional teaching invites cyber-

cheating. Change, 36(3), 16. Retrieved from http://www.changemag.org

Strunk, W., Jr. (1999). Elementary principles of composition: Omit needless words. In The

elements of style. Retrieved from http://www.bartelby.com/141/strunk5.html#13

(Original work published 1918)

Venes, D. (2001). Taber’s cyclopedic medical dictionary (19th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F.A.

Davis.

http://www.jobjournal.com/

javascript:__doLinkPostBack(”,’target~~URL||args~~http://www.orthopaedicnursing.com/||type~~’,”);

12

Appendix A: Header Feature in Microsoft® Word

Identify each page with the page number placed at the right margin. Do not use your

name to identify each page. Be sure the font type and size are the same in the header as that used

throughout the document. To create a correct header with an automatic page number in Word,

use the following guidelines.

Word 2010 and newer

1. Select the Insert tab.

2. Select the Header icon.

3. Choose the Blank header tab from the drop-down menu.

4. Tab to the right margin, and select the Page Number icon.

5. Place the cursor over Current Position. A drop-down menu should appear.

6. Select the Plain Number option. A number will appear at the right margin of your

document.

7. Choose Close Header and Footer (the red X at the far right on the menu). Your

cursor then appears at the beginning of the document, and automatic page numbers

should be visible as you type each new page.

Word 2003

1. Select the View menu on the toolbar.

2. Select Header and Footer.

3. Place the cursor in the Header box and select the right justification button on the

toolbar so that the cursor in the Header box moves to the right.

13

4. Use the automatic function for inserting the page number as illustrated in this picture by

selecting the first button with the # symbol.

5. Select Close. The header is complete.

14

Appendix B: Creating a Hanging Indent in Microsoft® Word

To create a hanging indent for your references page in Word, use the following guidelines.

Word 2010 and newer

1. Select the text that requires a hanging indent or create a hanging indent at the top of the

references page before typing the text.

2. From the Home menu, select the arrow in the Paragraph group seen below. This will

bring up the Indents and Spacing tab.

3. Under Indentation, in the Special box, select on Hanging and select OK.

15

Word 2003
1. Select the text that requires a hanging indent or create a hanging indent at the top of the
references page before typing the text.

2. From the Format menu, select the Paragraph command.

3. In the Special list, under Indentation, select Hanging and select OK.

16

Appendix C: Seriation

To show seriation (lists) within a paragraph or sentence, use lowercase letters, not

italicized, in parentheses:

Job satisfaction is increased when nurses are provided with (a) therapeutic massage, (b)

relaxation therapy, and (c) music therapy.

To show seriation of separate paragraphs, number each paragraph with an Arabic

numeral, followed by a period but not enclosed in or followed by parentheses. A numbered list

signifies that element 1 is more important than element 2 and so on. See the following examples

to create a numbered or bulleted list.

Berk (2001) suggests that parents determine suitability of books for children by using the

following criteria:

1. Books are made from durable material . . . [paragraph continues]

2. Books are action-oriented . . . [paragraph continues]

If all elements in the list are of equal importance, use bullets instead of numbers as shown below.

Berk (2001) suggests that parents determine suitability of books for children by using the
following criteria:

 Books are made from durable material . . . [paragraph continues]

 Books are action-oriented . . . [paragraph continues]

Data

(Jan-June 2

16 vs. Jan-June 2015)

(Apr, May, Jun 2016 vs Apr, May, Jun 2015)

(June 2016 vs. June 2015)

$

Global Breakout Revenue % Total PM Sales Amt (+/-) GP Global Breakout Revenue % Total PM Sales Amt (+/-) GP

,073

100%

8.3%

,102

100%

0

,137

10.0%

Domestic

60%

Domestic

,466

58%

$ 12,085

,334

.10

2.5% 290

INTL

5.7% INTL

Revenue 2016 Revenue/Day PY Revenue PY2015 Revenue/Day % Total PM Sales V$ V% Sales – Avg/Day Amt(+/-) Days

2016 GP/Day 2015 GP$ 2015 GP/Day GP- Avg/Day Customer Rank Revenue % Total PM Sales Amt (+/-) GP Customer Rank

% Total PM Sales GP

58%

58.4%

Acquire

9% 58%

Acquire

10% 56%

56% 58% 6.1%

2.8%

Expand

58%

Expand

57%

58%

.45

7.8% 1,703

Retain

Retain

21% 57%

.46

15.1% 1,692

Serve

12% 60%

8.0% Serve

12% 57% 18.0%

17.3%

0%

30

19 0 0 Non-Coded

0% Non-Coded

0%

Revenue 2016 Revenue/Day PY Revenue PY2015 Revenue/Day % Total PM Sales V$ V% Sales – Avg/Day Amt(+/-) Days 2016 GP $ 2016 GP/Day 2015 GP$ 2015 GP/Day GP- Avg/Day Customer Class Revenue % Total PM Sales Amt (+/-) GP Customer Class Net Sales % Total PM Sales GP

61%

.13

9.9% 5,008

Commercial

53% 61%

Commercial

50% 60%

INTL

11% 50%

.30

1.8% 206

2.3% INTL

12% 48%

INTL

14%

50.8%

12%

.02

5.3% 638

Municipal

12%

1.7% Municipal

12% 60%

3.4%

–

10% 62% 13.4%

9.9% 9.9% 966

Reseller

10% 61% 10.9%

6.8%

12% 57%

7% 59%

.13

9.5% 607

9.2% Industrial Labs

7% 58%

Industrial Labs

6% 59%

3% 60%

23.4%

Government

3% 58% 14.2%

12.8% Government

2% 61%

2%

11.3%

7.9%

827

Resell – Industrial Hygiene

2% 32%

Resell – Industrial Hygiene

2%

1% 59%

16.2%

5.1% Education

1% 61%

Education

2% 60%

Other

1%

197.1%

Other

0% Other

0%

Revenue 2016 Revenue/Day PY Revenue PY2015 Revenue/Day % Total PM Sales V$ V% Sales – Avg/Day Amt(+/-) Days 2016 GP $ 2016 GP/Day 2015 GP$ 2015 GP/Day GP- Avg/Day Top Customers Revenue % Total PM Sales Amt (+/-) GP Top Customers Net Sales % Total PM Sales GP

4%

.49

10.8% 453

11.1% ABC Corp

5% 63%

4.2% ABC Corp

4% 62%

4%

.05

29.0% 837

Fish Limited

3%

16.3% Fish Limited

3% 66% 6.4%

1.3%

3% 53%

-5.3%

1.8% Delta Appliance

3% 53%

Delta Appliance

3%

3% 61% 10.8%

7.3% 7.3%

ALPS Company

3% 61% 8.8%

12.3% ALPS Company

3% 59%

2% 59%

33.0%

897

Here4U

2% 59%

Here4U

3%

2% 29%

18.9% 257

474

5.6% XYZ Inc

2% 11%

XYZ Inc

2% 56%

2% 52% 6.1%

2.8% 2.8% 44

840

Expert Engineers

1% 52%

Expert Engineers

2% 57%

1%

52.9%

772

Check Gmbh

1% 48%

Check Gmbh

1%

1% 49%

50.6%

407

Francios and Sons

1% 50%

Francios and Sons

1%

5.0%

1% 54%

.40

13.4% 13.4% 162

725 3.0% Euro Ltd

1% 55%

19.1% Euro Ltd

1% 58%

63%

6.8% 6.8% 1,362

Marketing Accounts

20% 63% 8.9%

6.3% Marketing Accounts

20% 56% 6.4%

6.8%

																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																														YTD			0		QTD		MTD
	YTD Days	129	125
		Global Breakout									Revenue				2016 Revenue/Day				PY Revenue				PY2015 Revenue/Day												% Total													PM												Sales						Amt (+/-)					V$				V%				Sales – Avg/Day				Amt(+/-) Days	2016									GP				2016 GP/Day				2015 GP$				2015 GP/Day				GP- Avg/Day
$ 13,6	44	$ 105,768	$ 12,122,016	$ 96,976			10					0%	5	9%	12.	6%	1,526,779	9.													1%	8,792	7,994,127	61,970	7,154,574	57,237		8.											3%	$ 7,024,096										58%	538,3	19	6.	5%	$ 2,	257					56%	11.												2%	227,334			6.1%
			Domestic		$ 12,085	$ 93,683	$ 10,647,682	$ 85,181	89%							60%	13.5%	1,437,439	$ 8,501.78		10.0%	8,502	7,214,564	55,927	6,421,904	51,375		8.9%	$ 6,145,978	8		7%		8.0%	455,258	6.6%	$ 1,9	30	86%		4.2%	77,811		2.3%
						INTL	$ 1,558,936	$ 1,	474	$ 11,795			11%				50%		5.7%	84,068	$	290		2.5%	779,563	6,043	732,670	5,861	3.1%	$ 878,119	13%			48%		11.1%	87,733	$ 326,636		1			4%	42%	8	3.4%	148,536	52.4%
			Customer Rank			2016 GP $			Net Sales
		Acquire	$ 1,312,868	$ 10,177	$ 803,316	$ 6,427				10%	63.4%	509,399	$ 3,750.74		58.4%	3,751	762,875	5,914	492,426	3,939	50.1%	$ 654,170		50.8%	220,370	42.7%	$ 219,791	54.3%	77,347	40.2%
		Expand	$ 7,634,424	$ 59,182	$ 7,195,760	$ 57,566	438,925	$ 1,615.50				2.8%	1,616	4,447,300	34,475	4,225,329	33,803	2.0%	$ 4,017,070						57%		3.0%	117,002	0.6%	$ 1,282,340		55%	8.1%	96,087	0.5%
		Retain	$ 3,026,592	$ 23,462	$ 2,719,813	$ 21,759	22%		1	1.3%	307,282	$	1,703		7.8%	1,764,242	13,676	1,589,546	12,716	7.5%	$ 1,505,103		21%							59%	10.4%	141,785	10.3%	$ 477,879		18.0%	72,	897		1		7.3%
		Serve	$ 1,666,355	$ 12,917	$ 1,403,128	$ 11,225								12%								61%	1	8.8%	263,699	$	1,692		1	5.1%	1,017,238	7,886	847,273	6,778		1	6.3%	$ 843,	966	7.4%	58,150	$ 273,533	41,	725
		Non-Coded	$ 3,834	$ 30	$ (1)	$ (0)	$ 29.73	-371611.6%	2,472	$ 3,787	$ 3,559
			Customer Class
		Commercial	$ 7,195,592	$ 55,780	$ 6,346,456	$ 50,	772				53%				13.4%	850,273	$	5,008				9.9%	4,357,276	33,777	3,866,369	30,931		9.2%	$ 3,719,525	8.5%	291,391					6.8%	$ 1,130,973	1.0%	11,198	-1.0%
$ 1,535,905	$ 11,906	$ 1,462,492	$ 11,700		5.0%	73,138	$	206			1.8%	767,499	5,950	727,297	5,818	$ 868,634		10.9%	85,375	5.2%	$ 323,990	51%	83.2%	147,140
		Municipal	$ 1,634,643	$ 12,672	$ 1,504,204	$ 12,034			62%	8.7%	130,832	$	638		5.3%	1,011,609	7,842	943,414	7,547	3.9%	$ 814,624				63%		1.7%	13,617	$ 263,030		12.3%	28,809
	Reseller			Other	$ 1,386,876	$ 10,751	$ 1,223,131	$ 9,785	163,881	$ 965.93	856,222	6,637	783,902	6,271	5.8%	$ 721,253	70,890	Reseller – Other	$ 266,066	2		6.4%	55,571	14.9%
		Industrial Labs	$ 900,409	$ 6,980	$ 796,598	$ 6,373	13.0%	103,587	$	607		9.5%	529,808	4,107	470,311	3,762	$ 464,	827		14.2%	57,798		12.8%	$ 135,694	-7.4%	-10,844	2.6%
		Government	$ 425,018	$ 3,295	$ 333,627	$ 2,669	27.4%	91,409	$ 625.70		23.4%	626	255,667	1,982	201,215	1,610	23.1%	$ 183,030	22,759	$ 50,261	30.9%	11,865	33.8%
		Resell – Industrial Hygiene	$ 336,569	$ 2,609	$ 302,318	$ 2,419		32%	34,171	$ 190.52		7.9%	191	106,638	96,704	774	6.9%	$ 140,804	-8.4%	-12,912	-14.2%	$ 43,642		29%	-39.7%	-28,733	-50.1%
		Education	$ 154,662	$ 1,199	$ 128,927	$ 1,031	20.0%	25,777	$ 167.51		16.2%	168	90,896	705	83,	840	671	$ 84,981	2.1%	1,748	-3.8%	$ 35,846	2	5.6%	7,306	14.4%
$ 74,399	$ 577	$ 24,263	$ 194	$ 382.63		197.1%	383	18,512	144	-18,478	-148	$ 26,418	$ 7,600
		Top Customers
		ABC Corp	$ 601,368	$ 4,662	$ 526,035	$ 4,208	64%	14.3%	75,237	$	453			10.8%	383,326	2,972	334,312	2,674	$ 332,350	7.2%	22,322	$ 87,955	-2.6%	-2,348	-10.9%
		Fish Limited	$ 480,717	$ 3,726	$ 361,180	$ 2,889		66%	33.1%	119,547	$	837		29.0%	317,156	2,459	245,501	1,964	25.2%	$ 239,460	67%	18.1%	36,700	$ 76,813	4,620
		Delta Appliance	$ 424,678	$ 3,292	$ 434,749	$ 3,478	-2.3%	-9,998	$ (185.91)		-5.3%	-186	223,804	1,735	213,003	1,704	$ 230,032	-21.0%	-61,148	14.7%	$ 75,000	-1%	5258.2%	73,600	-164.1%
		ALPS Company	$ 398,347	$ 3,088	$ 359,664	$ 2,877	38,828	$ 210.65	211	242,652	1,881	209,246	1,674	12.4%	$ 226,766	18,341	$ 60,179	-10.7%	-7,211	-10.4%
		Here4U	$ 269,038	$ 2,086	$ 195,970	$ 1,568	37.3%	73,089	$ 517.81		33.0%	518	159,324	1,235	112,163	37.6%	$ 119,433	31.9%	28,885	28.0%	$ 56,444			52%	100.0%	28,222
		XYZ Inc	$ 208,819	$ 1,619	$ 170,238	$	1,362	22.7%	38,632	$ 256.85		18.9%	61,160	56,107	449	$ 117,490	213.1%	79,965	16.8%	$ 51,610	-23.0%	-15,416	-0.5%
		Expert Engineers	$ 207,066	$ 1,605	$ 195,121	$ 1,561	11,905	$ 44.19	108,392	108,975	872	-3.6%	$ 104,936	22.1%	18,993	8.6%	$ 35,156	-8.2%	-3,140	-11.3%
		Check Gmbh	$ 201,704	$ 1,564	$ 127,829	$ 1,023		49%	57.8%	73,881	$ 540.96		52.9%	541	99,645	72,724	582	32.8%	$ 100,171	2835.2%	96,758	3186.6%	$ 31,740	45%	-7.1%	-2,426	-27.9%
		Francios and Sons	$ 186,532	$ 1,446	$ 120,018	$ 960	55.4%	66,499	$ 485.84		50.6%	486	90,	407	701	50,892	72.1%	$ 96,755	-7.0%	-7,283	-16.9%	$ 29,154		54%	3.7%	1,040
		Euro Ltd	$ 177,660	$ 1,377	$ 151,851	$ 1,215	17.0%	25,814	$	162	96,319	747	90,627	$ 75,156		19.1%	12,053	$ 28,452	126.6%	15,896	119.5%
		Marketing Accounts	$ 2,759,521	$ 21,392	$ 2,503,663	$ 20,029			20%	10.2%	255,418	$ 1,362.33	1,741,295	13,498	1,591,269	12,730	6.0%	$ 1,381,927	112,940	$ 447,025	26,889

Definitions

YTD

QTD

MTD

YTD Days

Domestic

INTL

PM

V$

GP

Customer Rank

Customer Class

Year to Date
Quarter to Date
Month to Date
number of selling days in the current year (or comparable year, depending on location in header)
Days Adj	Days Adjusted—in finance, each month may have a different number of reporting/selling days based on how a quarter is measured. Some companies use a 5 week, 4 week, 4 week quarter to standardize the reporting/selling days. Days adjusted means that when comparing different years you are comparing the same number of days.
United States
International or ROW (Rest of World)
Prior Month
Growth in dollars
V%	Growth percent
Gross Profit
Classification schema for determining selling activities. Acquire-gain new customers, Expand-grow within customer, Retain-keep customer, Serve-get service business in addition to product sales, non-coded–not coded
Classification schema by industry or area. Commercial-US/domestic. Used when not classifed by industry type. INTL-international customers. Municipal-self-explanatory. Reseller-other–resellers of your products to other end users except where classifed ( i.e. Reseller-Industrial hygiene). Industrial labs, Governement, Education–specific classifications. Other–catch all when not a company cannot be classified in one of the previous categories.