Due in 8 hours from now! Write 200 words only for a discussion post about Social Media Concerns!
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chapter22_markel.pdf
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Connecting with the Public
C H A P T E R 22
The new philosophy of communication is bottom up.
634
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635
C H A P T E R 2 2 C O N T E N T S
Understanding the Role of Connecting with the Public 635
Persuasion and Connecting with the Public 637
Presenting Information to the Public 638 Newsletters 638
Brochures 639
White Papers 644
Podcasts 647
Collaborating with the Public Through Social Media 648 Discussion Boards 649
Blogs 651
Wikis 653
This photo shows Mark Zuckerberg, president and CEO of Face-book, speaking at a conference. This book and its Web site, TechComm Web, devote a lot of attention to the ways that new tech-
nologies are changing how people in the working world communicate.
From word-processing programs to spreadsheets and presentation
slides, from instant messaging to blogs and social media such as
Facebook, the tools are everywhere, and they keep getting better. To
succeed in the working world, you need to know how to use these
tools effectively.
But the tools are just one part of the big change in communica-
tion practices. The other part is a new philosophy of communication.
The old philosophy was top down. For example, when a company
wanted to publicize a new product, it would issue press releases,
write articles for trade magazines, and place ads in magazines and
on TV. The new philosophy is bottom up; that is, the company uses
social media to connect with its various stakeholders. It’s the differ-
ence between selling and engaging.
This chapter discusses strategies for communicating with
the public or, to be more precise, publics: investors, prospective
employees, state and local officials, prospective donors, commu-
nity members, current and prospective customers, and industry
colleagues, to name just a few. Although people and organizations
have always been able to communicate with their publics, today’s
technology has made it much easier and cheaper to do so. With a
personal computer, basic office software, and Internet access, you
can create and distribute newsletters, brochures, white papers, and
podcasts to help you present information to community members.
And you can collaborate with those community members through
social media tools such as discussion boards, blogs, and wikis. This
chapter discusses these seven applications, focusing first on those
that are best at presenting information and then on those that are best
at fostering collaboration with a community.
UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF CONNECTING WITH THE PUBLIC
Why is it important for organizations to connect with their publics? One reason is that our culture values accountability. The public expects organizations of all kinds to communicate hon-
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636 Connecting with the Public22 estly and clearly and to take responsibility for their actions. The public wants to know, for instance, how a carmaker such as Ford is responding to the chal- lenges of global warming. Here are just a few of the questions that the gen- eral public and interest groups ask Ford:
• What are you doing to improve the gas mileage and decrease the toxic emissions of your vehicles?
• What are you doing to improve the safety of your vehicles?
• What are you doing to reduce the carbon footprint of your manufactur- ing facilities and your supply chain?
• What are you doing to increase employment opportunities, especially for women and minorities?
• What are you doing to improve the socioeconomic conditions in the communities in which you have facilities?
Notice that some of these questions directly relate to technical aspects of Ford’s core products, but others relate more to Ford’s role as a corporate citizen. Twenty or thirty years ago, Ford simply thought of itself as a maker of cars and trucks. Today, however, Ford is typical of virtually all organiza- tions in that it sees itself as a member of many different communities, from the community of carmakers to the community of manufacturing compa- nies to the community of Dearborn, Michigan, and many other locations.
Just as organizations now see themselves as members of many com- munities, individuals working for organizations also see themselves as members of many communities. A person who works for Ford is likely to see herself as a Ford employee but also as a member of one or two commu- nity organizations and a political group, as well as a supporter of her daughter’s school. As a member of these organizations, this Ford worker might contribute to various outreach and communication efforts by partic- ipating in fund-raising events, volunteering her time to help maintain a computer lab at her child’s school, writing articles for newsletters, and maintaining a blog.
Many organizations use this sense of community in devising their advertising and marketing. The “chief consumer engagement of!cer” at PepsiCo writes that “our consumers’ social relationships serve as the foundation for our most effective marketing. Once you engage your loyal consumers to help lead the evolution of your brand or products, those con- sumers communicate authentically within their real-life social networks about the meaning of your brands and the reasons others should love them too” (Warner, 2010).
However, organizations also see community as a way to combine educa- tion and marketing. When a large oil company such as ExxonMobil buys ex- pensive ads that describe how much money it spends on research and devel- opment of alternative fuels, it wants the public to see it as a responsible
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22 Persuasion and Connecting with the Public 637 corporate citizen, not a predatory big-oil conglomerate. The ads are meant to educate the public and government about how the company is acting respon- sibly. If the ads also make the public a little less unhappy about the price of gas and discourage the government from imposing windfall-pro!ts taxes on ExxonMobil, all the better.
Some organizations use community to motivate people to support causes. For example, Jeff Swartz, the President and CEO of outdoor clothing company Timberland, uses Facebook and Twitter to communicate about the environmental causes he cares about. He rarely mentions Timberland; typi- cally, he discusses Earthkeepers, the environmental organization his com- pany supports. However, his posts might make environmentally minded po- tential customers more likely to consider Timberland products.
Every one of the applications discussed in this chapter can be created from a variety of motivations and can serve a number of purposes.
PERSUASION AND CONNECTING WITH THE PUBLIC
All the applications discussed in this chapter share one characteristic: if they are to succeed, they must be persuasive. As discussed in Chapter 8, a persua- sive message must appeal to one or several of an audience’s broader goals: security, recognition, personal or professional growth, and connectedness. A brochure from the American Cancer Society that explains how to recognize the warning signs of cancer obviously appeals to a reader’s goal of security. A blog that explains how to use wikis to improve communication in a company appeals to a reader’s desire to grow professionally.
In addition, if a persuasive message is to succeed, it must present an effective argument. It must contain a clear and compelling claim based on appropriate evidence, and it must rest on valid reasoning and sound logic. For instance, a company offers a service to prevent hackers from invading an organization’s database and stealing the personal information of the or- ganization’s customers. The company might publish on its Web site a white paper explaining the nature and extent of the threat and describing how its service can help reduce that threat. It’s a marketing message, but it won’t attract any interest unless it’s persuasive. It must be attractive and well written; it must present appropriate evidence that the threat is real and serious and that the company’s service will work. That evidence might consist of commonsense arguments (such as the idea that because hackers look for easy opportunities to invade a company, any sort of obstacles the company erects will reduce the threat); numerical data (statistics showing how organizations that purchase the company’s service have been hit by hackers less often); examples (case studies of satis!ed customers); and ex- pert testimony (awards and commendations from professional data-security organizations).
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638 Connecting with the Public22
PRESENTING INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC
The four applications discussed in this section — newsletters, brochures, white papers, and podcasts — differ from one another in many ways. For in- stance, newsletters have been used for hundreds of years, whereas podcasts have been around for only a few. Newsletters and brochures are often created by teams of people working collaboratively: one person might serve as the editor and project manager; someone else might do the layout and graphics; others might do some of the writing. By contrast, podcasts are often pro- duced by one person. Three of the applications can be printed on paper or distributed electronically, whereas podcasts are downloaded and used electronically.
The common characteristic of these four applications, however, is that they are essentially one-way applications. That is, they are best at present- ing information to an audience of readers, listeners, or viewers. For exam- ple, a physician who places brochures about his services in a display rack is primarily interested in presenting information to the person who picks up the brochure. The physician might hope that person will contact him for an appointment or pass the brochure along to a friend or family mem- ber. But the brochure’s main purpose is to communicate a message to an audience.
Newsletters A newsletter — a short newspaper published by an organization — can help the organization foster a sense of community within its membership, both internal and external, including customers, employees, investors, and the general public. Following are typical news items in a newsletter:
• descriptions of new activities undertaken by the organization
• major investments by the organization in new equipment or facilities
• announcements for upcoming events and summaries of previous events, such as presentations, performances, or lectures given by organization members
• notices of available jobs in the organization
• pro!les of new members, of!cers, or administrators
• important changes in relevant laws or regulations
Many computer programs include templates for newsletters, which often look like miniature newspapers.
In This Book For more about collaboration, see Ch. 4.
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22 Presenting Information to the Public 639
Make sure you have a system to distribute your newsletter. While you might post copies on a Web site or place a stack of newsletters in an of!ce, the most effective technique is to distribute newsletters to individual readers through a mailing or e-mail list. Figure 22.1 on page 640 shows the front page of a newsletter.
Brochures A brochure is a brief document used to provide information or to promote something. Here are some examples of the kinds of information that might be communicated in a brochure:
• products produced by a small manufacturer of roo!ng materials
In This Book For more about tables of contents, see Ch. 19, p. 525.
In This Book For more about pull quotes, see Ch. 11, p. 285.
Designing an Effective Newsletter Whether you use a template or create your own design, include these 10 elements to enhance the usefulness and professional appearance of your newsletter. ! Banner. Use a distinctive design at the top of the first page to give the newslet-
ter a strong identity. Include the organization’s logo. Indicate the date and, if ap- propriate, the volume and number of the issue.
! A table of contents. Provide page numbers for the main items. ! Headline. Begin the main story on the front page. Many newsletters begin two
or even three stories on the front page. ! Bylines. When several writers contribute newsletter content, clearly identify
each author. ! Jump lines and end signs. If a story continues on another page, direct readers
there with a jump line, such as “continued on p. 3.” If a story does not continue, use an end sign: a symbol such as a square or large bullet. Many newsletters use a subject-related end sign, such as a small drawing of a car for a car-related newsletter.
! Continuation headings. Use descriptive headings to identify stories that began on a previous page.
! Photographs. Use photos to make the story memorable and to help convey in- formation quickly.
! Pull quotes. Use quotations or other information to draw attention to something especially interesting.
! Publisher. Clearly identify your organization as the publisher. ! Postal information. If the newsletter is to be sent through the mail, leave suf-
ficient space for your return address, an address label, and postage. See if your organization has a bulk-mail provider; bulk mail can save a lot of money if you send thousands of copies.
Guidelines
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640 Connecting with the Public22
• services offered by a new sports-medicine clinic
• bene!ts of joining a particular professional organization or a community group
• techniques for choosing healthy foods and reducing calories
Although some brochures consist of more than one page, the typical bro- chure is made from a single page that is folded as part of the printing process. The folds create panels you can use to group information in logical categories. A brochure for the manufacturer of roo!ng materials, for instance, might
Figure 22.1 The Front Page of a Newsletter Source: National Institutes of Health, 2010 <http://nccam.nih.gov/news/newsletter/ 2010_february/2010february.pdf>.
The clear and legible banner at the top identifies the newsletter’s name and topic, as well as the date of the issue.
The first page presents two main stories, each of which is accompanied by a photograph.
The jump lines at the bottom of each story direct readers to the page where the story continues.
The design for the front page has two unequal columns: a wide one for text and a narrow one for the table of contents and other information about the newsletter and its publisher.
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22 Presenting Information to the Public 641
INTERACTIVE SAMPLE DOCUMENT Evaluating the Design of a Newsletter The newsletter shown here is published by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Chicago. The questions in the margin ask you to think about newsletter design.
1. How effectively does the banner provide a distinctive identity for the newsletter?
2. How effectively does this page identify the publisher of the newsletter?
3. Does the story conclude on the first page, or is it continued on another page? How would you present the answer to this question in the newsletter itself?
4. The two lists of years in the article on page 1 could be reformatted to take up much less space. Describe two ways that page 1 could be redesigned to use that extra space effectively.
On TechComm Web To submit your responses to your instructor, click on Interactive Sample Documents for Ch. 22 on <bedfordstmartins.com /techcomm>.
Source: National Weather Service, Chicago, 2010 <www.crh.noaa.gov/images/lot/ newsletter/fall2010.pdf>.
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642 Connecting with the Public22
devote one panel to composite shingles, another to slate, and another to tile. Or it might devote one panel to product descriptions, one to the warranty, and one to customer service. Most brochures have a three-panel design, although some have four panels. Standard letter-size paper (8.5 ! 11 inches) is most commonly used, but legal-size paper (8.5 ! 14 inches) provides extra space for content. Figure 22.2 shows typical fold designs for brochures.
Like all applications, brochures must be designed to meet the needs of the audience and to ful!ll the purpose of the communication. A brochure that is reproduced on a black-and-white photocopier would be appropriate for answering a set of frequently asked questions in an of!ce or a volunteer group, but it would not attract high-end customers for expensive technology or an exclusive organization. Similarly, a full-color brochure on glossy paper might seem inappropriately extravagant for a nonpro!t organization that re- lies on donations. Figure 22.3 is an example of an effective brochure.
In This Book For more about design, see Ch. 11.
Figure 22.2 Typical Fold Designs for Brochures
Creating a Brochure Follow these four suggestions when you create a brochure. ! Decide where and how your brochure will be reproduced. If you will produce
your own copies, create a design that your equipment can reproduce effectively. If a print shop will produce your brochure, make sure the print shop has com- patible software.
! Design your information to fit appropriately on the brochure’s panels. Be sure each panel contains a coherent set of information. Avoid designs that sepa- rate chunks of information awkwardly. Your word-processing software includes brochure templates that you can adapt for your needs.
Guidelines
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22 Presenting Information to the Public 643
Figure 22.3 An Effective Brochure Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2006 <www.ready.gov/america/ _downloads/pets_tagged.pdf>.
a. The “outside” of a three-panel brochure
b. The “inside” of a three-panel brochure
This information was developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in consultation with: American Kennel Club, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, American Veterinary Medical Association, and The Humane Society of the U.S.
This is the front cover of the brochure. The photograph of the puppy and the child reinforces the message that adults are responsible for ensuring the safety of the family’s pets.
This panel will be folded inside. It uses the same green that is on the front panel. In our culture, green signifies safety. The design was kept simple to accommodate a lot of text.
The back of the brochure displays the logos of the organizations that support the brochure’s message. Because this brochure was not designed to be mailed, it does not include a large space for the mailing address.
The numbered steps clearly tell the reader the tasks they are urged to perform.
The simple design, which uses the green from the other side of the brochure, enables the writer to present a lot of text. Notice that the dark green is used as an accent color; a lighter shade of the green is used as a screen, so that the text can be presented in black.
The two photographs break the margins of the columns, adding visual interest to the design.
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644 Connecting with the Public22
White Papers A white paper enables a company to present a longer message than will !t in a brochure. A typical white paper is 8 to 12 pages long and describes a solu- tion to a technological or business challenge in an industry. The readers of white papers are technical experts who implement technology and managers who make purchasing decisions.
Many white papers look like reports, with an executive summary on the !rst page that previews the information that readers will !nd inside. Typi- cally, white papers use a single-column design, although some have more than one column. Section headings help readers navigate the text, and pull quotes highlight interesting pieces of information. Some white papers also include charts, graphs, and photographs.
In This Book For more about executive summaries, see Ch. 19, p. 526. For more about design, see Ch. 11. For more about graphics, see Ch. 12.
In This Book For more about writing headings, see Ch. 9, p. 206, and Ch. 11, p. 283.
In This Book For more about documentation systems, see Appendix, Part B.
! Use the front panel to attract attention. Because the front panel is like the cover of a book, use it to clearly identify the subject, audience, and purpose of the brochure.
! Avoid design clichés. Inexperienced designers often center everything on every panel, creating a safe but boring design. Try to think of ways to use design ele- ments such as color, rules, boxes, and screens to tie the panels of a brochure together.
Writing a White Paper The following seven suggestions can help you write a white paper that will connect with your readers. ! Communicate useful information. Readers use white papers to learn some-
thing new. If you give readers useful information about industry trends and how your company will help them adapt to changing situations, they will respond favorably.
! Use a subtle approach. Although readers know that a white paper likely con- tains marketing information, they will resent the hard-sell techniques they see in ads. Avoid sweeping claims about your company.
! Cite your sources. Showing that your claims are based on evidence adds credibility.
! Make the white paper easy to skim and navigate. Include headings to break up long blocks of text and make it easy for readers to find the information they seek.
! Help readers who don’t know all the jargon. Although some readers will not be experts in your field, they might have influence over a purchasing decision. Provide parenthetical definitions of acronyms and initialisms, and include a glos- sary in highly technical papers.
Guidelines
In This Book For more about definitions, see Ch. 20, p. 564. For more about glossaries, see Ch. 19, p. 530.
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22 Presenting Information to the Public 645
ETHICS NOTE
Marketing Your Organization Honestly Communicating with the public often involves marketing: promoting a business, service, or product within a given market. The American Marketing Association’s (2004) statement of ethics describes several ethical values you should practice in promoting yourself or your organization.
. Honesty. Tell the truth; do not mislead your readers. Keep every promise that you make to customers.
. Responsibility. Avoid coercive tactics; ensure that your marketing tactics do not take advantage of vulnerable groups.
. Fairness. Avoid conflicts of interest; state your relationships with other compa- nies clearly. Do not cast anyone in a false light.
. Respect. Acknowledge the sources of information you report. Omit images or texts that perpetuate stereotypes.
. Openness. State prices and terms clearly. Provide thorough information; en- sure your documents do not confuse readers.
. Citizenship. Make choices that reduce the environmental impact of your docu- ments. Contribute to the good of your community in and outside of your work.
Figure 22.4 on page 646 shows the !rst page of a white paper from McAfee. The purposes of this document are to alert readers about a serious and grow- ing cybersecurity threat and to market a set of products that responds to that threat. The authors present their message as a report, suggesting that the white paper is a serious analysis of an important subject. Toward the end of the document, the authors present their recommendations about how to use the company’s products to combat the threat.
The body of the white paper ends with this note:
Credits and Acknowledgements
The preceding white paper was a collaborative effort among numerous people and enti- ties including McAfee Foundstone Professional Services consultants, McAfee Labs, McAfee employees, executives, and researchers, HBGary and National Cyber-Forensics
! Make sure the white paper prints well in black and white. Although many white papers are now distributed electronically and read on-screen, some read- ers prefer to print paper copies. Because most printers and copiers produce black-and-white documents, ensure that your white paper will be attractive and readable in black and white.
! End with a call to action. If your white paper is meant to help your sales force, it should conclude with telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, and URLs that will allow prospective customers to contact you.
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646 Connecting with the Public22
Figure 22.4 First Page of a White Paper Source: McAfee Foundstone Professional Services and McAfee Labs, 2011 <www.mcafee.com/us /resources/white-papers/wp-global-energy-cyberattacks-night-dragon.pdf>.
3
White Paper Global Energy Cyberattacks: “Night Dragon”
Executive Summary In 2010, we entered a new decade in the world of cybersecurity. The prior decade was stained with immaturity, reactive technical solutions, and a lack of security sophistication that promoted critical
few. The security community has evolved and grown smarter about security, safe computing, and system hardening but so have our adversaries. This decade is setting up to be the exponential jumping off point. The adversaries are rapidly leveraging productized malware toolkits that let them develop more malware than in all prior years combined, and they have matured from the prior decade to release the most insidious and persistent cyberthreats ever known.
The Google hacks (“Operation Aurora”), named by McAfee and announced in January 2010, and the WikiLeaks document disclosures of 2010 have highlighted the fact that external and internal threats
proprietary data upon which the world’s economies depend every day. When a new attack emerges,
not yet impacted and to repair those who have been. As such, McAfee Foundstone Professional Services and McAfee Labs decided to release the following discovery.
Starting in November 2009, coordinated covert and targeted cyberattacks have been conducted against global oil, energy, and petrochemical companies. These attacks have involved social engineering, spear- phishing attacks, exploitation of Microsoft Windows operating systems vulnerabilities, Microsoft Active Directory compromises, and the use of remote administration tools (RATs) in targeting and harvesting
continuing attacks — which we have dubbed Night Dragon — as originating primarily in China. Through coordinated analysis of the related events and tools used, McAfee has determined identifying features to assist companies with detection and investigation. While we believe many actors have participated in these attacks, we have been able to identify one individual who has provided the crucial C&C infrastructure to the attackers. (See Appendix B for more detail on attribution.)
Anatomy of a Hack
NIGHT DRAGON
Global Energy Cyberattacks
Extranet web servers
compromised
Gained access to sensitive
internal desktops and
servers
Accessed additional
usernames and passwords
Enabled direct communication from infected
machines to the Internet
archives and other sensitive
documents
1 2 3 4 5
Remote command execution
Hacker tools uploaded to
servers
Further access to sensitive documents
Disabled IE proxy settings
Executives’ computers
compromised
Figure 1. Anatomy of a hack.
The white paper begins with an executive summary, giving it the look of a serious report.
The section called “Anatomy of a Hack” includes a graphic that explains the stages of the cybersecurity attack that the white paper analyzes.
The logo at the bottom clearly identifies the company presenting this white paper.
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22 Presenting Information to the Public 647 & Training Alliance (NCFTA). Significant contributors include Shane Shook, Dmitri Alper- ovitch, Stuart McClure, Georg Wicherski, Greg Hoglund, Shawn Bracken, Ryan Permeh, Vitaly Zaytsev, Mark Gilbert, Mike Spohn, George Kurtz, and Adam Meyers.
This note demonstrates the company’s aim to portray the white paper not merely as a marketing tool but as a valuable contribution from serious researchers.
Podcasts Podcasting, a word that combines iPod and broadcasting, is a Web-based tech- nology that allows people to present information electronically. A podcast is an audio or video !le that is downloaded from a Web site and then played on a computer or an MP3 player. Some people see podcasting as a hobby that allows them to talk about their favorite subjects. Others create podcasts in their professional roles to connect with customers and to reach out to new audiences. Some professors put lectures on podcasts, and many industry professionals create podcasts to inform colleagues and customers about in- dustry trends. For professionals in all !elds — from computer science to engi- neering, business, the arts, and health care — downloading podcasts provides an easy way to learn new information from experts. Figure 22.5 shows a screen from a video podcast.
Figure 22.5 A Video Podcast Source: Zimmer, 2010 <www.videopodcasts.tv/feed/602/Intimate_Strangers:_Unseen_Life_on_Earth>.
A researcher is presenting a paper at a professional confer- ence. The podcast captures not only the speaker but also the video that the researcher was showing in the presentation: vampire bats running.
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648 Connecting with the Public22 You can !nd podcasts by searching sites such as PodcastDirectory.com or
Apple’s iTunes store. You can also use a software program called an aggrega- tor. Podcasters can syndicate their programs by setting up an RSS feed. Aggre- gators (and some Web browsers) check all of the RSS feeds you subscribe to and help you download the latest content.
The process of creating a podcast is fairly simple. If your computer has a microphone or Webcam and some sound- or video-editing software (free ver- sions are available on the Web), you can create a podcast. Follow these four steps:
1. Prepare for your podcast. Develop a script. Use an outline if you know your subject well and can speak well extemporaneously. Get permission in ad- vance if your podcast will include copyrighted material.
2. Record the podcast. Ensure that you will not be interrupted.
3. Edit the podcast. Remove any errors or extended silence (also called dead air). If you add music at the beginning or end, make sure that it is in the public domain or that it is your own (or your organization’s) intellectual property.
4. Publish the podcast. Upload it to the Web, mention it on your blog or a social- media site, and set up the RSS feed for aggregators, if you haven’t already. Because podcast !les can be quite large (20 to 30 MB or more), check with your Web host to be sure it can support large !les.
COLLABORATING WITH THE PUBLIC THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA
The nation’s largest companies — the Fortune 100 — actively participate in social media. Some two-thirds of those companies have Twitter feeds; half have fan pages on Facebook, each with an average of 40,000 fans (Skepsy, 2010). Many companies are following the lead of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, which maintains a Facebook page where prospective employees can chat with current employees. To stay current with what people are writing about them, companies and other organizations are setting up Google Alerts and similar services to receive e-mail updates whenever a particular term (the name of a product or person, for example) is mentioned in a blog or a message on social media.
The government, too, is using social media to stay connected. The Cen- ters for Disease Control uses the children’s site Whyville to encourage par- ents to get their children vaccinated. NASA uses Twitter to announce news and puts its photos on Flickr. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin- istration (NOAA) has an island on Second Life where visitors can look at un- derground caves and see the effects of global warming. During the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010, NOAA and NASA used Twitter and other social media to direct people to videos and photographs of the spill from underwater and
In This Book For more about intellectual property, see Ch. 2, p. 23.
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22 Collaborating with the Public Through Social Media 649 outer space. The Department of State has collected more than 20,000 posts on its Opinion Space discussion board. And the U.S. military uses chat rooms and other social media as part of its strategy for tracking Taliban !ghters in Iraq and Afghanistan (Drew, 2010).
The three applications discussed in this section — discussion boards, blogs, and wikis — are social-media tools used to connect with the public. What distinguishes these three applications from the four discussed in the previous section is that they are designed to foster collaboration between the writer and the reader.
This collaboration is made simple through speci!c features of each application:
• On a discussion board, a reader replies to a post by clicking on the Reply button and writing a message, which is then available to all readers of the discussion board.
• On a blog, each entry is followed by a Comment button, which makes it simple for readers to send a response that will appear beneath the entry.
• On a wiki, an Edit button solicits revisions from authorized readers.
In short, all three electronic tools make it easy for a writer to solicit and present readers’ views.
More important than the buttons you click, however, is that interactivity is an integral part of these applications: they are designed to invite two-way communication. A discussion board exists to create a conversation among many voices about a topic important to the community. A blog exists to offer one person (or, sometimes, several people) a forum for presenting an idea to the community, to which interested members can respond. A wiki exists to enable members of a community to create or revise documents. In other words, these three applications do not simply automate the process by which the audience responds. They are created so that the audience can respond. The following discussions will focus on how each application is used to en- courage collaboration.
As you read about these applications, remember that the focus of the dis- cussion is how they are used in the workplace. When you use these applica- tions to collaborate in the workplace, act like a professional. People inside and outside your organization are likely to read what you write. Represent yourself and your organization positively. Find out whether your organization has guide- lines for appropriate online behavior for employees; if it does, follow them.
Discussion Boards A discussion board, sometimes called a bulletin board or an electronic forum, enables people to have asynchronous discussions about the topic covered by the board. You might use a discussion board to learn what people think about
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650 Connecting with the Public22
a consumer product you are researching. Or if you are having a problem with a product you own, you might use a discussion board to learn whether others are having a similar problem and how they have tried to !x it. Figure 22.6 shows a screen from a discussion board.
Often, companies host discussion boards devoted to their own products. For example, Microsoft hosts a number of boards on which people post ques- tions, answers, and gripes about the company’s products. Before Microsoft re- leased Of!ce 2010, it released a beta version and received 2 million comments and suggestions from the 9 million people who had downloaded it (Chen, 2010). Why would Microsoft devote its own resources to hear people discuss its products? Well, if you were Microsoft, would you rather know what customers like and dislike — or not know? A discussion board tells a company what it needs to !x. In addition, it helps the company maintain a good relationship with its customers by creating a virtual community of people, all of whom want the company to improve its products and customer service.
When people participate on discussion boards, disagreements arise. Avoid the temptation to respond to one disparaging comment with another, especially if you are posting as a member of an organization and not as a private citizen.
This discussion board, for fans of a popular game, begins with announcements and FAQs from the site moderators and then presents threads from users.
Figure 22.6 A Discussion Board Source: Microsoft, 2011 <http://forums.xbox.com/1496/ShowForum.aspx>.
Xbox 360 + Accessories Xbox LIVE
THREAD
Halo: Research
Topics
LAST POST REPLIES VIEWS
THREAD LAST POST REPLIES VIEWS
Announcements and FAQS
Xbox Forums >> Halo Waypoint >> Halo: Reach In this blockbuster prequel to the Halo trilogy, experience the events that transpired on the planet Reach.
Games + Marketplace Community My Xbox KINECT
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22 Collaborating with the Public Through Social Media 651
Blogs Blogs (the word is a combination of Web and logs) enable people to post their thoughts and opinions to the Web. Many people use blogs in their personal lives to stay in touch with family and friends, to write about hobbies or interests, or to provide social commentary. Others write blogs about their professional inter- ests by commenting on news stories that affect their industries, discussing new products coming on the market, and keeping track of new trends.
With the number of blogs approaching half a billion, the practice is rede- !ning the way organizations connect with their publics. Most large companies host blogs written by many of their executives, as well as by typical workers. Reporters and columnists working for major newspapers such as the New York Times, engineers, physicians, athletes — whatever the !eld, people and organi- zations are blogging in order to present information about their workplace and to learn from the public. Organizations encourage blogging because it can make them seem less impersonal, thereby helping them build relationships.
For some people, blogging is such an important part of their workplace lives that they are expected to devote a large part of their day to it. They use their blogs to communicate about the organization’s operations and plans and to test new ideas. For these people, blogging is a form of research and de- velopment and also a form of marketing. For others, blogging is less central to what they do. The organization hosts their blogs on its servers, but em- ployees are expected to blog on their own time. Figure 22.7 on page 652 shows a blog written by a NASA astronaut.
Participating in Discussion Boards The following six guidelines will help you post to discussion boards responsibly. ! Share your knowledge. Because discussion boards thrive when members share
what they know, participate by posting when you can contribute useful information. ! Do your homework before posting a question. Before you ask a question, search
the archives and check other sources to see if an answer is already available. ! Support your claims with evidence. Provide specific data to back up your
statements. Give all pertinent background information when asking a question. See Chapter 8 for more about communicating persuasively.
! Stay on topic. Follow the posted guidelines and make sure that your posts are relevant to the topic.
! Avoid personal attacks. Avoid flame wars (angry exchanges on discussion boards and e-mail lists). No one benefits from them, and other forum partici- pants tire of them quickly.
! Disclose potential conflicts of interest. If your connection with a person, a com- pany, or a competitor could affect your writing or how readers interpret it, say so.
Guidelines
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652 Connecting with the Public22
Being a Responsible Blogger The following six suggestions can help you blog more effectively. ! Know and follow your company’s blogging policies. Do not start a work blog
without approval from management. Ensure that your personal blogging won’t jeopardize your employment.
! Provide good content without saying too much. Information that is current, accurate, and interesting will attract readers, but do not reveal sensitive informa- tion, such as trade secrets. Bloggers have been disciplined or fired for divulging trade secrets or revealing that the company is being investigated by a govern- ment regulatory agency, leading investors to sell their company stock.
Guidelines
In This Book For more about an employee’s obligations to an employer, see Ch. 2, p. 21.
Figure 22.7 A Blog Source: National Aeronautics, 2011 <http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/fragileoasis/posts/ post_1307836834103.>
Because NASA is a taxpayer- supported government agency, its employees blog extensively to help build and maintain public support for its missions.
When employees write blogs, they sometimes make comments critical of their organizations. Some companies have responded by trying to prohibit negative comments or punish bloggers by revoking their right to blog or even by !ring them. However, many organizations view such negative comments as early warning signs of trouble that they can address before the problem escalates.
Blogs Posts Photos
Welcome: guest Sign in
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22 Collaborating with the Public Through Social Media 653
An integral part of blogging is that readers can respond to blog entries. Sometimes, these responses are critical of the blogger. For instance, a General Motors blog features a video about the Chevrolet Cruze showing technicians shutting the doors, closing the hood, and doing other tasks, each of which is accompanied by a solid thunking sound. The point of the video is to show that the car is well built. The !rst person to comment wrote this:
Only GM would try to put a positive spin on making a noisy car. I’m beginning to lose hope that GM will ever build a decent car or truck. It seems bankruptcy would have taught them that building a product with the minimum amount of quality they think consumers will tolerate will not be successful. It’s sad.
The second person wrote, “I don’t think the Cruze is a noisy car. According to reports, the interior sound levels are lower than a Lexus ES.”
The !rst person then responded:
I hope it will continue to give a quiet ride after 20k miles and/or 2 years. We will see. GM will have to overcome a lot of skepticism due to its history of small cars. It might not be fair to judge GM by its older models but we don’t really have sufficient unbi- ased info about the new stuff to do otherwise.
As you can see, this interchange is ragged. But that is the price the company pays. If negative comments show that readers have legitimate complaints or concerns, the company knows it needs to take action.
Wikis A wiki (the Hawaiian word for fast) is a type of Web site in which users create and edit the content. Wikis enable people to post information quickly and easily. People who work from different locations use wikis as a convenient way of storing and sharing information. Although blogs and discussion boards enable users to reply to previous posts, wiki users can create new
! Use an authentic voice. Readers want to read blogs written by “real people.” If you spin the facts or insist that everything is perfect, you will lose first your cred- ibility and then your readers.
! Avoid conflicts of interest. If your relationship with a person, a company, or a competitor could affect what you write or how readers interpret what they read, disclose it. Some companies try to bribe bloggers. For instance, several software manufacturers have been caught giving bloggers free software — and the hard- ware on which to run it.
! Manage your time carefully. Blogging often takes more time than you expect. Take enough time to write effectively, but don’t let blogging interfere with your other duties.
! Follow up on negative comments. Briefly acknowledge any negative com- ments made on a work-related blog, and then make sure the right people see them. Don’t let problems fall through the cracks.
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654 Connecting with the Public22
pages, edit existing pages, add tags to identify content, and upload new !les. Perhaps the most useful characteristic of wikis is that when a !le is revised, the existing version is archived so that it is easy to view and to recover. Fig- ure 22.8 shows a wiki.
Certainly, the best-known public wiki is Wikipedia, the online encyclope- dia. Wikipedia has won praise for the collaborative spirit it embodies and for the breadth of the topics it covers. However, critics point out that many arti- cles contain inaccuracies, misleading information, and biases (Gomi, 2008). Used within an organization, a wiki is more likely to be supported by a strong community of users with a shared sense of purpose.
Organizations are thinking of new ways to use wikis productively. One example is Intel, the computer chip maker. According to social-media strate- gist JD Lasika (2010), Intelpedia, the company wiki, consists of some 25,000 pages and has received 100 million page views. On a typical day, 500 changes are made to the site, and some 9,000 people have edited the site. The pages on Intelpedia range from the functional (lists of company and industry acro- nyms, explanations of how to use some exotic software) to the fun (informa- tion about the Intel Sailing Club, the Intel Classic Car Collectors Club, and neighborhood pickup football games).
Cognitive psychology is the school of psychology that examines internal mental processes such as problem solving, memory, and language. It had its foundations in the Gestalt psychology of Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, and Kurt Koffka, and in the work of Jean Piaget, who studied intellectual development in children. Cognitive psychologists are interested in how people understand, diagnose, and solve problems, concerning themselves with the mental processes which mediate between stimulus and response. Cognitive theory contends that solutions to problems take the form of algorithms—rules that are not necessarily understood but promise a solution, or heuristics—rules that are understood but that do not always guarantee solutions. In other instances, solutions may be found through insight, a sudden awareness of relationships.
History
Ulric Neisser coined the term ‘cognitive psychology’ in his book published in 1967, wherein Neisser provides a definition of cognitive psychology, emphasising that it is a point of view which postulates the mind as having a certain conceptual structure. Neisser’s point of view endows the discipline a scope which expands beyond high-level concepts such as “reasoning”, often espoused in other works as a definition of cognitive psychology. Neisser’s definition of cognition illustrates this well:
...the term “cognition” refers to all processes by which the sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered, and used. It is concerned with these processes even when they operate in the absence of relevant stimulation, as in images and hallucinations . . . Given such a sweeping definition, it is apparent that cognition is involved in everything a human being might possibly do; that every psychological phenomenon is a cognitive phenomenon. But although cognitive psychology is concerned with all human activity rather than some fraction of it, the concern is from a particular point of view. Other viewpoints are equally legitimate and necessary. Dynamic psychology, which begins with motives rather than with sensory input, is a case in point. Instead of asking how a man’s actions and experiences result from what he saw, remembered, or believed, the dynamic psychologist asks how they follow from the subject’s goals, needs, or instincts.
Cognitive psychology is radically different from previous psychological approaches in two key ways. • It accepts the use of the scientific method, and generally rejects introspection as a valid method of investigation, unlike phenomenological methods such as
Freudian psychology. • It explicitly acknowledges the existence of internal mental states (such as belief, desire and motivation) unlike behaviorist psychology.
Figure 22.8 A Wiki Source: Psychology Wiki, 2010 <http://psychology.wikia.com/index.php?title"Introduction_to_cognitive _psychology&action"edit>.
On this screen from Psychology Wiki, a registered user can edit the article called “Introduction to Cognitive Psychology.”
The buttons at the top show the tasks the person can perform, ranging from changing text to adding lists, links, photographs, photo galleries, and videos. The visitor can also review all the changes made to this entry.
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22 Writer’s Checklist 655
Does your newsletter " have a distinctive banner? (p. 639) " provide a table of contents on the first page? (p. 639) " present the most noteworthy story on the first
page? (p. 639) " include bylines naming the authors? (p. 639) " use jump lines and continuation headings when
needed? (p. 639) " use photographs to add interest? (p. 639) " use pull quotes to add interest? (p. 639) " clearly identify the publisher? (p. 639) " leave sufficient space for postal information? (p. 639)
Does your brochure " present information that fits appropriately on the
brochure’s panels? (p. 642) " use the front panel to attract attention? (p. 644) " avoid design clichés? (p. 644)
Does your white paper " communicate useful information? (p. 644) " use a subtle approach? (p. 644) " cite your sources? (p. 644) " have a design that makes it easy to skim? (p. 644) " provide help for readers unfamiliar with the techni-
cal vocabulary? (p. 644) " print well in black and white? (p. 645) " end with a call to action? (p. 645)
Does your podcast " respect laws protecting intellectual property? (p. 648) " have an RSS feed to which listeners may sub-
scribe? (p. 648) " reside on a server capable of hosting it success-
fully? (p. 648)
Writer’s Checklist
Using and Participating in Wikis Effectively These six suggestions can help you get the most from wikis. ! Know your audience. Find out what your audience needs from your wiki, and
then develop a plan to provide it. ! Keep your wiki up-to-date. Current information is valuable. Check the wiki pe-
riodically to correct outdated and inaccurate information and to generate ideas for new content.
! Integrate the wiki with other documentation. A familiar look and feel will encour- age participation from users, and it will help your organization maintain its image.
! Integrate the wiki within your community. Wikis work best when supported by a community of users who share interests and goals. Get management support to make the wiki a part of your organization’s culture.
! Make organization a high priority. Create category pages to organize content. Contact authors of uncategorized pages to suggest potential locations for them.
! Help reluctant users get involved. Offer training to explain what a wiki is and how it works. Reviewers and editors are important for a successful wiki, and serving in those roles may help users develop into more active participants.
Guidelines
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656 Connecting with the Public22 Does your discussion-board post
" share your knowledge with the group? (p. 651) " show that you have already checked relevant ar-
chives for answers to your questions? (p. 651) " use evidence to support your claims? (p. 651) " stay on topic? (p. 651) " avoid personal attacks? (p. 651) " disclose potential conflicts of interest? (p. 651)
Does your blog " adhere to company policies? (p. 652)
" provide good content without saying too much? (p. 652)
" use an authentic voice? (p. 653) " avoid conflicts of interest? (p. 653)
Does your wiki " show that you understand the specific needs of its
audience? (p. 655) " present up-to-date information? (p. 655) " integrate well with other documentation? (p. 655) " have a helpful organizational scheme? (p. 655)
In This Book For more about memos, see Ch. 14, p. 385.
1. Find three blogs on a topic that interests you, such as a hobby or your academic major. Review one recent post from each blog, as well as each blog’s “About Me” information. Analyze the persona of each blogger and the nature of the blog: Does the blog provide use- ful information? Do readers respond with comments? Would you take the time to visit the blog again? Be prepared to share your ideas with the class.
2. Find a white paper on a subject related to your aca- demic major. Find a passage in the white paper that communicates useful information to the audience about a trend in the industry. Then find a passage that presents a more direct marketing pitch for the organi- zation that produced the white paper. How effectively does the white paper combine the useful information about the industry with the marketing message? Be prepared to share your ideas with the class.
3. Find three podcasts on a topic that interests you, such as a hobby or your academic major. Note who produced each podcast and where you found it. Listen to the podcast that you think will provide the best information. Write a memo to your instructor describing the process you went through to find these podcasts and summariz- ing what you learned from the podcast you listened to.
4. GROUP EXERCISE Form a group of three to five peo- ple. Assume that your group’s assignment is to write
a newsletter about the skills you have learned in your technical-communication class. Have each person write one article, following this process:
• Select a specific skill to write about.
• Develop an outline of main points for an article about that skill.
• Write a headline that catches readers’ attention.
• Take or find a photograph to illustrate the story.
• Write the article.
Work together as a group to revise, edit, and proofread the articles and assemble them into a newsletter.
5. INTERNET EXERCISE Find a discussion board spon- sored by a professional organization in your field. Review the posts in the forum for the past two to four weeks. How would you describe the posts in terms of their subjects: Are they related to theoretical subjects? To practical subjects, such as tools, equipment, and procedures used in the field? To working conditions for people in that profession? Present your findings in a memo to your instructor.
6. Find a printed brochure, and evaluate how well it meets the guidelines for brochures. How effectively does it address the needs of its audience and fulfill the writers’ purpose? Present your evaluation in a memo to your instructor, and attach a copy of the brochure.
Exercises
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22 Case 22: Considering a One-to-Many Model on Your Company’s Site 657
Customer-Support Sections
• Product Registration — customers can register their products here without using the mail; with this info we can send important announcements and product info
• Warranty Information — copies of the warranties of every product; useful because customers often lose their printed warranties
• Downloads — form-based section where customers can download drivers and patches for known problems
• Product Support — PDFs of the user, installation, and reference manuals for each product; also, PDFs of product updates
• Contact Infinity — three ways for customers to ask questions: e-mail (free, fast), live chat (also free, wait for a product specialist), and phone support (business hours, potentially long waits)
• Infinity Answers — paid phone support, different plans available, minimal waits, knowledgeable support people who can answer questions about other manufacturers’ products on our machines
• Links to Other Manufacturers’ Sites — Microsoft, camera manufacturers, game manufacturers, etc.
Document 22.1 Plan for the Customer-Support Section of the Infinity Computer Web Site
On TechComm Web For digital versions of case documents, click on Downloadable Case Documents on <bedfordstmartins.com/ techcomm>.
In This Book For more about memos, see Ch. 14, p. 385.
Background You are a new member of the Infinity Computer Compa- ny’s Web site development team. Infinity is an Australian computer manufacturer that is opening a sales and distri- bution center in the United States. The team is holding its first organizational meeting to discuss the development of a Web site for the new center.
James Ingersoll, a senior Web designer, is discussing his plan for the section on customer service that he wants to develop on the new site. He distributes a brief outline of the sections (see Document 22.1). “This looks like stan- dard stuff,” says Eileen Ben Salem, the head of the Web site development team. “Does anyone have any objec- tions or want to suggest any other features?”
You have had experience working on Motorola’s site. “I don’t know if any of this would be appropriate here,” you say, “but when I was at Motorola, we put a lot of re- sources into our Owners’ Forums.” You open up the Motorola XOOM Owners’ Forum home page (see Docu- ment 22.2) on your laptop. “Motorola’s enormous, of course, and we’re not, but some of these features might be useful.”
“What’s the difference between what Motorola’s doing and what we see in our plan?” Eileen asks you.
“All of the features in our plan are standard, and they’re all useful. They’re built on the principle that we want to make our information available to our customers using a lot of different media. So we make it convenient for them to download manuals, e-mail us questions, do live chat
with our customer-help people, and so on. But the fea- tures are built on a one-to-one model: the customer talks with us. The Motorola people want a one-to-many model. Customers talk with other customers just as much as they talk with the company.”
James looks skeptical. “Isn’t there a risk of the blind leading the blind?”
“Yes,” you say, “and we had to spend some resources monitoring the forums, in particular, to be sure we weren’t letting bad advice go unflagged. We decided to highlight correct answers from our customers by placing them right after the question to make it easier for our customers to find the best information. But the most important thing we learned is what our customers wanted, what they were having problems with, etc. A lot of that we couldn’t have learned otherwise.” (See Document 22.3.)
“Listen,” Eileen says to you, “we don’t have time to go into detail on this today, but would you mind writing up a little description of what Motorola did — and what you think the strengths and weaknesses of its site are?”
Your Assignment Write a 1,000-word memo about the Motorola Owners’ Forum sites. In this memo, explain the philosophy of one- to-many communication, describe the major features of the Motorola Owners’ Forum sites, and discuss their ap- parent strengths and weaknesses. Where appropriate, include screen captures or quotations that give readers a sense of how the various features work.
Case 22: Considering a One-to-Many Model on Your Company’s Site
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658 Connecting with the Public22
Document 22.2 Home Page of the Motorola Owners’ Forum Source: Motorola, 2011a <https://supportforums.motorola.com/community/tablets/xoom?view"discussions>.
Document 22.3 A Correct Answer from a Customer Source: Motorola, 2011b <https://supportforums.motorola.com/message/ 397977#397977>.
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Appendix: Reference Handbook
Part A. Skimming Your Sources and Taking Notes 660 Paraphrasing 661 Quoting 663 Summarizing 664
Part B. Documenting Your Sources 667 ! APA Style 670 ! IEEE Style 687 ! MLA Style 695
Part C. Editing and Proofreading Your Documents 713 Grammatical Sentences 714 Punctuation 721 Mechanics 732 Proofreading Symbols and Their Meanings 739
Part D. Guidelines for Multilingual Writers (ESL) 740 Cultural and Stylistic Communication Issues 740 Sentence-Level Issues 742
659
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660 Appendix: Reference Handbook
Part A: Skimming Your Sources and Taking Notes To record the information that will eventually go into your document, you need to skim your potential sources and take notes. Don’t try to read every potential source. A careful reading of a work that looks promising might prove disappointing. You might also get halfway through a book and realize that you must start writing immediately to submit your document on time.
Skimming Books and Articles To skim effectively, read the following parts of books and articles.
In a book, skim: In an article, skim:
• the preface and introduction: to understand the writer’s approach and methods
• the acknowledgments section: to learn about help the author received from other experts in the field or about the author’s use of primary research or other resources
• the table of contents: to understand the book’s scope and organization
• the notes at the ends of chapters or at the end of the book: to understand the nature and extent of the author’s research
• the index: to determine the extent of the coverage of the information you need
• a few paragraphs from different portions of the text: to gauge the quality and relevance of the information
• the abstract: to get an overview of the article’s content
• the introduction: to understand the article’s purpose, main ideas, and organization
• the notes and references: to un- derstand the nature and extent of the author’s research
• the headings and several of the paragraphs: to understand the article’s organization and the quality and relevance of the information
Guidelines
Skimming will not always tell you whether a book or article is going to be useful, but it can tell you if a work is not going to be useful — because it doesn’t cover your subject, for example, or because it is too super!cial or too advanced. Eliminating the sources you don’t need will give you more time to spend on the ones you do.
Note taking is often the !rst step in writing the document. The best way to take notes is electronically. If you can download !les from the Internet, download bibliographic references from a CD-ROM database, and take notes on a laptop computer, you will save a lot of time and prevent many errors. If you do not have access to these electronic tools, get a pack of note cards.
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Part A: Skimming Your Sources and Taking Notes 661
Most note taking involves three kinds of activities: paraphrasing, quot- ing, and summarizing. Knowing how to paraphrase, quote, and summarize is important for two reasons:
• To a large extent, your note taking will determine the quality of your !n- ished product. You want to record the information accurately and clearly. Mistakes made at this point can be hard to catch later, and they can ruin your document.
• You want to use your sources responsibly. You don’t want to plagiarize unintentionally.
In This Book For a discussion of plagiarism, see Appendix, Part B, p. 667.
Recording Bibliographic Information Record the bibliographic information for each source from which you take notes.
Information to record for a book Information to record for an article
• author • title • publisher • place of publication • year of publication • call number or URL
• author • title of article • title of periodical • volume • number • date of publication • pages on which article appears • call number or URL of periodical
For electronic sources, record any additional relevant information such as identify- ing numbers, database name, and retrieval data.
Guidelines
PARAPHRASING
A paraphrase is a restatement, in your own words, of someone else’s words. If you simply copy someone else’s words — even a mere two or three in a row — you must use quotation marks.
In taking notes, what kind of material should you paraphrase? Any in- formation that you think might be useful: background data, descriptions of mechanisms or processes, test results, and so forth.
Figure A.1 on page 662 shows a paraphrased passage based on the fol- lowing discussion. The author is explaining the concept of performance- centered design.
Original Passage
In performance-centered design, the emphasis is on providing support for the structure of the work as well as the information needed to accomplish it. One of the best ex- amples is TurboTax®, which meets all the three main criteria of effective performance- centered design:
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662 Appendix: Reference Handbook
• People can do their work with no training on how to use the system. People trying to do their income taxes have no interest in taking any kind of training. They want to get their taxes filled out correctly and quickly, getting all the deductions they are entitled to. These packages, over the years, have moved the interface from a forms-based one, where the user had to know what forms were needed, to an interview-based one that fills out the forms automatically as you answer questions. The design of the interface assumes no particular computer expertise.
• The system provides the right information at the right time to accomplish the work. At each step in the process, the system asks only those questions that are relevant based on previous answers. The taxpayer is free to ask for more detail or may proceed through a dialog that asks more-detailed questions if the taxpayer doesn’t know the answer to the higher-level question. If a taxpayer is married fil- ing jointly, the system presents only those questions for that filing status.
• Both tasks and systems change as the user understands the system. When I first used TurboTax 6 years ago I found myself going to the forms themselves. Doing my taxes generally took about 2 days. Each year I found my need to go to the forms to be less and less. Last year, it took me about 2 hours to do my taxes, and I looked at the forms only when I printed out the final copy.
This paraphrase is inappropriate because the three bulleted points are taken word for word from the original. The fact that the student omitted the explanations from the original is irrelevant. These are direct quotes, not paraphrases.
This paraphrase is appropriate because the words are different from those used in the original.
When you turn your notes into a document, you are likely to reword your paraphrases. As you revise your document, check a copy of the original source document to be sure you haven’t unintentionally reverted to the wording from the original source.
Lovgren, “Achieving Performance-Centered Design” <www.reisman-consulting.com/pages/a-Perform.html>
example of performance-centered design: TurboTax® meets three main criteria: • People can do their work with no training on how to use the system. • The system provides the right information at the right time to accomplish the
work. • Both tasks and systems change as the user understands the system.
a. Inappropriate paraphrase
Lovgren, “Achieving Performance-Centered Design” <www.reisman-consulting.com/pages/a-Perform.html>
example of performance-centered design: TurboTax® meets three main criteria: • You don’t have to learn how to use the system. • The system knows how to respond at the appropriate time to what the user is
doing. • As the user gets smarter about using the system, the system gets smarter, mak-
ing it faster to complete the task.
b. Appropriate paraphrase
Figure A.1 Inappropriate and Appropriate Paraphrased Notes Source: Adapted from Lovgren, 2000 <www.reisman-consulting.com/pages/a-Perform.html>.
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Part A: Skimming Your Sources and Taking Notes 663
Paraphrasing Accurately ! Study the original until you understand it thoroughly.
! Rewrite the relevant portions of the original. Use complete sentences, frag- ments, or lists, but don’t compress the material so much that you’ll have trouble understanding it later.
! Title the information so that you’ll be able to identify its subject at a glance. The title should include the general subject and the author’s attitude or approach to it, such as “Criticism of open-sea pollution-control devices.”
! Include the author’s last name, a short title of the article or book, and the page number of the original. You will need this information later in citing your source.
Guidelines
QUOTING
Sometimes you will want to quote a source, either to preserve the author’s particularly well-expressed or emphatic phrasing or to lend authority to your discussion. Avoid quoting passages of more than two or three sentences, or your document will look like a mere compilation. Your job is to integrate an author’s words and ideas into your own thinking, not merely to introduce a series of quotations.
Although you probably won’t be quoting long passages in your document, recording a complete quotation in your notes will help you recall its meaning and context more accurately when you are ready to integrate it into your own work.
The simplest form of quotation is an author’s exact statement:
As Jones states, “Solar energy won’t make much of a difference for at least a decade.”
To add an explanatory word or phrase to a quotation, use brackets:
As Nelson states, “It [the oil glut] will disappear before we understand it.”
Use ellipses (three spaced dots) to show that you are omitting part of an author’s statement:
ORIGINAL STATEMENT “The generator, which we purchased in May, has turned out to be one of our wisest investments.”
ELLIPTICAL QUOTATION “The generator . . . has turned out to be one of our wis- est investments.”
According to the documentation style recommended by the Modern Lan- guage Association (MLA), if the author’s original statement has ellipses, you should add brackets around the ellipses that you introduce:
In This Book For more about formatting quotations, see “Quotation Marks,” “Ellipses,” and “Square Brackets” in Appendix, Part C. For a discussion of how to document quotations, see Appendix, Part B.
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664 Appendix: Reference Handbook
ORIGINAL STATEMENT “I think reuse adoption offers . . . the promise to improve business in a number of ways.”
ELLIPTICAL QUOTATION “I think reuse adoption offers . . . the promise to improve business [. . .] .”
SUMMARIZING
Summarizing is the process of rewriting a passage in your own words to make it shorter while still retaining its essential message. Writers summa- rize to help them learn a body of information or create a draft of one or more of the summaries that will go into the document.
Most long technical documents contain several kinds of summaries:
• a letter of transmittal (see page 523) that provides an overview of the document
• an abstract (see page 524), a brief technical summary
• an executive summary (see page 526), a brief nontechnical summary directed to the manager
• a conclusion (see page 522) that draws together a complicated discussion
The guidelines and examples in this section explain how to summarize the printed information you uncover in your research.
Summarizing The following advice focuses on extracting the essence of a passage by summarizing it.
! Read the passage carefully several times.
! Underline key ideas. Look for them in the titles, headings, topic sentences, transitional paragraphs, and concluding paragraphs.
! Combine key ideas. Study what you have underlined. Paraphrase the under- lined ideas. Don’t worry about your grammar, punctuation, or style at this point.
! Check your draft against the original for accuracy and emphasis. Check that you have recorded statistics and names correctly and that your version of a complicated concept faithfully represents the original. Check that you got the proportions right; if the original devotes 20 percent of its space to a particular point, your draft should not devote 5 percent or 50 percent to that point.
! Record the bibliographic information carefully. Even though a summary might contain all your own words, you still must cite it, because the main ideas are someone else’s. If you don’t have the bibliographic information in an elec- tronic form, put it on note cards.
Guidelines
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