On Writing
It is important to learn good communcation skills. One of the objectives when earning a marketing degree is to give you an opportunity to sharpen your written and oral communication skills. As you start your career (some in a few short months,) you will almost immediately start writing memoranda, letters, reports and other documents. The better you write the better you will communicate and impress people.
Good writing takes practice and a good understanding of the structure of the language. The Marketing Department challenges you to improve your writing and offers some guidance in doing it.
A matter of style
There are many style guides that you can pick up at any bookstore.
A commonly used writing style is The Chicago Manual of Style for documenting the sources.
The department has prepared a style guide that shows how to format the citations and how to properly reference your sources without crossing the boundary of plagiarism.
To assist in formatting documents, we have written a formatting and layout guide, Typewriter Days: a bygone era that won't go away. Read that document and adhere to the principles outlined there. Your documents will have a more professional appearance.
These are must-read documents, as they may be very helpul for your next paper. You can view them on screen anytime using Acrobat reader or even print a copy of them to keep with your notes. It might be a good idea to read the additional information below about the writing requirements.
The document template
The following is an imaginary paper to illustrate some formatting issues. You should view this paper, for guidance. If the proper Adobe Acrobat plug-in has not been installed, you will not be able to view this document.
The following is a prepared template that will produce the results you may be looking for using Microsoft Word. You may download the Microsoft Word template and use it in all your written work. It is a self-extracting compressed ZIP file. Double click on the file name to extract into the same directory after you download it.
You may notice how the headings are formatted, amount of space before and after each, and the position of the page numbers.
Strive to write papers that have substance and style. In addition to the documents provided here, consider using a writing manual to smooth out the wrinkles in your writing. Here is a summary.
- Writing is an attempt to communicate. Communication requires an idea, a message to share. If the readers do not get your idea, you are not communicating. Get the idea?
- Do not try to write a finished paper on your first, or even second try. Good writing requires good editing. Carefully edit the entire paper to remove chaff
- In your marketing courses, you will write business reports. They need not use fancy words
- Use short sentences that form cohesive paragraphs. Link paragraphs to form integrated sections
Here is the summary of the formatting and structuring style for most marketing courses. For matters not included in this summary refer to a style manual.
- 1. Use plain white paper. The kind used in laser printing will serve our purpose
- 2. Use a laser printer or a good quality ink-jet printer with black ink. Do not submit work that is printed on a printer running out of ink or toner. Printers have a nasty habit of running out of supplies and jamming at the most inopportune moment. Leave some room for these problems. Do not try to print your assignment on your way to class, anything that can go wrong, will.
- 3. Use 11-point Times New Roman and double-space the text except for block-quotes, tables, and the like
- 4. Pay attention to the form as well as content
- 5. Use headings and subheadings to create and maintain a well defined and meaningful skeleton. Several (3-5) headings every two pages or so will not be excessive
- 6. The sample paper content, which is used as a filler, explains some of the finer points that you need to observe. Read and carefully follow them
- 7. For matters not covered in the sample paper or when in doubt refer to a style manual covering the Chicago Style of citations
- 8. Use all the resources to your advantage
Resources on the Web
The Web offers many writing-related sites. Here are a few to start you on your search.
Research and Documentation Online by Diana Hacker (recommended)
University of Wisconsin Writing center
Elements of Style
Guide to Grammar and Style
Common Errors in English (recommended)
These resources provide students with all the information needed to write an excellent paper.
Click on the address to get driving directions from MapQuest in a new window.
Department of Marketing
Providence College
Providence, RI 02918
voice 401-865-2332
fax 401-865-2978
mktg@providence.edu