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• Are sources used in the paper?

• Does the paper rely on the primary source or sources?

• Is the style of the citations and Bibliography entries correct?

Note: A quotation within a long, indented quote is set in single quotation marks.

Bibliography

The Bibliography is placed at the end of the paper on a separate sheet of paper with the word, Bibliography, in caps centered at the top of the page. Works are listed in alphabetical order by the author’s last name or, if the author is an association or publisher, its name. The Bibliography contains only the works cited in the paper. "Works" include books, articles, selections in edited books, lectures, and personal interviews, among other sources of information.

Content

Content is the second canon of research writing and concerns how thoroughly the information in a research paper is presented. Content is very important because a research paper without good content—even with good attribution, order, and clarity (other canons of research writing)—is a poor paper. Research papers with poor content are sometimes called "encyclopedia" papers; i.e., papers that provide only a shallow, surface explanation of their topics.

When judging a paper’s content, I ask the following questions:

Order

The third canon of research writing is called Order, which pertains to the organization of a paper. At least two levels of order are required: major sections and minor sections. There must be at least three major sections. The first major section is called Introduction and has two minor sections: Purpose of the Paper and Context of the Topic. The Purpose sub-section states the purpose of the paper (such as to explain, compare, or synthesize information on a topic). Context is background information associated with the subject of a research paper. Establishing the context is important because it helps the reader better understand the topic of a paper. For example, in a paper on Scientific Management, the Context sub-section could explain a little about the Industrial Revolution, which was the background of Scientific Management. The Context sub-section of such a paper could also explain a little about the life and work of Frederick Winslow Taylor, the Father of Scientific Management.

The second major section of a research paper is commonly called the "Body," but this section deserves a better name. (The title of the paper often works well as the name of the "Body.") The "Body" of a research paper may have as many sub-sections as needed to present all relevant information.

The third major section of a research paper is called the Conclusion and has two minor sections: Summary and Opinion. The Summary is a miniature version of the paper, and all the major points in the "Body" of the paper should appear in the Summary. The Opinion section enables an author to state personal views on the subject of the paper.

Clarity

Clarity, the fourth canon of research writing, concerns the clearness of the writing and grammatical correctness of the writing in a paper. Clarity is very important because a paper with good content, but poor clarity, is a failure. The following grammatical mistakes are common in research papers and should not appear in papers for the Saint Francis MBA Program or Business Administration Department.

Run-On Sentences

A run-on sentence is two independent clauses (two sentences) joined by a comma. Example: "Saint Francis is a great university, I am glad to be here." Two independent clauses ("Saint Francis is a great university" and "I am glad to be here") must be separated by a semi-colon or broken into two sentences. The easiest way to correct a run-on sentence is to make two sentences from the independent clauses.

Agreement of Noun and Pronoun

Pronouns must agree with the nouns they replace in a sentence. A singular noun takes the singular form of the pronoun, and a plural noun gets the plural form of the pronoun. For example: "A manager has their duties" is an agreement mistake. The sentence should read: "A manager has her duties" or "A manager has his duties." Better yet, avoid the awkward "his" and "her" by changing the sentence to: "Managers have their duties." Even better, eliminate the pronoun: "Managers have duties." Strunk and White’s classic advice, "Use nouns, not pronouns," is as good today as it was when it was written 50 years ago. Other examples of agreement mistakes are:

Punctuation

The first letter of the first word in a sentence is capitalized. A declarative sentence ends in a period. A question ends with a question mark. Commas go after prepositional phrases; for example, "Before reading students’ research papers, I have a couple beers." An ellipsis at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence has three periods. An ellipsis at the end of a sentence has four periods. (The first three periods in the ellipsis at the end of a sentence indicate the ellipsis; the fourth period is, in effect, the period at the end of the sentence.)

By convention, a period or comma goes inside the quotation mark. Set the "Preferences" in the "Grammar Checker" in the word-processing software you use to put all punctuation marks inside the quotation marks.

The period at the end of a sentence containing a citation goes after the citation at the very end of the sentence: "Foundations may be the nation’s least understood organizations" (McIlnay, 1998, p. 2). Notice where the period is.

Transitions

Transitions link ideas, paragraphs, or sections in a paper. One-word transitions include "however," "therefore," or "moreover." A transition sentence at the end of a paragraph summarizes the paragraph and introduces the next paragraph. A transition paragraph at the end of a section summarizes the section and introduces the next section. Research papers should make appropriate use of one-word, one-sentence, and one-paragraph transitions.

Spelling

Research papers that are filled with spelling errors will fail, regardless of the quality of their attribution, content, or order. (The preceding sentence is the last notice of this policy that students of Dr. Dennis P. McIlnay will receive.)

Slang

Slang is "street language." Expressions such as "making a buck," "here’s the deal," or "a lot" are slang and should not be used. Other examples of slang are :

• "hit the streets"

• "big boy on the block"

• "get into the coaching scene"

Jargon

Jargon is professional language and consists of words or phrases usually familiar to only a certain group of professionals; for example, nuclear engineers. Jargon should not be used because most readers will not understand it. Examples of jargon are:

• "input" (computer jargon)

• "feedback" (entertainers’ jargon)

• "The team plays tough D." (sports jargon)

Vague Words (or Ideas)

The word, "this," as in "This happens in management," is vague and must be avoided. A noun must always accompany the word, "this," as in "This problem happens in management." Words such as "thing," "everyone," "everything," "many," "some," "something," "someone," "people," "situation," "few," or "field" are also vague and should not be used. The word, "it," should be avoided because "it" is usually vague. Every sentence in a research paper must be clear—in and of itself. Vague words or phrases defeat clarity.

Person

The paper should be written in the third person, although the first person may be used in the Opinion section. Do not use "I," "me," "my," or "mine" as well as "you," "your," "we," "our," and "us." These words are confusing to the reader. For example:

• "Now we’re talking about the supervisor...."

• "Our purpose in writing this paper...."

• "You need to study management."

Wordiness

"The Economy of Words" is a principle of good writing and means that words should be used sparingly. The one best word should be found for the idea you are trying to communicate. Use the thesaurus in your word-processor. An example of wordiness is the phrase, "in order to;" the words, "in order" can almost always be struck. Other examples of wordiness are "pull together a paper" or "work out a problem." These wordy phrases should be replaced by "assemble a paper" or "solve a problem." Other examples of wordiness are:

• "due to the fact that" (because)

• "...many other acts which strengthen the bond of Brotherhood, but only through these acts can there develop that bond that results in Brotherhood."

Sentences That Are Not Sentences

• "Formerly known as Martinsburg Shoe Company and Evy Footwear."

• "With needs, desires and feelings?"

• "Referent because his employees like him."

Ending a Sentence in a Preposition
Ending a sentence in a preposition is awkward.

• "...selection to choose from."

• "...no longer take care of."

Split Infinitives

• "to heavily recruit" (to recruit heavily)

• "to boldly go" (OK for Star Trek, but not SFU Trek....)

• "to weekly pay" (to pay weekly)

Misplaced "Only"

• "I only graded five papers." (Should be: "I graded only five papers.")

Agreement of Noun and Verb
A singular noun gets the singular form of the verb, and a plural noun gets the plural form of the verb.

• "Every part of the eight steps in strategic management are extremely important...." "The overall number of strengths and weaknesses were about the same...."

• "Specific invitations to attend parties is required."

Typography

Double space the entire paper including the long quotations). A cover page is required. Page numbers are required. Margins are required. "Lonely headings" should be "hard returned" to the copy they introduce. Use the proper case for different levels of order. Major sections: caps and centered. Minor sections: caps/lower case, flush left.

Other Clarity Mistakes from Actual Papers at Saint Francis University

• "The dairy has a police of on-the-job training."

• "She falls into the position not by choice that is just where she ends up."

• Employee A said, "working here is great."

• Employee Three says that, "I talk to my co-workers."

• "...it will be hard to get the organization to comply."

• "The managers that work here...."

• "amongst"

• "all of the employees"

• "towards"

• "He plays a bigger roll behind the scenes."

• "...their fore becoming inattentive."

• "The manager decides whether or not to hire the candidate."

• "...the reason why...."

• "..., because...."

• "The organizational chart is create drawn by the employees and owners where similar when ask to draw the chain of command."

• "The store’s strengths are strong."

• "Employees in the Purchasing Department feel co-workers."

• "There are many strengths, but to many treats."

• "I have worked nine years as a worker."

• "The school does not have the right to regulate different situations as they become in need of such."

• "It does things."

• "The attitudes of the members involved with the marketing of the Women’s Basketball Team all have an excellent attitude about their jobs."

• "Thus began the beginning...."

• "This informs of what the jobs are and how they completed it."

• "Some inefficiencies would be there scheduling."

• "The vast majority of laws...are the soul responsibility of the supplier."

• "Positions of the personnel describes the positions of the personnel."

• "He also received the Cord on Blue Medal."

• "...Person B, the guess checker...."

• "He says that people jock with the General Manager."

• "He was also the Food Service Director at one unit of Holyday In Hotels."

• "It provides the students with activities not otherwise provided."

• "The Career Development office needs to sit down and discuss what priority of what is the most important to the least."

• "Now that President Busch is in office...."

INTRODUCTION

Purpose of the Paper

Henri Fayol’s principle of authority is one of the most important contributions to the management literature. This paper examines Fayol’s authority principle by explaining his two types of authority: "formal" and "personal." The paper begins by discussing Administrative Management, which is the context of Fayol’s management principles. Next, the paper briefly explains each of Fayol’s 14 management principles. The paper then presents Fayol’s principle of authority in detail, using material from General and Industrial Administration (1949), Fayol’s classic book. The paper concludes with a summary and an opinion on Fayol’s principle of authority.

Note: This purpose statement tells the reader what to expect in the paper:

1. The topic of the paper: Fayol’s authority principle;

2. The context of the topic: Fayol’s life and contributions to management;

3. The body of the paper: Fayol’s authority principle;

4. The primary source: Fayol’s book;

5. The order in which the topics in the paper will appear.

Context of the Topic

The Context section provides some background information on the topic of the paper. For example, in the Context section of a paper on Fayol’s principle of authority, you could explain a little about Fayol’s life, professional history, or management philosophy. You could also explain a little about Administrative Management, Fayol’s main contribution to management theory. After receiving some brief information on Fayol or Administrative Management, the reader would be better prepared to understand Fayol’s principle of authority. The Context sub-section could range in length from a couple paragraphs to a page or two.

FAYOL’S PRINCIPLE OF AUTHORITY

Fayol’s Authority Principle

This section contains the heart of the paper and explains in detail Fayol’s principle of authority and its two forms: "formal" and "personal" authority. This section’s content should reflect the fact that it is the main part of the paper. You could have as many sub-sections in the Body as needed to present the information in the paper thoroughly.

CONCLUSION

Summary

In this sub-section, summarize the key points in the Body of the paper, writing, in effect, a miniature version of the Body in a couple paragraphs or a page. You do not repeat the entire Body, but only its main points.

Opinion

In the Opinion sub-section, discuss your ideas, observations, or opinions on the significance or implications of the topic of the paper. You could combine your opinion of the topic with that of other researchers, developing a fuller discussion of the significance of the topic.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anderson, John A. Management. New York: Harper and Row, 1987.

Anderson, John A. and Jane Smith. Management. New York: Harper and Row, 1989.

Association for the Study of Management. The Management Principles of Henri Fayol. New York, 1985.

Fayol, Henri. General and Industrial Administration. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1949.

Jones, Ann. "Management: Art or Science?" Harvard Business Review. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, September 1987.

McIlnay, Dennis. "Frederick Winslow Taylor: The Father of Scientific Management." MBA 500 Lecture, Saint Francis College, October 10, 1994.

Smith, John. "Fayol’s Principle of Authority." In Management by Joan Richardson, editor. New York: Harper and Row, 1987.

Time. "Fayol’s Classic Principle of Authority." September 12, 1987.

Winters, Kathleen. Personal interview with author, October 15, 1990.

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