Research Outline Instructions
You will individually research a topic on some aspect of professional communication. You will then prepare a 1-2 page outline using the standard outline format (shown below) that would be used in a training session. At the end of your outline you must include a complete reference list, properly formatted according to current APA format. You must use at least 5 appropriate sources to support the points you make in your outline. See below for clarification on appropriate sources for this assignment.
Outline Requirements:
· The outline must be your original work and written solely for this course.
· The sample outlines available below should be referred to for proper formatting.
· Arial or Times New Roman are the only acceptable fonts.
· Any information paraphrased or directly quoted from a source - whether a statement or idea - must be followed with a complete and properly formatted in-text citation (according to APA guidelines) directly following the statement/idea. In-text citations will show how and where your sources were used.
· Reference List
Follow APA formatting guidelines
- In addition to current APA format for formatting your reference list, you are also required to include the perma link (also known as the URL or web address) for all full-text articles.
- A minimum of 5 different sources must be used.
- Two of the 5 sources must be full-text, peer-reviewed articles retrieved from Liberty University's online journal database and must be from within the past 7 years.
- You may also use your course textbook as 1 source; no other textbooks, including e-books, may be used.
- The remaining sources must be full-text articles obtained from professional journals found on Liberty University's online journal database.
- No general Internet searching is acceptable. Therefore, no blogs, education sites, commercial sites, Wikipedia, About.com, editorials, abstracts, online books, or book reviews are acceptable for this assignment.
Topic Ideas
The course textbook will be a great resource when looking for a topic that relates to some aspect of professional communication.
Some examples of topics include (but are not limited to):
How to be an Effective Verbal and Nonverbal Communicator;
How to Give an Effective Presentation;
Effective Communication Within Teams;
Overcoming Communication Barriers
It is recommended that you pick a topic and then do some research to make sure you can find 5 appropriate sources. Once you are certain you can locate 5 appropriate sources, begin creating your outline.
Example of Standard Outline
As you will see in the examples below, standard outline format has the following number/letter order: roman numerals, capital letters, numbers, lower case letters, etc..
You must always have more than 1 main point, meaning there must be (at least) a roman numeral I and a roman numeral II; in other words, you can't just have a roman numeral I without having a roman numeral II. Also, if you have one sub point ("A"), you must have at least one other sub point ( "B"). The same applies to sub-sub points ("1") and sub-sub- sub points ("a"), etc.... See below for clarification.
Note: Below you will find 2 SIMPLE ELEMENTARY EXAMPLES (as far as the content). These examples are meant to help you with understanding standard outline formatting and APA formatting. Your outline should contain more "substance", as this is the "research" part of the research project : ).
EXAMPLE #1
Title of Presentation
I. First main point
A. First sub-point (in-text citation)[JLW1]
1. First sub-sub- point (in-text citation)
a. First sub-sub-sub point (in-text citation)
b. Second sub-sub-sub point (in-text citation)
c. Third sub-sub-sub point (in-text citation)
2. Second sub-sub- point (in-text citation)
3. Third sub-sub point (in-text citation)
B. Second sub-point (in-text citation)
1. First sub-sub- point (in-text citation)
2. Second sub-sub- point (in-text citation)
a. First sub-sub-sub point (in-text citation)
b. Second sub-sub-sub point (in-text citation)
II. Second main point
A. First sub-point (in-text citation)
1. First sub-sub- point (in-text citation)
a. First sub-sub-sub point (in-text citation)
b. Second sub-sub-sub point (in-text citation)
2. Second sub-sub- point (in-text citation)
3. Third sub-sub point (in-text citation)
B. Second sub-point (in-text citation)
1. First sub-sub- point (in-text citation)
a. First sub-sub-sub point (in-text citation)
b. Second sub-sub-sub point (in-text citation)
c. Third sub-sub-sub point (in-text citation)
2. Second sub-sub- point (in-text citation)
C. Third sub-point (in-text citation)
1. First sub-sub- point (in-text citation)
2. Second sub-point (in-text citation)
a. First sub-sub-sub point (in-text citation)
b. Second sub-sub-sub point (in-text citation)
III. Third main point
A. First sub-point (in-text citation)
1. First sub-sub- point (in-text citation)
2. Second sub-sub- point (in-text citation)
a. First sub-sub-sub point (in-text citation)
b. Second sub-sub-sub point (in-text citation)
3. Third sub-sub point (in-text citation)
B. Second sub-point (in-text citation)
1. First sub-sub- point (in-text citation)
a. First sub-sub-sub point (in-text citation)
b. Second sub-sub-sub point (in-text citation)
2. Second sub-sub- point (in-text citation)
a. First sub-sub-sub point (in-text citation)
b. Second sub-sub-sub point (in-text citation)
EXAMPLE #2
Description of Fruit[JLW3]
I. Red
A. Strawberries
1. They are "Juicy" (Smith, 2006, p. 3)
2. Extremely "Delicious[JLW4] " (Doe, 2010, p. 20)
B. Apples[JLW5]
1. Tart apples are my favorite (Rost, 2010)
2. "Sweet" apples are good for baking pies (Rost, 2010, p. 30)
C. Watermelon
1. "Juicy" (Smith, 2006, p. 3)
2. "Delicious" (Doe, 2010, p. 20)
3. Sweet (Rost, 2010)
D. Raspberries
1. "Juicy" (Smith, 2006, p. 3)
2. "Delicious" (Doe, 2010, p. 20)
II. Green[JLW6]
A. Grapes
1. Round (Alster, 2011)
2. Oval (Alster, 2011)
3. Seedless (Alster, 2011)
4. Seeded (Alster, 2011)
B. Kiwi
1. "Seeded" (Smart, 2005, p. 15)
2. "Juicy" (Smart, 2005, p. 15)
C. Honeydew
1. "Melon" (Smart, 2011, p. 15)
2. "Sweet" (Smart, 2011, p. 15)
III. Orange
A. Orange (Fuller, 2008)
B. Cantaloupe
1. Melon (Rost, 2010)
2. "Seeded" (Rost, 2010, p. 34)
IV. Yellow
A. Bananas
1. Yummy
2. Contain potassium
B. Pears
1. Seeded (Rost, 2010)
2. Yummy
3. Grainy
4. Never saw a yellow pear (Rost, 2010)
V. Purple
A. Grapes
1. "Seeded" (Doe, 2010, p. 20)
2. "sweet" (Doe, 2010, p. 30)
3. unseeded (Doe, 2010)
B. Plums
1. "Pitted" (Rost, 2010, p. 55)
2. Yummy
3. Purple
4. Sweet