How do I Find? Business Communications & Writing: Business Writing Resources@APUS

The complete APA style guide (a.k.a., the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition) is currently not available in an institutional version from its publisher. This means we cannot license it for student use.

You are free to purchase your own copy of the complete APA style guide directly from the American Psychological Association or from the bookseller of your choice.(Available in print or Kindle only (no Nook). Kindle eReader not required. Amazon provides free Kindle reading apps for tablet, smartphone, or computer.)

The APUS library has some help for APA style. The library content (https://www.apus.edu/apus-library/resources-services/Writing/writing-center/apa-style-guide-info.html) focuses on how to make references and in-text citations using APA.   

Additional Writing Resources

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Books

Writing Offer Letters for Employment

Business Writing Helpful Links

• Enter the term business in the search box and select AB - Abstract as the search filter
• OPTIONAL: In the 2nd line add a keyword or search term (if you have a specific topic of interest)

• Enter business in search box and change the search filter to select AB Abstract or Author-Supplied Abstract
• TIP :  Use the next line to enter keyword term, Use the Select a Field (optional) :  Subject

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What are case studies?

Case studies are stories. They present realistic, complex, and contextually rich situations and often involve a dilemma, conflict, or problem that one or more of the characters in the case must negotiate.

A good case study, according to Professor Paul Lawrence is:

“the vehicle by which a chunk of reality is brought into the classroom to be worked over by the class and the instructor. A good case keeps the class discussion grounded upon some of the stubborn facts that must be faced in real life situations.”

(quoted in Christensen, 1981)

Source:  Carnegie Mellon University, Eberly Center,  Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation

Guidelines for Writing a Case Study Analysis

A case study analysis requires you to investigate a business problem, examine the alternative solutions, and propose the most effective solution using supporting evidence. To see an annotated sample of a Case Study Analysis, click here.

Preparing the Case

Before you begin writing, follow these guidelines to help you prepare and understand the case study:

1. Read and examine the case thoroughly
   • Take notes, highlight relevant facts, underline key problems.
2. Focus your analysis
   • Identify two to five key problems
   • Why do they exist?
   • How do they impact the organization?
   • Who is responsible for them?
3. Uncover possible solutions
   • Review course readings, discussions, outside research, your experience.
4. Select the best solution
   • Consider strong supporting evidence, pros, and cons: is this solution realistic?

Drafting the Case

Once you have gathered the necessary information, a draft of your analysis should include these sections:

1. Introduction
   • Identify the key problems and issues in the case study.
   • Formulate and include a thesis statement, summarizing the outcome of your analysis in 1–2 sentences.
2. Background
   • Set the scene: background information, relevant facts, and the most important issues.
   • Demonstrate that you have researched the problems in this case study.
3. Alternatives
   • Outline possible alternatives (not necessarily all of them)
   • Explain why alternatives were rejected
   • Constraints/reasons
   • Why are alternatives not possible at this time?
4. Proposed Solution
   • Provide one specific and realistic solution
   • Explain why this solution was chosen
   • Support this solution with solid evidence
   • Concepts from class (text readings, discussions, lectures)
   • Outside research
   • Personal experience (anecdotes)
5. Recommendations
   • Determine and discuss specific strategies for accomplishing the proposed solution.
   • If applicable, recommend further action to resolve some of the issues
   • What should be done and who should do it?

Finalizing the Case

After you have composed the first draft of your case study analysis, read through it to check for any gaps or inconsistencies in content or structure: Is your thesis statement clear and direct? Have you provided solid evidence? Is any component from the analysis missing?

When you make the necessary revisions, proofread and edit your analysis before submitting the final draft. (Refer to Proofreading and Editing Strategies to guide you at this stage).

Source:  Ashford University, Writing Center. (2013).  Writing Resources | Types of College Writing |  Business Writing.  URL: https://awc.ashford.edu/tocw-guidelines-for-writing-a-case-study.html

Related Guides

More Resources for Case Studies

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When creating legal references in APA Style, most legal materials are cited using the standard legal citation style found in the Bluebook, 20th edition*. 

Legal materials include federal and state statutes, court decisions and court cases, executive orders, legislative materials, federal hearings and testimony, federal regulations, patents, constitutions and charters, treaties, and international conventions. 

More Information: For more information about citing legal materials, see Chapter 11 of the APA Manual, 7th edition.

When citing legal sources, APA Style follows the standard legal citation style used across all disciplines. APA provides examples of legal references; however, they advise to consult The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, 20th edition. Additionally, the APA Manual suggests seeking assistance from law school websites or law libraries. They specifically mention the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School to locate free guidance with legal citations. 

For more information about legal references, see Chapter 11 on pages 355-368 in the APA Manual, 7th edition.

Additionally, when creating legal references, see:  Bluebook Style available in the APUS library.

 Source:  Citation Help for APA, 7th Edition: Legal Materials, The College of St. Scholastica Library 

The APA, MLA, Chicago, and Turabian guides all defer to The Bluebook as the final authority for legal citation. The  Bluebook deals with citation and not the actual overall paper format.

Should I use Bluepages or Whitepages style?

As a general rule, non-Legal Studies students can use Bluepages style. Bluepages uses simplified typefaces that are easier to format in forum posts and course assignments, and Bluepages is used by most legal practitioners in their daily work.

It is acceptable to modify Bluepages citations so that they fit within the overall format specified by your main style guide. For example, citations can be placed in footnotes, as required by Notes-Bibliography Chicago style, rather than in citation sentences as Bluepages generally specifies.

Look for the Bluepages models and examples in the citations below.

Other Bluebook notes

• The Bluebook uses particular standard abbreviations for specific courts, government entities, publications, and geographical locations. These are listed in the Tables (T.1-T.16) in The Bluebook, at the bottom of the Table of Contents.
• Bluebook style offers very little guidance on document and reference style format—its emphasis is locating sources through the citations themselves. Consult your program’s style guide for specific information on in-text citations or notes and on the reference list/works cited.

APA Style

Appendix 7.1 of the APA Style Guide states, “References to legal materials ... are more useful to the reader if they provide the information in the conventional format of legal citations." (p. 216) APA recommends consulting The Bluebook for the most detailed information on preparing legal references.

• When citing a legal case, include the title (in italics) and year of the case in the in-text citation (example: Loewen v. Turnipseed, 1980). Include the full title and citation in the reference list entry.
• For Congressional hearings and documents, the in-text citation should include the title in regular font, abbreviated if necessary, and year (example: Nomination of Portman, 2006). Include the full title and citation in the reference list entry.
• For administrative materials, the in-text citation should include the title in regular font (i.e., not in italics) and the year (example: Raising of Bees, 2017). Include the full title and citation in the reference list entry.

See also the APA Style Blog series that begins with this post: Introduction to APA Style Legal References.

Helpful Links |  The Executive Summary

See Also:  Business Planning 

Information you will need about a company when doing a marketing plan:

 Helpful Website Links

Books

See Also :  Related Resources

What is a business proposal?

The three Ps of business proposals: Problem statement, proposed solution, and pricing. Address the three Ps, or “problem statement, proposed solution, and pricing.” The three Ps are the basic ideas that your business proposal should be addressing. As you're writing your proposal, keep these elements in mind.

From: What's the Best Business Proposal Format? | Bplans  https://articles.bplans.com/whats-the-best-business-proposal-format/

Books

    Search term suggestions : 

• proposal writing in business
• "proposal writing"

Helpful Links

Helpful Tips for evaluating the reputation and legitimacy of a journal:  

1. Consult with a librarian.  The librarians can help you determine the legitimacy of a journal/publisher.
2. Visit the journal's web site.  Examine closely the publisher web site.  Does it look like it was created by a shoddy web design team?  Does it contain grammar mistakes?  Does it provide responsive contact information?
3. Reach out to journal's editorial board members.  Send emails to members of the editorial board asking about their experience with the journal.  Predatory journals may list editorial board members who don't know their names are associated with the journal or who have been tricked into joining the board and then can't get their names removed.
4. Aim and goals of journal. Read the scope of the journal.  If it is too broad or if it sounds too good to be true, look again and question.
5. Read their peer review policy.  What promises are made in the peer review policy?  Is the peer review process unbelievably quick (such as three weeks)? Is the peer review process blinded?
6. Check to see what "author fees" are being requested.  When are they due?  Predatory publishers may be unclear on author fees.   A red flag is when the journal doesn't list a fee schedule on its website or states it will notify authors of the fee after their manuscript is accepted for publication. Journals that command excessive fees compared to other open access journals raise conflict of interest concerns. 
7. Research industry associations.  Check the Directory of Open Access Journals and the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association to see if the publishers are members.

What other factors indicate open access journal quality?

• Outlined guidelines from Grand Valley State University help authors understand legitimate journals.  These guidelines are valid in helping to understand the legitimacy of predatory journals versus legitimate ones.

• Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) provides a directory of quality peer-reviewed open access journals.

• Article in the Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication: Addressing Faculty Publishing Concerns with Open Access Journal Quality Indicators.

• JournalGuide.com is also a good resource for learning more about individual journals.  In addition to listing information about publication speed, fees, and SNIP (Source Normalized Impact per paper) it notes whether the journal has been verified as legitimate.  Verified journals have been confirmed as included in at least one high-value index or vetted by more than one subject specialized index.
• To assess a journal or publisher’s credentials, use the Think, Check, Submit checklist, a cross-industry initiative to help researchers identify trusted journals for their research. 

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