Using tools like Zotero, JSTOR, Google Scholar, and the online library will help you become a better writer and an overall better academic.

I’m also trying to teach you that “skim reading” is a valuable trait that you need to acquire during your college tenure. Many professors don’t convey this concept to you! If you have a moment, feel free to glance at this University of Minnesota link here and especially click on “Previewing, Skimming, and Speed Reading.” You don’t need to read every single syllable of the texts but you simply need to have a grasp of the main points.

My final tips:

  • Follow Purdue’s APA OWL site’s instructions including the sample APA paper [link here]
  • Skim the text for the main points and build your own writing on an outline of main points
  • When reviewing a book, the format of the sample APA book review [link here - focus on where you see "Writing Tips" which I'll post below]
  • When reviewing an article, follow this [link here] from University of Florida Warrington College of Business Administration

Writing Tips (source: APA):

  • “Do not write chapter-by-chapter summaries, which are tedious to read and of limited value. Select chapters to discuss in depth to highlight strengths and weaknesses of the book. Reviews must go beyond the confines of the book, placing the book into the broader context of the field.
  • Mention who would find the book of interest.
  • Short paragraphs and sentences are more reader friendly.”

Final note: If you are catching on, I allow for a great deal of flexibility when it comes to the material that you choose to review. I want you to be continually thinking about your final project at all times so it would be to your greatest benefit to develop some material here in this assignment that you can simply “plug and play” into your final project. I cannot stress that enough. Start to begin writing your final project now! This assignment is only meant for you to obtain material that will be useful to insert into your final project. It isn’t a meaningless random assignment. Although I am sometimes random, I am never meaningless…