Friday, November 25, 2011

Quotations and sources

Commission English Style Guide
In Section 9 (entitled "Footnotes, citations and references") of the English Style Guide published by the Directorate-General for Translation you can find the information and relevant links on providing sources in your documents.  Sections 14, 15 and 17 of the Guide can also be useful if you need to refer to an official EU document as your source.  Subsection 2.3 provides you with information on the use of quotation marks when you provide quotations.

Interinstitutional Style Guide
You can also refer to the relevant sections and subsections of the Interinstitutional Style Guide,  especially 5.5.4 entitled "Bibliographies" and 8 entitled "Footnotes and their references". Subsection 5.10 entitled "Quotations" provides you with the official house rules for quotations, especially in reference to the use of quotation marks and ellipses.

MLA style list of works cited
Here you can find a short overview for how to provide different types of sources in your list of works cited in the MLA style from the Seventh Edition of MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. At the bottom of the page there is a link for some of the other styles.
Here you can find a more in-dept coverage of the same issue from the Sixth Edition of MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.  You will have to download the document to see its content, since it is a sizable file.
Please pay attention to the fact that the references to digital sources are different in the Sixth and Seventh Editions of MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. I recommend using the Seventh Edition in this regard.

Alternative citation styles

1) In-text citation
Here you can find information on citing sources in the text as it is presented in the Sixth Edition of MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.

2) Footnote and endnote citation
Here you can find information on citing sources in footnotes or endnotes as it is presented in the Sixth Edition of MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.

3) Author-date citation and references
Here you can find information on the author-date system, which is mostly used in the APA style, as it is presented in the Sixth Edition of MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.

4) Numbered citations and works cited
Here you can find information on the number system, which is used in positive sciences,  as it is presented in the Sixth Edition of MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.

5) Other styles
Here is a list of other styles that can be used as it provided in the Sixth Edition of MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.

REMEMBER TO BE CONSISTENT BY USING ONLY THE STYLE YOU CHOOSE!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Minutes

Here is a document on writing minutes.
Here you can find an example for minutes.  Source: Market Leader Upper Intermediate Business English Course Book by David Cotton, et al. 

Friday, November 11, 2011

Gender Neuturality

"English Style Guide" released by the Commission is hereby available.  On pages 48 - 49 you can find the section on gender neutrality. 

Subject-Verb Agreement

You can find a document on subject-verb agreement with exercises here.  The key for the exercises is available here.

A longer document entitled "Grammar and Punctuation for Business Communication"  is hereby available.  Please refer to pages 11 - 14 for subject-verb agreement. 

Linking words

The first and second parts of the documents on linking words are hereby available.  You can also find the key for the exercises here.  As you do the exercises, please remember the following three types of linking words we have identified:
  • Linking words that connect two parts of the same sentence as in the following example: We only have one week off for Easter, so we will be staying in Brussels.
  • Linking words that connect two separate sentences as in the following four examples, which are different ways of saying the same thing:
  1. We only have one week off for Easter.  Therefore, we will be staying in Brussels.
  2. We only have one week off for Easter; therefore, we will be staying in Brussels.
  3. We only have one week off for Easter.  We will, therefore, be staying in Brussels.
  4. We only have one week off for Easter; we will, therefore, be staying in Brussels.
  • Linking words that are covered under both the first and second types as in the four following examples:
  1. Besides giving his friend a lift after work, he helped her with her grocery shopping.
  2. He helped his friend with her grocery shopping, besides giving her a lift after work.
  3. I am afraid I am not allowed to help you with that question.  Besides, I do not know the answer myself.
  4. I am afraid I am not allowed to help you with that question; besides, I do not know the answer myself.
Note that the meaning of the word 'besides'  in the first two examples is different from its meaning in the last two examples.

In all these examples, please pay special attention to the punctuation.