In the previous post I demonstrated how to fully integrate a reference into the text of your blog post.
I'm guessing that most of you will want to be more explicit than this though, just to make sure that we assignment markers don't miss any of your work!
Of course one solution is to write your blog post just like a mini-paper and include a standard APA-style reference list at the end. This is a good strategy for clearly showing your full reference list, but you should feel free to experiment with other placements.
You see, it's all a question of genre. This year, I learned the term "public writing" from a paper co-written by my colleague, Ji-Yong Park:
Park and Son conclude that public writing on social networking sites best supports reflective learning when high levels of connection with others are promoted, as well as expression of individual ideas. This means that effective communication and interaction methods are essential for a blog writer - this includes making sure that your references are clear, but also trying to keep a good 'flow' in your writing.
When references or other features are 'clunky' or difficult to read, it makes it difficult for an audience to interact with your work. When in doubt, ask yourself "would I enjoy reading this post?", and ALWAYS preview/view the final product so you can see what the formatting looks like in the published version.
So, how do you think I did in this post?
Would you use this method of including the reference in the body of the post?
Or would you rather see all references left to the end of a post, as you would see in an essay or other paper?
I'm guessing that most of you will want to be more explicit than this though, just to make sure that we assignment markers don't miss any of your work!
Of course one solution is to write your blog post just like a mini-paper and include a standard APA-style reference list at the end. This is a good strategy for clearly showing your full reference list, but you should feel free to experiment with other placements.
You see, it's all a question of genre. This year, I learned the term "public writing" from a paper co-written by my colleague, Ji-Yong Park:
Park, J. & Son, J. (2011). Expression and Connection: The Integration of the Reflective Learning Process and the Public Writing Process into Social Network Sites. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching 7:1 pp.170-178 Retrieved October 21, 2011 from http://jolt.merlot.org/vol7no1/park_0311.pdf
Park and Son conclude that public writing on social networking sites best supports reflective learning when high levels of connection with others are promoted, as well as expression of individual ideas. This means that effective communication and interaction methods are essential for a blog writer - this includes making sure that your references are clear, but also trying to keep a good 'flow' in your writing.
When references or other features are 'clunky' or difficult to read, it makes it difficult for an audience to interact with your work. When in doubt, ask yourself "would I enjoy reading this post?", and ALWAYS preview/view the final product so you can see what the formatting looks like in the published version.
So, how do you think I did in this post?
Would you use this method of including the reference in the body of the post?
Or would you rather see all references left to the end of a post, as you would see in an essay or other paper?
This is in theory a good idea - It does make sense to be more open in linking to sources in a blog post. However, we are submitting an assessment piece to a criteria sheet that says "Adhere to the APA style recommended by the Faculty"...?
ReplyDeleteYes, you are right. Do you think this is something we should revise for the assignment next year? Or, do you think it is important to maintain the APA style, in all written assignment forms? hmmm...food for thought!
ReplyDelete