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Purdue OWL News for May 11, 2004
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The Purdue OWL Staff
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May 11, 2004 12:11 PDT
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The Purdue OWL News
May 11, 2004
Welcome to the Purdue OWL News!
The Purdue OWL News is an online newsletter about happenings in the
Purdue University Writing Lab and the Purdue University Online Writing
Lab (OWL). You can visit our website at
<http://owl.english.purdue.edu>. To subscribe to the newsletter, visit
<http://www.topica.com/lists/purdueowlnews/subscribe/>. To unsubscribe
from the newsletter, click on the link at the bottom of this email.
Writing Question of the Week
I have a question about the use of the word "alleged." My understanding
is that this word is used primarily in legal situations, and appears
sometimes where "presumed" would be appropriate, especially in
journalism. E.g., "The alleged owner of the house could not be reached
for comment."
Answer
Bryan Garner says that "to allege is to formally state a matter of fact
as being true or provable, without yet having proved it." While this
seems particularly fitting for courtroom matters, "allege" can be used
in any situation that has a sense of accusation. As to your sample
quotation, without having seen the full context of the article, it's
difficult to say whether "alleged" is the appropriate adjective; if the
owner is suspected of being a slum lord, then yes, "alleged" is
appropriate.
"Presumed" or "assumed" would likely be used in situations where a given
"fact" is generally accepted (with "presumed" indicating perhaps
careless rush to judgement) but not yet proven ("It is assumed that the
17-year cicadas will emerge after a spell of warm weather").
The OWL Help Nest
Each week we'll publish a request for advice or information. If you wish
to contribute a response to the topic, please write to us at
owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu. Please let us know if you want us to
include your name and/or your email address when we publish your
response. The following week, we'll publish the best information and
advice that we receive in the newsletter. If you have a question for our
readers, please send it to us at owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu.
This Week's Question
Could someone, please, direct me to a source which gives examples of how
to cite material inside a business letter? I have spent hours looking
and have contacted research librarians. I can readily find information
about writing business letters, and many online sources have links to
MLA, APA, etc.; however, I have been unable to find a business letter
actually incorporating the citation. Any help that you can give will
be much appreciated.
Answer:
There is no universal standard for citation in business letters.
However, many businesses will have a preferred citation style for use by
their employees. However, since business letters are not as formal as
research reports, you can probably get away with mentioning the source
in your running text, e.g., "According to a July 2002 study conducted by
the Widget Corporation," or "In a New York Times article from January
17, 1998...".
Next Week's Question
Why is Harvard Business Reference System so often ignored or omitted
when references systems are mentioned? Books, web sites and periodicals
often mention MLA or APA or CBE. Is the Harvard system such a close
relation to one of the others that it does not need specific mention? Is
the Harvard System the most commonly used system for references to
management and business issues in the USA?
What's Happening on OWL
OWL Eye on...What Are Your OWL Dreams?
This summer marks the beginning of work to transform Purdue's OWL from a
massive collection of HTML pages into a streamlined database that will
deliver content dynamically to the Web. As we make plans for this
transition, we'd like to hear from you as to what you'd like to see on
Purdue OWL in the future. Please email Karl Stolley, OWL
Coordinator/soon-to-be OWL Webmaster at ka-@owl.english.purdue.edu with
your wildest dreams and suggestions.
What's Happening in the Writing Lab
OWL Eye on...Maymester Schedule
The Writing Lab will continue to offer services for students and
teachers in Maymester courses. One-on-one tutorials, in-lab and in-class
workshops, lab tours, conversation groups, and Writing Lab resources
will all be available from May 17 through June 11.
Maymester 2004 Writing Lab Hours:
Tutoring Hours: M-Th 9-4; F 9-1
ESL Conversation Groups: M & Tu 3-4; W & Th 11-12.
OWL Eye on....Maymester In-Lab Workshops
Thurs. May 20: Sentence Clarity and Combining
Tues. May 25: Writing for an American Academic Audience
Thurs. May 27: Research and the Internet
Tues. June 1: Literary Analysis
Thurs. June 3: APA Style
Tues. June 8: MLA Style
Thurs June 10: Proofreading in ESL
Final Thoughts
Thanks for reading our newsletter. You can email us at any time at
owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu. You can also email the OWL coordinator,
Karl Stolley, at coordi-@owl.english.purdue.edu and the webmaster,
Erin Karper, at webma-@owl.english.purdue.edu. (Erin and Karl take
turns writing the newsletter.)
If you received this newsletter as a forward and would like to get your
own subscription, visit
http://www.topica.com/lists/purdueowlnews/subscribe/ to subscribe.
This newsletter is copyright (C) 2004 the Purdue University Writing Lab
and Purdue University. Purdue's OWL is located at
http://owl.english.purdue.edu.
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