Issue For April 26, 2007
Special Announcement
We invite all of our OWL users to take our online usability survey: . Please give us feedback to make the OWL even better! http://owl.english.purdue.edu/survey/
Writing Question of the Week
This is usually a question submitted by an OWL user to the OWL Tutors. If you have a question you need answered quickly, ask one of our OWL Tutors or call the Writing Lab's Grammar Hotline at 765-494-3723. And remember, both services are free for everyone!
Purdue OWL Tutors,
I am a teacher writing a paper for a curriculum class. In the paper I am citing comments written by a school principal on a teacher evaluation form. How exactly do I cite this in my paper and on the reference list APA style? Or do I even have to put it on my reference list?
Thanks, Heather
Dear Heather,
Only publicly accessible sources are included in the reference list. Personal communication such as personal correspondence, personal interviews, etc. are cited in text only. I am guessing that the principal's comments on the evaluation form should be treated as personal communication too and cited only in text. Provide the initials and last name of the communicator and as exact a communication date as possible in your parenthetical citation. For example:
Thanks, OWL
The OWL Help Nest
Each week we publish Purdue OWL News readers' requests for advice or information and the responses from other Purdue OWL News readers.
"That or Who"?
Which one should be used in the following construction:
Thank you,
--Antonio Hernandez, New Orleans
I always tell my students to use the second construction in formal writing: "The students who are going on the field trip." "Who" is used to refer to persons/people. "That" is used to refer to persons/things in general. But, in this case, we are particularly referring to students (persons), hence, it is more correct to use "who" than "that."
--Myla
I'm confused about the words "irony" and "ironic". Can someone please explain? --Milton Brown, USA
"Irony" is the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. It can also mean a situation in which the result of an action is the opposite of what the actor intended. We describe as "ironic" a statement or situation in which irony occurs.
--Jo Warfield
Simple. Irony is a noun whereas ironic is adjective.
--Takhlique, Pakistan
Is it technically correct to start a sentence with a gerund? Here is an example, "Flashing a huge smile, Paul handed his wife a bouquet of roses". --Arvind S Iyengar, Chennai (formerly Madras), India
It is correct to start a sentence with a gerund. A gerund a can be in the subjective or objective case, therefore behaving like any other noun. See below:
However, in your own example, 'flashing' is not a gerund but the present participle form of the verb 'flash'.
--Henry, Nigeria, Whitesands School, Lekki.
Next Week's Questions
What's Your Question?
If you have a question you'd like to ask our readers, please send it via our simple Web form.
What's Happening on the OWL at Purdue
- OWL Eye On...Remote Testing Survey. The Purdue OWL has been doing extensive usability testing on our new site. We invite our users from around the world to take our remote usability survey: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/survey/
- OWL Eye On...Writing Research Papers. Our writing research papers handouts have been extensively revised and appear on the new OWL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/658/01/.
- OWL Eye On...Resume Design. We have transferred our handout on resume design: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/631/01/
What's Happening in the Writing Lab
- OWL Eye On...End of Semester Schedule. The last day of tutoring for the Spring Semester will be on April 27th, 2007. We suggest that you call in early and make an appointment--our last few weeks fill up quickly!.
This week's OWL News was edited by Dana Lynn Driscoll, OWL Coordinator.
