1. Familiarize yourself with the communications rubric (viewable in your “Assignments” folder) and the revised sample paper (attached to this announcement) which illustrates how to use APA style.2. Read the background materials and instructions for Project 5. (Click on the blue hyperlinks within the Project 5 directions to access these materials.) You will be critically analyzing the “Trouble in the Truss Construction Shop” case.3. Write your “Critical Thinking in Action” paper (which should have at least three full pages in the body of the paper – and no more than five pages – in addition to having a title page and reference list). Be sure to use helpful headings throughout the paper. Everything should be done in accordance with APA style. However, you are not required to write an abstract – although if you do include one, it could be an example of having gone “above and beyond” on the assignment (assuming you follow the APA style guidelines). Remember that an abstract is not a substitute for an introduction, and it will not count toward having a minimum of three full pages.Here are the sections you should have in your paper:Introduction – Please use the title of your paper as your first heading (rather than use “Introduction”) for this section. You should make general comments about the topic rather than launch into the specifics of the case. And please do not use “Critical Thinking” as the name of your paper; instead, please have a more meaningful title that helps your reader anticipate the content of your paper. Please do notassume the reader is familiar with the case or your assignment.Explanation – You should provide an overview of the case – in your own words.Analysis – What are the issues of concern?Alternative viewpoints – How were the various parties impacted, and how do they view this case?Conclusions and recommendations – Tell me what you think about the situation.There are quite a few references provided within the directions for Project 5. (Be sure to click on the various blue hyperlinks and always scroll down to the bottom of the page to see these references.) So at a minimum, each student should cite several of the concepts related to moral/ethical decision making (using in-text citations and a reference list according to APA style).In other words, your paper must cite several of these concepts from your readings in order to meet expectations. However, you are not required to find additional sources other than what was provided in the blue hyperlinks. But if you did, that would be evidence of having gone “above and beyond.” Remember that anything cited in the paper must be on your reference list, and everything on the reference list must be cited in the paper.I’m attaching “The Five Habits of the Master Thinker” which could provide a good framework for your paper.And here is another link to an especially helpful resource that I want to be sure you noticed in your readings:Radford University Core Handbook: “CORE 202- Ethical Reasoning and Analysis”4. You are welcome to submit your paper to the UMUC Effective Writing Center for review.5. When you are satisfied with your paper (which should have a .doc or .docx extension), please submit it in LEO by Tues., May 21.Here is a website that you can use to learn APA style:https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/If you do not consult the sample paper (attached) and do not follow APA style, you will not pass this assignment. (You would be eligible to revise your work, but you would not be able to earn an “exceeds expectations” on a revision.) So please spend enough time on this assignment to do your best.Be sure your paper is well proofread. As a general rule, you should spend at least as much time editing and proofreading a paper as you did in writing it.
revised_sample_paper____spring_2019.doc
trouble_in_thetrussconstruction_shop.pdf
thefivehabitsofthemasterthinker.pdf
Unformatted Attachment Preview
SHORTENED TITLE IN ALL CAPS (RUNNING HEAD)
Full Title of Your Paper in Mixed Case (centered)
Your Name
University of Maryland University College (no comma in the name!)
PRO 600, Section 9049
Date of Submission (not necessarily the due date)
Faculty Member Name (include “PhD” if applicable)
1
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2
Abstract
An abstract (known as an “executive summary” in the business world) is a synopsis of the
contents of your paper. It should begin with your thesis or a one-sentence statement of the
findings. It is not substitute for having an introduction to the paper. An abstract is used to
help readers get the “gist” of what you are saying and determine whether they need to read the
entire report. Thus it the most important part of the paper. An abstract should be double
spaced and fit on one page (150 to 250 words) and should briefly cover every section of the
paper (including your conclusions). It should be written as one paragraph (with no indentation
on the first line). The problem/purpose/thesis should be presented in the first sentence. An
abstract or executive summary should be able to stand on its own as a separate document. I
recommend that you write your entire paper before you write the abstract. Note that everything
contained in the abstract MUST also be in the body of the paper – thus you do not need to
have any citations in the abstract (as the citations will occur in when the material is presented in
the body of the paper). Once you have written your abstract, select the text and go to “Review”
and then “Word count” to make sure your abstract isn’t too short or too long. This abstract
contains 236 words.
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3
(Repeated) Full Title of Your Paper (in “title case,” centered)
You should begin with an introduction which is not the same as an abstract. (So even if you
have an abstract you still must have an introduction; otherwise, you are assuming that your
reader is familiar with your topic and assignment and you should not make these assumptions.)
APA style implies that the function of the introduction is obvious because of its content and
position in the paper. Thus you should not label it as an “Introduction”; just use the title of
the paper (verbatim) as the heading for this section. The introduction should present the
problem/issue, etc. addressed in the paper. It should state why the topic is important and describe
the methods that were used to collect and analyze the information presented. The introduction
serves as an advance organizer for the reader.
Spacing
The introduction (as well as the rest of the body of the paper) is typed double-spaced (like
this document is). The first line is indented five to seven spaces or ½ inch. Please use 12-point
Times New Roman (in black) for papers with standard margins (one inch on the left, right, top
and bottom). Please do not use any other typeface because it will be distracting to your reader.
And do not justify the right margin.
I definitely want you to use headings to organize your work. Today’s managers need to
“scan” for key ideas. They don’t have time to spend reading an entire document, unless it is well
organized and relevant. Your writing is more likely to be viewed as well organized and relevant
if you use headings. I’m using headings in this example so you can see for yourself how useful
they are. First order headings are typed in mixed case, centered and put into boldface type. There
should not be an extra space before or after the heading. (If you need second order headings
[subheadings], they would be flush left, mixed case and boldface. If you are considering
subheadings, you would need to have a minimum of two subheadings.) Note that a heading and
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4
a header are not the same; the headings in this paper include the repeated title (as the heading
for your introduction), “Spacing,” “Citing Your Sources,” “Direct Quotes,” “Other Helpful
Hints” and “Conclusions.” Again, you should not use “Introduction” as your first heading
because it should be implied by the content and placement of this section (which should
thoroughly introduce your topic to someone who is unfamiliar with your assignment). And,
again, please repeat the title of your paper (verbatim) at the top of the first page of the body of
your paper as your first heading.
As for your running heads, they should appear at the top of each page. They should be a
shortened version of your title and should be written in ALL CAPS. However, nothing else in the
paper should be written in ALL CAPS because it is difficult to read.
Citing your sources
In-text citations are used for direct quotes and paraphrased information in the body of
the text. An in-text citation should be in parenthesis and include the last name of the author
followed by a comma and date of publication (Smith, 2019). When there are two authors, an
ampersand (&) is used (Jones & Smith, 2019). When there are more than two authors, list all of
the names separated by commas with an ampersand before the last name (Miller, Washington &
Huggins-Kulig, 2019). When an article with multiple authors is cited for the second time, the
first author’s name is used followed by et al. (Miller et al., 2019).
Direct quotes
Direct quotes must also have a page number citation associated with them. They are
formatted like this (p. X). Depending upon the placement of the in-text reference, the page
number can be placed in the same parentheses as the author and year (Peters, 2019, p. 36) or in a
separate parentheses (p. 36). Short direct quotes should appear in the body of the narrative with
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5
quotation marks. Longer quotes (40 or more words) should be typed in an indented block
without quotation marks. Thus if a long quote isn’t formatted properly, it will appear to be
plagiarism, so take extra care with long quotes. Let’s pretend that I’m quoting Smith (2015)
who said:
This is an example of a long quote. This is how it should be formatted using AP style. Note
that quotation marks are not used. Use the “word count” feature in Word to make sure you
have at least 40 word in the quote (or else you should use quotation marks and just put the
quote in the sentence without any special formatting). Note that a page number should be
included at the end of the quote. Also, there was a sentence which introduced the quote; it
didn’t just suddenly appear (p. X).
If an author’s name is not available, use the title of the document in a signal phrase or give
the first word or two of the title in parentheses. If no page number is available, the citation
should include any information that will help the reader find the quotation. For example, if the
electronic document contains numbered paragraphs use “para. X.” If the document contains
headings, cite the heading and paragraph number within the heading. The rules are flexible here
due to necessity as web pages use a wide variety of formats. If a date is not available, use “n.d.”
(no date).
Other helpful hints
Please devise a meaningful title for your paper that reflects your unique thesis statement.
For example, having a paper titled “Research Paper” or “Critical Thinking” is not especially
helpful to your reader. What did you research? And, more importantly, what did you find? So
while a title of “The Glass Ceiling” is better than “My Report,” it is not as effective as calling it
“Using Mentors to Overcome the Glass Ceiling in Management.” Although you may have a
SHORTENED TITLE IN ALL CAPS (RUNNING HEAD)
6
research question, this does not mean that your title for your paper must be phrased as a question.
(In fact, it is better to write the title as a statement – because after your research, you should
know the answer to your original research question.)
If you refer to the title of a book or publication in your narrative, it should appear in italics.
If you refer to the title of a journal article, it should appear in quotation marks.
In general, research papers should be written in past tense since they typically report on
research/conceptual frameworks that were written in the past. Phrases like “Piaget says…” are
not appropriate. Instead you would say, “Piaget said …” or “Piaget found …”
APA discourages use of first person (e.g., I, me, my). However, first person is appropriate
when the writer is describing his/her own experience or stating his/her own opinion (which
should ONLY take place in your well-marked conclusions section). Generally, phrases like “This
paper discusses…” are preferable to “I will discuss…” Again, the use of first person would be
acceptable in the conclusions section, but using personal experiences within the body of the
paper must be avoided. Otherwise, you will have written a personal essay rather than an
objective research paper. And the use of second person (“you,” “yours”) is never acceptable
– except if it is in a direct quote.
The tone of your paper should be objective. The purpose is to provide an objective and
balanced presentation. The purpose is not to persuade and not a call to action – except perhaps in
the conclusions section. Your paper should provide pros and cons and multiple points of view.
You should seek empirical evidence to support your thesis and not rely solely on “armchair
theorists.” Again, it is fine for you to state your opinions in a well-marked conclusions section –
but only in this section after you have stated a variety of viewpoints in the body of the paper. The
theory is that the reader will appreciate your personal opinions only after you have shown that
SHORTENED TITLE IN ALL CAPS (RUNNING HEAD)
7
you have thorough researched the topic and given it careful consideration; by doing this, you
establish yourself as an expert, and by the conclusions sections (with the heading
“Conclusions”), you are now qualified to have – and share – a meaningful opinion.
If there is a grammatical error in the original text, please use brackets to either correct the
mistake or use [sic] to let your reader know that you did not make the mistake. For example, if
the original text has a typo, you can use brackets to correct it: “Be [the] change that you wish to
see in the world.” Here is an example of a mistake that you can leave “as is” by using [sic]: “I
ain’t ’fraida no ghost [sic].” (To correct the mistakes – “I’m not afraid of a ghost” – would take
away from the spirit of the statement, but at the same time, you want to be sure that your readers
know that you realize the original statement isn’t grammatically correct.)
Use of bold and italics are also discouraged in APA except in the instances identified
above. They are not typically used within the narrative for emphasis. (This document is an
exception.)
APA classifies visuals as tables and figures. This includes graphs, charts, drawings, and
photographs. Tables should be labeled as table 1, table 2, etc. The title of the table should be
typed on a separate line in title case below the table number. The title should be in italics. Both
table number and title should be typed at the left margin. The source for the table should appear
in a note (with the word note in italics) below the table.
Footnotes are discouraged in APA. Generally, you should try to integrate the information
into your narrative. If the information is lengthy, it is better to place it in an appendix (which
should be placed after the reference list). And you should be using in-text citations and a
reference list to help curious readers go to your original sources for more details.
SHORTENED TITLE IN ALL CAPS (RUNNING HEAD)
8
Conclusions
The body of your paper should end with conclusions. You may have objective conclusions,
or you may share your thoughts, experiences and opinions here (and nowhere else in the paper).
The former may be preferred by some professors, but many professors (including Prof. Malone)
prefer the latter.
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9
Reference list (centered on a new page)
References are typed double-spaced with a hanging indent (first line at left margin and
second subsequent lines indented). Note that there should not be an extra line of space between
items, and the items should be double spaced. References are listed in alphabetical order by the
last name of the first author for each item. If there is no author, alphabetize the entry by its title.
Examples of references:
Book
Author’s last name, initials. (Year). Title with first letter of first word in caps and
rest in lower case letters. City: Publisher Name.
Article from an electronic database (including most of the references you will find in the
UMUC online library)
Author’s last name, initials. (Year, month and day if appropriate). Title with first
letter of first word in caps and rest in lower case letters. Name of Journal,
(Volume number [issue number if appropriate], pages expressed as
beginning page – ending page with no abbreviations for page. Retrieved
month, day, year, from name of database (document number locator or
URL). Remember: APA style does not use the words ”volume,” “issue,” or “page”
in the reference; only the numerals are included.
Article from a website
Author’s last name, initials. (Year or n.d.), Title of website or document found on
Website with first letter of first word in caps and rest in lower case letters).
SHORTENED TITLE IN ALL CAPS (RUNNING HEAD)
10
Retrieved month, day, year from URL).
Article in a print journal, newspaper or other print source
Author’s last name, initials. (Year, month and day if appropriate). Title with first
letter of first word in caps and rest in lower case letters. Name of Journal
in title case. Volume number (issue number if appropriate), pages
expressed as beginning page – ending page with no abbreviations for
page. Remember: APA style does not use the words “volume,” “issue,” or “page”
in the reference; only the numerals are included.
You should capitalize the first letter of each item and all proper nouns (e.g., Maryland, Spain,
etc.) as well as the first letter after a colon (e.g., Name of the article: The rest of the name of the
article).
A sample reference list is provided on the next page.
SHORTENED TITLE IN ALL CAPS (RUNNING HEAD)
11
Reference list
American Heart Association. (2009). Learn your levels. Retrieved from
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=513
Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal
publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Welliver, M., & Campbell, R. (2007). Treating diabetes with diet: A new approach. Journal of
Diabetes, 22(2), 185-201.
Wooldridge, M. B., & Shapka, J. (2012). Playing with technology: Mother-toddler interaction
scores lower during play with electronic toys. Journal of Applied Developmental
Psychology, 33(5), 211-218. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2012.05.005
Trouble in the Truss Construction Shop
Two weeks ago, during a QA truss load test, the truss being tested fragmented along a horizontal axis,
causing a large piece of the truss to break part and fall on a hoist operator supporting the test. The hoist
operator sustained head injuries and remains in an induced coma in a local hospital. This accident sent
shock waves through the Truss Construction Department because the company has heavily invested in a
new engineering and manufacturing process to produce a cost-effective truss that has been touted to be
on the “cutting edge” of construction technology, especially for low cost housing in overseas markets.
A report by the Safety Officer, QA manager, and engineer verified that the test being conducted pushed
the load testing slightly beyond the high threshold of acceptable load-bearing, though the extra load was
not expected to cause the truss to fail. In fact, the trusses were advertised to meet “commercial-high”
load requirements.
Employees in the engineering shop have been asking if the manufacturing or engineering process is
flawed and if the trusses being produced could fail under load.
Company memos have focused on production and more testing at lower thresholds, and members of
management are encouraging employees to continue the current production schedule to meet orders for
the trusses.
The Sales department is highly concerned that if there is any delay in shipping, customers will pull their
orders, which would have a disastrous result on revenues.
Faruch Habib, a production line worker, leaked the details of the accident and test thresholds to the
press. Two weeks later, he was terminated for documented poor performance, according to managers.
The company Public Relations department has issued a general statement that the company has taken all
action to ensure that this type of workplace accident would not be repeated.
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the USF Libraries at Scholar Commons. It has
been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Strategic Security by an authorized administrator of Scholar
Commons. For more information, please contact scholarcommons@usf.edu.
Journal of Strategic Security
Volume 6
Number 3 Fall 2013
Article 5
The Five Habits of the Master Thinker
Randolph H. Pherson
Pherson Associates, LLC, rpherson@pherson.org
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/jss
pp. 54-60
Recommended Citation
Pherson, Randolph H.. “The Five Habits of the Master Thinker.” Journal of Strategic Security 6, no. 3 (2013): 54-60.
Available at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/jss/vol6/iss3/5
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the USF Libraries at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in
Journal of Strategic Security by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact
scholarcommons@usf.edu.
The Five Habits of the Master Thinker
Abstract
Often analysts will observe that they do not have enough time to use Structured Analytic Techniques.
When presented with this challenge by analysts in the UK Cabinet Office, the author came up with
the following response: Develop these five habits when you have time so that when time is short you
have developed a capacity to use them instinctively. This article describes the Five Habits of the
Master Thinker in detail, reviews how they were selected, and explores how they can most easily be
inculcated into how an analyst processes information.
This article is available in Journal of Strategic Security: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/jss/vol6/iss3/5
Pherson: The Five Habits
Introduction
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the erroneous 2002 National Intelligence
Estimate on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction revealed a fundamental need within the United
States Intelligence Community (IC) to reassess how it went about doing analysis.1 The sharpest
criticism came from the Congressional Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction that
documented a failure to challenge analytic mindsets, examine key assumptions, consider
alternative hypotheses, and detect deceptive reporting. Such criticisms were not new to the IC.
•
•
•
In the 1980s, Jack Davis began writing about the need for “alternative analysis” which he
described as the evaluation of alternative explanations or hypotheses, better
understanding of other cultures, and analyzing events from the perspective of the
adversary.
In the 1990s, CIA began teaching the Alternative Analysis Workshop to introduce
analysts to a handful of techniques designed to instill more rigor in their analysis.
In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the focus on alternative analysis was broadened to
encompass a new approach to ana …
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