Academic Writing Guidelines

and
APA Style













1
CONTENTS

The eight sets of guidelines comprising this document have each been developed to help students
in the preparation and typing of their papers. They encapsulate the key features of good academic
writing style and APA that characterize the standards of graduate level papers.


Tips for Academic Writing ............................................................................................................... 2
The Six Cs of Informative Writing .................................................................................................... 3
Heading Levels Normally Used in a Paper ...................................................................................... 4
Use of Dashes, Hyphens, and Ellipses. ............................................................................................ 5
Table 1: Useful Passages in the APA Manual (5th ed.). ................................................................. 6
What is a DOI?.................................................................................................................................... 7
APA Exceptions ................................................................................................................................. 8
APA Samples ...................................................................................................................................... 9

2
TIPS FOR ACADEMIC WRITING


The APA manual contains general information on preferred writing style for academic
communications in the social sciences as well as specific guidelines for presentation and
referencing details. Passages in the APA manual that may be useful during your coursework are
listed in Table 1.

For example, favour active voice over passive voice. Short, declarative sentences, few acronyms,
and minimal jargon are hallmarks of effective academic writing. Complex ideas sometimes
require complex sentences, but often two simpler sentences convey the idea more clearly.
Contractions are best avoided except in direct quotations, and use imperatives (e.g., must,
should) cautiously, when mandatory, or in a recommendation.

Remember the basics. Keep a clear focus on the topic; make sure the narrative flows smoothly
and is easy to understand by someone not already steeped in the topic at hand. As you write,
keep in mind a reader of your basic situation who is not already familiar with your work details
or literature readings. Rather than thinking of your advisor as reader, write for the nave reader.
Introduce the topic in general termsin your own voicebefore getting into the details of the
paper. An introduction should concisely explain why the paper was written or why the topic is
important, and it should set up the subtopics as a framework for the reader.

Use headings that tell the story (key features) for the busy reader who may skim before deciding
whether to read it. Headings serve as signposts for the reader. They also help you, as writer,
ensure that the paper is organized logically and the points are easy to follow. Develop an
effective title, one that catches the content and direction of the paper.

Document carefully all information sources. The reader should be able to identify easily the
source for all parts of the information. Direct quotations should illustrate the ideas rather than do
the work of making the point. They add voice and a sense of authenticity for the ideas. As you do
the literature research, remember to keep track of all sources in your notes, including page
numbers for direct extracts.

A summary briefly restates the main points already made in text, for reinforcement. A
conclusion, when used, captures your so what spin to the information already presented. Neither
should introduce new information; new ideas or quotations should be placed in the main body of
the document.

Remember that the content is the most important part of the paper. When writing your initial
draft, let the content ideas flow as they may. Revise and edit the narrative flow and APA format
once the main ideas have been laid out in a preliminary draft. Provide transitions between
sections. Good writing comes through a process of rewriting and revision, as the main ideas
become more clearly identified and expressed.

3
THE SIX Cs OF INFORMATIVE WRITING

Concise Do you stay on topic without uneconomic wording, elaboration, repetition, or
interesting but tangential diversions?

Complete Do you say everything you need to say in order for the reader to understand your
points and perspectives?

Consistent Do you maintain consistent wording choices, from sentence to sentence, page to
page, and throughout the paper?

Clear Are the sentences direct, short, or have complex ideas organized more like groups
in a parade than a football skirmish (use more than one sentence to describe the
action in a football-skirmish-type idea); are the verbs active; is the vocabulary
understandable by your target readers without more than occasional reference to a
dictionary; are technical terms explained when first introduced; do you avoid
jargon and frequent use of acronyms; and is passive voice used sparingly?

Coherent Do you use headings like signposts, to let a busy reader skim the headings and get
a sense of what is in the paper? Do you maintain a logical development or flow of
ideas; do you let the reader know in advance where you are going with the paper
and how it is organized; do you use explicit transitional sentences or paragraphs
where the focus shifts from one topic to another; and do you bring closure to a
topic before shifting, and to the paper at the end?

Correct Do you clarify for the reader what is your idea, and what is your source for ideas
you obtained from elsewhere; are your citations from other sources accurate and
not misleading; and do you say what you mean (i.e., will the reader likely
perceive your intended meaning)?

4
HEADING LEVELS NORMALLY USED IN A PAPER [Level 5]

Begin the paper with one to three paragraphs that set up the purpose and explain what it
is about. Subsequent sections should begin with a paragraph or two that explains the main focus
of that section and sets up any subsections in it. Note there are no extra line spaces between
sections.
Major Section Headings [Level 1]
A section consists of paragraphs and possibly subsections. Usually an introductory
paragraph is used to set up the main themes in the section before the first subsection heading. If
short, there may be no subsection headings. Generally avoid stacking two headings without
intervening text.
Subsection Headings [Level 3]
Subsections typically contain much of the basic data in a report. Occasionally long
reports may contain secondary order subsections.
Secondary order subsection headings [Level 4]. Secondary subsections contain
subthemes within a subsection. These headings are usually part of the first paragraph.




Exceptions for Headings Used in These Guidelines
Please note, throughout this document the headings for major sections are styled like
chapter headings. As well, note that bolding is a MAdEd exception to APA style format.


5
USE OF DASHES, HYPHENS, AND ELLIPSES

APA 5th edition uses real formatting. However many people are often confused by the various
lengths, names, and spacing of dashes, hyphens, and ellipses. This page can help clarify their
uses and typography.

An em dash is used for asides, etc., and looks longlike this.

An en dash is mid-size and is used to replace to in a range, or for parallel adjectives: like
19521953; 2733 year range; studentteacher relationships. Do not forget en-dashes in your
references

A hyphen is short and is used when one adjective modifies another adjective, like in a three-
horse carriage, etc.

Some publishers add spaces around an en dash and use it in lieu of and em dash like this but
APA does not.



Typing these symbols in MS Word:

In MS Word the shortcut for typing a full-size em dash is:

Ctrl + Alt + - where - is the minus key on the far upper-right corner of the numeric part of the
keypad. (Push all 3 keys at the same time.)

An en dash can be typed by using Ctrl + - where - is the minus key on the far upper-right
corner of the numeric part of the keypad. (Push both keys at the same time.)

Another option, the menu sequence using the mouse to insert an em or en dash is:

Insert; symbol; special characters (at top above the matrix); em dash or en dash.

An ellipsis can be typed by using Ctrl + Alt + . where . is the period key, or from the special
character symbols under the insert menu.

The ellipsis is used in direct quotations to indicate that intervening text (one word to several
sentences or even more) in the original was left out: Older learners take longer to learn a
second language (Smith, 1998, p. 23). Note that a space precedes and follows an ellipsis.

6
Table 1. Useful Passages in the APA Manual (5th ed.)
Topic Pages
APAs general view on writing style

Smoothness of expression 3234
Economy of expression 3436
Precision and clarity, word choice 3637
Editorial we, use of first or third person, anthropomorphism 3740
Subject/verb, pronoun/noun agreement 4450
Misplaced or dangling modifiers; use of adverbs 5054
Parallel construction 5760
Linguistic devices, metaphors 61
Verbs for voice 4144
Words used with caution (would, since, while) 44, 5657
Reducing bias in language 6269
Commas before and 78
Quotation marks for other than direct quotes 8283
Abbreviations; when to use them 103106
Headings 113115
Seriation (a, b, c; 1, 2, 3) 115117
Quotations; use of ellipses 117120
Numbers, written as numerals or spelled out 122130
Reference citations in text 207214
Ampersand (& used in parentheses; in reference list) 209
Personal communications 214
Reference list examples

Cities and state abbreviations in reference list 217218
Order of references in reference list 219221
What to do if you cannot find a comparable reference example 232
Periodicals 240246
Secondary source 247
Books 248251
Chapters in an edited book 252254
Reports, papers at conferences and meetings, theses 255262
Unpublished manuscripts and publications of limited circulation 263264
Audiovisual media (films, TV programs, music) 266268

7
What is a DOI?
1


Internet content can be moved, redesigned, or removed, resulting in broken hyperlinks and URLs
in your reference list. In a move to address this issue, many scholarly publishers now assign a
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to journal articles and other documents.

The DOI System is used to identify digital intellectual property, identifying where they (or
information about them) can be found on the Internet. Information about a digital object may
change over time, including where to find it, but its DOI name will not change (DOI.org, 2008).
A DOI name differs from commonly used Internet pointers to material such as the URL because
it identifies an object, not just its current Internet address.

Sometimes DOIs are hard to find or may not be there. The DOI resolver provided by
CrossRef.org, a registration agency for scholarly and professional publications, is one way to try
to find them if they are not prominently displayed at the front end of the journal article. When a
DOI is available, include the DOI instead of the URL in the reference.

APA Referenced Examples:

Amis, J. M., & Silk, M. L. (2008). The philosophy and politics of quality in qualitative
organizational research. Organizational Research Methods, 11(3), 456480. doi:
10.1177/1094428107300341

Stultz, J. (2006). Integrating exposure therapy and analytic therapy in trauma treatment.
American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76(4), 482488. doi:10.1037/0002-9432.76.4.482

Note the 9432 refers to the journal, the 76 is the volume, the 4 is the issue, and the 482 is
the start of the page range; however, not all DOI numbers are this transparent.

Other Examples of DOIs:

doi:10.1000/1047935X
doi:10.1000/ISSN1047-935X
doi:10.2345/S1384107697000225
doi:10.4567/0361-9230(1997)42:<OaEoSR>2.0.TX;2-B
doi:10.6789/WendysPaper13

Note:
A DOI is not the same as the Document ID number, which is often used by journal databases.

1
Modified from the updated APA guide to electronic resources (2007) and from http://www.doi.org

8
APA Exceptions

The MAdEd department has several exceptions from APA for student papers, because their
nature varies from that of journal articles (see APA 5th ed., pp. 321322). These differences
include:

1. Following with active voice, the use of the personal pronoun I instead of this
researcher is acceptable. In keeping with the APA guidelines in terms of gender (see
APA, pp. 6667, pp. 7073), the use of he or she when presenting the work of other
authors is discouraged.
2. Block quotations should be single spaced, not double spaced, and should be indented on
the left (only) by 1/2 inch
3. Page margins are to be one inch for the top, bottom, and right side. The left margin is
1.5 in your thesis.
4. Start page numbering on the first page of text (not the title page), with it and each
subsequent page (including the reference list) numbered at the top right margin;
5. Do not use running headers
6. Any tables or figures should be inserted into text, close to the place cited (but where they
are not broken by a page break) if possible.
7. Reference lists should be single spaced, with double spacing between citations
8. The major Canadian cities of Montreal, QC; Toronto, ON; Ottawa, ON; and Vancouver,
BC do not require the full geographic location in the reference list. All others are to align
with the following fictitious example:
Kraglund-Gauthier, W. L. (2008). Morgans new yellow boots. Halifax, Nova
Scotia, Canada: Goldfish Press.
9. Use an easily readable font such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Tahoma for your
papers. You must use Times New Roman 12pt font for your thesis.



9
APA SAMPLES
American Psychological Association Style Guide
(APA, 5th ed., 2005, Updated 2007)

The samples outlined below are by no means exhaustive; they merely represent the most
common references used by M.Ad.Ed students. Always refer to the complete APA Style Guide
(2006) and its updates (2007). Also, check out the resources available on the StFX Writing
Centres Web site at: http://www.stfx.ca/resources/writingcentre/Documenting.htm


Quotations:



































1
Direct quotation, reference in text,
ellipses

She stated, The placebo effect . . .
disappeared when behaviors were
studies in this manner (Miele, 1993, p.
276), but she did not clarify which
behaviours were studied.

[See APA, 2005, p. 118]
2
Quotation marks within quotation
marks, inserted text

Miele (1993) found that the
placebo effect, which had been
verified in previous studies,
disappeared when [only the first
groups] behaviors were studied in
this manner (p. 26).
[See APA, 2005, p. 118]
3
Block quotation, reference in text

Miele (1993) found the following:

The placebo effect, which had
been verified in previous studies,
disappeared when behaviors were
studied in this manner.
Furthermore, the behaviors were
even worse when reel [sic] drugs
were administered. This caused
researchers to reexamine existing
studies and to seriously reconsider
their findings. Earlier studies (e.g.,
Abdullah, 1984; Fox, 1979) were
clearly premature. (p. 276)

[See APA, 2005, p. 118]
4
Multiple references in text,
summary of authors point

Newell, Shaw, and Simon (1980)
have examined many aspects of
computer studies. One example of
computer simulation of human
problem-solving performance is the
General Problem-Solver (Newell et
al.; Newell & Simon, 1961, 1972).

[See APA, 2005, pp. 208, 212]
10













REFERENCE LIST

































5
Secondary citation

Toughs studies of self-directed learning projects revealed that it is common for
adults to spend 700 hours per year engaged in learning projects (as cited in Brown &
Baxter, 1975, p. 129).

[See APA, 2005, p. 247]
6
Reference to Entire Books

Book, two authors, third edition

Mitchell, T. R., & Larson, J. R. (1987).
People in organizations: An
introduction to organizational
behavior (3rd ed.). New York:
McGraw-Hill.

[See APA, 2005, p. 248]


7
Chapter in edited book

Dewey, J. (1938). Expectations of
students. In S. J. Morey (Ed.),
Education for life (pp. 3539).
Mobile, AL: Preston Press.

[See APA, 2005, p. 249]

9
ERIC Document

Bardine, B. A. (1995). Using writing
journals in the adult literacy
classroom. Teacher to
teacher. Washington, DC:
Department of Education.
Retrieved December 10,
2001, from the ERIC
database. (ERIC Document
Reproduction Service No.
ED386596)

[See APA, 2005, pp. 231, 257]
8
New Directions for
Adult and Continuing Education
(Jossey-Bass Series)

Wilson, A. L. (2000b). Professional
practice in the modern world. In
V. W. Mott & B. J. Daley
(Eds.), Charting a course for
continuing professional
education: Reframing
professional practice (pp. 71
79). New Directions for Adult
and Continuing Education, No.
86. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

[See APA, 2005, p. 253]

11



































11
Journal article, two authors,
journal paginated by issue

Klimoski, R. S. , & Palmer, S. (1993).
The ADA and the hiring process
in organizations. Consulting
Psychology Journal: Practice
and Research, 45(2), 1036.

[See APA, 2005, p. 240]
10
Conference Proceedings

Wilson, A. L. (2000a). Place matters:
Producing power and identity. In
T. J. Sork, V. L. Chapman, & R.
St. Clair (Eds.), Proceedings of
the 41st Annual Adult Education
Research Conference (pp. 502
506). Vancouver, BC, Canada:
University of British Columbia.
Retrieved August 21, 2008, from
the Adult Education Research
Conference Web site:
http://www.edst.educ.ubc.ca/aerc/
2000/wilsona1-final.PDF

[See APA, 2005, pp. 259, 275)
12
Journals with a DOI

Stultz, J. (2006). Integrating exposure
therapy and analytic therapy in
trauma treatment. American Journal
of Orthopsychiatry, 76(4), 482488.
doi:10.1037/0002-9432.76.4.482


[See APA, 2007 p. 7]

13
Journal Article found online
without a DOI

Hager, M. H. (2007). Therapeutic diet
order writing: Current issues and
considerations. Topics in Clinical
Nutrition, 22(1), 2836. Retrieved
from
http://www.topicsinclinicalnutrition
.com
[See APA, 2007, p. 8)
14
Electronic Book

OKeefe, E. (n.d.). Egoism & the crisis in
Western values. Available from
http://www.onlineoriginals.com
/showitem.asp?itemID=135

[See APA, 2007, p. 10)
15
Thesis Retrieved from a
Database

McNiel, D. S. (2006). Meaning through
narrative: A personal narrative
discussing growing up with an
alcoholic mother. Retrieved from
ProQuest Digital Dissertations. (AAT
1434728)

[See APA, 2007, p. 10)
12














































16
Web Sites and Other Electronic Sources

[Corporate Web site]
Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE). (n.d.). Internet resources
to research in adult education. Retrieved May 12, 2001, from CASAE Web site:
http://www.oise.utoronto.ca//CASAE/casalink.html


[Message posted to a newsgroup, online forum, or discussion group]
Chalmers, D. (2000, November 17). Seeing with sound [Msg 1]. Message posted to
news://sci.psychology.consiousness, archived at
http://groups.google.com/group/sci.psychology.consciousness/


[White paper, available online]
Furst, M., & DeMillo, R. A. (2006). Creating symphonic-thinking computer science
graduates for an increasingly competitive global environment [White paper].
Retrieved from Georgia Tech College of Computing:
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/images/pdfs/threads_whitepaper.pdf


[Online encyclopedia]
Graham, G. (2005). Behaviorism. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of
philosophy. Retrieved January 28, 2007, from http://plato.stanford.edu


[Newspaper article]
Prial, F. J. (2002, February 20). The ratings game gets simpler. New York Times. Retrieved
February 21, 2002, from http://www.nytimes.com


[Message posted to an electronic mailing list]
Smith, S. (2006, January 5). Re: Disputed estimates of IQ [Msg 670]. Message posted to
ForensicNetwork electronic mailing list, archived at
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ForensicNetwork/message/670


[See APA, 2005, pp. 274281
APA, 2007, pp. 1516, 21, 2324]