Download ACT/SAT The Write Approach

The Write Approach to
Academic Success
for NSU Students
2012: The Basics
What is written without effort is, in general,
read without pleasure” (Samuel Johnson).
”
Dr. Karen D. Bowser
Why students fail to complete their dissertations:
A Tale of Two Approaches to
Writing
Procrastination
The Write Approach
• Why are some speeches and writing more
effective than others?
POWER!
How to Put POWER in Your Writing
Pre-write
Organize
Write
Edit
Rewrite
Establish A Writing Routine
1. Schedule writing times—Block them out
on your schedule. Make an appointment
with your computer. More importantly—
keep the appointment!
2. Work on a time-based/task-based
approach—whichever works best for you,
but PICK ONE!
Boyle-Single, P. (2009). “A writing routine.” Demystifying the
Dissertation.
Quick Tricks for Prewriting
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Start with Audience
Who will be reading, viewing, or hearing
what you compose?
What do they already know?
What do they need to know?
What format do they expect?
How can your build a relationship between
them and your topic?
Quick Tricks for Prewriting
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What Academic Audiences Expect
Academic writing = building knowledge
Take existing knowledge seriously
Gather credible evidence
Only make arguments you can support
with evidence
The emphasis is on the ideas, not the
writer.
Writing that looks academic.
Quick Tricks for Prewriting—
Understand Your Project
• If this is for your dissertation, make sure
you download ALL the documents from
the ARC.
• Read the assignment carefully.
• Underline any key words in the
assignment.
Quick Tricks for Prewriting—
Understand Your Project
• Why are you writing about this?
• Develop your purpose—The purpose is…
• If you need to do some research first, start
gathering information to feed your ideas.
Quick Tricks for Prewriting—Getting
Started
• Brainstorm your ideas.
• Write each idea down using post-it notes
so they can be sorted and reorganized
later
• Use the outlining function on a computer.
• Ask questions.
• What additional research is needed?
Quick Tricks for Prewriting
Think About Purpose
• Consider that what you are composing is
a tool for changing minds.
Quick Tricks for Prewriting
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Think About Purpose
Academic writing is NOT conversational!
Academic writing is NOT an essay.
You do NOT express your own opinion.
Do not use the familiar “I, we, you, “ etc.
Use longer words and sentences
Use a higher level of vocabulary
Quick Tricks for Prewriting
Think About Purpose
• Employ more complex grammatical
structures
• Never make claims that cannot be
supported by the evidence
• Give full acknowledgement to the works of
others
Quick Tricks for Prewriting
Think About Strategy
• What sources will convince your
audience?
• Know your APA and Nova formatting.
– Academic writing looks more professional
because of its style and format!
Quick Tricks for Prewriting
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Think About Context
Define the tone
Define the approach
Prescribe the details that are necessary
Get to the point and sticks with it.
Quick Tricks for Prewriting
Think About Context
• Give definitions of terms
• Do not use creative, figurative language
• Present varying opinions from credible
sources
Quick Tricks for
Prewriting/Organizing
• If you cannot find research to guide your
paper, you likely need to change or alter
your topic.
• Continue adding ideas to your post-it
notes or computer outline.
• Make a final decision on the main topic,
subtopics, and direction of your paper
based on your brainstorming.
Quick Tricks for Organizing
• Sort the ideas.
• See where you have a lot of ideas and
where you are weak.
• Do additional research for key information.
• Make sure that you check related bodies
of literature, too.
• Use other authors’ references to lead you
to other sources.
Quick Tricks for Organizing
• Are there any ideas that need additional
support?
• Broaden your research.
• Organize your thoughts into subtopics.
• Make sure that you have enough
information to adequately support each
subtopic.
• Decide the best order for your subtopics.
Establish A Writing Routine
3. Begin at the beginning and go to the
end—then revise!
4. Turn off your internal critic!
Boyle-Single, P. (2009). “A writing routine.” Demystifying the
Dissertation.
Quick Tricks for
Writing
• Because you spent time organizing your
thoughts, you will be able to write fairly
quickly.
• Do not spend time thinking of the
PERFECT word or sentence, just get
down the “inking of your thinking.”
• Write a “rough draft” first.
Establish A Writing Routine
5. Backup, backup, backup!—Backup and
rename the document each day.
6. Stop and prepare for your next writing
session—write a few notes to yourself.
Boyle-Single, P. (2009). “A writing routine.” Demystifying the
Dissertation.
Establish A Writing Routine
7. Track your progress—recruit a writing
group or partner
8. Pat yourself on the back!
Boyle-Single, P. (2009). “A writing routine.” Demystifying the
Dissertation.
Quick Tricks for
Writing
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Must have one main idea
Must be organized
Support the main idea with key subtopics
Support each subtopic with statistics,
examples, facts, etc.
• Use appropriate words and sentence
structure.
• Vary sentence structure.
Quick Tricks for
Writing
• Write your topic sentence by “restating”
the writing assignment or purpose,
introducing your main topic, providing
some direction as to how you will develop
your paper.
• Support every idea with the research.
• Cite carefully and correctly.
Quick Tricks for
Writing
• Introduction—Set the context for your
academic argument and the approach that
will be taken. What is the purpose of your
paper?
• Body—Provide the best evidence you can
find in the research. Use sub-headings
(Level II) to guide your writing and your
reader.
• Conclusion—Tie it all together for your
audience.
Quick Tricks for
Writing
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What to Avoid in Your Introduction
Starting with a dictionary definition—
TRITE
Using trite expressions
Making excuses
Not introducing your reader to the context,
the purpose, and the approach—jumping
right in hoping your reader can catch up!
The Write Information Earns the
Right Grade
• Function of body paragraphs
Define
Describe
Give examples
Compare
Classify
Use analogies
Divide
The Write Information Earns the
Right Grade
• What readers expect in paragraphs
Development—
do not repeat-develop
Unity-Stick to
the Point!
Coherence—one point
flows into the next
The Write Information Earns the
Right Grade
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Building Coherence
Transitional expressions and conjunctions
(Check your blue sheet.)
Repetition of key words or phrases
Parallelism—all parts of a series have
equal weight
Use headings to visually organize your
paper for the reader
(Hint: One of these bullets is not parallel. Can you
find which one?)
Quick Tricks for
Writing
• Do not just throw quotations into your
paper. Introduce them.
• Do not ask a paragraph to do too much.
• Do not ask a paragraph to do too little. No
one-sentence paragraphs.
• Explain all terms.
• Use pronouns wisely—clear references.
• Remove trite expressions—”in today’s
world”
Quick Tricks for
Writing
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Do not use wikis in academic papers.
Use a variety of sources
Do not use contractions!
All sources cited in your text (with the
exception of personal communications)
must appear in the reference list.
• All references in the reference list must be
cited in your text.
Quick Tricks for
Editing: Getting Feedback
• Finish your paper early.
• Put it aside for a day or at least a few hours.
• Read your paper out loud or have someone read
your paper out loud to catch any unclear
sentences and even punctuation errors.
• Read your paper from the beginning to the end
taking time to correct any misspellings,
grammar, etc.
• What worked? What didn’t work?
Quick Tricks for
Editing: Getting Feedback
• Are you clear about your thesis?
• Did you support your thesis with clear
evidence?
• Will your readers understand your purpose?
• Does the order make senses?—Read just
the first sentence of every paragraph.
• Do your paragraphs make sense? Read the
first and last sentence of each paragraph.
Editing: Most Common APA Errors
Do not be a statistic!
Themes
Frequency
Grammar
72%
Format
67%
Hyphenation
65%
Citing multiple authors
61%
In-text citations
60%
Numbers
57%
Capitalization (particularly of titles and
headers)
57%
Punctuation
48%
Quotations
36%
Onwuegbuzie, A.J., Combs, J. P., Slate, J. R., & Frels, R. K. (2010). Editorial: Evidence-based guidelines for avoiding the most
common APA errors in journal article submissions. Research in the Schools.
Quick Tricks for
Editing and Revising
• How can you refine your composition to be
even stronger, more professional?
• Read your document from the last
sentence to the first sentence.
• Check each verb—did you use the correct
tenses? (past tense for most cited lit)
• Use your “ Quick Tricks” list to check for
errors that you have made in past papers.
Quick Tricks for
Editing and Revising
• Read your paper, paragraph by
paragraph, from the end to the beginning.
• Does each paragraph have unity,
coherence, and development?
• Does each paragraph read well by itself?
• Get someone else’s feedback.
• Remember that your chair is not your
editor.
Commas,
Semi-colons, and
Colons
Commas in a Compound Sentence
• Independent clause, conjunction independent
clause.
• An independent clause must have a subject and
a verb and be able to stand on its own as a
sentence.
– Writing can be powerful, and students are wise to
master the art of academic writing.
– Writing can be powerful. (independent clause)
– Students are wise to master the art of academic
writing. (independent clause)
Commas in a Compound Sentence
• Independent clause, conjunction independent
clause.
• Conjunctions: “FAN BOYS”—for, and, nor, but,
or, yet, so
• Remember that you cannot start a sentence with
any of these conjunctions in academic writing!
Semi-colons in a Compound
Sentence
• Independent clause, conjunction independent
clause.
• Use a semi-colon in place of the comma and
conjunction.
– Independent clause; independent clause.
– Writing can be powerful; students are wise to master
the art of academic writing.
• Independent clause; transitional expression,
independent clause.
• Writing can be powerful; therefore, students are
wise to master the art of academic writing.
Commas After Introductory Words,
Phrases, and Clauses
• Introductory words such as a transitional
expression must be followed by a comma.
– First, the researcher identified the variables.
• Introductory phrases and clauses are followed
by commas.
– After Jones (2020) discovered the cure for the
common cold, the cold medicine industry suffered a
huge drop in sales.
Commas Serve as “Pot Handles” in
Non-essential Clauses
• Dr. Smith, who is a 2009 graduate of
Fischler/NSU, was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize.
• Read the sentences without the clause between
the commas to see if the meaning changes. If it
does, then you need the clause, but should not
use the commas.
• Do the “by the way” test.
Commas in a Series
• In academic writing, commas must be used
when three or more items appear in a series or
list. There MUST be a comma before the “and.”
– Writing, team building, and time management
are essential skills for doctoral students to
master.
Commas With Adjectives
• Use a comma between two adjectives that precede a
noun if they are of equal weight.
– Ambitious, erudite doctoral students want to earn As
and learn something through the process.
– Seven doctoral students stated they wanted me to
help them with their writing.
• A quick trick is to read the sentence with “and” in place
of the comma. If it still reads well, you know you need
the comma.
– Ambitious and erudite doctoral students…YES
– Seven and doctoral…NO
Commas With Quotations
• Use a comma after expressions like
Johnston (2010) stated, “This is easy.”
• Do not use a comma when the sentence
leads into the quotation with “that.”
Johnston (2010) found that “fifteen men
lost their way in the mountain.”
Unnecessary Commas
• Do not separate a subject from its verb with a
single comma.
– John, could not understand how he had used the
comma incorrectly.
– John, the distinguished professor, could not
understand how he had used the comma incorrectly
in the previous sentence.
Unnecessary Commas
• Do not put a comma between a compound
subject, verb, or object.
– The students danced and sang after they completed
all of their writing modules.
Unnecessary Commas
• Do not put a comma before a dependent clause
that follows an independent clause except when
you want to show a strong contrast.
– Students make comma errors, because they do not
know the rules.
• Do not put a comma after such as or especially.
– Strong writers have many advantages, such as higher
pay, more frequent promotions, and the ability to win
people with words.
Semi-colons Have Two Purposes
in Life
• Think of semi-colons as “strong commas.”
• Semi-colons can replace a comma and a
conjunction in a compound sentence.
• Semi-colons are used in a series or list when a
“stonger comma” is needed.
– I have lived in Johnstown, Pennsylvania; Raleigh,
North Carolina; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Colons
• Colons are the most powerful!
• Colons must follow an independent clause .
They cannot be used after an incomplete
thought in academic writing.
• CORRECT: This module include rules on the
following items: commas, semi-colons, and
colons.
• INCORRECT: This module includes: commas,
semi-colons, and colons.
Commas, semicolons, and colons
cause a slight break
in the action. Use
them wisely!
The Connectors: Hyphens and
Dashes
• Hyphens
– One part of a compound word with the other
• Dashes
– One part of a sentence with another part of a
sentence
Connectors
Hyphen
Part of a compound word
Part of a compound word
Hyphens Can Compound the
Situation
• Compound words
– Follow up--verb
– Follow-up—noun or adjective
– Race car—some compounds will always be two
words
• Compound words are usually introduced
to the world of words with a hyphen.
– Data-base (early 70s)
– Database (now)
• Temporary compounds—used only for a
particular paper or a thought
HOW IS AN ACADEMIC WRITER
SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHEN TO
HYPHENATE A WORD?
Hyphen Rules
• Follow Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary for most
compound words
• Temporary compounds
– If it precedes the word it modifies, it will likely be
hyphenated. First-class decision
– If it follows the word it modifies, it is usually NOT
hyphenated. Decision was first class.
– If the temporary compound might be misunderstood
by the reader, it should be hyphenated. Re-create
– When in doubt—use the hyphen!
Hyphen Rules When the
Compound Precedes the Term It
Modifies
• See p. 98 in APA, Sixth Edition for a chart.
• Examples of the hyphen match game
(comp0und adjectives):
– A compound + a participle
• Prize-winning author or well-known researcher
– Phrase used as an adjective
• Trial-by-error method or my father-in-law
– Adjective + a noun
• First-class study or clear-cut decision
Hyphen Rules When the
Compound Precedes the Term It
Modifies
• Examples of the hyphen match game:
– Prefixes, suffixes, and letters
• Self-indulgent--prefix
• President-elect--suffix
• T-shirt--letter
• E-mail—letter
• See p. 99 in APA, Sixth Edition for a chart of
prefixes or suffixes that do NOT take hyphens.
Hyphen Rules When the
Compound Precedes the Term It
Modifies
• Examples of the hyphen match game:
• Double vowels and triple consonants
– Anti-itch
– Bell-like
• To avoid ambiguity
– Recreation (fun times)
– Re-creation of the study (create again)
Hyphen Rules When the
Compound Precedes the Term It
Modifies
• Examples of the hyphen match game:
– Fractions and compound numbers
• One-half or two-thirds
• Thirty-five students
• Do not use hyphens to separate parts of a word
at the end of a line in academic writing. Move
the entire word to the next line.
• Spacing
– NO SPACES BEFORE OR AFTER THE HYPHEN
Dash It All!
How Do I Use a Dash Properly?
• A mark of interruption
• Think of the dash as the “ta-dah” of the sentence
or neon lights that put special emphasis on the
words within the dash.
– Bowser (2010) proved an important thing—students
can learn to write in an academic style.
• Can be used in the place of a comma (more
emphasis)
• Can be used in the place of a colon (less formal)
Dash It All!
How Do I Use a Dash Properly?
• A dash is two hyphens used together
• Do not put a space before, after, or in
the middle of a dash
Dash It All!
How Do I Use a Dash Properly?
• Dashes need to have an entrance and an exit.
• If you use a dash in the middle of the sentence,
you must put a dash on either end.
• Many symptoms—skin discoloration, the sudden
appearance of moles, the presence of lumps—may
signify cancer.
Dash It All!
How Do I Use a Dash Properly?
• Dashes need to have an entrance and an
exit.
• If you use a dash when the phrase ends
the sentence, the period will provide the
exit.
• Many symptoms may signify cancer—skin
discoloration, the sudden appearance of
moles, or the presence of lumps.
Dash It All!
How Do I Use a Dash Properly?
• Dashes need to have an entrance and an
exit.
• If you use a dash at the beginning of a
sentence the initial capital letter is the
entrance.
– Skin discoloration, the sudden appearance of
moles, or the presence of lumps—all may be
symptoms of cancer.
Percentages,
Percent Signs,
and Ampersands
You say “percentage,” but I say %.
• If you use a numeral, you must use
“%.”
– Smith (2010) found that those who write
well earn, on average, 10% more than
those who do not write well.
You say “percentage,” but I say %.
• When you use words to indicate the
number or when no number is used, you
must spell out the word “percent” or
“percentage.”
– Seventeen percent of students will need to
view this module.
– A high percentage of students will master this
concept within one viewing.
To & or not to &; that is the
question.
• Ampersands (&) are only used within
citations within the parenthesis and
references, and as a substitute for “and” in
official names of businesses.
– Smith and Jones (1980) found that
ampersands have special uses.
– Ampersands are important (Smith & Jones,
1980).
– Jones & Sons is a great moving company.
No # Zone
• Academic writing does not use the pound (#)
sign.
Academicians use
% and & properly,
and never use #.
When to Quote
• When the person quoted is a recognized expert
in his or her field
• When the words must be worded exactly the
way they are in the original text to deliver the
correct meaning to the reader of the new
document
• If the words are from a primary source.
When to Quote
• The quote cannot be paraphrased without
distortion of the meaning.
• The words themselves are the issue you
are illustrating.
• The quotation is an illustration of your
point.
How to Quote Accurately
• Keep the quote short—only relevant material.
• Copy the quoted material carefully.
• Proofread the quote carefully—all words and
punctuation must be exact!
• Include page or paragraph numbers in your
citation.
How to Quote Accurately
• Use quotation marks around quotations
shorter than 40 words.
• Use an indented format if the quote is 40
or more words.
• Use brackets around any material that you
add within the quote.
How to Quote Accurately
• Use ellipsis marks to omit irrelevant
material.
• Introduce your quote properly—do not just
throw it into the rest of your text.
• Do not overuse quotations.
Single Quotation Marks
• Single quotation marks are ONLY used
within double quotation marks.
• Single quotation marks indicate that the
quotation contains a quote or title.
Titles
• In academic writing, titles for entire things, such
as books, ocean liners, television programs, etc.
appear in italics within the text.
– “Learning the Rules for Quotation Marks” is my
favorite chapter of The Write Approach to Academic
Writing (2010).
• Parts of larger works or short things, such as
short stories or poems, are placed inside
quotation marks.
Using Other Forms of Punctuation
with Quotation Marks
• Periods and commas go inside the final
quotation marks 100% of the time.
• Semi-colons and colons go outside the final
quotation marks 100% of the time.
• Dashes, question marks, and exclamation points
go inside the quotation marks if they are part of
the quote. Otherwise, they go outside.
Punctuation Spacing
• Insert one space after
–
–
–
–
commas, colons, semi-colons
Periods that separate parts of a reference ;
Periods after initials used with a person’s name
After sentence-ending punctuation (Nova’s Rule)
• DO NOT put spaces after internal periods in
abbreviations: U.S. , a.m., etc.
• DONOT put spaces before or after a dash or a
hyphen!
Terms
• Terms that appear in academic writing as
terms are placed in italics the first time
they are defined.
– An anthropomorphism is when a writer
assigns animate characteristics to an
inanimate object.
You can quote
me!
Putting Pronouns
in Their Place
Pronouns Stand In for Nouns
• Pronouns do one thing and one thing only—they
take the place of nouns.
• As a result, remember these important rules.
– Each pronoun has a noun to which it refers.
This is called its antecedent.
– The pronoun must agree in number and
person with its antecedent.
Pronouns Stand In for Nouns
• As a result, remember these important rules.
– Number is determined by whether or not the
noun (antecedent) is singular or plural.
– Person is either first, second, or third.
Singular number
Plural number
First person
I, me , my
We, us, our
Second
person
You, your
You, your
Third person He, she, it,
They, them,
one, anyone, their
him, her, his,
her, its
The Problem with Pronouns
• You cannot use first or second pronouns in
academic writing because the reference would
be vague.
Singular number
Plural number
First person
I, me , my
We, us, our
Second
person
You, your
You, your
Third person He, she, it,
They, them,
one, anyone, their
him, her, his,
her, its
Quick Tricks for Checking
Pronouns
• Use “Find” within Word to highlight and
find each pronoun one at a time.
• Remove any first or second pronouns.
Quick Tricks for Checking
Pronouns
• Check to see if each pronoun has an antecedent
and, if so, that the pronoun agrees in person and
number with the antecedent.
• If the pronoun does not have an antecedent,
either insert one before the pronoun or change
the pronoun to a noun.
• ALTERNATIVE METHOD: Print out a copy and
use a highlighter to find all the pronouns. Follow
the two previous steps.
Pronouns With
Special Jobs
Interrogative Pronouns ???
• Interrogative pronouns ask questions.
• When you use an interrogative pronoun, the
noun may be implied.
• Who, which, what
• Who is knocking on my door?
• Which student deserves the A?
• What happened?
Indefinite Pronouns
• Use indefinite pronouns when you cannot be
specific about the noun.
• One, each, every, another, anybody, none, no
one, neither, either, both, few, some, many,
most, all
• No one stands alone.
• Most learn the hard way.
Demonstrative
• Use demonstrative pronouns to be more
specific about a person or thing.
• This, that, these, and those
• This researcher changed the direction of
education.
Reciprocal Pronouns
• Use reciprocal pronouns when you want to
show nouns acting on each other.
• Be kind to one another.
• Support each other.
Relative Pronouns
• Relative pronouns introduce clauses. They
provide more information about the noun.
• You can combine sentences if you use a
relative pronoun.
• Who, whom, whoever, which, that, what,
whatever
Relative Pronouns
• Students write well. Students receive good
grades.
• Students who write well receive good grades.
• These clauses become dependent clauses
because if you took the dependent clause by
itself, it would be a sentence fragment. It needs
an independent clause to exist with it in the
sentence.
Who or Whom?
• Who is used for people when it is the subject of
the sentence or clause.
• Whom is used for people when it is the object of
a preposition or a direct object.
• Quick Trick: Rearrange the order of the
sentence or clause to see whether or not the
pronoun is subjective or objective.
Relative Pronouns
• Which --nonessential clauses (these clauses can be
removed from the sentence without changing the
meaning of the sentence). It is ALWAYS preceded
with a comma to indicate that it can be removed.
• The most important course, which I happen to enjoy,
is EDD 8OOO.
• You can check to see which one you need to use by
adding by the way after you use which. If it fits, you
need ,which because it is not essential to the
meaning of the sentence.
• The most important course is EDD 8OOO.
Most People Use These Words
Incorrectly—Do you?
• That/which
• Hint: A witch (which) cannot go out without
her broom (comma).
,
Relative Pronouns
• That is used with essential clauses
(cannot be taken out of the sentence
without changing the meaning). Do NOT
use a comma.
• The sheep that was cloned made scientific
history.
• The sheep made scientific history.
Now we are missing an important detail.
Be Proactive with Pronouns
• Make sure you have an antecedent
(implied or stated prior to the pronoun
being used).
• They were more likely to use their
equipment than their equipment. HUH?
• The baseball team was more likely to use
Wilson baseball equipment than
Spaulding’s.
Be Proactive with Pronouns
• Choose the correct pronoun for the job.
– Example: Mary and I went to town.
– Example: The office staff held a party for Mary
and me. We enjoyed it!
Be Proactive with Pronouns
• Watch out for compound parts of speech that
make your pronouns plural.
– Example: Mary and John came for a visit.
They always visit on Thursdays.
• Watch out for the tendency to use a plural
pronoun when a singular one is needed.
– Example: Each student must do their own work.
– Example: Each student must do his or her own work.
REMEMBER:
A PRONOUN’S MAIN JOB IS TO
TAKE THE PLACE OF A NOUN.
the king
Plurals and
Possessives
Plurals of Abbreviations
• To form the plural of most abbreviations, simply
add an “s.” DO NOT ADD AN APOSTROPHE
with the “s.”
– Mary made all As in her courses.
– RNs earn a great deal of respect for their caring
ways.
• To form the plural of the abbreviation for page
(p.) in a reference or citation, double the “p”
(pp.).
Possessives Show Ownership
• Think of the apostrophe as a hook on which you
can hang something you own.
Mike’s pants
Possessives Show Ownership
• For the most part, to form the possessive of a
singular name , simply add ‘s. The hook shows
that the noun that follows belongs to that noun.
– Jack’s book
• To show possession for a name that ends in s,
simply add the apostrophe.
– The Wilsons’ home
Apostrophes in Academic Writing
• Apostrophes are never used in academic writing
to make anything plural.
• Apostrophes are only used to show
possession.
• Contractions have no place in academic
writing, so apostrophes are not used.
Apostrophes in Academic Writing
• Quick Trick: Do a Find search in Word for
the letter s + (white space).
• Check to see whether an apostrophe has
been added or needs to be added.
Apostrophes in Academic Writing
• Quick Trick: Do a Find search in Word for
apostrophes.
• Do not use an apostrophe to form the plural
of nouns.
• Do not use an apostrophe to form the
possessives of personal pronouns.
–
–
–
–
Not –it’s toes
Yes-its toes
Not –This is your’s.
Yes—This is yours.
Complicated Apostrophes
• Compound words: Add ‘s to the last word.
– Brother-in-law’s
• For more than one owner add ‘s based on
the type of possession.
– Belonging to each individual—Joe’s and
Gene’s behavior in class was unacceptable.
– Jointly owned—Joe and Gene’s race car
Students can master
the apostrophe’s use in
academic writing and
learn to use both
apostrophes and
plurals correctly.
Subject-Verb
Agreement
Ground Rules
• Subjects and verbs must agree with one
another in both number (singular or plural)
and person.
• The subject of every sentence is either
singular or plural.
• The subject determines whether the verb
will be singular or plural.
• Singular subjects take singular verbs.
• Plural subjects take plural verbs.
The Importance of the S: Opposites
Attract
• Nouns and verbs use es and s differently.
• An s usually makes a noun plural, but it
always makes a present tense verb
singular.
– Boys (plural) usually like (plural) frogs.
– A boy (singular) likes (singular) frogs, girls,
and cars.
Finding Verbs
• As you know, finding the verbs is easy
because they are the only part of the
sentence that will change when you
change the timing of the sentence.
– James walked.
– James will walk.
– James walks every day.
Getting to the Heart of the SubjectVerb Connection
• First, eliminate all phrases in your sentences.
You can do this by printing out a copy of your
paper and crossing them out, or opening a draft
copy of your paper on the screen and cutting out
all the phrases (if you want to save it, save it as
a file with another name or you will lose your
original version).
– Around the world, I searched for you.
• Now you are down to the heart of the
subject and verb relationship.
Relationships Are Not Always Easy
• Subjects joined by and take a plural verb.
– Mary and John have completed their concept
papers.
Relationships Are Not Always Easy
• When subjects are joined by or, either…or,
neither…nor, or not only…but also , the
verb agrees with the subject closest to it.
– Neither the students in this class nor Tom from the
other class is ready to take the test.
– (Tom is closest, so the verb is singular, too.)
– Neither Tom nor the students in this class are ready
to take the test.
– (This time the students are closest, so the verb is
plural.)
Relationships Are Not Always
Easy—Clauses and Phrases as
Subjects
• When an entire clause is the subject of a
sentence, use a singular verb.
– To do well in this class means something
different to everyone.
Relationships Are Not Always
Easy—Clauses and Phrases as
Subjects
• EXCEPTION—to be –Look out!
• If the verb is a to be (is, am, are, was,
were, be, being, been) in a clause, the
verb agrees with the noun that follows the
verb.
– What you will learn in this class is discipline.
(singular)
– What you will learn in this class are the fundamentals.
(plural)
Relationships Are Not Always
Easy--Indefinites
• Each, every, and any take singular verbs.
• Trouble makers are none, some, most, or all. In
these cases, it depends on the meaning of the
subject.
– Most of the students want to do well. (several
students)
– Most of this course is easy. (a large part of this
course)
Relationships Are Not Always
Easy—Collective Nouns and
Amounts
• Nouns that refer to a group are collective nouns.
• When the group acts as one entity, the noun is
singular and the verb is, too.
– Our team is on top.
Relationships Are Not Always
Easy—Collective Nouns and
Amounts
• When each member of the group acts as an
individual, the verb is plural.
– The audience were looking in several different
directions.
• When the subject names an amount, the verb is
singular.
– Five hundred points is too many.
Relationships Are Not Always
Easy—Plural Words as Subjects
• Some words like physics, economics, and measles are
considered singular (one disease, one entity).
• Measles affects many children.
• Other words like jeans, eyeglasses,
thanks, take on a plural verb. Something
to consider—all of these things have more
than one part—two pant legs, two lens,
more than one thanks.
• My skinny jeans finally fit after months of dieting.
Relationships Are Not Always
Easy— Titles, Companies, Words, and
Quotations as Subjects
• All of these words are treated as singular.
– A Tale of Two Cities is my favorite book.
– Apple Computers is hiring.
Relationships Are Not Always
Easy— Linking Verbs
• Learn the Terrible Twenty-Three—All the Linking
Verbs
– Is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been, has, have,
had, do, does, did, shall, will, may, might, must, can,
could, should, would
• Linking verbs agree with the subject NOT the
complement (the noun that follows the linking
verb).
• Dogs generally have a long life.
Relationships Are Not Always
Easy— There is, Here is/are
• When the subject is there or here, the verb
agrees with the complement (the noun that
follows the verb).
– There are a lot of rules for subject-verb agreement.
– Here is the answer.
Relationships Are Not Always
Easy— Who, which, one, and that as
subjects
• When the subject is who, which, one, or
that, the verb agrees with the antecedent.
– Students learn by doing. Those who study
hard will make a good grade (plural).
– An unethical decision, which happens
(singular) too often, can bring a company
down.
Be a matchmaker
for your subjects
and verbs.
Verb Tenses:
Tenses Anyone?
Verb Tenses with Cited Works
• Use past tense when you cite an author or
researcher.
• As soon as the words are printed, the
author no longer states, he or she stated.
Shifting Verb Tenses Signal a Shift
of Time
• If you use a present tense in one part of your
sentence, you should use present tense in the
rest of that sentence.
• Changing the tense can confuse your reader.
• When all else fails, use an editor.
• Sometimes tenses need to shift if your intention
is to show a shift of time.
• After I had completed EDD 8OOO, I sailed
through my other classes.
Quick Tricks for Checking Verb
Tenses
• Do a search in “Word” to find parenthesis.
• The search will take you to all cited material. Be
sure that you used the past tense.
• Highlight the verb in every sentence. Read just
the verbs and mark where the tense shifts. Ask
yourself if the verb shift was necessary.
Do not be tense
about verb
tenses.
Keeping Your
Ducks in a Row
The Art of Parallelism
Look at These Three Lines
A
Now, Look at These Three Lines
B
Which Lines Flow in a Logical
Way?
• Which set of lines looks more orderly—A
or B?
• Like parallel lines, items in a series must
be in parallel construction.
Parallelism Signals:
Coordinating Conjunctions
And, but, or, not, yet
Parallelism
All components in a series must have the
same grammatical structure.
• Noun, noun, noun
– Parallel: Mary, Bob, and Tom
– Not Parallel: Mary, Bob, and went to school
Parallelism
All components in a series must have the
same grammatical structure.
• *ing, *ing, *ing
– Parallel: running, jumping , and laughing
– Not Parallel: running, jumping, and to laugh
• Infinitive, infinitive, infinitive
– Parallel: to laugh, to live, to write
– Not parallel: to laugh, living, and to write
Lists, Headings, and Outlines
1. Phrase
2. Phrase
3. Phrase
The Highlights of
APA
Tuning Up Your
Academic Voice
Is there a doctor in the house?
How to write healthy papers
• Anthropomorphisms (Personification)
– Do not use personification in APA.
– Personification is giving human qualities to
animals or inanimate objects.
– Many students make this error.
• The research found…
• The study attempted to demonstrate…
Is there a doctor in the house?
How to write healthy papers
Anthropomorphisms
Organizations seek improvement in their
bottom line.
Organizational leaders seek improvement in
their company’s bottom line.
Direct from APA, Sixth Edition
An experiment cannot attempt to
demonstrate, control unwanted variables, or
interpret findings, nor can tables or figures
compare (all of these can, however, show or
indicate.)
American Psychological Association (APA,
Sixth Edition, 2010). p. 69.
The Problem with Pronouns
• You cannot use first or second pronouns
in academic writing because the reference
would be unclear.
Singular number
Plural number
First person
I, me , my
We, us, our
Second person
You, your
You, your
Third person
He, she, it, one,
anyone, him,
her, his, her, its
They, them, their
Quick Tricks for Checking
Pronouns
• Use “Find” within Word to highlight and
find each first or second person pronoun
one at a time.
• Remove any first or second pronouns.
• ALTERNATIVE METHOD: Print out a copy
and use a highlighter to find all the
pronouns. Follow the previous step.
Tuning Up Your Academic Voice
• Once you have tuned up your academic voice,
your words will resonate with others.
Hey, APA, Sixth
Edition!
I’ve Got Your
Number.
Numerals or Numbers??
• Use numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 0) for
numbers 10 and above.
– Last month, 13 black cats crossed my path
on Friday the 13th.
• Use words to express numbers below 10.
– One boy and two girls
• Use numerals for numbers that come
before a unit of measurement.
– He was 6 feet, 5 inches tall.
Numerals or Numbers??
• Use numerals in statistics, mathematics,
percentages, etc. except when the number
comes at the beginning of a sentence. Then the
word is used.
• Use numerals for expressions of time, dates,
ages, points on a scale, sums of money, except
for approximations of time.
– About four months ago…
Numerals or Numbers??
• Words are used for numbers in titles, at
the beginning of sentences, and for
common phrases or expressions.
– The Ten Commandments
– Follow the twelve-step program to sobriety.
REMEMBERING WHETHER TO USE
THE WORD OR A NUMERAL TO
REPRESENT A NUMBER WILL
REDUCE YOUR NUMBER OF APA
ERRORS.
Seriation: A list of
ideas
Help your reader get the key
points!
• Seriation helps your reader quickly see the key
points you are making.
• In informal writing, seriation appears as lists.
• In academic writing, seriation can take two
forms.
Help your reader get the key
points!
• Unlike APA, Sixth Edition, Nova does not allow
you to use bullets unless you are directly quoting
an author who used bullets.
• Within a sentence, your seriation takes the
following form:
– The Foundations of Graduate Study course
focuses on four essential skills: (a) time
management, (b) writing, (c) teamwork, and (d)
presentations.
Seriation with Sentences and
Paragraphs
• Place items in a numbered list.
• Here is an example of a numbered list:
1. Item one would be here.
2. Item two would follow it.
3. Item three would follow that .
• Numbered lists are indented like the paragraph,
and the second line is flush with the left margin.
Seriation
When using a seriated list in academic writing, use
1. Indented first lines that are even with
the indents of all other paragraphs.
2. If a second line is needed, it is even with
the left margin.
One last tip, items in
a series are always
parallel to one
another.
Citations
Cite often; cite correctly!
What You Always Wanted to Know
About APA But Were Afraid to Ask
• Citations – See pages 174-179.
• TAB THESE PAGES!!!!
Overview
• Support every idea with the research.
• Cite carefully and correctly.
• Critical page in APA is p. 177. Great
chart!
What You Always Wanted to Know
About APA But Were Afraid to Ask
• If you cite a source in the text of your
document, you must place the full citation
in the reference list.
• If you list a source in your reference list,
you must have at least one citation in your
text.
What You Always Wanted to Know
About APA But Were Afraid to Ask
In-text Citations
• If you are using someone else’s ideas or words,
you must cite that source in your document.
• Key elements
– The author or authors’ names
– The year of publication
– Page number (s) if it is a direct quote.
What You Always Wanted to Know
About APA But Were Afraid to Ask
In-text Citations
• If you use the author’s (authors’) name (s)
within the text, you only include the date of
publication in the parentheses.
• Punctuation with citations should follow
the final parentheses.
• Do not use punctuation with a citation that
you would not use if the citation were not
present.
What You Always Wanted to Know
About APA But Were Afraid to Ask
In-text Citations
• If you use the author’s name in a citation, the
format would be
(Bowser, 2007)
• If there are two authors, your citation should look
like this:
(Bowser & Fields, 2007).
• If you are citing two sources, place them
alphabetically in the citation:
(Bowser, 2007; Fields, 2007)
What You Always Wanted to Know
About APA But Were Afraid to Ask
In-text Citations
• If there are more than two authors, you
must include the entire list the first time it
is presented in the text.
(Bowser, Fields, & Smith, 2007).
• The next time you use that source, it
would look like this:
(Bowser, et al., 2007)
What You Always Wanted to Know
About APA But Were Afraid to Ask
In-text Citations
• If there is no author, cite the first few words of
the reference list entry (usually the title) and the
year.
• Rules for titles follow the same rules you use for
a title in the text.
• Book titles are italicized; magazine articles are in
quotes.
What You Always Wanted to Know
About APA But Were Afraid to Ask
In-text Citations
• Groups as authors are spelled out each time
they are used.
(Fischler School of Education and Human
Services, 2007).
• If you cite the same source within a paragraph,
you must include the name and the date each
time.
What You Always Wanted to Know
About APA But Were Afraid to Ask
•
•
•
•
In-text Citations
Use page numbers with direct quotations.
Page numbers are not required when you
are only paraphrasing the source.
Review the rules in APA, Sixth Edition, pp.
170-171.
(Bowser, 2007, p. 27) or (Bowser, 2007,
pp. 27-29)
Use the block quotation format if the quote
cited is longer than 40 words.
What You Always Wanted to Know
About APA But Were Afraid to Ask
•
•
•
•
In-text Citations
Direct quotes must be accurate.
You must follow the original source, even
if the grammar and punctuation are not
correct.
Use quotation marks when you use a
direct quote that is under 40 words.
Do not use quotation marks with block
quotations.
What You Always Wanted to Know
About APA But Were Afraid to Ask
In-text Citations
• When you use a short quotation, the order is final
quotation marks, citation in parentheses including
the page number, and then the punctuation.
Book” (Bowser, 2007, p. 22).
• However, in a block quotation, the punctuation
comes immediately after the last word in the
quote, then the citation.
Book. (Bowser, 2007, p. 22)
What You Always Wanted to Know
About APA But Were Afraid to Ask
In-text Citations—Personal Communications
• These may be letters, e-mails, interviews, etc.
• Do not include these in your reference list
because they are not recoverable data.
• However, you must include them in your text.
Use the initials with the last name and the exact
date of the communication.
K. D. Bowser (personal communication,
September 28, 2008) stated …
APA Resources
 Publication Manual of the
American Psychological
Association (6th ed.)
 APA help / tutorials:
http://www.apastyle.org/
http://www.nova.edu/library/dils/lessons/apa/index.htm
•
Laura Lucio Ramirez, Director of North Miami Beach Library Services
Two types of citations parenthetical and reference
Parenthetical text citation (paraphrase):
McPherson (2007) raised issues
of motivation in reading.
Parenthetical text citation (direct quote):
McPherson (2007) coined the phrase “goblet of
motivation” (p. 71).
Parenthetical text citation (paraphrase):
McPherson (2007) raised issues
of motivation in reading.
Parenthetical text citation (direct quote):
McPherson (2007) coined the phrase “goblet of
motivation” (p. 71).
Reference citation -- in reference list:
McPherson, K. (2007). Harry Potter and the goblet of motivation.
Teacher Librarian, 34(4), 71. doi:10.1037/0002-9432.76.4.482
Parenthetical Citations in the Text
Use Author and Year of Publication:
Wilson’s research confirmed the results of cloning (Fink, 2007).
Adams found through a couple of experiments (Eifrig, 1976; Skinner, 1956)
The website did not support the data (Wienhorst, n.d.) .
n.d. – no date
See APA manual, Chapter 6, beginning on p. 174.
When using a direct quote, provide the
page #
“… victims of cyberterrorism” (Windhorst & Tan, 2004, p.
237).
Krankenstein and Jones (2006) reported that "empirical
research verified compliance" (p. 48).
Lynch (2007) stated, “The findings are not valid” (p. 22) but
later maintained that other studies reached different
conclusions.
Vest (2008) reported that "empirical research verified
compliance" (Discussion section, para. 3).
See APA, Chapter 6, pp. 171-172
Secondary Sources
Text citation:
Seidenberg and McClelland’s study (as cited in
Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, & Haller, 1993) …
List the primary source in the reference list entry:
Coltheart, M., Curtis, B., Atkins, P., & Haller, M. (1993).
Models of reading aloud: Dual-route and paralleldistributed-processing approaches. Psychological
Review, 100(4), 589-608.
See APA Chap. 6, p. 178
Citations
• Remember, you may be the person that
future doctoral students are citing!
References
Verifying Your Research and
Helping the Next Researcher
What You Always Wanted to Know
About APA But Were Afraid to Ask
• References – See pages 183-224.
• Critical pages are 202-203.
• Mark these pages in your APA, Sixth
Edition so you can find them quickly!
• Create your reference list as you do your
research.
What You Always Wanted to Know
About APA But Were Afraid to Ask
References
• Personal communications are NOT included in
the references.
• List references alphabetically.
• Works by the same author are arranged by date
of publication.
• One-author entries come before multiple-author
entries that begin with the same last name.
What You Always Wanted to Know
About APA But Were Afraid to Ask
References
• Periodical
Author, A. A., Author, B.B., & Author, C.C. (2007,
September 28). Title of article. Title of Periodical,
volume number, 200-201.
• Book
Author, A. A. (2007). Title of work. Location:
Publisher.
Capitalization follows certain rules. Note what is
capitalized and what is not.
Notice what is italicized and what is not.
Online References
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
• A unique identifier for online reference
material
• Written in all lower case letters—doi
What You Always Wanted to Know
About APA But Were Afraid to Ask
Online References
• Periodical when DOI is not available
Author, A. A., Author, B.B., & Author, C.C.
(2007, September 28). Title of article. Title of
Periodical, volume number, 200-201.
Retrieved from http://www.xxxxxx
Be sure to REMOVE hyperlink.
• Document when DOI is available
Author, A. A. (2007). Title of work. doi:xxxxx
Making the Grade:
Is there a doctor in the house?
• Format--References
– Start on a new page—Use <CTRL> + <ENTER>
– Pagination continues
– Hanging indents (Go back to your paragraph function)
and make this change.
Making the Grade:
Is there a doctor in the house?
• Format—References
– Single-space entries; double-space between entries
– List entries alphabetically
– All sources cited in the paper must be in the reference
list; all sources in the reference list must be cited in
the paper.
The following slides were created
by
Dr. Laura Lucio Ramirez,
Director of North Miami Beach
Library Services
• Page
entitled
References
• Hanging
indentations
• (FSEHS) Single
space in
citations,
but double
space
between
citations
• Use italics,
do not
underline
• Alphabetical
order,
Then by date
Reference Page
References
Centered
and bold
32
Jones, R. N., del Rio, J. A., Humenik, J. A., García, E. O., & Ramírez, A. M. (2006). Citation
mining: Integrating text mining and bibliometrics for research user profiling. Journal of the
American Society for Information Science and Technology, 52, 1148-1156.
Kushkowski, J. D. (1985). Master's and doctoral thesis citations: Analysis and trends of a
longitudinal study. Portal, 3, 459-479. doi:10.1037/0002-9432.76.4.482
Kushkowski, J. D. (1999a). Identifying uniform core journal titles for music libraries: A
dissertation citation study. College & Research Libraries, 60(2), 153-163.
Kushkowski, J. D. (1999b). Measuring the use and value of electronic journals and books.
Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship. Retrieved from Expanded Academic Index
database.
Morner, C. J. (1995). Measuring the library research skills of education doctoral students.
In R. AnRhein (Ed.), Continuity & transformation: The promise of confluence. Proceedings
of the Seventh National Conference of the Association of College and Research Libraries,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 29-April 1, 1995 (pp. 381-391). Chicago: Association of
College and Research Libraries.
Norton, M. J. (2009). Introductory concepts in information science. doi:10.5634/93944-090
O'Connor, D. O., & Voos, H. (2008). Empirical laws, theory construction, and bibliometrics. In J.
Smith & B. B. Jones, New adventures on the Web. Springfield, MA: Springer Verlag.
Citing Journals and Web pages
Citation of an article:
Ingham, R. J., Warner, A., Byrd, A., & Cotton, J. (2006).
Speech effort measurement and stuttering: Investigating
the chorus reading effect. Journal of Speech, Language,
and Hearing Research, 49(3), 660-670.
doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2006/048)
Citation of a Web site:
Dvoretsky, D. P. (n.d.). History: Pavlov Institute of
Physiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Retrieved from http://www.infran.ru /history_eng.htm
Example of a DOI
DOI lookup tool
Reference with a DOI
Ingham, R. J., Warner, A., Byrd, A., & Cotton, J. (2006). Speech
effort measurement and stuttering: Investigating the
chorus reading effect. Journal of Speech, Language, and
Hearing Research, 49(3), 660-670. doi:10.1044/1092
-4388(2006/048)
Use the DOI to link to Full Text
Spot check and fix any errors
APA shortcut in Education Full Text Wilson
Alphabetizing the Reference List
in Word 2003
• Go to Table.
• Select Sort.
• Click OK.
In Word 2007, 1) select No Spacing, 2) adjust font & size 3) use Paste Special,
and 4) select Unformatted Text to copy and paste easier.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Hanging Indentations in
Word 2007
Alphabetizing the Reference List
in Word 2007
Final Reference Tips
• Use your APA, Sixth Edition, Manual
frequently.
• Do NOT depend on electronic sources to
do your formatting, references, etc.
• The better your references are—the more
credibility you will have.
Headings are important!
Format--Headings and sub-headings follow APA,
Sixth Edition
• First-level headings are bold, centered, and in
title case—Capitalize words that are four or
more letters.
• One space in between heading and body text.
Headings are important!
Format--Headings and sub-headings follow APA,
Sixth Edition
• Second-level headings are bold, flush with the
left margin, and in title case—Capitalize words
that are four or more letters.
• One space in between heading and body text.
Headings are important!
Format--Headings and sub-headings follow APA,
Sixth Edition
• Third-level headings are bold, indented .5
inches, and are in sentence case.
• Only the first word and proper nouns are
capitalized.
• They end with a period.
• Your text follows one space after the period.
Headings are important!
• They guide you as you write.
• They guide the reader through your written
thoughts.
• Your headings should read like a telegraph of
your paper.
• Use them appropriately and often!
Quick Tricks for
Editing and Revising
• Once you are sure the draft is as perfect
as you can make it—submit it for your
chair’s feedback.
• Make any and ALL changes suggested by
your chair and committee member before
you send the next draft.
See you at
graduation,
Doctor!
References
Boyle-Single, P. (2010). “A writing routine.”
Demystifying the Dissertation. Stylus
Publishing: Sterling, VA.
Elbow, P. (1981). Writing with POWER:
Techniques for mastering the writing
process.Oxford University Press: NY.
Onwuegbuzie, A.J., Combs, J. P., Slate, J. R., &
Frels, R. K. (2010). Editorial: Evidence-based
guidelines for avoiding the most
common APA errors in journal article
submissions. Research in the Schools.