Scholarly Writing (APA Writing Style) Graduate Program Orientation Arlene Kent-Wilkinson RN, CPMHN(C) BSN, MN, PhD

Scholarly Writing (APA Writing Style)

www.usask.ca/nursing

Graduate Program Orientation Arlene Kent-Wilkinson RN, CPMHN(C) BSN, MN, PhD

University of SaskatchewanAcademic Health Science Centre 2013E Wing

Scholarly Writing (APA Writing Style) Presentation Outline • Scholarly writing in 1 hour• Start your own database or file of your topic references• A-Z total references and Topic References • Remember that scholarly writing is a “process over time” • Power point on Scholarly writing • Selected References & Websites Handouts (attached files) • Scholarly Writing Presentation on Selected References (powerpoint) • APA Tips #1-30 & APA Level of Headings • Sample paper (outline)• Sample paper (correct) & Sample paper (common mistakes)

Scholarly Writing (APA Writing Style) Selected References • Scholarly Writing• APA Writing Style• Writing for Publication • References Management Tools• Grammarly

The Art and Science of Scholarly Writing (1)Dusick, D. M. (2011). The art and science of scholarly writing. Orlando, FL: Walden University.

According to the Writing Center at Walden University (2009) Scholarly writing is a type of writing rather than a level of writing (there is no hierarchy in writing genres). Scholarly writing isn't better than journalism, fiction, or poetry; it is just a different category. As with any type of writing, scholarly writing has traditions and expectations that you know about only if you read or write in that style. Scholarly writing is writing a paper for a scholarly audience rather than a general audience.

Styles of formatting: American Psychological Association (generally referred to by the acronym APA) (many manuscripts and dissertations in psychology, education, business, and the social sciences) Chicago Style (books, magazines, newspapers, and other non-scholarly publications) MLA (literature, arts, and the humanities) Turabian (higher education in many subjects) Kent-Wilkinson, 2012 5

The Art and Science of Scholarly Writing (2)

Science of Scholarly Writing

The science of scholarly writing consists of: (a) selecting a topic worthy of scholarly

research, (b) compliance with a scholarly manual (e.g.,

APA style); (c) a clear understanding of the mechanics of

writing, i.e., proper grammar; and (d) basic adherence to the steps of the

scientific method.

Art of Scholarly Writing

The art of scholarly writing is more elusive to define but just as essential to a well-written article. The art of writing in a scholarly tone is based on: (a) clarity (b) brevity(c) significance (d) eloquence(e) organization(f) overcoming writers’ block

Dusick, D. M. (2011). The art and science of scholarly writing. Orlando, FL: Walden University.


APA Publication Manual (2010) includes five sections for careful review:Section 1 covers the basics of “writing for the Behavioral and Social Sciences” (p. 9).

Section 2 details “Manuscript Structure and Content” (p. 21). [sample paper, p. 41-59]

Section 3 is a must for every author: “Writing Clearly and Concisely” (p. 61).

Section 4 details “The Mechanics of Style”, and covers punctuation, spelling, capitalization, italics, abbreviations, and more (p. 87).

Section 5 presents the guidelines on presenting results in tables and figures.

RecommendationStrunk, W. Jr., & White, F. B. (1999). The elements of style (4rd ed.). Location?: Longman. eight specific guidelines one of the best books of writing ever written


1. Make the paragraph the unit of composition (avoid one-sentence paragraphs, and ensure paragraphs contain meaningful concepts),

2. Use active voice (active voice means that the subject of the sentence is doing the action, as in participants responded to the survey),

3. Put statements in positive form (for example, 30% of those contacted responded as opposed to 70% did not respond),

4. Use definitive, specific, concrete, language (some words and phrases to avoid include good, bad, perfect, ideal, seemingly, would, seem to show, in terms of, based on, in light of. Prefer words and phrases that clearly illustrate your point),

5. Omit needless words (if you can eliminate words in a sentence without changing the meaning, do so),

6. Avoid a succession of loose sentences (long convoluted sentences confuse the reader),7. Express co-ordinate ideas in a similar form (as, for example, in this list, each item begins with a verb),8. Keep related words together (for example, ensure that adjectival phrases immediately follow the

nouns they modify).


9. Of course, plagiarism is absolutely not allowed. You may not, under any circumstances, use another author’s words without quoting the exact source. But there are specific words and phrases that are common to scholarly studies that you may use with impunity.

10. Typical phrases include (a) the purpose of this study is to . . . and (b) the results indicate the null hypothesis that was/was not rejected.

Follow the Steps of the Scientific MethodThere are essentially five steps in any scientific study: Step 1 Identify the problem and explicate the purpose of the study [Conduct a detailed literature review to give you a thorough understanding of the research topic] Step 2 Develop the research question(s), and if appropriate, research hypotheses Step 3 Identify the appropriate design and methodology of the study Step 4 Collect and analyze your data Step 5 Interpret the results

A Guide to Scholarly Writing in NursingHallas, D., & Feldman, H. R. (2006). A guide to scholarly writing in nursing. Retrieved from

www.nsna.org/.../0/.../imprint_sept06_backschool_hallas-feldman[1].pdf

Why is it Important for Nursing Students to Write in a Scholarly Style? Document plans-of-care for clients using the

nursing process, clearly and concisely Ability to write in a scholarly style an essential

skill for nursing graduates Writing well is a prerequisite for the pursuit of

graduate nursing education. Critical thinking

Graduate Level All nurses have the potential to contribute to the

scientific body of knowledge in the nursing profession.

APA Writing Style Format Title Page Abstract Introduction Literature Review Searching the Internet Types of Papers Citing the Woks of Others References Tables & Figures Conclusion and Recommendations

Introduction to Scholarly WritingTornquist, E. (2006). Introduction to scholarly writing. In J. M. Phillips & C. R. King (Eds.),

Advancing Oncoloogy Nursing Science (chapter 20, pp. 437-448). The Oncology Nursing Society.

Scholarly writing May be enjoyable to some… not easy Writing is complex and difficult, only way to learn to do it well is to begin Keeping a Notebook Selecting a topic Making an outline Writing a first draft The beginning The middle Involvement in writing Rewriting, Revising, and Editing Revision for Clarity and Coherence Editing: The Fine Points of Writing

Basic Tips about Writing a Scholarly ManuscriptLambert, V.A., Lambert, C. E., & Tsukahara, M. (2003). Basic tips about writing a scholarly

manuscript. Nursing & Health Sciences, 5(1) 1-2. Retrieved from

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1442-2018.2003.00137.x/full

doi: 10.1046/j.1442-2018.2003.00137.x.

As editors of Nursing & Health Sciences, Lambert, Lambert, & Tsukahara (2003) were often asked for some basic tips: Writing a title that poorly reflects the essence of the content Failure to capture the reader's attention in the early sections of the manuscript Failure to produce what was promised in the introductory section of the text Failure to develop ideas to completion Lack of focus and direction of the presentation of ideas, Complex and incomprehensible sentence structure Lack of logical flow to the content presented Failure to logically link the content between sentences and between paragraphs Attention to detail; accepting critique; undertaking numerous rewrites (Lambert, Lambert, & Tsukahara, 2003)

(Lambert, Lambert, & Tsukahara, 2003).

Guidelines for writing scholarly papers (1) Moser, J. (2012). Guidelines for writing scholarly papers. Department of History and Political

Science, Ashland University. Retrieved from http://personal.ashland.edu/~jmoser1/papers.html

Basic Structure: The introductory paragraph should engage the reader’s interest by setting out clearly the question that the

paper is attempting to address, how you plan to address it, and why it is worth addressing in the first place; The thesis statement is a summation of your main point; this should generally appear at the end of the

introductory paragraph;Background information, basic material about the subject, to provide context for the reader;

The real “meat” of your paper will be the actual points of discussion. These will be a series of paragraphs that support your thesis statement, with each point occupying one or two paragraphs, depending on the essay’s overall length;

One of the hallmarks of good writing is the ability to move back and forth smoothly between general statements and concrete details. Each paragraph should start with a generalization—sort of a miniature thesis statement; and

The concluding paragraph should flow logically from the rest of the essay, but it should be more than simply a restatement of what you have done. For a paper of more than three or four pages, you might want briefly to summarize your main points. The concluding paragraph might also offer some guidance for action. The rest of the paragraph should provide specifics to back it up. Ideally, your conclusion should convince the reader that he has not been wasting his time, and that there is something that he can take away from your essay.



Things to Avoid:Contractions: Words like “didn’t,” “couldn’t,” and “wouldn’t”

Passive Voice: Active Voice: “Washington chopped down the cherry tree” Passive Voice: “The cherry tree was chopped down by George Washington.” [wordy & clumsy]

First or Second Person: In scholarly writing, the author is assumed to have “distance” from his or her subject. You should therefore

write as an outside observer, not a participant, and you should treat the reader in the same way. This means that pronouns such as “I,” “we,” or “you” are inappropriate.

Incomplete Sentences: Every sentence must have a subject and a verb, unless it is part of a direct quote. There are no other exceptions

to this rule.



Things to Avoid: (cont.)Imprecise Language: Avoid words like “good” She was a “good” leader. Better to say: She was a “strong” leader; she was an “effective” leader

Slang: “bumped off” – to describe a “killing” “Bees knees”Words Out of Proper Proximity: “Witnesses described the thief as a six-foot-tall man with a mustache weighing 190 pounds.” Excessive Wordiness: do not write “time period,” when either “time” or “period” will suffice. do not write “due to the fact that,” when a simple “because” will do.



Things to Avoid: (cont.)Excessive Quotations: Often writers who have yet to develop their own “voice” have a tendency to use a lot of direct quotes from

other authors.Dumb Mistakes confusing “its” with “it’s,” “there” with “they’re” or “their,” and “who’s” with “whose.” subjects must agree in number with verbs, and pronouns with their antecedents; Example: ” “Each of them had their own ideas” is wrong. “Each of them had his [or her] own ideas” is correct. Plagiarism Avoiding plagiarism means citing every single source that you used in writing a paper—and “use” means draw

any sort of fact (except those which are common knowledge) or interpretation.



Things to Do: Use Proper Style for Notes and Bibliographies Pay Attention to Tense Use Page Numbers Proofread

Scholarly Writing (1) by Robert E. Levasseur (2009)

Levasseur, R. E. (2009). Scholarly writing. St. Augustine, FL: Mindfire Press. Retrieved from

http://www.mindfirepress.com/Scholarly_Writing.html

To write at the doctoral level:You must meet high standards of communication: content of your writing (i.e., your ideas per se) and the formatting of your document (i.e., how you present your ideas) Both are equally important in doctoral writing

The areas to special attention to when you write are: Content Organization Grammar Style


Content Reflect Higher-Order Thinking doctoral writing must reflect the higher-order thinking skills of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. book report style, descriptive writing that demonstrates lower-order thinking skills, such as

knowledge, comprehension, and application, is not acceptable. in short, your writing must demonstrate your ability to read and analyze the ideas of other

scholars, evaluate them, synthesize or integrate them into a meaningful whole, if necessary, and use them in support of your own arguments

Get on the BOAT doctoral writers use evidence from the literature, not rhetoric, to support their contentions. objective evidence, as opposed to subjective opinion, is the coin of the realm in doctoral work

(cont.). it is your responsibility to present the ideas of others from the literature as faithfully as you can,

based on your own critical reading of their work. you must not distort their findings to make your point, even if you don’t agree with those findings.


Organization (of paper) overall structure needs to be clear to an intelligent, but uninformed reader provide introductions and conclusions to each major section provide clear transitions between parts or paragraphs provide headings (i.e., trail markers) to keep your readers from getting lost

Grammar no substitute for the basics or fundamentals - adheres to the rules of proper grammar. adhering to the tenets of Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style or some other basic book of

proper English grammar is a requirement of good doctoral writing writing in the active voice (biggest violations of the basics) write in the active voice exclusively, avoid repetition, and choose the right word the quality of ideas (content) is not sufficient to overcome inferior formatting in the form of poor

spelling, bad grammar, and incorrect APA reference citations and headings


Style American Psychological Association (APA) style The APA publication manual spells out in great detail the requirements one of the most frequently

followed sets of guidelines for scholarly writing. Topics covered include the content and organization of a manuscript, grammar, bias in language,

punctuation, spelling, capitalization, the use of italics and abbreviations, bibliographic and in-text reference citations.

You must adhere to the style guidelines specified by your institution, whether APA, Harvard, Chicago, or some other, in all of your doctoral work.

For most students, learning APA is like learning a foreign language. While this is not necessarily an easy thing to do, you have no choice but to buckle down and learn APA style if you want to become a scholar. The sooner you do, the faster you will get through your doctoral program.


Finding Your Voice avoid the passive voice avoid the use of first and second person pronouns no longer simply say “I” think this or “you” should do that support your arguments with evidence from the literature properly cite, to avoid charges of plagiarismSample A [Unacceptable] Some say that money is a universal motivator. It is argued by others that it depends on the needs

of the individual. I think the others are right, as I will explain in this essay.Sample B [Acceptable] Some say that money is a universal motivator. Others argue that it depends on the needs of the

individual (Maslow, 1954). In this essay, the author will critically evaluate the arguments for and against money as a universal motivator, and provide a rationale based on personal experience and empirical research evidence in support of Maslow’s hierarchy-of-needs theory.

Maslow, A. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper and Row.Sample B. cites as major work as evidence to support their opinion, more clear in making point that money is not a universal motivator, more credible, gives credit where credit due, uses active voice in comparison to Sample A which is passive voice.

Student to Scholar: The Guide for Doctoral Students

By Robert E. Levasseur PhD Student to Scholar is a must if you

are currently a doctoral student or expect to be one soon, and you want to get the most out of the time, money, and effort you invest in your doctoral program

Written by a doctoral professor, this book contains practical examples of high-quality doctoral work, including a complete section of a major paper written in correct APA style. Student to Scholar is the book you need to enable you to make the most of your doctoral journey.

From Student to Scholar you will learn:• What it means to be a scholar • How speed and quality are related • Four key ways to accelerate your program • Higher-order doctoral skills • How to write a major paper • How to annotate a journal article • How to write a high–quality dissertation • How to manage the dissertation process • Other ways to accelerate your progress

Levasseur, R. E. (2006). Student to scholar: The

guide for doctoral students. St. Augustine, FL:

Mindfire Press.

Dissertation Research: An Integrative Approach

By Robert E. Levasseur PhDFrom Dissertation Research you will learn:• The steps in the dissertation research process• How to find a researchable dissertation topic• How to develop an integrated research plan• The structure and content of the proposal• How to write a high–quality proposal• How to conduct your dissertation research• The structure and content of the dissertation • How to write a high–quality dissertation• The steps in the dissertation review process• How to choose a dissertation committee• How to manage the dissertation process• How to publish your dissertation findings

Levasseur, R. E. (2011). Dissertation research:

An integrative approach. St. Augustine, FL:

Mindfire Press.

Dissertation Research builds on the insights, ideas, and advice provided in Student to Scholar. It focuses on the dissertation research process at the level of detail necessary to enable any doctoral student to understand and successfully accomplish this capstone project of the doctorate in a timely, cost effective, and high quality manner.

Written by a university professor who teaches research methods and who has worked with dozens of students to help them achieve their goal of earning a doctorate.

References – Scholarly Writing (1)Bennett, P. (2010). How to write a paper. International Emergency Nursing, 18(4), 226- 230. doi:10.1016/j.ienj.2010.04.003Dusick, D. M. (2011). The art and science of scholarly writing. Orlando, FL: Walden University. www. bold-ed.com/art.pdfHallas, D., & Feldman, H. R. (2006). A guide to scholarly writing in nursing. Retrieved from www.nsna.org/.../0/.../imprint_sept06_backschool_hallas-feldman[1].pdfLambert, V.A., Lambert, C. E., & Tsukahara, M. (2003). Basic tips about writing a scholarly manuscript. Nursing & Health Sciences, 5(1) 1-2. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1442-2018.2003.00137.x/full DOI: 10.1046/j.1442-2018.2003.00137.x.Levasseur, R. E. (2006). Student to scholar: The guide for doctoral students. St. Augustine, FL: Mindfire Press. Levasseur, R. E. (2009). Scholarly writing. St. Augustine, FL: Mindfire Press. Retrieved from http://www.mindfirepress.com/Scholarly_Writing.htmlLevasseur, R. E. (2011). Dissertation research: An integrative approach. St. Augustine, FL: Mindfire

Press.

References – Scholarly Writing (2) Moser, J. (2012). Guidelines for writing scholarly papers. Department of History and Political Science, Ashland University. Retrieved from http://personal.ashland.edu/~jmoser1/papers.htmlTornquist, E. (2006). Introduction to scholarly writing. In J. M. Phillips & C. R. King (Eds.), Advancing Oncology Nursing Science (Chapter 20, pp. 437-448). The Oncology Nursing Society.

References – APA (1) American Psychological Association. (2009). Concise rules of APA style. The official pocket style guide from the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, D.C.: APA. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4210004.aspxAmerican Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, D.C.: APA. ISBN: 1-4338-0560-X; ISBN 13: 978-1-4338-0560-8American Psychological Association. (2010). APA style. What’s new in the sixth edition? Retrieved from http://www.apastyle.org/manual/whats-new.aspxBaggs, J. G., & Froman, R. (2009, August 31). Editorial. It's b-a-a-a-a-a-a-ck again, or how to live with the new APA manual: Reprise for Edition 6 (p n/a). Research in Nursing & Health, 32(4), 1-3. Retrieved from http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/33706/home doi: 10.1002/nur.20351Levasseur, R. E. (2007). ABCs of APA style. St. Augustine, FL: Mindfire Press.

http://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4210004.aspx

http://www.apastyle.org/manual/whats-new.aspx



http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/33706/home

References – APA (2)

APA (2010) 6th Ed. Websites APA Guideline changes: http://www.aug.edu/elcse/2010APAGuidelineChanges.pdf End note update: http://www.endnote.com/support/enapa6thstyle.asp Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.apastyle.org/learn/faqs/index.aspxQuick notes: Tutorial: http://flash1r.apa.org/apastyle/whatsnew/index.htm

Websites Sample Papers *APA Sample Paper http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/18/

http://www.aug.edu/elcse/2010APAGuidelineChanges.pdf

http://www.endnote.com/support/enapa6thstyle.asp

http://www.apastyle.org/learn/faqs/index.aspx

http://flash1r.apa.org/apastyle/whatsnew/index.htm

http://flash1r.apa.org/apastyle/whatsnew/index.htm

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/18/

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/18/

References – Writing for Publication Lawson, L. & Peternelj-Taylor, C. (2006). What do I do now, coach? What to do when your professor says you have a publishable manuscript. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 2, 161-162, 164.Peternelj-Taylor, C. (2010). Calling all presenters. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 6, 107-109.Peternelj-Taylor, C. (2010). In praise of peer reviewers and the peer review process. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 6, 159-161.Peternelj-Taylor, C. (2011). Is impostor syndrome getting in the way of writing for the Journal of Forensic Nursing? Journal of Forensic Nursing, 7, 57-59.Peternelj-Taylor, C. (2011). Licking your wounds: Responding to the peer review process. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 7, 157-158.

References – Management Tools Endnotes http://endnote.com/ Software tool for publishing and managing bibliographies, citations and

references on the Windows and Macintosh desktop RefWorks http://www.refworks.com/ An online research management, writing and collaboration tool -- is designed

to help researchers easily gather, manage, store and share all types of information, as well as generate citations and bibliographies.

http://endnote.com/

http://www.refworks.com/

References – Grammar Grammarly.com http://www.grammarly.com/?q=proofreadingGrammar checker. World’s most accurate grammar checker!

Checks for: Plagiarism Contextual Spelling Check Grammar Punctuation Style and Word Choice

http://www.grammarly.com/?q=proofreading

http://www.grammarly.com/?q=proofreading

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Scholarly Writing (APA Writing Style) Graduate Program Orientation Arlene Kent-Wilkinson RN, CPMHN(C) BSN, MN, PhD