Scholarly Writing (APA Writing Style)

1. Scholarly Writing (APA Writing Style) Graduate Program Orientation Arlene Kent-Wilkinson RN, CPMHN(C) BSN, MN, PhD www.usask.ca/nursing

2. University of Saskatchewan Academic Health Science Centre 2013 E Wing

3. 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)

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

5. 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

6. The Art and Science of Scholarly Writing (2) Dusick, D. M. (2011). The art and science of scholarly writing. Orlando, FL: Walden University. Science of Scholarly Writing 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: clarity brevity significance eloquence organization overcoming writers’ block The science of scholarly writing consists of: • selecting a topic worthy of scholarly research, • compliance with a scholarly manual (e.g., APA style); • a clear understanding of the mechanics of writing, i.e., proper grammar; and • basic adherence to the steps of the scientific method.

7. The Art and Science of Scholarly Writing (3) 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. Recommendation Strunk, 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

8. The Art and Science of Scholarly Writing (4) Dusick, D. M. (2011). The art and science of scholarly writing. Orlando, FL: Walden University. • Make the paragraph the unit of composition (avoid one-sentence paragraphs, and ensure paragraphs contain meaningful concepts), • Use active voice (active voice means that the subject of the sentence is doing the action, as in participants responded to the survey), • Put statements in positive form (for example, 30% of those contacted responded as opposed to 70% did not respond), • 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), • Omit needless words (if you can eliminate words in a sentence without changing the meaning, do so), • Avoid a succession of loose sentences (long convoluted sentences confuse the reader), • Express co-ordinate ideas in a similar form (as, for example, in this list, each item begins with a verb), • Keep related words together (for example, ensure that adjectival phrases immediately follow the nouns they modify).

9. The Art and Science of Scholarly Writing (5) Dusick, D. M. (2011). The art and science of scholarly writing. Orlando, FL: Walden University. • 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. • 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 Method There 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

10. A Guide to Scholarly Writing in Nursing Hallas, 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 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 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.

11. Introduction to Scholarly Writing Tornquist, 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

12. Basic Tips about Writing a Scholarly Manuscript Lambert, 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).

13. 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.

14. Guidelines for writing scholarly papers (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.html 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.

15. Guidelines for writing scholarly papers (3) 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 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.

16. Guidelines for writing scholarly papers (4) 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 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.

17. Guidelines for writing scholarly papers (5) 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 Things to Do: • Use Proper Style for Notes and Bibliographies • Pay Attention to Tense • Use Page Numbers • Proofread

18. 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

19. Scholarly Writing (2) by Robert E. Levasseur (2009) 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.

20. Scholarly Writing (3) by Robert E. Levasseur (2009) 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

21. Scholarly Writing (4) by Robert E. Levasseur (2009) 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.

22. Scholarly Writing (5) by Robert E. Levasseur (2009) 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 plagiarism Sample 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.

23. Student to Scholar: The Guide for Doctoral Students By Robert E. Levasseur PhD 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. • 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.

24. Dissertation Research: An Integrative Approach By Robert E. Levasseur PhD From 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.

25. References – Scholarly Writing (1) Bennett, P. (2010). How to write a paper. International Emergency Nursing, 18(4), 226- 230. doi:10.1016/j.ienj.2010.04.003 Dusick, D. M. (2011). The art and science of scholarly writing. Orlando, FL: Walden University. www. bold-ed.com/art.pdf Hallas, 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 Lambert, 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.html Levasseur, R. E. (2011). Dissertation research: An integrative approach. St. Augustine, FL: Mindfire Press.

26. 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.html Tornquist, 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.

27. 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.aspx American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, D.C.: APA. ISBN: 1-4338-0560-X; ISBN 13: 978-1-4338-0560-8 American Psychological Association. (2010). APA style. What’s new in the sixth edition? Retrieved from http://www.apastyle.org/manual/whats-new.aspx Baggs, 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.20351 Levasseur, R. E. (2007). ABCs of APA style. St. Augustine, FL: Mindfire Press.

28. 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/

29. 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.

30. References – Management Tools Endnotes http://endnote.com/ • Software tool for publishing and managing bibliographies, citations and references on the Windows and Macintosh desktop RefWorkshttp://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.

31. References – Grammar Grammarly.com http://www.grammarly.com/?q=proofreading Grammar checker. World’s most accurate grammar checker! Checks for: • Plagiarism • Contextual Spelling Check • Grammar • Punctuation • Style and Word Choice