Scholarly Writing
Additional APA Resources and Tips
Academic Writing and APA Do’s and Don’ts
Do ensure you read the assignment description and marking rubric before you get too far into a writing assessment
Do use the APA formatting checklist to ensure you are adhering to APA requirements (https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/publication-manual-formatting-checklist.pdf)
Do read, and re-read your assignments for errors. TIP: to catch errors after you’ve read once or twice already, start from the conclusion and read the paper in reverse
Do write out numbers in full up to ten (e.g. instead of using 1, write one)
Do use clear language- say what you mean. Don’t be wordy; wordiness produces embellishment and flowery writing which is not appropriate in academic writing.
Do use headings to improve the organization of your paper
Do create a title that captures the purpose of your paper.
Do write out any abbreviations in full once before subsequent use.
Don’t use contractions.
Don’t plagiarize; any idea that is not common knowledge or your own opinion requires a citation and reference.
Resources
For title page and paper formatting and structure, please refer to the following resources:
How should my paper look?
https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/student-paper-setup-guide.pdf
https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format/student-annotated.pdf
https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format/headings
https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/heading-template-student-paper.pdf
https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/publication-manual-formatting-checklist.pdf
Alignment between thesis/purpose and paper topic
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/thesis_statement_tips.html
scroll to Thesis statement examples