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Scholarly Writing UsingAPA and MLA Styles

Presented by:RIT Academic Support Center

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Thought-provoking Questions

How many of these questions can you answer: What is the value of using a style guide when

writing? Why do we use specific writing styles? What is the difference between APA and

MLA styles? Where can we find detailed information on

different styles?

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Scholarly Writing

Why: student assignments, articles for professional journals, theses, and dissertations

Who: scholarly writing is produced by scholars for other scholars.

Purpose: add to the existing body of knowledge with research.

Types: results of original research; for review, theoretical, and methodological articles; and case studies

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Characteristics of Scholarly Writing

As you write: Express ideas in a clear and logical manner. Persevere with the process. Ask for constructive feedback from others. Rewrite and continue to refine writing.

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Good Practices for Scholarly Writing

Good practices include:Using appropriate words in the proper context. Using grammatically correct sentences. Writing in clear and concise paragraphs.Using logical transitions.

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Good Practices for Scholarly Writing(cont.)

Good practices include:Writing as if your audience is not familiar with your topic or personal writing style. Producing a document that is readable and understandable by others.

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Editorial Style

When professors or editors request writing in APA or MLA Style, they do not mean writing style. They are referring to the editorial style that many of the social and behavioral sciences have adopted to present written material in the field.

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Editorial Style (cont.)

Editorial style consists of publisher guidelines that ensure clear and consistent presentation of written material; e.g.:

punctuation and abbreviations construction of tables selection of headings citation of references presentation of statistics, and other elements that are a part of a manuscript

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Guidelines

General guidelines include information on all aspects of formatting; e.g.:

Paper size Spacing, font type and size Margins, page numbers Italics and underlining Title page Page numbering

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Systems of Citations and Reference Formats

When researchers refer to an APA or MLA style, they refer to systems of in-text citations as well as Works Cited and Reference formats that:

build their credibility. demonstrate accountability to their source

material. protect writers from accusations of

plagiarism.

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Need for Specific Style

Authors who write for a publication follow the rules of specific styles per the publisher to avoid inconsistencies among journal articles or book chapters.

For example, without rules of style, three different manuscripts might use data base, database, and Database in one issue of a journal or book. The meaning of the word is the same; however, the variations in style may distract or confuse readers.

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Need for Specific Style (cont.)

The need for a consistent style becomes more apparent when complex material is presented, such as tables and statistics.

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When Citing is Not Required

Common sense and ethics help determine your need for documenting sources. For example, sources are not needed for: common knowledge. well-known quotations.

Note: Your audience dictates what constitutes common knowledge.

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Discussion: Check Your Current Knowledge

Regarding APA and MLA styles: What resources do you have? Where do you go for up-to-date information

on these styles? How do you identify what is the most

reliable resources?

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APA

The American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines are the most commonly used among the social sciences, behavioral sciences, and education, which have adopted the APA format to present written material in their fields.

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APA: Major Sections

Major sections of APA include: Title Page Abstract Main Body References

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APA: In-Text Citation Rules

When paraphrasing an idea from another work, make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text citation; e.g.:

Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals" (Burke, 1966).

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APA: Corresponding Entry in References Page

Your in-text citation will correspond with an entry in your Works Cited page; e.g.:

Burke, Kenneth. (1966) Language as symbolic action: Essays on life, literature, and method. Berkeley: U of California P, Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.

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APA: Citations of Electronic Sources

Include all information available, including an issue number in parentheses. Provide a retrieval date only if the information is likely to be updated or changed at a later date (e.g., blogs and wikis); e.g.:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Online Periodical, volume number (issue number if available). Retrieved month day, year, (if necessary) from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/

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APA: Common Errors

To minimize the common APA errors: avoid using bold, oversized, or decorative

fonts. avoid underlining text. use the ampersand (&) inside parentheses;

use “and” within text. double space all text in the document.

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APA: Common Errors (cont.)

To minimize the common APA errors: use lowercase letters in parentheses to

identify elements in a series; e.g., (a), (b), (c). use separate paragraphs and Arabic

numerals for list or steps.

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APA: Best Resources

For the most comprehensive, up-to-date information on APA, use the following sources:

Fifth Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2007)

http://apastyle.apa.org/ http://owl.english.purdue.edu http://www.rit.edu/studentaffairs/asc/

tutoring_writingcenter.php

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APA vs. MLA

Topic APA MLA

Title Page Separate title page No separate title page

Quotation Marks

Long quotations of 40 or more words are displayed in a double-spaced block of typewritten lines with no quotation marks. Indented five spaces from the left margin.

Quotes longer than 4 lines are double indented, single spaced, and only quotation marks used by the author are included.

Parenthetical Citations

Author’s last name, date of publication, and page number.

Author’s last name and page number in parentheses

Discipline Behavioral and Social Sciences and Liberal Arts: Education, Psychology, Humanities, Theology

Natural and Physical Sciences; e.g., Biology, Physics, Chemistry.

The table below lists just a few examples of how APA style differs from MLA.

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MLA: Usages

The Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines MLA writing style is the most commonly used among the humanities, liberal arts, and fine arts disciplines*, and therefore, is extremely valuable to all college students for use in their general education courses.

*Based on the previous slide, opinions vary on these disciplines, so it is always important to ask what style is expected.

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MLA: Five-Paragraph Format

With the five paragraph format, your papers contain five main parts:

Introduction Claim Primary support Secondary support Conclusion

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MLA: Basic In-Text Citation Rules

Referring to the works of others in your text is done by parenthetical citation. Following a quotation from a source or a paraphrase of a source's ideas, place the author's name followed by a space and the relevant page number(s); e.g.:

Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals" (Burke 3).

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MLA: Corresponding Entry in Works Cited Page

Your in-text citation will correspond with an entry in your Works Cited page; e.g.:

Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method. Berkeley: U of California P, 1966.

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MLA: In-Text Multiple Citations

To cite multiple sources in the same parenthetical reference, separate the citations by a semi-colon; e.g.:

...as has been discussed elsewhere (Burke 3; Dewey 21).

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MLA: Citations of Electronic Sources

Include as much information available; e.g.: Author and/or editor names Name of the database or title of project, book,

article Any version numbers available Date of version, revision, or posting Publisher information Date you accessed the material Medium (i.e., electronic) Electronic address, printed between carets (< >)

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MLA: Changes as of May 2008

The most notable changes include: Adding the medium of publication to every

entry in Works Cited Simplifying the format for works-cited entries

for online sources that do not include the full URL

Including the volume and issue numbers for every journal citation

Using italics instead of underling for titles

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MLA: Best Resources

For the most comprehensive, up-to-date information on MLA, use the following sources:

Sixth Edition of the MLA Handbook of Writers of Research Papers (2003)

http://www.mla.org/style http://owl.english.purdue.edu http://www.rit.edu/studentaffairs/asc/

tutoring_writingcenter.php

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Automatic Bibliography Builders

Some of you may be aware of these sites that automatically generate Works Cited and Bibliography pages; e.g.:

http://www.easybib.com/ http://www.bibme.org/ http://www.workscited4u.com/

Question: How can you ensure that these are accurate?

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Activity: Check Your Resources

Use your computers to determine how to create in-text citations and Works Cited/References citations for the following information:

U.S. Census Bureau information Proceedings from a professional

organization’s conference; e.g., IEEE, STC, or ASTD

Audio recording Unpublished doctoral dissertation

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Check Your Understanding

Describe something you learned (or recall) about scholarly writing and using APA and MLA formats; e.g.:

What is the value of using a style guide when writing?

Why do we use specific writing styles? What is the difference between APA and MLA

styles? Where can we find detailed information on different

styles?

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Resources

Contents adapted from the following websites (which are excellent resources for further study):

www.apastyle.org/ http://www.mla.org/style http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/61292/

formatting_a_paper_for_the_modern_language_pg3.html?cat=4

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl Faigley, L. Backpack Writing. New York: Custom

Publishing, 2008.