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Notes
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| Bookmarks: A word about "learning to write"...
Some notes about the APA guidelines...
Some frequently asked questions...
Some very common errors to avoid... References...
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A word about "learning to write"... As students encounter the reality of having to write in order to express their thoughts well, it is important to keep in mind three concepts: FIRST: Students shouldn't worry so much about what their reader is interested in reading; students should worry more about what they want to say and how to say it in the most clear, efficient, effective, and compelling way possible. The general principle is: less is more and simple is elegant.
SECOND: At first experience, professional writing is somewhat artificial, especially until students learn how to express their voice in the most forcible way possible, given the constraints of this genre of style. To get there takes trial and error, editing, and especially rewriting/revising. It also involves reading critically (i.e., among other matters, appreciating how authors express themselves for better or worse). Professional writing also demands a personal commitment to inculcating the self-disciplines associated with good writing because so many people are afflicted by what Harris (2003) has described as "malescribism." This disease reveals itself in "an uncontrollable urge to write carelessly and unpersuasively" as well as in "a set of dysfunctional responses to the demands of communicating in print." Overcoming this disease, he argues, is akin to joining Alcoholics Anonymous and following the 12-step program to sobriety. Here, authors seek verbal enlightenment. The principle is: good writing is the result of critical reading and hard effort. THIRD: Students should be neither embarrassed nor ashamed to ask professors questions about what students really don't know. There's a big difference between "sucking up" to a professor and engaging in "preventive maintenance." The former exhibits little or no interest in learning and engages in dissimulation in order to make oneself appear more intellectual than one really is; the latter exhibits an interest in learning, states the truth, and does not waste time re-inventing the wheel. The principle is: learning to write well begins by asking questions. In light of these concepts, it should be evident that It is not enough for students to express good ideas; as important as this is, students must also express their good ideas well. What this means practically is that students should recall what most were told by their 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Language Arts teachers, if not by their high school English teachers as well. Namely, a "final draft" is the result of an extensive writing process that requires writing, editing, and revising one's thoughts...perhaps several times. Because of this, students should realize that a final draft is not a first draft. Besides, it is unethical to purport that the latter is the former. Grading student writing, then, is premised on the notion that students have already carefully revised their projects, exercises, and papers at least twice. In this way, students seek to eliminate as many of the common errors associated with below-average writing as is possible before submitting their projects, exercises, and papers. Yet, because of the human condition, there likely will be some errors in student writing and, thus, grading begins with careful reading and editing, much as the Editor of the op-edit page of the New York Times must do when he prepares op-ed pieces for publication (Shipley, 2005). The first standard used to assess student achievement is entirely objective: the degree to which written products conform with the style and grammar rules set forth in the APA Publication Manual. Helpful in this regard—by the use of irony—are the 50 rules for "writing gooder" proposed by Richard Lederer (n.d.):
1. Each pronoun should agree with their antecedent. Sometimes, student
writing is riddled with so many errors in style and grammar that the grade
received on the project, exercise, or paper is embarrassingly far below what
a students expects. And, rightly so! Objectively speaking, the product is below
that expected of a graduate student! Thus: a "C" indicates below-average
achievement in the sense that the product could have been written by an
undergraduate student who is unfamiliar with APA style and grammar; a "D"
indicates far below-average achievement in the sense that the product could
have been written by an undergraduate whose style and grammar skills are
deficient; and, an "F" indicates a product that is wholly and entirely unacceptable,
even of an undergraduate. Thus, while a student receiving a below-average
grade may feel bad and attribute one's grade to how the professor
feels about the student, there are objective standards for assessing and
evaluating student writing. These objective standards are used to assess student writing.
Once students
demonstrate proficiency in style and grammar—and because less attention
must be devoted to these matters when grading student writing—attention
then turns to the quality of the content found in the project, exercise, or
paper. More subjective in nature, the evaluation hinges upon the clarity of
the topic, the relative strength of the argument, the inclusion of
supportive elements (e.g., conversancy with intellectual history as
evidences itself in citations), as well as a conclusion that is justified
not only by all the precedes but also a conclusion that compels the reader
to agree with the author even if the reader personally disagrees with the
author's assertion. Thus: a "B" indicates average achievement in these
matters; a "B+" indicates above average achievement in these matters; an
"A-" indicates general excellence in these matters; and, an "A" indicates
excellence in all of these matters. Whether the issue
is style and grammar or the quality of the content, the difference between a
"+" and a "-" is a question of degree, that is, errors in style and grammar
or in the relative strength of the argument appear in the written product.
Some notes about the APA guidelines... The Publication Manual of Style of the American Psychological Association (5th edition) is the standard manual for scholarly communication and discourse in the social sciences. The purpose for this Manual (and any manual, for that matter) is to identify the basic "elements" of grammar and style that scholars in a particular discipline observe when they communicate and engage in discourse with one another, especially through the medium of published communication. All student writing must comply with the Manual of the American Psychological Association, Fifth Edition (APA).
Frequently, students encounter elements that are not explicitly identified and some of which may, in fact, have not been envisioned when a manual is published. Hence, manuals go through editions. In the case of the APA Manual of Style, the 5th edition is the most recent edition. The answers to the questions below are taken from the 4th edition. QUESTION: How should the pages be numbered? Is the cover page numbered (that is, #1) and the following 2, 3, 4, 5...? Or should each section be numbered, beginning with page #1? ANSWER: The APA Manual of Style (4th edition) is explicit about this matter. In "Order of the Manuscript Pages (#4.05, p. 240), the title page is to be a separate page, numbered page 1. All pages are numbered consecutively, "beginning with the title page" ("Page Numbers and Manuscript Headers," #4.06, p. 241). All pages are numbered except for those with artwork in Arabic numerals in the upper right-hand corner, at least 1 inch from the corner.
ANSWER: This matter involves preference more than
substance. Technically, a "paper" requires a running header. However, for
purposes of presenting the "project," numbering the pages and using a short
title is not only more aesthetically attractive but also more practical from the reader's
perspective. This follows APA guidelines: "Identify each page (except the
figures) with the first two or three works from the title in the upper right-hand corner
above or five spaces to the left of the page number ("Manuscript page headers,"
#4.06, p. 241). For this project, the sections are identified by the placement of the
dividers. QUESTION: Sometimes when I read materials, and author will say something such as "Many people have studied the effect of x on y." Then there is a parenthetical citation of multiple studies (Anderson, 1996; Fox & Roach, 1998; Roach, Fox, & Smith, 1998). Can I do that if I have written a paragraph which references ideas two or more authors by tacking the citation on at the end of the sentence? Or do I insert the citation after the specific reference from each author? ANSWER: Generally speaking, the most appropriate way to cite multiple studies and authors, as noted in the question, is parenthetically. It not only saves space but, it should be noted, it also directs appropriate focus on the idea supported by the studies rather than the authors of the studies. In a similar way, when making reference to a specific study completed one author, the author is cited parenthetically ("Reference citations in text," #3.94 - #3.95, pp. 168-169). This is not to say, however, within the body of the text that the following form is incorrect: "Anderson (1996), Fox and Roach (1998), Roach, Fox, and Smith (1998) have studied the effects of x on y."
ANSWER: This is a tricky issue and one for which
there is no explicit reference in the Manual. It requires some patchwork: 3.39 (p. 97): Whether paraphrasing or quoting an author directly, you must credit the source....For a direct quotation in the text, give the author, year, and page number in parentheses... Therefore: (F. Capra, quoted in Helgesen, 1995, p. 16, cited in Bolman & Deal, 2003, p. 70)
ANSWER: APA 5th mandates citing the primary source as cited in the secondary source (p. 287). Therefore: (Taylor as cited in Bolman & Deal, 2003, p. 18) The issue is one of ethics, that is, attributing the source(s) of an idea(s) correctly. It is also a matter of constructing intellectual history accurately. Generally what this means in a Master's program is that the student will more often than not read about ideas in a secondary source. If the idea is attributable to the primary source, the "cited in" cite form is used as noted above. If the idea is the author(s) of the secondary source (for example, an application of the primary source to organization theory as found in Bolman and Deal), then citing the secondary source is required. It's a matter of attributing the source of the idea you are reporting to its correct source.
ANSWER: There is some debate about this. The APA Manual of Style (4th edition), however, does provide some helpful guidance. In "Explanations of Abbreviations" (#3.21, p. 83), the Manual states: "A term to be abbreviated must, on its first appearance, be written out completely and followed immediately by its abbreviation in parentheses. Thereafter, the abbreviation is used in text without further explanation (do not switch between the abbreviated and written-out forms of a term). The debate centers upon the "thereafter." Some argue that, in a manuscript, "thereafter" means for the entire manuscript. Others assert that it is best to introduce the term in each major section (e.g., chapter, unit) followed by its acronym for the remained of that major section. The latter is the required format.
ANSWER: The APA Manual (4th edition) insists that the following are to be capitalized: words following a colon (pp. 64, 75, 94); words in a heading, depending on the level of heading being used (p. 91); proper nouns and adjectives (pp. 76-77); and, words beginning a sentence (p. 75). One important rule concerns major words in titles and headings which, within the body of the paper should be capitalized (p. 75) but, in reference lists, capitalize only the first word, the first word after a colon or a dash, and proper nouns. Also, do not capitalize the second word of a hyphenated compound (p. 76).
ANSWER: There is no specific reference for classnotes, which means that a judgment call is needed. But, with any judgment call, the format must follow general APA guidelines. APA 5th edition at 4:16:59 (p. 264) states the following about "publications of limited circulation":
"For a publication of limited circulation, give in parentheses immediately after the title a name and address from which the
publication can be obtained." Some very common errors to avoid...
Students also commit errors in style that should always be avoided (or, at least, edited out of the final draft). The most frequent "common errors" students commit are: ERROR: using first and second person, singular and
plural pronouns ERROR: using passive voice (the verb "acts"
on the subject) ERROR: stating a feeling or belief as factual ERROR: using adjectives that transform a fact into an
editorial ERROR: using obtuse, complex language ERROR: pronoun does not agree in person or number
with its ERROR: using contractions ERROR: stating "I feel" ERROR: using "that" (an object) in
reference to a human being ERROR: using an author's first and last name ERROR: not hyphenating nouns used as
adjectives ERROR: hyphenating nouns that are not
adjectives ERROR: ending sentences with prepositions or
prepositional phrases
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