APA Writing Style. Advanced Workshop

Transcription

1 APA Writing Style Advanced Workshop

2 Objectives This workshop is intended to cover some of the more advanced topics within the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition. Following this workshop, you will be able to: 1) reduce bias in your writing, 2) understand more about the mechanics of style, as set forth by the American Psychological Association (APA), and 3) properly display results for your paper. = common student error Page numbers for quick reference will be provided here. 2 APA Writing Style

3 Disclaimers The information provided in this workshop is not intended to be a substitute for the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition. Refer to it for a definitive guide to the APA writing style. It is the student s responsibility to learn the rules and guidelines set forth by the APA for writing a paper. It is also important to remember that professors, publishers, and institutions have the prerogative to adapt and/or ignore certain rules and guidelines to suit their own purposes. They have the final word on the requirements for your paper. These requirements take precedence over rules and guidelines in the APA manual. 3 APA Writing Style

4 Reducing Bias When referring to a person or persons, scientific writing should be accurate, clear, and free from bias. Avoid innuendo, insensitivity, and group bias. For example, to avoid... replace with innuendo at risk children children at risk for dropping out insensitivity schizophrenics people diagnosed with schizophrenia gender bias man and wife man and woman policeman police officer racial and ethnic bias Oriental Asian age bias the elderly older adults 4 APA APA Manual, Writing pp. Style 71-7

5 Reducing Bias by Gender Refrain from using the awkward he/she or his or her phrasing too often. Often rephrasing the sentence solves this issue. Preferred: Therapists who are too much like their clients can lose their objectivity. Nonpreferred: A therapist who is too much like his or her client can lose his or her objectivity. 5 APA APA Manual, Writing pp. Style 73-4

6 Reducing Bias by Racial and Ethnic Identity Attempt to use the preferred designation for the racial or ethnic group you are describing. Preferred: African-Americans Nonpreferred: Blacks Although minority is often used as a proxy for non-caucasian racial and ethnic groups, this usage may be viewed pejoratively because the minority is usually perceived as being less than, oppressed by, and deficient in comparison to the majority. 6 APA APA Manual, Writing pp. Style 75-6

7 Spelling Use the following references in order to conform your spelling to standard American English (when the dictionary gives a choice, use the first spelling listed): Merriam-Webster s Collegiate Dictionary (2005) Webster s Third New International Dictionary (2002) APA Dictionary of Psychology (VandenBos, 2007) Commonly Misspelled Latin and Greek Words Commonly Misspelled Possessive Examples Singular Plural Singular Plural appendix appendices Freud s the Freuds datum data James s the Jameses phenomenon phenomena Watson s the Watsons s 7 APA APA Manual, Writing pp. Style 96-7

8 Tables Here are the basic components of a table. For more information, consult the APA manual, pp Notice the table number and title appear at the top and that no vertical lines are used. 8 APA Manual, Writing 128 Style - 50

9 Table Checklist Is the table necessary? Is the entire table single- or double-spaced (including the title, headings, and notes)? Are all comparable tables presented consistently? Is the title brief but explanatory? Does every column have a column heading? Are all abbreviations; special use of italics, parentheses, and dashes; and special symbols explained? Are all probability level values correctly identified, and are asterisks attached to the appropriate table entries? Is a probability level assigned the same number of asterisks in all the tables in the same document? Are the notes organized according to the convention of general, specific, probability? Are all vertical rules eliminated? If the table or its data are from another source, is the source properly cited? Is the table referred to in the text? 9 APA Manual, Writing p. Style 150

10 Figures Here are the basic components of a figure. For more information, consult the APA manual, pp Notice the figure number and title appear at the bottom and that a period follows the title. After the title, additional information to clarify the figure may be added, as it should stand on its own in terms of interpretability by the reader. 10 APA APA Manual, Writing 150 Style p

11 Figure Checklist Is the figure necessary? Is the figure simple, clean, and free of extraneous detail? Are the data plotted accurately? Is the grid scale correctly proportioned? Is the lettering large and dark enough to read? Is the lettering compatible in size with the rest of the figure? Are parallel figures or equally important figures prepared according to the same scale? Are terms spelled correctly? Are all abbreviations and symbols explained in a figure legend or figure caption? Are the symbols, abbreviations, and terminology in the figure consistent with those in the figure caption? In other figures? In the text? Are the figures numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals? Are all figures mentioned in the text? 11 APA Manual, Writing p. Style 150

12 References American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Merriam-Webster s collegiate dictionary (11th ed.). (2005). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster. VandenBos, G. R. (Ed.). (2007). APA dictionary of psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Webster s third new international dictionary, unabridged. (2002). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster. Download an APA formatted template: HdkFDTzREVUE/view?usp=sharing 12 APA Writing Style