Unit 5 Essay Formatting

Created by Chris Zhang and Yvonne Bastian

Overview

When it comes to essay or paper structure and formatting your writing, most courses and instructors have strict guidelines. By adhering to a format (either APA, MLA, or CMS), you can ensure your readers know what to expect from your paper and ease yourself from the worry of losing critical points over minor formatting errors. While the specific requirements for formatting your paper might vary depending on the course or your instructor’s expectations, your essay will most likely include a title page, introduction, body, conclusion, and references page. In this unit, we will first discuss what APA is and look at how to format APA papers. We will then cover basic APA mechanics of style and elements of scholarly writing style to ensure you present your ideas in a clear, concise, and inclusive manner.

Topics

This unit is divided into the following topics:

  1. What is APA?
  2. Page Set-up & Formatting
  3. Mechanics of Style
  4. Scholarly Writing Style

Learning Outcomes

When you have completed this unit, you should be able to:

  • Develop an awareness of how details of formatting, style, and mechanics can affect the reader
  • Identify and correct formatting errors according to requirements (APA, Turabian, SBL, MLA)
  • Identify the features of scholarly writing style and mechanics.
  • Analyze the application of features of style and mechanics in current or future assignments.
  • Use the features of style, grammar, and mechanics in scholarly writing.

Activity Checklist

The learning activities in this course are ungraded, unless specified. They are designed to help you succeed in your assessments in this course, so you are strongly encouraged to complete them.*

Unit 5 Learning Activities

Click here for a checklist of learning activities you will benefit from in completing this unit. You may find it useful for planning your work.

Activity 5.1: 🎦 Watch the video on APA General Format and complete the Test Your Understanding questions
Activity 5.2: After learning about using abbreviations, complete the quiz to check your understanding
Activity 5.3: 🎦 Watch the video on capitalization in APA Style and reflect on your understanding
Activity 5.4: 📗 Read, decide, and discuss about the use of numbers in academic writing
Activity 5.5: Reflect and discuss about the uses of commas and lists in terms of style of writing
Activity 5.6: 📗 Read, determine, and discuss the use of active and passive voice
Activity 5.7: Revise the paraphrase by using the right voice
Activity 5.8: Reflect and discuss about the use of unbiased and inclusive language in academic writing
Activity 5.9: Identify informal words and/or phrases and revise them to convey a more formal and academic tone or register

Assessments

✏️ Assignment 1: Formatting Correction Task Activity
📔 Unit 5 Learning Log

Resources

All resources will be provided online in the unit.

5.1 What is APA?

As graduate writers, you will be expected to use APA 7th edition of style and formatting for all of your written assignments (including PowerPoints and presentation notes). The American Psychological Association (APA) Style establishes standards of written communication concerning the organization of content, writing style (mechanics),in-text citations, and citing references (Streefkerk, 2022). The APA citation style is the most used format for manuscripts in the social sciences. Therefore, it is the style required in programs here at TWU and is used most frequently by students in many disciplines including social sciences, such as psychology, linguistics, sociology, economics, criminology, business, and nursing. The main purpose in using this style as graduate students is that the APA style makes it easier for your readers to understand a text by providing a familiar structure they can follow. As graduate writers, following APA’s standards allows you to do the following (Streefkerk, 2022):

  • Provide readers with cues they can use to follow your ideas more efficiently and to locate information of interest to them.
  • Allow readers to focus more on your ideas by not distracting them with unfamiliar formatting.
  • Establish your credibility or ethos in the field by demonstrating an awareness of your audience and their needs as fellow researchers.

5.2 Page Set-up and Formatting

In this topic, we will learn how to set up your pages and the main components in your content pages: title page, abstract, content pages, reference page.

Title Page

When creating your title page, make sure to format the title page by doing the following steps.

  • All information must be centered.
  • Begin with the paper title, centered, bold, and title case
    • In title case, major words are capitalized, and most minor words are lowercase.  (minor words are short (i.e., three letters or fewer) conjunctions, short prepositions, and all articles). See apastyle.org for more details.
  • Then, add 2 -3 spaces and add with the required information.
    • Authors name
    • Institutional affiliation
    • Course number and name
    • Instructor’s name
    • Assignment due date

Content Pages

When setting up your content pages, make sure to format your papers by doing the following steps:

  • Set page margins to 2.54 cm (1 inch) on all sides.
  • Check that the text is aligned left (not justified).
  • Double-space all text, including headings.
  • Remove any spacing before/after paragraphs.
  • Indent the first line of every paragraph 1.27 cm (0.5 inches).
  • Use an accessible font (e.g., Times New Roman 12pt., Arial 11pt., or Georgia 11pt.). It will remain the same throughout the paper.
  • Include a page number at the top right corner on every page, including title page, reference page, and so on.

Reference Page

Now, when you format your reference page, list all the sources that you’ve cited in your paper. The reference page begins on a new page right after your content pages. Follow these steps to set up your APA reference page:

  • Place the section label “References” in bold at the top of the page (centered).
  • Order the references alphabetically. 
  • Double-space all text.
  • Apply a hanging indent of 1.27 cm (0.5 inches).

5.2.1 Activity: How do I set up my paper?

  1. View the following video from the Learning Commons that explains about how to set up your paper in APA Format. General Format Guide

  2. Next, read through the following Sample Annotated Student Paper in APA Style, Sample Annotated Student Paper in APA Style.

  3. Finally, using the sample student paper, do the “Test Your Understanding” questions at the Learning Common’s General Format Guide.

Note that this learning activity is ungraded but is designed to help you succeed in your assessments in this course.

5.3 Mechanics of Style

Style refers to guidelines for ensuring clear, consistent communication and presentation in written works (Mechanics of Style, 2022). When you follow style guidelines, you avoid inconsistencies and improve readability in your writing.

This topic will cover four aspects of APA Mechanics of Style: abbreviations, capitalization, numbers, lists, and serial comma. The following are the basics of APA style guidelines, yet it is not an exhaustive list as common rules for spelling, punctuation, and grammar are not included; for more information on in-text citations, please review units 2.2 and 2.3.

5.3.1 Abbreviations

An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase (Definition of Abbreviations, 2022). Use abbreviations sparingly and only when they are well-defined, are familiar to readers, and make your writing clearer.

Level of Use of an Abbreviation

Avoid both the overuse and underuse of abbreviations (Definition of Abbreviations, 2022). If you abbreviate a term, use the abbreviation at least three times in a paper. If you use the abbreviation only one or two times, readers may have difficulty remembering what it means, so writing the term out each time aids comprehension. However, a standard abbreviation for a long, familiar term is clearer and more concise even if it is used fewer than three times.

Defining an Abbreviation in the Text

In general, most abbreviations must be defined (explained) in an APA Style paper upon first use. The abbreviate is placed in parentheses after the term.

Example:

In the MA Leadership program at Trinity Western University (TWU), transformational servant leadership (TSL) is a foundational concept for students.

Note: When the full version of a term appears in a heading, do not define the abbreviation in a heading; rather, do so in the first time it appears next in the paragraph.

It is also important to consider overall level of use of abbreviations in a paper to ensure you are using neither too many nor too few abbreviations.

5.3.1.1 Abbreviations to Use Without Definition

Some kinds of abbreviations do not need to be defined or explained in an APA Style paper because they are so common that readers are sure to be familiar with them (Definition of Abbreviations, 2022) .

Do not define the following kinds of abbreviations:

  • abbreviations listed as terms in the dictionary (e.g., AIDS, IQ)
  • measurement abbreviations (e.g., kg, cm)
  • time abbreviations used with numerical values (e.g., 5 hr, 30 min)
  • Latin abbreviations (et al., i.e., e.g., etc.)
  • many statistical abbreviations (M, SD, SE, t, etc.)

Define all other abbreviations. Although some may be familiar to your readers (e.g., “SWOT” for a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis or “ANOVA” for analysis of variance), other readers not be familiar with these terms will benefit from having the abbreviations explained.

5.3.2 Activity: Abbreviation Knowledge Check

Take this short quiz to check your understanding of using abbreviations in academic writing.

  1. Which statement correctly introduces the abbreviation? This is the first time the writer is using the abbreviation.
    1. CAE (Centre of Academic Excellence) includes three student support departments.
    2. The Centre for Academic Excellence, (CAE), includes three student support departments.
    3. The Centre for Academic Excellence (CAE) includes three student support departments.
  2. Which is the correct way to abbreviate the Food and Drug Administration?
    1. F.D.A.
    2. Fda
    3. Fda
    4. FDA
  3. Which sentence introduces the abbreviation correctly?
    1. EQ rather than IQ is a factor often used in determining a candidates’ fit for a new job position.
    2. Emotional Intelligence (EQ), rather than Intelligence Quotient (IQ), is a factor often a factor in determining a candidates’ fit for a new job position.
    3. (EQ) Emotional Quotient, rather than (IQ) Intelligence Quotient, is a factor often used in determining a candidates’ fit for a new job position.
Answers

1 (c); 2 (d); 3 (a).*

5.3.3 Capitalization

APA Style is a “down” style, meaning that words are lowercase unless there is specific guidance to capitalize them. Rules for capitalization must be applied within the sentence and title case for headings and works published.

5.3.4 Activity: Capitalization Video

Begin this activity by watching the following video on APA Style Guidelines for Capitalization. Listen and take note (particularly for information that is new for you).

Next, reflect on the following questions. Be prepared to discuss your responses to these questions.

  • What did you know about capitalization before you watched the video?
  • What rules of capitalization were new for you?
  • What do you need to remember about title case capitalization? What about within sentence capitalization? Try to write down as many capitalization guidelines.
  • What are some examples of word/phrases that do not require capitalization?

Source: Capitalization (2022). Walden University Writing Centre Video

Capitalize these

Noun Type Proper Nouns Common Nouns (not capitalized)
Name or person Peter Northouse, Imbenzi George the author, the instructor
Company, institution, agency, organization American Psychological Association, Trinity Western University, Tim Hortons the association, the university, the coffee shop
Product, brand Starbucks, Tylenol, MS Word coffee shop, acetaminophen, document
Test or inventory Birkman Assessment personality inventory
Website, database, or software program Library OneSearch, Survey Monkey, Moodle library database, survey program, learning management system
Periodical (journal title, newspaper, magazine) Journal of Organizational Behavior, The Globe and Mail periodical, journal, newspaper
Specific university names, government departments Trinity Western University, MA Leadership Program, Canada Revenue Agency university program, government department
Noun Type Example

Don’t capitalize these

Noun Type Example
Models five-factor personality model, organizational model, 3D transformational servant leadership model
Theories, philosophies transformational servant leadership, servant leadership, authentic leadership
Concepts lateral thinking, employee engagement strategies, object permanence, gender bias, anthropomorphism
Disease, condition, therapy asthma, major depressive disorder, insomnia, anxiety, corona virus, cognitive behavioral therapy, respiratory therapy
Research: hypothesis, condition, group, variable, statistical procedure/test quantitative analysis; null-hypothesis, mixed methods, the effect of gender, t test, standard deviation; the age variance, correlational variance
Academic subject; discipline organizational psychology, health administration and policy, business communications, ** French, English, Cantonese (proper noun rule applies here)

Source: Capitalization - Other APA Guidelines - Academic Guides at Walden University

5.3.5 Numbers

Numbers are used in formal and academic writing and when writers follow these APA guidelines for number usage, the writing produced is more consistent and readable. The following are guidelines on when to use words to express numbers and when to use numerals to express numbers.

5.3.5.1 Words to Express Numbers

In general, use words to express numbers zero through nine, and use numerals to express numbers 10 and above. Use words to express numbers in these situations:

  • numbers at the beginning of a sentence, title, or heading
    > e.g. Seventeen computer programmers have completed the training for the new program.
  • numbers expressing a common fraction
    > e.g. The principal presented awards to three fourths of the student body.
  • the numbers zero through nine used in the abstract or body of a paper
    > e.g. Of the 15 participants, three participants did not participate in the panel discussion.

5.3.5.2 Numerals to Express Numbers

In general, use numerals to express numbers 10 and above, and use words to express numbers zero through nine. Use numerals to express numbers in these situations:

  • numbers that represent time
    > e.g. She had been a nurse practitioner for 8 years.
  • numbers that suggest a specific place in a series
    > e.g. Chapter 4 through 6 of the textbook was the required reading for today.
  • numbers that represent scores or points on a scale
    > e.g. The student scored a 7 on the APA requirements of the paper.
  • numbers that precede units of measurement
    > e.g. During Covid students were roughly 6 to 8 ft apart.
  • numbers that represent a part of a mathematical expression
    > e.g. . From the results, we can see that 46% of students used the Writing Centre when writing papers.
  • numbers that represent exact sums of money
    > e.g. This year the TransLink fees for student are expected to go up by $5.00.

5.3.6 Activity: Read, Decide, and Discuss

Read the following sentences and decide if they follow the rules for expressing numbers. Discuss your choice with the group, and if the sentence does not follow the rules, decide how you would correct it.

  1. We discovered in our research that students who used the Writing Centre improved their overall GPA by nine to 15 points.
  2. Half of the staff attended the summer golf tournament, but fifty percent stayed home because it was raining.
  3. In British Columbia, students in the 1st, 3rd, 9th and 12th grade participate in provincial exams each year.

Sources: Number Guidelines from APA>; Number Guidelines from Walden University

5.3.7 Lists

APA guidelines allow writers to use lists help readers understand a related set of key points within a sentence or paragraph.

When writing a list, ensure all items are parallel, meaning each item in the list uses the same word form and structure. For example, all items might be nouns or gerunds, or all items might be phrases that begin with a verb. Most lists are simple lists, in which commas (or semicolons in the case of lists in which items contain commas) are used between items, including before the final item.

e.g. We gathered information about participants’ age, gender, and socioeconomic status.

e.g. We divided participants by age into categories of young adults, which included people between the ages of 18 and 40 years; middle-aged adults, which included people between the ages of 40 and 60 years; and, older adults, which included people ages 60 years and older.

To draw additional attention to items, APA Style also supports the use of lettered lists, numbered lists, and bulleted lists. Using this style should be done sparingly, and only with the permission of the instructor.

e.g. Participants provided information about their (a) level of education; (b) income, specified at the family level; (c) occupation, including both specific role and industry; and (d) family size.

General Guidelines for choosing how to organize your lists:

  • Use letters for items that do not have a specific order.
  • Use numbers for items that have a specific order (for example – instructions, directions)
  • Use bulleted points if the items in the list are full clauses

Source: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/apa/other/lists; https://www.scribbr.com/language-rules/commas/#serial-commas

5.3.8 Serial Commas

A serial comma simply means that a comma will separate each element in a series of three or more, even before the coordinating conjunctions “and” and before “or.”

The following are simple examples that use serial commas:

  • qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method studies
  • committee chair, second committee member, and university research reviewer
  • Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5
  • assumptions, limitations, and delimitations

Here is an example of a serial comma used within a sentence:

There has never before been such widespread focus in the educational community on early childhood teacher quality, standards, and accountability (Scott-Little et al., 2007). 

Source: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/apa/other/serialcommas

5.3.9 Activity: Reflect and Discuss

Reflect on the uses of commas and lists in terms of style of writing.

  1. In your previous academic writing and professional writing, have you used lists? If so, what were you writing?

  2. How important do you think overall punctuation is in academic or professional? How would use of commas and lists improve readability for your TAs and Professors?

5.4 Scholarly Writing Style

What is a scholarly writing style?

As graduate writer you will develop a formal style of writing used in your academic or professional writing assignments. You will encounter examples of this writing style as you complete reading assignments such as in journal articles, textbooks, or other sources. You will be expected to write your papers in this formal, academic style.

Academic and scholarly writing has specific conventions in terms of style which includes use of 1st vs 3rd person point of view, active vs passive voice, gender neutral or inclusive language, and use of formal register and tone.

5.4.1 1st vs 3rd Person Point of View

Academic writing styles allow for the use of 1st person and 3rd person point of view, generally 2nd person pronouns are avoided.

When writing a paper, you must consider the type of paper you are writing and whether you can or should use 1st or 3rd person . As well, each professor has their preference for 1st or 3rd person, or even the use of 2nd person, so check with the instructor before writing.

First Person Point of View

The first-person voice is from the writer’s perspective and shares emotion, thought processes, personal experiences, and reflection. First-person writing uses pronouns such as I and me.

Example: Fifteen years in the restaurant business tells me that, after food quality, success is all about location.

Third Person Point of View

The third-person voice is objective writing that presents information or communicates ideas without bias or emotion. The author’s personal perspective is removed, and therefore points and ideas made in the writing need to be more carefully defined and supported with evidence or proof.

Example: New restaurateurs frequently underestimate the importance of location to the success of their business. Most successful restaurant owners acknowledge that necessity of location to their business’s success.

When will I use 1st or 3rd person?

You will use 1st person for personal writing, such as for a reflective essay, or a “personal response” like a discussion board post/response. You should use 1st person when giving your opinion, personal experiences or examples.

You will use 3rd person for most academic or professional papers such as research papers, reports, analysis, case studies, and so on, as you are referring to other authors and researchers from credible and academic sources to support your argument rather than stating your own personal experiences.

Source: https://www.scribbr.com/category/academic-writing/

For more on use of Pronouns in your writing, watch this video: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/scholarlyvoice/first

Can I use 2nd person pronouns?

5.4.2 Active vs. Passive Voice

What is Active and Passive Voice?

As writers we use active and passive voice grammatically within our sentences to indicate information about an action. Choice in use of ‘voice’ shows the relationship between the action (verb) and the subject (the doer of the action), or the object (the receiver of the action).

Active Voice Example: “I will present the results of this study at the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development conference.”

  • This is active voice because the subject (the doer) precedes the verb (action) which clearly indicates who will “do” the action.

Passive Voice Example: “ The results of this study will be presented at the Association for the Supervision and Curriculum Development conference.”

  • This is passive voice because the object precedes the verb (passive construction- be + participle) which focuses on the action of ‘what’ is being done.

5.4.3 Activity: Evaluate and Decide

Read the sentences below. Both sentences have the same content, but one is written using active voice and other is written using passive voice. Determine which sentence is in active voice, and which one is in passive voice. Then, evaluate which is more effective and why?

  1. Teams spend much of their time fighting for turf, avoiding anything making them look bad, while pretending everyone is behind team strategies. (Senge, pp. 18-19)

  2. Much time is spent on fighting for turf, and anything that could make people look bad is avoided, while everyone pretends that they are behind team strategies.

When Can I Use Active Voice or Passive Voice?

As graduate writers, you need to consider use of ‘voice’ in your writing to ensure the meaning is clear. Generally, in academic and professional writing, use of active voice often ensures clarity of ideas, and this is the preferred use of ‘voice’ by most professors.

When should I use Active Voice?

Most of your writing will be in ‘active voice’. The focus of your sentences will be on flow of the action, from the subject (the doer) to the object (the receiver) of the action. This style of writing is direct and makes the meaning clear for your reader. This style choice in voice is more concise which is an important component of scholarly or professional writing.

When should I use Passive Voice?

Passive voice is rarely used in academic or scholarly writing as it focuses on the action and often the meaning is unclear; and therefore, makes it more difficult for your reader to understand your meaning. If you do choose to use passive voice, do so intentionally.

  1. Using Passive Voice helps to maintain objectivity in your writing, so in some types of writing you will consider using it.

Example of intentional passive voice: “Reactions to the higher doses of medicine were found by the researcher in all experiments.”

  • Using passive voice here focuses the readers attention to the ‘reactions’ (action) to “the higher doses of medicine” (the receiver of the action) creating objectivity. The “researchers” (the doer) is not the focus. When using this style when
  1. Passive Voice can be used to create a flow in your writing. This can be used as a transition when reporting the results of a study/research.

Example of intentional passive voice: “I tested whether the students would perform better with or without deadlines. These deadlines were selected by dividing the semester into four equal parts. Each part began with prewriting activities and ended with a final draft.”

  • By using passive voice in the second sentence, it allows the writer to transition from already-stated ideas (topic sentence) to new points. This use of passive voice not only helps guide the reader to the next idea, but it also varies sentence structure to avoid sounding monotonous by using the same subject to begin each sentence. This use of variety of sentence structure is also component of scholarly writing.

Sources: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/scholarlyvoice/activepassive ; Active vs. Passive Voice | UAGC Writing Center

5.4.4 Activity: Read and Revised

Read the paragraph below. The paragraph is written in passive voice. Revise this paragraph using Active Voice only and prepare to discuss your changes with your classmates.

A survey was administered. Using a convenience sample, 68 teachers were invited to participate in the survey by emailing them an invitation. E-mail addresses of teachers who fit the requirements for participation were provided by the principal of the school. The teachers were e-mailed an information sheet and a consent form. Responses were collected from 45 teacher I total.

5.4.5 Use Bias-free Language

As graduate students, your practice of engaging with course activities, concepts, materials, and scholarly sources should be objective, or unbiased, which means you should put aside your pre-set opinions, stereotypes, or personal preferences. The same attitude should apply to your use of bias within your own writing practice. Using unbiased language in your scholarly writing ensures there is inclusivity and respect for all, including your reader. As a writer, you will be making language choices to remove bias and ensure objectivity by choosing more gender-neutral language.

How Can I Reduce Bias in my Writing?

  1. Focus on Relevant Characteristics. When making word choices, consider if it necessary to include information about a person’s age, disability, gender identity, racial or ethic identify, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, or other characteristics. At times it is relevant, but if it isn’t, it’s best to avoid including theses characteristics to remove bias.

  2. Be Specific in your Word Choice. When you are writing about people, it’s important to be as specific as possible.

When referring to age – use as specific age range rather than a term like ‘senior’, or the ‘elderly’.

Example. The participants in the study were elderly people. Revised Example: The participants in the study were people in their 70’s and 80’s.

The same goes for referring to cultures or ethnicities.

Example: After the intervention, Asian children improved their reading skills by 25%. Revised Example: After the intervention, the Filipino children improved their reading skills by 25%.

  1. Use ‘People’ First Language. As presented above, sometimes we must make the choice to include characteristics about the people we’re writing about. To reduce bias and increase inclusivity, it’s important to refer to people using nouns rather than using adjectives before the nouns. For instance, you might write “the disabled person” which uses the adjective ‘disabled’ to describe the person which reduces this person to that single characteristic (disabled). Instead, you could write “ the student with the disability” – a noun phrase which focuses the intention on the student ( who happens to have a disability).

  2. The Singular ‘They’, ‘them’, ‘their’

We can use the masculine or feminine pronouns she or he only when we are referring to a specific person. However, when we are making a generalization, we would use the plural they/them/their as this usage is more inclusive and removes any bias from the ideas being presented.

e.g. of Biased Language: A doctor listens to his patients and a nurse takes care of her patients.

e.g. of Gender-neutral Pronouns: Doctors listen to their patients and nurses take care of their patients.

  • Making this change in pronoun removes gender from the idea being presented and creates objectivity and inclusivity.

Besides the plural “they”, the singular “they” is a generic third person pronoun that can be used to refer to one single person. APA Style accepts the use of the singular “they” because doing so would prevent the writer from assuming about the gender of the person that they are writing about, thus being inclusive of all people. Remember to always use a person’s self-identified pronoun, including when a person uses the singular “they” as their pronoun. Do not use “he” or “she” alone as generic third-person singular pronouns. Instead, use combination forms such as “he or she” and “she or he” only if you know that these pronouns match the people being described. If you do not know the pronouns of the person being described, reword the sentence to avoid a pronoun or use the pronoun “they.”

Example of gender-neutral pronouns:

Casey is a gender-fluid person. They are an excellent leader with outstanding conflict resolution skills.

Every client got a care package delivered to them.

Sources: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/scholarlyvoice/avoidingbias#s-lg-box-16506033 ; https://writingcenter.uagc.edu/avoiding-bias; https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/grammar/singular-they

5.4.6 Activity: Reflect and Discuss

Reflect on your use of unbiased, inclusive language. Prepare to discuss by thinking about your own pre-set opinions, stereotypes, and also how you refer to others (age, gender, ethnicity/culture, abilities, etc.).

  1. How important do you think it is to avoid bias and stereo typed language use in your academic and scholarly writing? What about in spoken assignments, like presentations or discussion board posts?

  2. Compare these concepts of inclusivity and objectivity in academic and professional writing in your current graduate program and those program you’ve attended elsewhere. How is this different from what you’re used to?

5.4.7 Develop Academic Register and Tone

Tone or register refers to the way, as writer, you will use grammar and select words and expressions for a piece of writing to make it appropriate for that assignment type. Think of the language choices you might make if you were trying to explain to a child how a car works, or why people get sick. Then think of how you might explain the same thing to a fellow student, or to your professors, or colleagues. You would most likely make very different choices in the different contexts. The tone or register of a piece of academic writing will therefore depend on what kind of writing you’re being asked to do.

Generally, the tone of a piece of academic or professional writing includes formality (register = word choice), objectivity, and specificity. For the purpose of developing a formal register we will focus on word choice.

Formal vs Informal Tone

Let’s review the difference between formal and informal writing.

Formal writing includes Research Articles, Literature Reviews, Case Studies, and Business reports. Informal writing includes personal responses, reflective papers, discussion board posts.

Formal Writing Informal Writing

  • Uses objective 3rd person, and personal statements are only used if Professors allow.

  • Uses passive voice sparingly and with purpose

  • Uses short sentence structure for emphasis and uses a variety of complex sentence structures to convey meaning.

  • Word choice is more formal, thus more specific, and consistent. Also, there is a variety of words used (synonyms).

Informal writing includes personal responses, reflective papers, discussion board posts. Informal writing:

  • Uses 1st and 2nd person, uses subjective style “I believe, I feel, …”

  • Uses more simple sentences, fewer complex sentences, or little variety in sentence structures

  • Word choice includes use of idioms/slang, contractions, phrasal verbs, colloquialisms or simple words

  • Word choice, including transitions and connectors are repetitively used.

Word Choice

Register focuses on word choice and in academic and professional writing, the writer avoids the following: colloquialisms, idiomatic expressions, slang, phrasal verbs, and simplistic words. These words/phrases should be avoided as they are informal and often not specific enough to allow you to be concise in your writing.

1) Colloquialisms. These are words like ““stuff”, “a lot of”, “sort of”, “pros and cons”, “’til”, “a bit”, “so many”.

Examples :

“There is lots of data to support the conclusion.”

“There are so many things to think about while writing an assignment.”

2) Idiomatic Expressions. These include words/phrases like “beyond a shadow of doubt”, “above board”, “find a happy medium”, “easier said than done”, “In a nutshell”.

3) Slang. These include words are words like “awesome”, “ sellable”, “doable”, “cops”, “cool”,

Examples:

At the end of the day, Fredrick Banting refused to put his name on the patent for Insulin because he thought it was dirty and dishonest to profit from a lifesaving medicine.

Banting’s co-inventors, James Collip and Charles Best, sold the insulin patent to the University of Toronto for a crazy amount of $1.

4) Phrasal Verbs. A phrasal verb is a phrase (such as take off or look down on) that combines a verb with a preposition or adverb or both and that functions as a verb whose meaning is different from the combined meanings of the individual word.Academic writers should avoid using phrasal verb as sometimes the meaning is not clear or vague. Word choice in formal writing must be specific. Phrasal verbs can include the following examples, “ to figure out”, “put out”, “carry on with”, “ watch out for …” , “bring up…”, “give up (on)..”

Examples:

“Let’s break down the problem, then build up a more effective solution. “

“There are many features of academic writing to think about when completing assignments.”

There are some exceptions to word choice, especially when referring to a source or someone’s research. Some phrasal verbs can be used, as long as they are specific and not simplistic in form (ie. Casual)

5) Simplistic Word Choice. By using more academic word choice, it allows your writing to be clearer and precise, which helps in conciseness (and can affect word count/page count).

Simplistic word choice includes words such as “big”, “small”, “things”, “something”, “people”, “a long time”, “well”, “get”, “make”, “let”, “use”, “good, “bad”, “some”.

Example:

“There are at least 6 things that describe the characteristics of a bad leader”

“ People get good grades when they use the Writing Centre Services where they can learn things about academic writing.”

6) Variety in Word Choice. Academic writing requires the writer to avoid using the same words each time (verb, nouns, transitions, connectors, ect). Use a variety in your word choice to prevent repetition and redundancy in your writing to avoid affecting flow or cohesion for the reader.

Use Thesauruses to check synonyms. Below are some links to thesauruses to use while writing:

Academic Writing synonyms - 98 Words and Phrases for Academic Writing (powerthesaurus.org)

Thesaurus and Word Tools | WordHippo

Also, it is recommended that you should develop a list of “power words”: verbs, adjective, transitions, connectors, nouns, phrasal verbs that you can use in your writing. A power list of words can be found here - Academic Word List (AWL) (eapfoundation.com)

Source: https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/1082802/Tone_or_register.pdf

5.4.8 Activity: Read and Revise

Read the paragraph on the document. Then, identify words or phrases that affect the over academic or professional tone of this paragraph. Using the instructions provided, complete the assignment.

Instructions: Find at least 10 informal words/phrases in this paragraph that are ‘informal’ in tone or register.

  • Only one activity is needed for the group, so do this together please. Choose your “writer”, and the others are expected to participate in the activity.

  • Highlight each of the 10 words/phrases that are too “informal” in this paragraph.

  • Next to the highlighted word/phrase, type the more formal choice, then underline it.

  • When you are finished, check to make sure you have 10 highlighted and 10 underlined words/phrase.

The second thing is from their family environment. As I wrote about before, students in public school are from a nearby community, there are lots of different kinds of people, however, through the research, Frenette et al. (2015) found that parents of private school students make a lot more money and have educational degrees, the total yearly income of parents in private schools was 25% higher than parents in public school. About the educational level of parents, 52% of private school students had a university-educated parent, while the ratio is 28% in public school. According to the Fraser Institute study, about 72% of parents of private school students believe that the school environment is safe and has a really great impact on students’ learning performance. Besides, children with similar family backgrounds are more likely to find friends with the same likes and dislike, and the probability of arguments and fighting will also be reduced.

Unit 5 Summary

In this unit, you learned about…

  • Setting up and formatting a paper

  • Writing with attention to the mechanics of style

  • Writing to meet expectations of scholarly style

  • Developing a formal register and tone

Assessments

Learning Log Entries

After you have completed this unit, you can draw on the lessons and learning activities to complete your Unit 5 Learning Log Entry. A reminder that your instructor be looking at the reflections and questions you share, which can help us see if you have worked through the module content and the learning activities.

Go to the Assessment section in this book for details, including the grading rubric. Your instructor will let you know if there are any other changes in what to submit.

Please submit assignments in the dropboxes located in the Assessment sections in Moodle.

Assignment 2: Formatting Correction

Open the APA Format and Page Set-up Activity Paper and the APA Format Checklist located in the Assessment section.

Then, using the APA Format and Page Set up Activity Paper, go through the APA Format Checklist provided step-by-step and make any corrections to the page set up and formatting needed. Highlight the changes you’ve made.

Go to the Assessment section in this book for details, including the grading rubric. Your instructor will let you know if there are any other changes in what to submit.

Please submit assignments in the dropboxes located in the Assessment sections in Moodle.

Checking your Learning

Before you move on to the next unit, you may want to check to make sure that you are able to:

  • Develop an awareness of how details of formatting, style, and mechanics can affect the reader
  • Identify and correct formatting errors according to requirements (APA, Turabian, SBL, MLA)
  • Identify the features of scholarly writing style and mechanics.
  • Analyze the application of features of style and mechanics in current or future assignments.
  • Use the features of style, grammar, and mechanics in scholarly writing.

References

Definition of Abbreviations. (2022). American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/abbreviations/definition

Mechanics of Style. (2022).American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/mechanics-style

Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.). General Writing FAQs. Purdue Online Writing Lab. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/general_writing_faqs.html

Singular “They”. (2022). American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/grammar/singular-they

Streefkerk. (Jun 16, 2022).

R.APA Formatting and Citation (7th Ed.) | Generator, Template, Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved from APA Formatting and Citation (7th Ed.) | Generator, Template, Examples (scribbr.com)