Style reference guidelines to ensure clear, consistent communication and presentation of your ideas in scholarly writing.  Review the following links related to the mechanics of style:

Spelling and Hyphenation

• • Ensure you are using your spell check on your computer.  Reading and re-reading your paper to catch any additional spelling errors is also important.  

Capitalization

• • Often students will capitalize where it is not needed.  Capitalization information can be found in your APA 7th edition manual p. 165. You will want to tab this in your manual for future reference. 

Numbers

• • Numbers less than 10 are written out as words (i.e., one through nine) Numbers 10 and greater use Arabic figures (10 – 999,999)

  • Use the % symbol and figures to report any number as a percentage (6%, 22.5%)

  • EXCEPTIONS: Do not use a figure to start a sentence: write out the number-When writing out the number and write out “percent”

  • Use the word percentage when writing in general terms and not referring to a specific numerical value.

  • Numbers information can be found in your APA 7th edition manual p. 178-180. You will want to tab this in your manual for future reference. 

Italics and Quotation Marks

• • Italics and quotation marks have their appropriate places in scholarly papers.  More information can be found in your APA 7th edition manual p. 170-172. 

Abbreviations

• • Do not begin sentences or paragraphs with an abbreviation. 

  • One aspect of nursing and healthcare is the use of abbreviations.  We have quite the alphabet soup.  However, it is important to remember that while you might be familiar with the abbreviations you are using other specialties in nursing might not be familiar with the abbreviations.  Want to complicate this a little more....the same abbreviation might represent something different across specialties.  Therefore, it is important to clearly define an abbreviation BEFORE it is used in your papers. 

  • Using abbreviations in scholarly writing is expected.  However, it is important to ensure you do not overuse abbreviations in your writing because before you know it...you have cooked up a big old pot of alphabet soup.  Therefore, everything does not need an abbreviation.  Make sure the abbreviations are meaningful. 

  • Abbreviation information can be found in your APA 7th edition manual p. 172-176. You will want to tab this in your manual for future reference. 

APA 7th edition has specified acceptable fonts to be used in scholarly papers.  As you are writing your paper, it is important to review the paper before submission to ensure you have used the same font throughout the paper.  The acceptable fonts that can be used in your scholarly APA 7th edition formatted paper are:

11-point Calibri
11-point Arial
10-point Lucida Sans Unicode
12-point Times New Roman
11-point Georgia

Information about Fonts can be found in your APA 7th edition manual p. 44. You will want to tab this in your manual for future reference.

As previously stated, scholarly writing must be clear and consistent to communicate and present your ideas.  One important aspect of scholarly writing is the proper use of grammar.  The proper use of grammar brings clarity and continuity to your writing.  The following information discusses some aspects of grammar in scholarly writing, however, it is important to ALWAYS consult your APA 7th edition manual Chapter 4 to learn about all aspects of proper grammar usage in scholarly writing. 

Wordiness and Redundancy

• Can create confusion for the reader and make information difficult to read and follow. 

• When you are writing keep your statements concise and do not embellish your statements with unnecessary words.

• Let's look at a few examples of wordiness and redundancy and how you can avoid it:

Wordiness  Succinct

In the present time                                   Now

Based on the fact                                     Because

The present study                                    This study

There were several who competed          Several competed

        Despite the fact that                       Although

        In the event that                                       If

        Due to the fact that                              Because

        Have an effect on                                    Effect

        In order to                                                      To

                     Redundancy                                                    Succinct

                              They were both alike                               They were alike

                               Absolutely Essential                                Essential

                              Just exactly                                             Exactly

                              Completely unanimous                           Unanimous

                              Red in color                                           Red

                              Entirely Complete                                  Complete

You can read about Wordiness and Redundancy in your APA 7th edition manual p. 114-115.  You will want to tab this in your manual for future reference. 

Meaningless Words

• Meaningless words are "fluff" and do not add any meaning to your writing.  

• When you are writing, avoid the use of meaningless words.  

• Remember, scholarly writing is about being concise, clear, and succinct...No fluff Needed

• The following are some common meaningless words to avoid in scholarly writing:

  • 1. 1. 1. • very

             • really

             • truly

             • indeed

             • as well as

             • additionally

             • Interestingly

             • in order to

             • due to the fact that

             • draw your attention to the fact that

             • it goes without saying

             • in a sense

             • that said

             • Clearly

             • Basically

             • as already stated

Contractions and Colloquialisms 

• Do not demonstrate a professional tone in scholarly writing. 

• Contractions are not acceptable in scholarly writing. 

  • For example, "don't" should be written as "do not."

• Colloquialisms are informal expressions we use in everyday conversations, however, colloquialisms are not accepted in scholarly writing.

  • One example of a colloquialism often used in nursing is "call off."  Rather, the scholarly writing might say "Employee not present for scheduled shift."  

  • Always remember, you might understand what it means but this does not mean everyone else knows what you mean. 

You can read about Contractions and Colloquialisms in your APA 7th edition manual p. 116.  You will want to tab this in your manual for future reference. 

Jargon 

• Is another form of informal language often associated with a specific group.  You will want to avoid the use of jargon in scholarly writing to not introduce confusion to the reader. 

Jargon                                             Preferred

Cardiac Diet                                    Diet for a patient with cardiac disease

Gastrointestinal Infection             Gastrointestinal tract infection

Left Heart Failure                            Left ventricular failure

You can read about Jargon in your APA 7th edition manual p. 116.  You will want to tab this in your manual for future reference. 

Remember, a mechanically or grammatically correct sentence does not guarantee a graduate-level sentence.  Graduate-level writing and APA writing require a different style than previous writing may have required.

Relative terms  

• Word choices in the literature review must be specific.  

  • For example, the word very is a relative term that will not mean the same to the entire audience.  

    • • Does very useful mean the person uses the process to make every decision, all day, every day?   Does very mean the person uses the process to make all decisions that require a monetary investment? 

  • As you can see, these questions could continue to lead to miscommunication.

Extraneous Information  

• Avoid including information that does not focus on the point/purpose of the paper or the section within the paper.  In other words, no fluff is needed.  Many times students will focus on the length of the paper or the word count.  The purpose of the paper is to ensure you convey your ideas and statements without all of the fluff.  

Vague Wording

• Other series of words that can lead to confusion include am, is, are, was, were, have, had, and has.  These words are often used instead of a more specific word.  This does not mean the words can never be used, but check the use to make sure a better word would not clarify the situation.

Beginning Sentences

• Vary the beginning of sentences and the verbs used in sentences.  For example, avoid the use of “the” at the beginning of several sentences. The constant use of the same basic structure does not indicate graduate-level writing.

• Do not begin sentences with "there are" or "there is".  Using these sentence starters does not provide clarity for the sentence and is not the most scholarly way to begin a sentence.  Let's look at an example. 

  • 1. • There are three dogs sitting next to the fence.  A better way to write this sentence: Three dogs are sitting next to the fence.  

       • There are an increasing number of patients experiencing infections following the change in policy for central line dressings.  A better way to write this sentence: An increasing number of patients is experiencing infections following a change in the policy for central line dressings. 

• Do not begin sentences with numbers. If possible, re-word your sentence to avoid beginning with a number.  However, if you are not able to re-word the sentence, see the following examples provided by APA for Numbers Expressed in Words.

Consistency  

• Even though the beginning of a sentence and verbs should vary, the terms representing the same concepts should be consistent.  For example, do not use instructor and teacher to represent the same role.

Active/Passive Voice 

• Use active voice, which is where the subject is doing the action (verb) and not being acted upon according to the sentence.  Purdue OWL provides additional information and examples to understand active vs. passive voice. 

Outline your work

• Constructing an outline can help you pull your thoughts together, determine gaps, and guide the writing process from beginning to end.

Revise. Revise. Revise

• Every writer has to endure the process of revising a paper to correct redundancies, grammatical errors, and gaps in the materials presented. Have another person read your paper.  Ask them if you conveyed the message you were trying to convey.  It is ok to be ruthless when revising.  Sometimes this may mean deleting an entire paragraph and starting over. Sometimes you may have to revise a paper 5-6 times.  It’s ok…this is how your writing continues to improve. 

Devote time for writing

• Writing takes time.  Allow yourself the time to dedicate to developing your thought process and writing the information.  Ensure the environment in which you are writing is conducive to writing. Dedicate 2-3 hours at a time for writing.  However, you must take breaks and walk away from the project at times to prevent frustration from building with the writing project.

Having a second set of eyes is invaluable

• Have others read your work and provide feedback.  You can gain more insight from a fresh perspective.

Read it aloud

• Reading your paper aloud will help find more errors than reading it silently.  When reading it aloud have a printed copy of the paper in hand to allow you to make corrections as needed.

Practice makes perfect

• Writing is a learned skill.  Practice, practice, practice.  Look for critique feedback to help you identify areas for improvement.