COUN 6100 APA 7th edition chapter 4- writing and grammar (week 1)

Using synonyms of words

If you use a word or phrase multiple times, do so consistently (e.g., do not switch between "participants in the music condition" and "participants who heard the music while completing the task"—choose one presentation and use it consistently). Some writers deliberately use synonyms or nearsynonyms to avoid repeating a word or phrase. The intention is commendable, but in practice the use of synonyms can lead to imprecision: By using synonyms, you may unintentionally suggest a subtle difference. Therefore, use synonyms with care.

Since vs because

In cases where the meaning of "since" is ambiguous (it could be either "from a time in the past" or "because"), replace "since" with "because." If the meaning is not ambiguous, it is acceptable to use either "since" or "because" to mean "because."

How to untangle noun strings

One approach to untangling is to move the final noun earlier in the string and show relationships between the other nouns by using verbs and prepositions. For example, "culturally sensitive qualitative interview techniques" can be rearranged to "culturally sensitive techniques for qualitative interviews."

When to use "while"

Use "while" to link events occurring simultaneously.ex. " Individual goal striving in late adulthood may enrich life while reducing stagnation and boredom." Otherwise, use "although," "despite," "and," or "but" in place of "while."

Adverbs and transitions

Use adverbs judiciously (with good judgment or sense) as introductory or transitional words (e.g., adverbs such as "certainly," "consequently," "conversely," "fortunately," "importantly," "interestingly," "more importantly," "regrettably," and "similarly"). Writers often overuse adverbs, so ask yourself whether the introduction or transition is needed.

Paragraph length

Single-sentence paragraphs are abrupt and should be used infrequently. Paragraphs that are too long (i.e., longer than one double-spaced manuscript page) risk losing readers' attention. A new paragraph signals a shift to a new idea and provides a pause for readers—a chance to assimilate one step in the conceptual development before beginning another. Look for a logical place (or places) to break up a long paragraph or reorganize the material.

Squinting modifier

Squinting modifiers are a type of misplaced modifier. Because of their ambiguous placement, they make it difficult to tell whether the modifier refers to the phrase before or after the modifier.

Use of "would" and mood

Use the word "would" with care. "Would" can be used in the indicative mood to mean "habitually," as in "The child would walk about the classroom," or in the conditional mood to express a condition of action, as in "We would sign the letter if we could." Do not use "would" to hedge; for example, change "it would appear that" to "it appears that."

Subordinate conjunctions

Subordinate conjunctions (e.g., "since," "while," "although," "because," "whereas"), like relative pronouns, introduce subordinate clauses. Select these conjunctions with care; interchanging conjunctions with more than one meaning may reduce the precision of your writing. Although some writers use "while" and "since" when they do not refer strictly to time, restricting your use of "while" and "since" to their temporal meanings can be helpful to readers.

Tone

Devices that are often used in creative writing—for example, setting up ambiguity; inserting the unexpected; omitting the expected; and suddenly shifting the topic, tense, or person—do not support the objective of clear communication in scientific writing. Similarly, devices or embellishments that attract attention to words and sounds instead of to ideas are inappropriate in scientific writing. Thus, when describing your research, present the ideas and findings in a direct, straightforward manner, while also aiming for an interesting and compelling style—for example, by fully elaborating on an idea or concept, making word choices that reflect your involvement with the problem, and varying sentence and paragraph lengths. Use language that conveys professionalism and formality

Editorial we

Do not use "we" to refer to people in general, as in "We live on the same planet, but we rarely truly understand each other"; this use is called the editorial "we." It is especially important to avoid the editorial "we" in multiauthored papers because readers may wonder whether you are referring to all people, members of your professional group(s), or yourself and your coauthors. Substitute a more specific noun or clarify your usage.

Elements in a series

Elements in a series should also be parallel in form. Ex. Correct: The participants were told to make themselves comfortable, to read the instructions, and to ask about anything they did not understand. Incorrect: The participants were told to make themselves comfortable, to read the instructions, and that they should ask about anything they did not understand.

Repetition of parallel events

Ensure that all elements of the parallelism are present before and after the coordinating conjunction (e.g., "and," "but," "or," "nor"). For example, if the first part of the clause is introduced by "that," the second part of the clause should be as well. When a clause has two parts (and not three or more), do not use a comma or semicolon before the conjunction.

Logical comparisons

Ensure that the comparisons you make are expressed clearly and logically. Ambiguous or illogical comparisons result from the omission of key words or from nonparallel structure

Punctuation

signals transitions. They also reflect the pauses, inflections, subordination, and pacing normally heard in speech. Use the full range of punctuation. Neither overuse nor underuse one type of punctuation, such as commas or dashes. Use punctuation to support meaning.

Time links

then, next, after, while, since

Cause effect links

therefore, consequently, as a result

Compound subjects joined by "or" or "nor"

When a compound subject is composed of a singular and a plural noun joined by "or" or "nor," the verb agrees with the noun that is closer to the verb. Correct: Neither the participants nor the confederate was in the room. Neither the confederate nor the participants were in the room. Incorrect: Neither the participants nor the confederate were in the room.

Conciseness and clarity

conciseness and clarity in your writing ensure that readers understand your meaning. writing that is clear and precise is more accurate and transparent.

4 qualities of effective scholarly writing:

continuity, flow, conciseness, and clarity. Effective scholarly writing balances continuity and flow with conciseness and clarity

voice

describes the relationship between a verb and the subject and object associated with it. Both the active and passive voices are permitted in APA Style, but many writers overuse the passive voice. Use the active voice as much as possible to create direct, clear, and concise sentences.

Addition links

in addition, moreover, furthermore, similarly

Colloquialisms

informal expressions used in everyday speech and writing (gonna rather than going to, write up rather than report). Approximations weaken statements, especially those describing empirical observations. Instead, use precise, scholarly language.

Concise

more frugal with words. Concise writing must also be clear. Be deliberate in your word choices, making certain that every word means exactly what you intend.

mood

refers to the form of a verb authors use to express their attitude toward what they are saying (e.g., whether they believe what they are saying or just wish it were true). Use the indicative mood to make factual statements (e.g., "we addressed," "the findings demonstrate"). Use the subjunctive mood only to describe conditions that are contrary to fact or improbable; do not use the subjunctive to describe simple conditions or contingencies.

Noun strings

several nouns placed one after another to modify a final noun. They can confuse readers and force them to question how the words relate to one another. Although skillful hyphenation can clarify the relationships between words, often the best option is to untangle the string.

are long or short words/sentences easier to comprehend?

short

Contractions

shortened forms of one or two words in which an apostrophe is used in place of missing letters

Subject verb agreement

A verb must agree in number (i.e., singular or plural) with its subject, regardless of intervening phrases such as "together with," "including," "plus," and "as well as."

Collective nouns

(e.g., "series," "set," "faculty," "pair," "social media") can refer to several individuals or to a single unit. If the action of the verb applies to the group as a whole, treat the noun as singular and use a singular verb. If the action of the verb applies to members of the group as individuals, treat the noun as plural and use a plural verb. The context (i.e., your emphasis) determines whether the action applies to the group or to individuals.

Professional tone and language

Avoid heavy alliteration, rhyming, poetic expressions, and clichés. Use metaphors sparingly; although they can help simplify complicated ideas, metaphors can also be distracting or unclear. Avoid mixed metaphors (e.g., "a theory representing one branch of a growing body of evidence") and words with surplus or unintended meanings (e.g., "outstanding" for "remaining"), which may distract or mislead readers. Use figurative expressions with restraint and colorful expressions with care; because these expressions can be open to interpretation and even cultural differences, they generally do not add to understanding for all possible readers. Instead, make direct, logical comparisons and clearly attribute actions

Misplaced modifier

Because of their placement in a sentence, misplaced modifiers ambiguously or illogically modify a word. Eliminate misplaced modifiers by placing an adjective or an adverb as close as possible to the word it modifies.

Dangling modifier

Dangling modifiers have no referent in the sentence. Many of these result from the use of the passive voice. You can avoid many dangling modifiers by writing in the active voice.

Use of "only" as a modifier

Many writers misplace the word "only." Place "only" next to the word or phrase it modifies. Ex. These data provide only a partial answer. (correct) These data only provide a partial answer. (incorrect)

Pronouns

Pronouns replace nouns, and each pronoun should refer clearly to its antecedent. To avoid ambiguity in attribution, use the first person rather than the third person when describing the work you did as part of your research and when expressing your own views. If you are writing a paper by yourself, use the pronoun "I"; do not use the pronoun "we" to refer to yourself if you do not have coauthors. If you are writing a paper with coauthors, use the pronoun "we." Do not refer to yourself or your coauthors in the third person as "the author(s)" or "the researcher(s)." However, use the third person to refer to the specific contribution of a particular coauthor within a paper with multiple authors.

"Who" vs "whom"

Relative pronouns can be subjects or objects of verbs or prepositions. Use "who" as the subject of a verb and "whom" as the object of a verb or a preposition. You can determine whether a pronoun is the subject or object of a verb by turning the subordinate clause around and substituting a personal pronoun. If you can substitute "he," "she," or "they," then "who" is correct. Likewise, if you can substitute "him," "her," or "them," then "whom" is correct.

Relative pronouns

Relative pronouns introduce subordinate clauses linked to nouns. Use the relative pronoun "who" for human beings; use the relative pronoun "that" or "which" for nonhuman animals (e.g., rats, chimpanzees) and for inanimate objects.

Restrictive vs nonrestrictive clauses

Restrictive vs nonrestrictive clauses- Relative pronouns (e.g., "who," "whom," "that," "which") introduce an element that is subordinate to the main clause of the sentence, and that subordinate clause may be either restrictive or nonrestrictive.

Use of "none"

The subject pronoun "none" can be singular or plural. When the noun that follows it is singular, use a singular verb; when the noun is plural, use a plural verb. Singular in context: None of the information was correct. Plural in context: None of the children were finished in the time allotted.

Sentence length

There is no minimum or maximum sentence length in APA Style. Overuse of short, simple sentences produces choppy prose, however, and overuse of long, involved sentences results in difficult, sometimes incomprehensible language. Varied sentence length helps readers maintain interest and comprehension. When involved concepts require long sentences, the components should proceed logically. Avoid including multiple ideas in a single sentence; instead, break the sentence into shorter ones. Direct, declarative sentences with simple, common words are usually best.

How to avoid use of contractions

To avoid contractions and improve your writing, evaluate words with apostrophes carefully. Except for cases noted, rewrite a word like "can't" into "cannot." Use apostrophes to indicate possession (e.g., "the student's work"), but remember that possessive pronouns do not include apostrophes (e.g., write "its purpose was" not "it's purpose was"). However, contractions can be appropriately used in some circumstances, such as in reproducing a direct quotation that contains a contraction (e.g., when quoting a research participant, do not change a participant's use of "let's go" to "let us go"), referring to a contraction as a linguistic example (e.g., when discussing confusion of "who's" with "whose"), or referring to an idiom or common saying that contains a contraction (e.g., "you can't take it with you").

Parallel construction

To enhance readers' understanding, present parallel ideas in parallel or coordinate form. Use parallel structure in compound sentences, series and lists, and table stubs

Transitions

To improve continuity and flow in your writing, check transitions between sentences, paragraphs, and ideas to ensure that the text is smooth and clear rather than abrupt or disjointed. When editing your writing, use additional transitional devices to make it less choppy. Punctuation can signal transitions. transitional words and phrases help maintain the flow of ideas, especially when the material is complex or abstract

How to make something more concise

Where possible, tighten language to eliminate wordiness, redundancy (see Section 4.5), evasiveness, overuse of the passive voice, circumlocution, and clumsy prose. Shorten or eliminate overly detailed descriptions of equipment or apparatus, participants, or procedures elaborations of the obvious; and irrelevant observations or asides. Information that would cause the paper to be too long and is not essential to understanding the research—but would nonetheless be helpful to a subset of readers—may be placed, when appropriate, in supplemental materials

Wordiness vs redundancy

Whereas wordiness refers to using more words than are necessary, redundancy means using multiple words with the same meaning.

Recommended tense for presentation of conclusions

present

Coordinating conjunctions used in pairs

With coordinating conjunctions used in pairs ("between . . . and," "both . . . and," "neither . . . nor," "either . . . or," "not only . . . but also"), place the first conjunction immediately before the first part of the parallelism.

Singular they

Writers should always use the singular "they" to refer to a person who uses "they" as their pronoun. Also use "they" as a generic third-person singular pronoun to refer to a person whose gender is unknown or irrelevant to the context of the usage. Although usage of the singular "they" was once discouraged in academic writing, many advocacy groups and publishers have accepted and endorsed it. Do not use "he" or "she" alone as a generic third-person pronoun. Use "he or she" and "she or he" sparingly, and ensure that these pronouns match the pronouns of the people being described; if you do not know the pronouns used by the people being described, use "they" instead or rewrite the sentence. Do not use the combination forms "(s)he" and "s/he" or alternate "he" and "she".

Restrictive clauses

also called "that" clauses—are essential to the meaning of the sentence. Restrictive clauses are not set off with commas. Ex. "Therapist self-disclosure that conflicts with the patient's story might hinder the therapeutic process."

Nonrestrictive clauses

also called "which" clauses—add further information to the sentence but are not essential to its meaning. Nonrestrictive clauses are set off with commas. Ex. "All interviews were conducted at participants' offices, which provided suitable privacy to secure participants' anonymity."

Anthropomorphism

attribute human characteristics to animals or to inanimate sources. Don't do this. Ex. "we found the rate of change" is better than "the study found the rate of change"

Contrast links

but, conversely, nevertheless, however, although

Recommended tense for reporting of results

past

Recommended tense for literature review

past, present perfect

Recommended tense for method and description of procedure

past, present perfect

Recommended tense for discussion of implications of results

present

Jargon

specialized terminology that is unfamiliar to those outside a specific group. Overuse of jargon, even in papers in which that vocabulary is relevant, hinders comprehension. Jargon also may be euphemistic if substituted for a familiar term (e.g., "period of economic adjustment" instead of "recession"), and you should avoid using jargon in this way. Bureaucratic jargon has had the greatest publicity, but academic or scientific jargon may also grate on readers, encumber communication, and waste space. Ensure that the language you use allows readers to understand your writing even if they are not experts in your field, and define on first use any specialized terms that are key to your topic

Technical terms

technical terms in a paper should be either readily understood by readers across disciplines or defined for readers who may be unfamiliar with them.

Continuity

the logical consistency of expression throughout a written work

passive voice

the object of the verb is presented first, followed by the verb (usually a form of "to be" + past participle + the word "by") and then the subject last (e.g., "surveys were completed by students"); sometimes, the subject is omitted altogether, resulting in confusion about who is performing the action.

flow

the smooth cadence of words and sentences

active voice

the subject of a sentence is presented first, followed by the verb and then the object of the verb (e.g., "students completed surveys")

Examples of transitions

using a pronoun that refers to a noun in the preceding sentence not only serves as a transition but also avoids repetition, time links, cause-effect links, addition links, contrast links

Verb and verb tense

vigorous, direct communicators. The past tense is appropriate when expressing an action or a condition that occurred at a specific, definite time in the past, such as when discussing another researcher's work. The present perfect tense is appropriate to express a past action or condition that did not occur at a specific, definite time or to describe an action beginning in the past and continuing to the present. Use verb tenses consistently, and stay within the chosen tense to ensure smooth expression

What voice should we use when writing

when possible and appropriate for the context, use the active voice to reduce wordiness and redundancy