WRITING GUIDE
FOR STUDENTS IN COMMUNICATION STUDIES

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Students should follow the guidelines provided in the APA publication manual.  This guide distills principles related to the most common student errors in writing assignments.  As you write papers for your courses, do not guess about writing and documentation rules.  When in doubt, consult the rules in this writing guide and/or in the APA manual.

boldface type

Do not use boldface type anywhere in an academic paper.  This directive includes headings and subheadings.

citations in the body of a text 

All citations in the body of a paper must have a corresponding entry in the reference list.

documenting claims

When making a claim, provide support for the claim and document the support.  Reference citations make the difference between undocumented claims and documented claims. 

font

Use "Times New Roman" 12 point font for all papers.

headings

Some papers require headings to subdivide papers.  For the purposes of this class, two levels of headings will be sufficient.  Examples are provided following the descriptions below.

Review of Literature

Interpersonal Marital Conflict

italics

Use italics rather than underlining for titles of journals and books.

margins

Margins should be one inch on all sides--top, bottom, left and right.

margins, justification

Disable right margin justification.   The right margin should appear ragged.

nonsexist language

Use nonsexist language.  When singular pronouns are indefinite, use he or she.

organization

A paper submitted for course credit should be organized and should emerge from an outline.

page numbering

Pages should be numbered using headers, beginning with the title page.

paragraphs

The first line of each new paragraph should be indented one-half inch.

paragraph length

Writers use paragraphs to develop ideas in an organized manner.  Avoid one sentence paragraphs.  You will find it difficult to develop an idea in a single sentence.  Conversely, in page length paragraphs writers either wander from idea to idea, thereby losing their organizational thread.

paper size

All papers should be composed and/or submitted on 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper.

printing

Print papers for submission on one side only.

punctuation, spacing

Space one after:

1. commas, colons, and semicolons;

2. punctuation marks at the ends of sentences;

3. periods that separate the parts of a reference list entry or reference citation; and

4. the periods in the initials in personal names (e.g., M. L. King).

Do not space after periods used in abbreviations (e.g., i.e., e.g., p.m., a.m., U.S., etc).

questions, use of

Avoid rhetorical questions in academic essays.  For example:  Should people be allowed to avoid taking responsibility for their actions?  Also avoid use of questions as an organizational device.  For example:  What does the frequency with which people rely on nonverbal communication suggest about its significance in the communication process?  The only acceptable questions for a scholarly paper are the research questions that you are attempting to answer.

quotations, length

Quotations of fewer than 40 words are incorporated into the text, enclosed in quotation marks, and cited appropriately

Quotations of 40 words or more should be written in a double spaced, indented block with no quotation marks.

quotations, introducing

Avoid starting a paragraph with a quotation.  Quotations must be introduced so the reader understands their significance.

reference lists

Reference lists always begin on a new page. All items in the reference list must be cited in the text.

scholarly writing style

A paper for class is not an infomal conversation between its author and its reader.  Papers should be edited to achieve a scholarly style.  Running spell-check does not constitute editing.

WRITING MECHANICS

active voice/passive voice

In selecting verbs, use active voice rather than passive voice.  Active voice emphasizes the agent (the doer of the action) by making the agent the subject of the sentence.  Passive voice, on the other hand, minimizes the agent by focusing on the object of the action.

Note:  Passive voice may be appropriate in some cases where the action is more important than the agent.  For the purposes of this course, however, you will write exclusively in active voice.

 agents of action

The agent of action should be evident.  Sentences that include phrases such as "there is," "there are," "there was," "there were," and "there have been" should trigger alarms.  Such sentences are often written in passive voice and either do not include an agent of action or the agent of action is misplaced within the sentence.

amount/number

Use the term amount to indicate phenomena that cannot be counted but are measured, like flour or water.  Use the term number to refer to items that can be counted, like people or animals or surveys.

anthropomorphisms

Avoid anthropomorphisms.  Anthropomorphisms attribute human qualities to inhuman or inanimate objects.

colloquialisms

Avoid colloquialisms in academic writing.  Strive for an educated style.

commas in a series

Use commas after all items in a series, including the item preceding the and or or.

contractions

Avoid contractions in academic writing.

dangling modifiers

Avoid dangling modifiers.  Dangling modifiers fail to modify any particular word or phrase in the sentence.

indirect referents

Avoid using indirect referents.  Students often use the terms "it," "this," "that," "these," and "those" without specifying to what these words refer.  Although these words can be indirect referents anywhere within a sentence, they are particularly troubling at the beginnings of sentences.

jargon

Jargon is the specialized, technical vocabulary associated with a particular discipline or field. While a certain amount of technical vocabulary is unavoidable in academic writing, continuous use of such vocabulary irritates the reader and inhibits communication.  When the use of specialized vocabulary is unavoidable, be sure to define unfamiliar words or concepts for the reader the first time you use them.

noun/pronoun number agreement

Be sure that nouns and pronouns agree in number.  Singular nouns require singular pronouns.  Plural nouns require plural pronouns.

noun/verb number agreement

Be sure that nouns and verbs agree in number. 

numbers

In general, use words to express numbers below 10; use numerals to express numbers 10 and above.  For exceptions and special usages consult your APA manual sections 3.42 through 3.44.

Exception:  Whenever you use a number as the first word of a sentence, express it in words.

omniscience

The term omniscience refers to a sentence construction that suggests that you can determine the thoughts and/or feelings of the researchers whose work you are reporting.

parallel structure

Parallel ideas should be presented in parallel form.

periods, commas, and quotation marks

Without exception, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks.  Colons, semi-colons and question marks may go inside or outside depending on use. Check APA for correct usage.

Exception:  If the quotation is followed by a source citation, the period follows the citation.

prepositions

Avoid ending sentences with prepositions.

Common Prepositions:

redundancy

Avoid redundancy.  Redundancy is needless repetition; the use of more than one word to express the same essential idea.

restrictive clauses

Restrictive clauses are essential to the meaning of a sentence and are introduced with the word that.  Nonrestrictive clauses, which are set off by commas, provide additional information that is not essential to the meaning of the sentence and are introduced by the word which.   Writers who introduce restrictive clauses with that and nonrestrictive clauses with which produce writing that is clearer and more precise.

second person

Avoid using second person in academic writing.

split infinitives

Avoid split infinitives.  A split infinitive occurs when a word, usually an adverb or an adverbial phrase, comes between to and an uninflected form of the verb.  While split infinitives occur frequently in creative writing and popular culture (e.g., to boldly go where no one has gone before), they are unacceptable in scholarly writing.

transitional words

Transitional words help writers create continuity in their writing by establishing relationships between or among ideas. A number of different relationships can be created by the writer's choice of words

verb tenses

Use verb tenses appropriately and consistently.

For literature reviews . . .

. . . use past tense when reporting published scholarship conducted at a definite time in the past (i.e., citation of a single source). 

. . . use present perfect tense when reporting scholarship that did not occur at a single definite time (i.e., multiple citations covering a number of years).  

Avoid shifts in verb tense. 

wordiness 

Wordiness is the use of more words than necessary to convey an idea.

revised:           11/11/02