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APA Stylistics or
Editorial Style Presentation by Michael Scanlon, Sheryl Scanlon,
and Kate Cottle
Conventions… …Where grammar examples are given
• Subjects are underlined once
• Verbs are underlined with a dotted line
• Correct sentences are in white
• Incorrect Sentences are in orange
Point of View and Voice
▪ Use active voice rather than passive voice
– Active voice is the subject doing the action (verb)
– Passive voice is when the subject receives the action (verb)
Incorrect: The participants have been asked….
Correct: The participants responded…
(American Psychological Association [APA], 2009; Paiz, Angeli, Wagner, Lawrick, Moore, Anderson, Soderlund, Brizee, & Keck, 2011; and Perrin, 2012)
Point of View and Voice
▪ Do not anthropomorphize. – Do not give action to inanimate objects
Incorrect: The short-term study about machine graded writing will show a statistically significant correlation….
Correct: We studied machine graded writing and saw a statistically significant correlation …
(APA, 2009; Paiz, et al., 2011; and Perrin, 2012)
Point of View and Voice
▪ If you have to use personal pronouns in order to avoid passive voice, do so.
▪ If you are the only one who did the research and wrote the report, use “I,” not “we.”
– “We” should only be used if you were a part of a team (APA, 2009, p. 69).
Incorrect: The relationship between preferred learning style and writing competency was researched.
Correct: I researched the relationship between preferred learning style and writing competency.
(APA, 2009; Paiz, et al., 2011; and Perrin, 2012)
Point of View and Voice
▪ However, make the research or work the central idea, not the researchers (Paiz, et al., 2011).
– You can use first person judiciously, but not for every sentence when describing your work.
Incorrect: We show the necessity of human interaction in addition to machine-graded writing
Correct: There was a statistically significant positive correlation in the group who got regular conferences in addition to written feedback from peers and the instructor.
(APA, 2009; Paiz, et al., 2011; and Perrin, 2012)
Writing Tips
▪ Your writing should be easy to read and follow
▪ Your pronouns should have clear antecedents – To which word does the pronoun refer?
▪ Use transitions – These words move readers from one idea to the
next ▪ APA Manual, p. 65 ▪ Perrin, pp. 52-53
References
American Psychological Association. (2009.) Publication manual of the
American \Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC:
Author.
Paiz, J.M., Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M.,
Soderlund, L., Brizee, A., & Keck, R. (2011). APA stylistics: Basics.
Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/15/
Perrin, R. (2012). Pocket guide to APA style (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth.
