APA style and citations for dummies - Joe Giampalmi 2021

Analyze assignments
Ten priorities for proficient academic writing
The parts of ten

In this part …

Check out ten points for proficient academic writing that include referencing sources that exceed professors’ expectations, developing a writer’s work ethic, and focusing on specific nouns and action verbs.

Identify ten source engagement strategies that you shouldn’t outsource include forming a peer review group, adding optional parts, and selecting a local topic with global application.

Try these ten time-tested tips to improve research papers, such as identifying power language, applying critical thinking, and mastering a variety of signal phrases.

Chapter 18. Ten priorities for proficient academic writing

In this chapter

Maximizing writing skills

Writing from readers’ perspective

Capitalizing on nouns and verbs

Exceeding professors’ expectations

You’ve been writing since you first wrote your name as a kindergartener or first grader as your teacher towered over you and proudly proclaimed, “Nice job.” As you progressed in school, writing became more challenging — words, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, and essays. And now, as you master the APA writing style, you also face the challenges of APA citations and reference lists.

As your academic career moves forward and you gain confidence in your writing, you should accept new writing challenges and ask what you can do to improve your writing. This chapter offers advice for improving your writing by listing priorities for strengthening skills, utilizing resources, and improving organization.

Analyze assignments

Your best resources for fulfilling assignment requirements are the assignment itself and the author of the assignment, your professor. Your first reading of the assignment should identify the task you’re required to complete. Look for key words like argue, trace, prioritize, evaluate, synthesize, compare, and contrast. Each word requires you to address a different writing purpose.

Also read the background information provided with the assignment to gain a sense of what is required for the completed assignment. For example, reading the background about an act of heroism offers a clue that heroism is a theme in the paper, and so similar readings about heroism may be a resource.

Finally, identify assignment details such as the preliminary draft due dates, final due date, submission formats, approaches, options, required resources, supplementary submissions, and point values. If a preliminary draft is due, your professor isn’t expecting it to be “rough,” an assumption that could result in a rough grade. If the assignment contains a rubric, align your efforts with point values. For example, if high-point values are designated for source engagement, prioritize time with source engagement.