Some tips regarding writing using APA guidelines.
1. Do not contract in formal writing.
Wrong: "I can't agree with Dewey on this point."
Right: "I cannot agree with Dewey's point."
2. Avoid superlatives and most ly adverbs –
Do not write Write
"The article was incredibly well written" "I found the article well written."
"I completely disagree." "I disagree because . . . "
"That is utterly incorrect." "I believe he is in error because . . . "
3. Be modest in your assertions, and do not be dismissive of authors. As William James wrote, "You
may not follow me wholly . . . and if you do, you may not wholly agree with me. But you will, I know,
regard me at least as serious, and treat my effort with respectful consideration."
The authors whom we read are serious, and we must treat their effort with respectful consideration.
Careful with your tone.
Poor: "His stance strikes me as completely absurd."
Better: "I find his contention problematic because . . . "
Better: "The reason I cannot agree with his contention is that . . . "
4. Quotation marks follow periods and commas – [,"] and [."] . . . never [",] or [".]
Examples: On the whole, we tend to “believe what we read.”
There were connections between this article and “Lies of the Mind.”
People often seek “simple solutions,” and good for them.
5. There should always be three ellipsis points and they should have a space between them – e.g., "he
asked . . . what I wanted."
6. On the use of he/she – Replacing he with he or she or she or he should be done sparingly because the
repetition can become tiresome. Combination forms such as he/she or (s)he are awkward and
distracting. Alternating between he and she may be distracting and is not ideal; doing so implies that
he or she can in fact be generic, which is not the case (APA Guidelines, p. 51). APA suggests (a)
replacing with individual or with person, (b) using plural nouns, (c) replacing the pronoun with an
article, or (d) dropping the pronoun altogether.
7. Cite authors with year of publication and provide page numbers when quoting text. Example: As
Smith (1996) explained, "we are always falling in love with the wrong person" (p. 45).
Notice in the example that
•the page number is enclosed by parentheses,
•there is a space between the period and the number, and
•punctuation comes after the closing parenthesis.
8. Never use full justification. Only use left justification.
