Grammar, active and passive voice, using clear antecedents, pronouns, and mastering the art of using active and passive voice in the writing process.

2. APA Stylistics
or
Editorial Style
Presentation by Michael Scanlon, Sheryl Scanlon,
and Kate Cottle

3. 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

4. Point ofView andVoice
▪ 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)

5. 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)

6. 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)

7. Point ofView andVoice
▪ 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)

8. WritingTips
▪ 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

9. References
American PsychologicalAssociation. (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.