1. Writing: It’s A Skill, Not An Art
Making the transition to writing at RRU
Theresa Bell, Writing Centre Coordinator

2. Session Plan Session plan Writing Centre services
What is academic writing?
Creating a document plan
Paragraphing
APA style

3. Writing Centre services
Drop in to see me
Book an appointment for personal instruction
Reviewing submitted assignments
Phone or me with a question
Writing Centre website
Resources
Forums
Subscribing to forums
NB: Services do not include proofreading or editing unmarked assignments

4. What is Academic Writing?
At RRU, academic writing:
Demonstrates critical thinking
Is concise, logical, interesting, and it represents your knowledge and understanding
Demonstrates the outcomes for the assignment
Consistently and correctly follows APA style rules

5. What is Critical Thinking?
“Good critical thinking is skillful and responsible thinking in which you study the problem from all angles, and then exercise your best judgement to draw conclusions."
(Retrieved September 11, 2007 from

6. Demonstrating Critical Thinking

7. Creating a Document Plan
Helps you stay on track
Identifies holes in your research or logic before you start to write
Helps prevent writer’s block

8. 1. Choose Topic & Brainstorm Ideas
Choose topic and brainstorm ideas
1. Choose Topic & Brainstorm Ideas
Returning learners
Gardens
Peacocks
Royal Roads University
Online & F2F learning
Focus on teamwork
Applied programs

10. Thesis Statement/Research Question
Determine problem/thesis statement
Thesis Statement/Research Question
Should be specific – outlines parameters of focus of study
The thesis statement may change as the paper develops; don’t get too far off track before reviewing/revising your document plan

11. Edit and theme ideas

12. Group ideas 1. History First Nations Heritage trees The Dunsmuirs
Royal Roads Military College
Quarterdeck
Royal Roads University
2. Hatley Park
Unique ecosystems
Gardens
Hiking paths
3. Wildlife
Cougars
Deer
Peacocks
4. Educational programs
Focus on life-long learning
Workplace learners
Applied focus
Blended model of delivery

13. Create the plan

15. Major research project plan
© 2007 P. Laberge. Reproduced with permission.

16. APA: Why oh why?
Plagiarism is the act of presenting the ideas or works of another as one's own. This applies to all materials including essays, work term reports or assignments, laboratory reports, seminar presentations, computer programs, research projects and results, postings in discussion groups, and statistical data. The use of such material either directly or indirectly without proper acknowledgment (i.e., footnotes or endnotes) is contrary to the norms of academic behaviour. (Royal Roads University (RRU), 2007, para. 5)
Meet academic standards
Ensure standards throughout programs
Avoid plagiarism – consequences of which apply to everyone in a team, not just one person

17. Formatting Spacing and indentation Double-space the entire paper
Indent new paragraph by one tab space
Indent block quotation by one tab space from left margin (quotation of 40+ words)
Margins
1 inch for all margins
Page number
Must appear in the top right corner of every page

18. In-text citations
Appear in round brackets after the quoted or paraphrased text
Include the author’s last name, the date of publication/copyright, and the location reference
For example: (Johnson, 2010, p. 4) or (RRU, 2010, para. 5)

19. In-text citations
Provide the author's name and date of publication in the text, so only the page reference is required after the quotation. e.g., According to the American Psychological Association (APA)(2010), “references in APA publications are cited in text with an author-date citation system” (p. 174).

20. In-Text Citation Format
In-text citations
Make no mention of the author's name or the date of publication in the text, so all citation information is included in the citation.
e.g., “References in APA publications are cited in text with an author-date citation system and are listed alphabetically in the text” (American Psychological Association (APA), 2010, p. 174).

21. Choose the Correct Citation
(James, 2010, 4)
(RRU, 2010, p. 4)
(James, 2010, page 4)
(RRU, p. 4)

22. Personal Communication
Personal communications may be private letters, memo, some electronic communications (e.g., or message from nonarchived discussion groups or electronic bulletin boards), personal interviews, telephone conversations…. Because they do not provide recoverable data…cite personal communications in text only. (APA, 2010, p. 179)

23. Personal Communication
To cite the resource, "give the initials as well as the surname of the communicator, and provide as exact a date as possible" (p. 179).
T. Bell stated, “…” (personal communication, March 31, 2010).
“…”(T. Bell, personal communication, March 31, 2010).

24. Quiz: Using ‘personal communication’
Use the format for ‘personal communication to cite:
Materials posted on a password-protected course website
Internal corporate documents that will not be released to the public
Interviews that don’t have a published transcript
All of the above

25. The Reference List The reference list
‘References’, not ‘Bibliography’ or ‘Works Cited’
“References cited in text must appear in the reference list, and each entry in the reference list must be cited in text” (p. 174).

26. Basic Forms Basic forms Periodical Nonperiodical
“Items published on a regular basis such as journals, magazines, newspapers, and newsletters”(p. 198).
Nonperiodical
Items published separately: books, reports, brochures, manuals, and AV media.

27. Electronic periodical article
Author, A., & Author, B. (Date). Title of article. Title of Periodical, xx(x), xxx-xxx. doi: xxxxxxxxxx
Initials only for authors’ first names
Use ampersand, not “and”
Date format: Year, Month day
Use sentence case for article title
Hanging indent 0.5”
Italicize the title of the periodical and use title case
Provide page range without “p.”.
Italicize volume number (not issue number, nor the brackets around it).
Use the DOI as locator information.

28. Electronic Article With DOI
Electronic journal article with DOI
Godfrey, D. (2005, December). Adapting historical citations to APA style. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 49(4), doi: /s jobem4904_15
Citation: (Godfrey, 2005, p. 546)

29. Article From Electronic Database
Gemmell, R. (2008, November). Encouraging student voice in academic writing. English Journal, 98(2), Retrieved from the Academic Search Premier database. Citation: (Gemmell, 2008, p. 65)

30. Corporate Report Corporate report
Royal Roads University. (2007). InRoads. Retrieved from Citation: (Royal Roads University, 2007, para. 2)
No closing punctuation after URL and no hyperlink

31. Non-periodical: Book Nonperiodical: Book
Author, A. (Date). Title of work. Location: Publisher. Citation: (Lastname, year, p. 4)
Italicize title of book and use sentence case.
Note city and state abbreviation unless city is outside US. Use city and country for non-American cities.

32. Website
Website
Royal Roads University. (n.d.). BA in Professional Communication. Retrieved from Citation: (Royal Roads University, n.d., para. 2)

33. Quiz: What’s wrong with this reference?
Gemmell, R (November, 2008). Encouraging Student Voice In Academic Writing. English journal, 98(2), Retrieved January 24, 2010, from Ebscohost.

34. Referencing Canadian legislative materials
The Canadian standard is The Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation (a.k.a. The McGill Guide)
to reference Canadian statutes and cases)
for legislative proceedings, committees, etc.

35. Hansard Excerpt Hansard excerpt
Canada. Parliament. House of Commons. Debates, 36th Parliament, 1st Session, vol. 135, issue 121A, June 18, (Online). Available: (via WWW) [July 30, 2004].

36. APA Resources APA resources
APA6 section of Writing Centre website ( )
APA help guide (6th edition)
Differences between the 5th and 6th editions of the APA manual
Formatting overview
“APA Exposed” tutorial
APA forum for your questions

37. Questions? Drop by the Writing Centre in the Library
10-5, Monday to Friday
(250) , Ext. 4353