Scholarly Writing 1

The Uniqueness of Social/Behavioral Scholarly Writing

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Abstract

In an academic setting writing is conducted in several different forms and

genres. The specific writing medium covered in this article is literary

scholarly writing. Scholarly writing has an unbiased objective stance that

clearly states the significance of the topic and is organized with adequate

detail so that other scholars could potentially reproduce any scientific

results. Strong scholarly papers are not overly general and correctly utilize

formal academic American Psychological Association (APA) format.

The Uniqueness of Scholarly/Behavioral Writing

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To properly elucidate how social/behavioral writing is unique, we will first

discuss exactly what a scholarly literature review consists of. A literature

review discusses published information on a particular subject matter. While

a scholarly literature review can be a simple summary of the sources, it

typically has an organizational pattern or criteria of standards set forth by

educators, editors or other potential reviewers. The specific organization of a

literature review depends on the type and purpose of the review, as well as

on the specific field or topic being reviewed, but in general the characteristic

that all manuscripts share is that they are drafted under an APA format.

According to M. Plonsky Ph.D. (2007) using the APA format is an essential

skill required of the scholar so that they can communicate ideas and

research results effectively.

With that being said the first point to be made which gives amplification as

to why this variety of writing is so unique is that these reviews summarize

the ideas and arguments of others. It is the job of the individual who drafts

the literature review to present the information in an unbiased manor. While

the review and research is being conducted, it is important to consider the

validity of the material, results obtained and the relevance of said results. It

is up to the author of the review to minimize bias in their research and

simply present the findings.

Along with the findings of the previous researcher, your review can give

insight as to why the topic should be further tested. Their study presented
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scientifically in an unbiased manor can bring light to deficiencies in their

methods possibly supporting your specific process. You may prove with the

writers own body of work that the evidence provided was lacking,

inconclusive, limited or contradictory.

Conversely, after a thorough review, you may agree that their study is quite

conclusive and will provide you with a useful guide on your topic. If you have

limited time to conduct research, literature reviews can give you a quick

overview for your research and act as a springboard.

For professionals, scholarly reviews are useful reports that keep them up to

date with contemporaneous information in their field. A scholar’s credibility

in their area of expertise often depends on the depth and extent of the

review that they draft and the research placed into it. Regardless of the

reason, there is a great deal of knowledge to be gained from conducting a

scholarly literature reviews, and with increased knowledge on your chosen

topic comes greater understanding.

References

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual (5th ed.).

ISBN 1557987912.
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Holloway, B. R. (2003). Proposal Writing Across the Disciplines. New

Jersey: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0130224952

Degelman, D. (2009). APA style essentials. Retrieved from

http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/index.aspx?doc_id=796

Wesleyan Univ. on-line resource (n.d.) retrieved from

http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/tut/litrev/thelitrev.html

Plonsky, M. (2007). Psychology with Style. A writing Guide for the 5th

edition of the APA manual retrieved from

http://www.uwsp.edu/psych/apa4b.htm

Electronic Journals (n.d.) retrieved from

http://knowledgecenter.unr.edu/ejournals/free.aspx

A Step-by-Step Guide on Writing a Scholarly Paper (1996) on-line

resource retrieved from

http://www.csudh.edu/phenom_studies/study/guide/guide.htm
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Appendices

Appendix A

A.1 Sample APA Title Page

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Manuscript Page Header goes here 1

Title (should summarize the main idea of your paper)

Author

School Affiliation

Includes running head for publication, title, byline, and institutional

affiliation.

A.2 Sample Abstract Page

Manuscript page header 2

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Abstract

Abstract starts on new page. Should not be indented. Manuscript page

header at the top with page number 2 (as shown above). A brief

overview of contents of the article. The abstract should be accurate,

brief (around 120 words), and concise. Nothing should appear in the

abstract that is not in the body of the paper.

A.3 Sample Introduction Page

Manuscript Page Header 3

Introduction
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The text should begin on a new page as shown with running header at

the top and page number in upper right corner. The body of the paper

that presents the problem, describes research, background, rationale.

A.4 Sample Method Page

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Manuscript Page Header 4

Method

Describes how the scientific study was conducted. Not all papers will

require this particular step. The method, results, and discussion page

(following) may run in succession of one another and don’t have to

start on separate pages.

Method example from American Psychological Association. (2001).

Publication Manual (5th ed.). ISBN 1557987912:

We present a cross-sectional and 3-year longitudinal data from a study

of adults aged 55 to 84…The memory tasks were those used in our

previous research (Zelinski et al., 1990; Zelinski, Gilewski, &

Thompson, 1980).

A.5 Sample Results Page

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Manuscript Page Header 5

Results

Summarizes data collected. If “Method” was not utilized then there will

naturally no need for a “results” page.

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A.6 Sample Discussion Page

Manuscript Page Header 6

Discussion

After presenting the results, you are in a position to discuss the

findings. On the discussion page is where you will provide a clear

statement as to whether you support the findings and possibly submit

alternative explanations of the results.

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A.7 Sample Reference Page

Manuscript Page Header 7

References

The reference list begins on a new page. All citations must appear in

the reference list. The references should be concise and get straight to

the point.

e.g.,

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual (5th

ed.). ISBN 1557987912.

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A.8 Sample Appendix Page

Manuscript Page Header 8

Appendix

The appendix is where you would include pertinent material that may

have been useful in your paper, but would have presented a distraction

to the body of the review. The 5th Edition Publication Manual pg. 29

(2001) advises to include an appendix only if it helps readers to

understand, evaluate, or replicate the study.

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Appendix Section B

B. Setting up a paper in APA Style (format, fonts, spacing, etc.). Based

on 5th ed. of Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association

(2001).

B1. Open Microsoft Word Document.

B2. Click on View menu and then Toolbars. Place check mark before

Standard and Formatting toolbars.

B3. Change size of Margins. Click on the File menu and then on Page

Setup. Check margins and layout settings. On Margins tab: Change

Margins on the Top, Bottom, Left and Right sides to 1 inch. Click OK. On

Layout tab: Header (and footer) should be set to 0.5 inches. Click OK.

B4. Check Tab setup. Click on Format menu, then Tabs. Set Default Tab

Stops to 0.5 inches. Click OK.

B5. Set Font style and size. For fonts in figures (tables, charts, etc.),

consult Section 3.80 of the manual. Select Format menu, then Font.

Change: Font / Times New Roman, Font Style / Regular, Size / 12

point.
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B6. Set double spaced lines. Select Format menu, then Paragraph. On

Indents and Spacing tab: look at Spacing. Under Line Spacing choose

Double. Click OK.

B7. Create Page Header for shortened title and page numbering. (See

Sample APA Title Page on pg 7 fig A1.) Click on View menu, then on Header

and Footer. Cursor is inside Header box at top of page. On Formatting

toolbar, select Align Right button. Now type first 2-3 words of title and

insert 5 spaces then click insert page number button. Click Close.
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Appendix C

C. Parts of a Paper

C1. Use a single space between punctuation marks. Indent paragraphs with

Tab button and end paragraphs with Enter button.

Center: On Formatting toolbar, select Align Center button, and start

typing (e.g., title, authors, institutions).Left align: On Formatting toolbar,

select Align Left button, and type content (e.g., running head; text; reference

entry).

C2. Title Page See Sample APA Title Page on pg 7 fig. A1 for a visual

example. Page Header contains a shortened title and page number.

C3. Running Header / abbreviated title used as running head for published

article. Maximum 50 characters & spaces. On the Formatting toolbar, select

the Align Left button. Cursor should be at first line of the paper. Type

running header in uppercase letters.

C4. Paper Title and Author (byline) in upper half of the page: Center and

type the title. Press Enter. Center and type author name. Below the

author is the institution name.

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C5. Force a New Page. Place cursor at bottom of current page. Click on the

Insert menu, then Break, select Page Break, and click OK.

C6. Abstract. Force a new page. Center “Abstract” at top. Type abstract

as 1 paragraph, block format, max. 120 words. Visual e.g. on pg 8 fig. A2.

C7. Text. Force a new page. Center and type full title, press Enter.

Change to Left Align, press Tab and begin the paper. Visual e.g. on p 9 fig.

A3.

C8. References. See Figure A.7 on p 13 for an example. Force a new

page. Center and type “References” then press Enter. Change to Left align

and type references, ending each with Enter. Alphabetize by last name of

the first author. To correctly place Hanging Indentions highlight all entries

and select Format, then Paragraph. On Indents and Spacing tab: find

Indention, and under Special select Hanging. All citations have 1st line

flush left and additional lines are indented.