Scholarly Writing Resource Centre

 

1. Scholarly Writing

Remember, scholarly writing is for “the eye,” not for “the ear” — it is meant to be read.

Key Features:

• Clarity, precision, and formality.

• Focus on evidence-based reasoning.

• Avoid personal bias or casual, colloquial language.

Examples:

✅ Correct: “The data suggest a correlation between socioeconomic status and educational attainment.”

❌ Incorrect: “I think poor people don’t do as well in school.”

✅ Correct: “Studies indicate that spiritual leadership may enhance workplace morale (Fry, 2023).”

❌ Incorrect: “Spiritual leadership seems to make people feel better at work.”

External Resources:

• Scholarly Writing Basics – Walden University

• How to Write in a Scholarly Tone – YouTube (6 min)

2. Active Voice

Definition: The subject performs the action rather than receiving it.

Examples:

✅ Active: “The committee approved the revised proposal.”

❌ Passive: “The revised proposal was approved by the committee.”

✅ Active: “Researchers observed three behavioral patterns.”

❌ Passive: “Three behavioral patterns were observed by researchers.”

Why it matters: Active voice is clearer and more direct. Use passive voice only when necessary (e.g., to emphasize the action over the actor).

External Resources:

• Active vs. Passive Voice – Purdue OWL

• Active vs. Passive Voice – YouTube (5 min)

3. Scholarly Tone

Focus on an “economy of words” — eliminate adjectives, adverbs, and “flowery” language.

Principles:

• Formal, objective, and precise.

• Avoid first-person unless required.

• Avoid rhetorical questions, exclamation marks, and emotional appeals.

Examples:

✅ Correct: “This study examines how community engagement impacts retention in faith-based institutions.”

❌ Incorrect: “Doesn’t community involvement help students stay in school? Of course it does!”

✅ Correct: “Leadership frameworks must align with organizational values.”

❌ Incorrect: “Great leaders just get it.”

External Resources:

• Scholarly Voice – APA Style

• Formal vs. Informal Writing – YouTube (4 min)

4. Citing Sources in APA Style (7th ed.)

Omega Graduate School – In-Text APA Citation Format Checker Tool

Paste a block of text into the box below to check your in-text citations for APA style:

Check Citations

Properly Formatting In-Text Citations

• Paraphrase:
  ✅ (Maxwell, 2021)
  ✅ Maxwell (2021) argues that…

• Direct Quote:
  ✅ “Servant leadership is inherently relational” (Greenleaf, 1977, p. 23).

Reference List Examples

• Book:
  Maxwell, J. C. (2021). Change your world: How anyone, anywhere, can make a difference. HarperCollins Leadership.

• Journal Article:
  Fry, L. W. (2003). Toward a theory of spiritual leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 14(6), 693–727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2003.09.001

• Website:
  Barna Group. (2022, March 1). Trends in church engagement. https://www.barna.com/research/church-engagement/

Tips:

• Double-space all references.

• Use hanging indents (first line flush left, second line indented).

• Alphabetize the reference list.

External Resources:

• APA Style Guide – Purdue OWL

• Google Docs Citation Manager and Formatter Tutorial

• APA Style Citation Guide – YouTube (8 min)

• Citation Machine (Citation Formatter)

5. APA Format Basics

Formatting Essentials:

• Level 1: Centered, Bold, Title Case, Font Size: 12pt

• Level 2: Flush Left, Bold, Title Case, Font Size: 12pt

• Level 3: Flush Left, Bold Italic, Title Case, Font Size: 12pt

External Resources:

• APA Student Paper Template – APA.org

• APA Formatting Tutorial – YouTube (11 min)

Need Help?

Contact Dr. David Ward, Senior Tutor, for additional support. We can assist with APA style, paper reviews, and formatting questions!