As a student, representation of your academic writing is one of the most important aspects of creating a successful academic paper that is sure to fetch good response towards it. It is very important to understand how you will represent the information and ideas that you might be putting forth. The proper way of referencing, citing, quoting of material taken from the source, allows the creator to convey the depth and purpose of the research in an effective way. Language that is to be used to convey the work in your same discipline is always the way to go.
What not to do?
While you would like to create an academic paper that would stand out, not only with the description but, also the style of writing the same. Many people tend to change the writing style according to what they feel looks good. But, sometimes students forget there are rules to follow, every time regarding what they are working on. Writing for any academic purpose carries with it certain expectation and formatting consistencies, and if you somehow fail to understand the importance and system of such writing, you can end up having a negative result.
What should be done?
Different style of academic writing have been going on from generations. There have been more than few styles that have been introduced during this time period, regardless, at a final stage the 3 main global writing style were chosen, they are revised may times but still remain as one of the most used styles.
Usually universities or colleges sticks to one style for most of their papers still, in any case you might need to work with other styles as well. If you are opting to become a professional writer or bibliography writer, these following styles are absolutely perfect for you.
The big three styles:
1.APA Style-
This writing style is the official guideline for academic writing, it was introduced by the American Psychological Association, now it is the sixth edition (revised). It is the most frequently used style within the social science subject domain like- sociology, psychology, medicine, or social work.
This style was introduces in 1929, by a group of psychologists, anthropologists, and business managers. The rules and guidelines concerns uniform use of such elements that are below-
•Selection of headings, tone, and length.
•Punctuation and abbreviations.
•Presentation of numbers and statistics.
•Construction of tables and figures.
•Citation of references.
•Many other elements that are a part of a manuscript.
2.MLA Style-
These are the guidelines that were put in existence by the Modern Language Association. It was founded in 1883. The style is widely used for subject domains as humanities, especially in English studies, modern languages and literature, comparative literature, literary criticism, media studies, cultural studies, and related disciplines.
•Paper choice
•MLA heading format and instructions for developing an MLA format title page
•Running Head & Page Numbers
•Margins
•Paragraphs
•Quotations
•Paraphrases
•Spacing
•Font and Font Size
•Punctuation
•Abbreviations
•Numbers, including the use of numbers in MLA outline format
•Images, Tables, and Musical Scores
•Lists
•MLA works cited format
•MLA citation format
•Binding
•Edits
•Submission
•Sample Paper
3.CMS Style-
These guidelines for the style was given forth in the Chicago Manual of Style. Now in its 16th edition (revised). CMS style is usually seen in humanities, particularly with literature students and those who study advanced segments of history and/or the arts.
•A space, not a comma, should separate the author’s name and the year of publication.
•Page numbers are included only when part of a source or a direct quotation is cited. Abbreviations (“p.” or “pp.”) are not required.
•Footnotes and end notes are used only when there is a need to provide further information about a particular idea or when specific copyright permission needs to be documented
Victoria Mathews is a contributor to this article. She is a professional blogger and writer, and she has contributed to several educational blog as an author. She also offers academic assistance, via her writing, at College essay examples. Her writing mainly focus on academic writing, education, technology and current affairs. The ambition of this writer is to bring a change for other through her writing.
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