I, the Graduating Engineering Student Turned Incidental Writer (nineteenth stride) – Writing styles

Foreword

Foreword

This series of articles, on the travails and torments of required writing for school term papers, thesis or dissertation, are purposely taken in the point of view of the student in the graduating or senior years. Hopefully, they reveal how much anguish and agony he goes through in every phase of the activity he is obliged to present, even to defend in front of a panel of peers, prior to receiving his much toiled-for diploma.

Previously

The graduating student parted with the family members of his foreigner friend, profoundly euphoric that his love aspiration was favorably responded to. Absolutely re-invigorated, he returns to the academic challenge pre-requisite for graduation.

More than ever, I had to make good on this particular task of writing a good term paper, not only to pass my English class, but also to impress my English major sweetheart now back in her own homeland. I promised to send her electronic mails whenever possible, which naturally meant everyday.

On her own explanation, I learned that most learning institutions in many developed countries specify one of two writing styles for student, and professional, term paper, thesis, or dissertation - APA & MLA.

APA stands for American Psychological Association which publishes The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, offering guidance for writers in the fields of social and behavioral sciences. It includes how to punctuate words and sentences, present statistics, add tables, select headings. The main thrust is helping writers properly cite the works that were used to support their own papers. APA Style is for subjects related to the social sciences, such as business, criminal justice, economics, law, and medical subjects, including nursing and psychology.

MPA stands for Modern Language Association which publishes the MLA Style Manual, offering guidance for writers in the academic fields. It tells how to format documents written in scholarly pursuit or in contribution to literature. It sets forth specifications that set the margins, space the sentences, paginate the sheets, create a cover page, and it recommends where to place the appendices. The most important role it serves is directing the writer how to cite the works of others used in the papers. MLA Style is used for subjects related to the humanities and liberal arts, such as literature, mass communications, and media studies.

Other editorial guides include Associated Press Stylebook for works in journalism, Chicago Manual of Style which is preferred by those that belong to an organization or work in a field like anthropology, and the Oxford Style Guide for continental European writers.

A novel thought does not exist anymore. Every thought that is insightful or groundbreaking, must have been thought of before by others. This is called cumulative thinking. When a submission is made to the scientific community, other works must have been reviewed that support the conclusion. Proper recognition must therefore be made and the contribution acknowledged.

Quoting or paraphrasing another work is governed by guidelines so that the source is made clear. Technical regulations prevent confusion when the literature is placed under Cited Works at the end of the document.

Next: the twentieth stride - conclusion

I, the Graduating Engineering Student Turned Incidental Writer (nineteenth stride) Writing styles

By: Mindrich Velos

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