APA Style Homework, Part 1: Writing Clearly and Concisely
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APAStyle.pdf
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Psych 100: Research Methods
APA Style Homework, Part 1: Writing Clearly and Concisely
To complete this homework, you need to consult with the APA Publication Manual (6 th
edition). If you donʼt
have a copy, you can use the copy in the Reference section of the library. The pages in the Manual where
the answers are found are listed with each question below. (You may also try consulting some online
resources about APA style.)
1. Headings (pp. 62-63). Headings help to organize the paper. There are 5 levels of headings. Please check
the correct formatting (location, font, and case) for each of the following headings:
Location Font Case Method, Results,
Discussion, or
References
Centered
Flush left
Indented
Boldface
Italicized
Regular
ALL UPPERCASE
Upper & Lowercase
Lowercase paragraph ending with a period.
Sample and
Participants
Centered
Flush left
Indented
Boldface
Italicized
Regular
ALL UPPERCASE
Upper & Lowercase
Lowercase paragraph ending with a period.
Assessments and
Measures
Centered
Flush left
Indented
Boldface
Italicized
Regular
ALL UPPERCASE
Upper & Lowercase
Lowercase paragraph ending with a period.
2. Noun strings (pp. 65-66). Edit the following noun string to improve readability.
early childhood thought disorder misdiagnosis
3. Economy of expression (pp. 67-68). Rewrite the following sentence to convey the same meaning in a
more concise manner.
Based on the fact that she very frequently
experienced heartburns after whenever she ate
eggs in the past, she very rarely eats any of the
products that contain eggs at the present time.
4. Precision and clarity (pp. 68-70). Correct the following sentence to avoid anthropomorphism in writing.
The college outreach program talked to the
nearby high schools about applying to college.
5. Avoiding bias (pp. 70-77). Provide a non-biased alternative to each of the following.
Incorrect Correct
man and wife
gay men and the general public
An infantʼs nonstop crying may indicate that he is
sick or hungry.
White and minority students
policeman
the autistics
the elderly group
6. Grammar and usage (pp. 77-86). The manual reviews “problems of grammar and usage that occur
frequently in manuscripts” (p. 77). Examples of particular problems are listed below. Provide a correct
alternative next to each one.
Grammar/usage
problem
Incorrect Example Correct Example
Use active voice Relevant research has been
reviewed by the authors before
conducting this study.
Select tense carefully The experimenter then asks
the child to name the object.
Select the appropriate mood If the study was not conducted
with rigor, the findings could
not be trusted.
Subject and verb must agree The data shows that 3-year-old
children tends to engage in
gender-stereotypical play
activities.
Pronoun must agree with the
antecedent in number
Neither the orange juice nor
the lemonade have artificial
flavors in them.
Use “who” and “whom”
properly
The teacher who Ray liked has
retired.
Use noun participles
properly
I had nothing to do with you
being ticketed for illegal
parking.
Eliminate misplaced
modifiers
The researcher observed the
children using this procedure.
Avoid dangling modifiers Children were assessed using
the standardized interview.
Use adverbs properly Interestingly, the opposite
effect was indicated.
Relative pronouns and
subordinate conjunctions:
- “that” vs. “which” The test which seemed easy
was actually challenging.
- “while” vs. “although,”
“and,” and “but”
While these findings are
unusual, they are not unique.
- “since” vs. “because” Since they scored lower than
70% on the research paper,
they did not pass Psych 100.
Parallel construction: - “between” and “and” There was a significant
difference between the first
groupʼs mean score and the
second group.
- “both” and “and” The names were both difficult
to pronounce and spell.
- “neither”/”nor” and
“either”/”or”
The students either shouted
out of joy or out of anger.
-“not only” and “but also” It is not only difficult for the
computer to solve this problem
but also for human beings to
solve it.
Name
Psych 100 Research Methods
APA Style Homework, Part 2: Mechanics of Style
1. Punctuation (pp. 87-96). Correct use of periods, commas, colons, semi-colons, quotation marks, and
other punctuation avoids confusion and aids readability. For each pair of items below, check () the option on either the left or the right that has correct punctuation according to the APA manual.
a) The students debated whether IQ was an appropriate factor to consider in their study.
The students debated whether I.Q. was an appropriate factor to consider in their study.
b) The red block weighed 6 kg. and the green ball weighed 4 kg.
The red block weighed 6 kg and the green ball weighed 4 kg.
c)
December 1984 was the previous month.
December, 1984, was the previous month.
d) All participants were instructed to complete the survey and were given the necessary materials.
All participants were instructed to complete the survey, and were given the necessary materials.
e) The toddlers’ ages were between 2 years, 8 months and 2 years, 10 months.
The toddlers’ ages were between 2 years 8 months and 2 years 10 months.
f)
This question is a bit too hard; the other is too easy.
This question is a bit too hard, the other is too easy.
g)
The equation is: y = b0 + b1x1 + b2x2 + b3x3.
The equation is y = b0 + b1x1 + b2x2 + b3x3.
h) This person exhibited what is considered “normal” behavior for their age.
This person exhibited what is considered ‘normal’ behavior for their age.
i) In our survey, we used a scale ranging from 1 (“almost never”) to 5 (“almost always”) for all of our items.
In our survey, we used a scale ranging from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always) for all of our items.
j) The term “culture” has a number of uses in pop psychology.
The term culture has a number of uses in pop psychology.
k) The boy in Silverstein’s (1964) ground-breaking study revealed, ‘I don’t need very much now’ (p. 49).
The boy in Silverstein’s (1964) ground-breaking study revealed, “I don’t need very much now” (p. 49).
l) The areas we need to pass are (a) lab section, (b) the research paper, and (c) the exams.
The areas we need to pass are a. lab section, b. the research paper, and c. the exams.
m)
… was statistically significant (p = .022)
… was statistically significant, p = .022.
n)
(e.g., intersectionality), (Crenshaw, 1993)
(e.g., intersectionality; Crenshaw, 1993)
o)
… was marginally significant, F(1, 34) = 5.68, p = .045.
… was marginally significant [F(1, 34) = 5.68, p = .045].
p)
before-after pictures
before/after pictures
2. Spelling (pp. 96-100). Some words have unusual singular or plural forms. For each of the following,
enter the missing singular or plural form of the word.
SINGULAR PLURAL a) datum b) phenomena c) appendix d) the Smurf’s hats
3. Hyphenation (pp. 97-100). Some of the following phrases in bold need a hyphen added. Some do
not. Add a hyphen in the following sentences if necessary. Write “OK” next to sentence if no hyphen is
needed.
a) These students’ assignments were as well written as the others’.
b) Bobby seems to be a very high stress person, despite being a jazz musician.
c) I managed to interview about one fourth of the students in the class before I ran out of
time.
d) We used a six point rating scale.
e) Senator Marshall needs a two thirds majority to pass the bill next month.
4. Capitalization (pp. 101-104). APA has specific guidelines on capitalization that can seem different
from colloquial usage. In the example below, circle any specific letters where capitalization is needed.
As the paper explains in the discussion section, although administration of experimental
conditions a and b were correct, the sample of students from the UNW psychology
department may have shifted the distribution somewhat.
5. Italics (pp. 104-106). Circle the words in the following sentence that either are missing italics or are
incorrectly italicized. If the sentence is correct, then write “OK” next to it.
a) It was a provocative editorial in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
b) We don’t criticize the work per se.
c) We refer to the construct as ego-dystonia. d) They suggested a different interpretation of Hernandez’s new book The Psychology of
Love.
e) The researcher used the Implicit Personality Test (IPT).
f) It is important research.
6. Abbreviations (pp. 106-111). Correct the common mistakes in abbreviations below. Pay attention to
use of punctuation and capitalization, as well as parts of the sentence when abbreviations are allowed.
Circle the part on the left side that is incorrect, and print the correction for that part on the right.
a) They’ve competed in a number of races together,
always starting training with in the same way (ie., a 5-
mile run through Central Park.)
b) There are several things we need to do before we
can move into the new house (E.g., paint the kitchen,
clean the carpets, and replace the sink).
c) My 1-mo.-old child is so cute.
d) On the playground, often children see it as a
competition between girls vs. boys.
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Psych 100 Research Methods
APA Style Homework, Part 3: Citing Sources (Page numbers in bold refer to sources for answers in APA Publication Manual.)
1. Crediting sources (page 170; worth 3 points). According to the APA Publication Manual,
there are at least three situations when you should credit a source to avoid plagiarizing someone
else’s work. These are:
a)
b)
c)
2. Quoting (pp. 170-174; worth 4 points). For each pair of statements below, mark the option
on either the left or the right that illustrates the correct citation form.
a)
The author speculated "negative exemplars
within the self-concept are more confidently
known than affirmative exemplars."
(Brinthaup, 1983, p. 52)
The author speculated "negative exemplars
within the self-concept are more confidently
known than affirmative exemplars" (Brinthaup,
1983, p. 52). b)
Deurf (1990, p. 68) suggested "the "subliminal guilt effect" happens only when semi-nude
images are subtly inscribed on the labels of
whiskey bottles of light drinkers."
Deurf (1990) suggested "the ‘subliminal guilt effect’ happens only when semi-nude images are
subtly inscribed on the labels of whiskey bottles
of light drinkers" (p. 68).
c)
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers
brought forth upon this continent a new nation.
. . . dedicated to the proposition that all men
are created equal."
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers
brought forth upon this continent a new nation. .
. dedicated to the proposition that all men are
created equal." d)
Eykens and Gerrard (1986) concluded "both repeat dieters and bulimics can be
characterized as having low self-esteem,"
which provided support for the second
hypothesis (p. 288).
Eykens and Gerrard (1986) concluded "both
repeat dieters and bulimics can be characterized
as having low self-esteem" (p. 288), which
provided support for the second hypothesis.
/3 3. Quoting (pp. 170-174; worth 3 points). Rewrite the following quotation to make it consistent
with APA formatting.
These investigators argued “it cannot be concluded that this effect was produced by similar social
processes (p. 358).” (Walker and Beckerle, 1987)
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4. Alternative citation format (pp. 174-175; worth 1 point). Provide an alternative way to
write-up the following citation if you didn’t mention the author in the body of the sentence:
Holtzman (1976) investigated the effects of TV in a different culture.
5. Paraphrase Citations in Text (pp. 174-182; worth 4 points). Rewrite the following to make
the citations consistent with APA formatting. (In 4a below, assume the two sentences
following one another in the paper.)
a) Arnau, Rosen, Finch, & Fortunato (2007) tested the effects of hope on depression and
anxiety. Also, Anau, Rosen, Finsh, and Fortunato found that hope is negatively associated with
depression and anxiety (2007).
b) An early example of computer simulation of human problem-solving is the General Problem-
Solver (Newell & Simon, 1961; Newell & Simon, 1972; Newell & Shaw, 1959). 6. Reference Components (pp. 183-192; worth 5 points). Rewrite the following references to
make them consistent with APA formatting. (Underline everything that normally would be
italicized. (In actual APA style, however, remember that underlining is not used.)
a) Corral, Ian, & Landrine, Harold. (2008). “Acculturation and Ethnic Minority Health Behavior: A
Test of the Operant Model.” Health psychology, 27, pp. 737-745.
b) Segerstrom, S. C., & Roach, A. R. (2008) On the physical health benefits of self-enhancement. In
Chang, E. C., Editor, Self-criticism and self-enhancement: theory, research, and clinical
implications (pp. 37-54). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
