Running head: WRITING STYLE LESSONS 1
Lessons Learned About Writing Style
Sabrina Kaye Willow Sayre Russell
Liberty University
Author Note
Sabrina Kaye Willow Sayre Russell, Department of Psychology, Liberty University.
S.K. Willow S. Russell is currently a senior student a Liberty University in the
Psychology Christian Counseling program minoring in Church Ministries.
This research was supported in part by Pell Grants, Stafford, and other student loans from
the Department of Education and FASFA.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Willow Russell, 720
Walnut Valley Trail, Rogers, AR 72756. E-mail: ssayre@liberty.edu or skwks79@gmail.com
WRITING STYLE LEASONS 2
Questions and Answers
How to Properly Format a Printed Book Using the Current APA Publication Manual
One learns to properly format a printed book in the Sixth Edition of the Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) on pages 174-177 and pages 202 &
203. An example of this looks like this:
Crawford, R. (2016). Introduction to research: Less fright, more insight. Dubuque, IA: Kendall
Hunt.
The Purpose for Different Levels of Headings and Choosing the Right One in a Properly
Formatted APA Document
To find the purpose for using different levels of heading, and how to know which level of
heading should be used in an APA properly-formatted document; one should consult pages 62 &
63 of the APA Publication Manual.
A DOI and Why it is Important in Research
A DOI is a Digital Objective Identifier. This is a new way of tracking vital digital
information in research that has developed since the last APA Publication Manual came out.
DOI’s are a part of a whole system developed by a group of international publishers to provide a
way to persistently identify and manage information on a digital network. This system has
citation-linking services that are registration agency like CrossRef, which is use by the scientific
publishing sector. CrossRef has more than 2,600 participating publishers and scholarly societies
which have developed a system with two critical functions. First, to give a unique identifier and
routing system that acts like a clearinghouse to direct readers to the content of an article no
WRITING STYLE LEASONS 3
matter where it is digitally located. Second, they use the DOI as a linking device in list of
references on electric articles which allows click-through access to references, (American
Psychological Association, 2010 pp. 187-189).
Resources accessible online at the Jerry Falwell Library
When going online to Liberty University’s Jerry Falwell Library to browse the pages for
information on the topic of domestic violence it is found that you can access resources from
academic journals and books.
Acquiring a source that is not directly available in the Jerry Falwell Library
If during a search of the Jerry Falwell Library a reference resource is discovered that is
not directly available in the Jerry Falwell Library, then in can be obtained in one of two ways.
One, you can use the inter-library loan system to get a copy of this material. If for some reason
this is not available, like due to location or time restraints the second way can be implemented.
Two, use one of the data bases like PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, or ProQuest Research library.
The only other ways are to try to access it at a local library or online.
Formatting References on a Reference Page and In-text Citations
The APA Manual teaches very specific ways to reference citations both in-text and on a
reference page, at the end of a work. This is taught in chapter six and seven on pages 174-179 &
193-224.
Introduction to research textbook. To find how to make a properly cite a book like the
research textbook you should go to page 174, 177, & 202. This will provide the correct and
proper APA formatting for both in-text and reference page citations. Earlier in this paper there is
WRITING STYLE LEASONS 4
an example of how to cite this book on a reference page. However, an in-text citation, found on
page 174, would look like this: (Crawford, 2016).
APA publication manual. The APA manual itself is sometimes used as a reference. To
learn how to properly cite the manual itself turn to pages 197 & 203 where it is covered. For a
real-life example of this turn to page 255, where 4th edition of the APA manual is actually cited in
the 6th edition APA manual. On the reference page of this paper it can be seen how this looks and
an in-text citation of the manual appears earlier this this paper, which is found on page 176 &
177.
Scholarly journal article with a DOI. The APA Publication Manual shows how to do
such a citation in-text on pages 174-179. However, to see how to cite an article like this on a
reference page turn to pages 188-192. There is an example of this on page 198. The way this
should look is like this:
Herbst-Damm, K.L., & Kulik, J. A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and survival times
of terminally ill patients. Health Psychology, 24, 225-229. Doi:10.1037/0278-
6133.24.2.225
Citing a personal conversation in APA. The APA manual shows how to cite a personal
conversation in-text on page 179. It also teaches on that page that such a communication is not
listed on reference pages, but instead only with an in-text citation.
An edited book. The APA manual covers in-text citation of these books on pages 174-
179. With examples of reference page citation on pages 202-205. A reference of this type would
look like this:
WRITING STYLE LEASONS 5
VandenBos, G. R. (Ed.). (2007). APA dictionary of psychology. Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.
WRITING STYLE LEASONS 6
References
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (6th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Author.
Crawford, R. (2016). Introduction to research: Less fright, more insight. Dubuque, IA: Kendall
Hunt.
