"Writer's voice" refers to how you express yourself through your writing - your presence on the page - how you craft your message
1. Strive to write in active voice when possible; the passive voice should be used in moderation
2. Avoid using first person / personal pronouns (e.g. I or me)
3. Remember: The author / researcher studied a phenomenon …not the article or journal.
4. Use bias free language
5. Avoid redundancy in wording, e.g. first originated
References:
Efron, S. E., & Ravid, R. (2018). Writing the literature review : A practical guide. Guilford Publications.
Goldsmith, J.A. (2017). Writing Effectively. In C. Saver (Eds.), Anatomy of writing for publication. (pp. 111-126). Sigma Theta Tau International.
Topic sentence
Supporting sentences
References:
McCombes, S. (2022, November 29). Academic paragraph structure: Step-by-Step guide & examples. Scribbr. https://www.scribbr.com/research-paper/paragraph-structure/
Purdue University. (n.d.). On paragraphs.https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/paragraphs_and_paragraphing/index.html
Punctuation
1. Use a comma to
2. Use a semi-colon
a. preceding the conjunctive adverb – e.g. The dean will be late for the recognition ceremony; however, she does plan to attend.
b. to join two complete but related thoughts that are not joined by a conjunction – e.g. The dean will not attend the recognition ceremony; she will be missed.
3. Use of Apostrophes
a. contractions - e.g. won't, haven't
b. show possession - indicates something belongs to someone - e.g. Jill's office; the library's computers
4. Use periods (and other punctuation marks) after parentheses (in most cases). (The exception is when writing a full sentence inside parentheses.)
Word Placement
1. avoid misplaced modifiers (may alter the intended meaning) - She told him that she wanted to move to a new location frequently.
2. avoid dangling modifiers - Hidden in the closet, Aunt Suzy found her missing sweater.
Tense Agreement
Keep tense (past, present, future) consistent within a sentence and paragraph
Connecting Ideas
Use transitional wording (e.g. however, conversely, despite, similarly, consequently, etc.) or sentences to connect ideas or introduce new topics. See Memon - Transition Words and Phrases below.
Balance Sentences
1. avoid sentence fragments by ensuring each sentence has both a subject and a verb
2. avoid run-on sentences by using punctuation appropriately
3. avoid overloaded sentences that contain too much information
References / Resources
There are many words that cause issues. Use an online dictionary, as needed, to verify correct word usage:
Affect vs Effect
e.g. vs i.e.
Resources used on this page: