Scholarly Voice:

Precision, Clarity, and Academic Expression

According to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA, 2020), academic writing should be concise and clear, and using words frugally creates a more readable paper. APA states, “Some writers may fear that writing concisely will make their papers too short  However, adding extraneous material or ‘fluff’ to make your paper longer will dilute its focus and meaning and will not improve your chances of publication or of getting a favorable grade” (p. 113). Students should aim to write clearly and concisely (see APA 7, Section 4.4) and eliminate wordiness and redundancy (see APA 7, Section 4.5).

Read the following subpages to master the skills needed to be a precise, clear, smooth, and economic writer.