Organization is the way that you format your ideas on the page so that others can follow your thoughts and understand your points. Developing well-organized writing is a first step in having others understand your ideas.
All NU students will develop their scholarly voice according to scholarly writing conventions and APA format. The key to academic writing is to be able to give credit to the ideas of others while at the same time using your own voice to express your views and conclusions.
For many of you it might seem like you are learning a foreign language as you encounter the style and formatting characteristics of graduate writing. Academic writing is a learned skill that takes practice. Much of that practice is focused on conforming to certain conventions of formal structure, writing style, and uniform rules, particularly for citations from other peoples’ work.
One of many ways to assist with organizing a paper is the MEAL Plan. What doe M-E-A-L stand for? Let’s find out!
M: Main idea or topic sentence is the focus of the paragraph.
E: Evidence is scholarly evidence you have found from other sources to support your main idea.
A: Analysis is the point you are making about this evidence and how it supports your main idea.
L: Linking sentence helps to wrap up point and tie your idea to the next, related point.
When you are getting used to paragraph development, using this format to organize your writing can be helpful.
Next Step: As you begin academic writing, try using these tips and resources and reach out to your faculty members or to resources such as the Academic Success Center if you have questions and need some assistance.
At National University, APA Style is used to format papers, unless otherwise specified. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), “APA Style consists of rules or guidelines that a publisher observes to ensure clear and consistent presentation of written material” (See What is APA Style for more information). APA Style makes up a large part of what is considered scholarly writing.
Students will learn APA Style and use it properly in all assignments. Students should use the resources provided by National to assist them in learning APA Style and all the conventions of academic writing. Students are encouraged to ask questions to faculty members and to Academic Success Center coaches to aid in them learning APA.
Where can I learn all of these things? See the Resource Spotlight below.
Academic Writer (formerly known as APA Style CENTRAL) is APA’s interactive supplement to the APA Style Manual that will assist students with learning the research-writing process. National offers students an institutional subscription to Academic Writer to assist with APA formatting and scholarly writing. Academic Writer has Use the “Creating Academic Writer Accounts” resource below to help create your account.
Once you create an account, explore the three main areas of the site:
If you have questions about APA Style, use the Ask a Coach page in the Academic success Center to chat with a coach, ask questions, and search Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
