Walden University Writing Center

Where instructors and editors talk writing.

April Webinar Schedule

The Walden University Writing Center creates content to help students with a range of topics related to scholarly writing, APA style, and the writing process. We host webinars, and offer paper reviews, live chat, and a podcast.

The Most Satisfying Writing Center Resource? Common Reference List Examples

Tasha Sookochoff is a writing instructor in the Walden University Writing Center. Along with earning degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Stout and Depaul University, Tasha has written documentation for the U.S. House of Representatives that increases government transparency, blogged for DePaul University, copy-edited the Journal of Second Language Writing, tutored immigrants and refugees at literacy centers, and taught academic writing to college students.

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MEAL Plan Variations: Building Paragraphs From a Structured Foundation

M- Utilizing Walden Writing Center’s resources is an effective way students can advance their writing skills and reduce stress. E- Mattingly (2019) reported that students often come to the Writing Center lacking confidence but walk away with greater knowledge and awareness of their writing abilities. A- This recommendation highlights students’ potential to advance their writing skills through the Center’s resources and reflects a welcoming environment of instruction and learning. E- Philbrook (2019) similarly noted that many students find the Writing Center a safe place to explore writing anxiety and locate related resources on writer’s block, mindfulness, and self-reflection. A-Each author highlights a unique way Walden’s Writing Center works with students to develop stronger writing skills and reduce stress. L- The Writing Center, in this regard, can have a meaningful and healthy impact on students’ scholarly writing skills and overall wellbeing.

M- The Writing Center’s paper review service is a vital resource for Walden students seeking to become not only better writers but also scholarly communicators. PE- Upon enrolling at Walden, I contacted the Writing Center to learn about resources available to students and was invited to set up a paper review appointment. E- These paper reviews, according to Walden’s Writing Center (n.d.), are designed to “help students develop their academic writing skills as emerging scholars and encourage students to engage in an ongoing writing process” (para. 4). A- The Writing Center promotes an environment where students’ writing projects are viewed as part of a larger process of professional and scholarly development. PE- Though reluctant at first, I quickly found the paper review service to be an invaluable experience in my growth as a scholar because I received personalized feedback that highlighted patterns in my writing style and made me more prepared to communicate my research. L- The Writing Center’s paper review service helps students see how daily writing projects relate to an ongoing process of scholarly development and communication. 

Miranda Mattingly is the Manager of Writing Instructional Services and a former Writing Instructor at the Walden Writing Center. When working with students, her primary focus is on encouraging students to have confidence in their skills as writers and to cultivate their voices as critical thinkers in an increasingly global community. 

Thursday Thoughts: Practice and Test Your Writing and APA Knowledge

The Walden University Writing Center creates content to help students with a range of topics related to scholarly writing, APA style, and the writing process. We host webinars, and offer paper reviews, live chat, and a podcast.

Keep Your Writing Organized With Seriation

Sentence-level Seriation
When it comes to seriation within a sentence, there are a number of ways to format a serialized list. Each has some different features depending on how you are constructing that list and the items that you are including in it.

The simplest and most common is the serialized list where items are separated using a comma. This is known as a serialized list. When you have three or more equal items in a list, you separate these using commas. Here’s an example of what this can look like: For lunch I ordered a salad, a side of raw carrots, and a hot fudge sundae with extra hot fudge. It is important to note that there is a comma between each of these three items, including the last item. This is the simplest for of seriation and one that many students are familiar with. For more information about seriation generally, take a look at page 63-65 of the Publication Manual of American Psychological Associations (3.04 Seriation).

You can also use lowercase letters to distinguish between specific items in a serialized list. This shows the reader what information belongs to each specific item in the list. Here’s an example of how this could look: My dog has toys that are used for specific occasions: (a) a stuffed football that he plays with outside; (b) a blanket, which he lays on to take naps; and (c) a bear, his companion inside the house. Here, you can see that each item is distinct; the lowercase letters break up this list and make it clear what information belongs to what item. For more information on this, check out page 64 of your Publication Manual of American Psychological Associations (3.04 Seriation)

Seriation Within a Section
At times, it is appropriate to craft a list that expands beyond a single sentence, taking up most of an entire section. This becomes common and conventional especially when looking at larger pieces like dissertation documents or articles for publication. When doing this, you can use a bulleted list or a numbered list; each contains specific attributes that are important to consider when deciding between the two.

As with sentence-level seriation, the most common seriation within a section is also the simplest: the bulleted list. When you have items that are meat to appear in no particular order, you should use bullets. Here’s how this should look:

• Dusek (2018) argued… [paragraph continues]
• Philbrook (2016) posited… [paragraph continues]
• Dado (2018) found… [paragraph continues

As you can see, these imply no chronology, importance, priority, etc. These are simply separate pieces of information that appear in no particular order. For more information on how to do this, you can look at page 64 of the Publication Manual of American Psychological Associations (3.04 Seriation).

If the order of the elements in your list matter, however, you should use a numbered list. This is very similar to a bulleted list, only you use numbers, and these numbers show the reader a specific order that the listed items appear in. This order can be a chronology, a significance, a priority, etc. The point I’m driving at here is that the order matters, and the numbers in the numbered list tell the reader the order that the information should come in. Here’s an example of this:

1. I wake up in the morning… [paragraph continues]
2. As I come to midday… [paragraph continues]
3. At night time… [paragraph continues]

This list reflects the chronology of a day. The order that these items appear are important. Reading them out of order would give the reader an inaccurate impression of the day. More information on this can also be found on page 64 of the Publication Manual of American Psychological Associations (3.04 Seriation).

Seriation allows an author to get a lot of information across to the reader at once, but there are some specific rules that dictate how lists should be used in APA style. Asking “why,” led me down a path to see what these rules actually are. Through this, a seemingly arbitrary rule of APA gained an order and a logic. I encourage you to be curious writers and seek answers to questions derived from instances that don’t make sense to you. Doing so can have benefits like, reduced anxiety, true understanding, knowledge application, happiness, fulfillment, etc.

Michael Dusek is a writing instructor in the Walden University Writing Center. He enjoys working with students and improving their writing skills. The idea that an essay is expressive as well as formal is a cornerstone of the way he views writing. He believes that approaching a writing project as a creative problem-solving activity can alleviate apprehension that students often encounter. In his personal life, he enjoys the outdoors, books, music, and all other types of art. 

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Virtual Conference Invitation: Water is Toxic and Food is Scarce. What Will We Do?

The Walden University Center for Social Change is a connective hub that promotes, facilitates, and supports collaborative partnerships, action research, and projects that lead to purposeful action for sustainable positive social change.

A Brief History of the DOI

Meghan K Barnes holds a BFA in Professional Writing & English, an MFA in Nonfiction Literature, and a MAT in Post-Secondary Adult Online Education. These degrees lead to multiple opportunities including a Fulbright Scholarship to study the nonfiction work of Sylvia Plath in England, three Pushcart Prize Nominations, and four book publications.