It is natural to struggle with academic writing. Nevertheless, your doctoral study should be written in a clear, concise, well-organized manner; follow APA format; and be free of grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors. Your ideas should seamlessly build off each other to form a main idea.  

It is important for you to become familiar with resources and writing approaches that can be used to clearly convey your thoughts to both academic and professional communities. In the Module 1 SLP, we will discuss the characteristics of well-written papers at the doctoral level.

Begin by reviewing the required readings listed in the Background material. We also strongly recommend you download  to help you avoid minor grammatical and spelling errors, and make use of  and Trident’s  to help you follow APA guidelines. Make sure you review the material developed at Trident as well as the Videos in the section Tips and Tools from .

After reading the required background material and finding at least two other resources on your own, write a 3- to 4-page paper (without counting the cover page and the page with references) discussing the topic:

The characteristics of academic writing at the doctoral level.

In your paper, you should answer the following questions using your own evaluation and critical thinking.

1. What are 10 steps you think students should follow to write a paper at doctoral level at Trident University?
2. How do you plan to ensure your papers are well written?
3. What kind of tools or resources will you use to improve academic writing?
4. What are the characteristics of a well written paper at the doctoral level?

SLP Assignment Expectations

Length: The written component of this assignment should be 3-4 pages long (double-spaced) without counting the cover page and reference page.

Organization: Subheadings should be used to organize your paper according to the questions.

Grammar and Spelling: While no points are deducted for minor errors, assignments are expected to adhere to standard guidelines of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence syntax. Points may be deducted if grammar and spelling impact clarity. We encourage you to use tools such as grammarly.com and proofread your paper before submission.

As you complete your assignment, make sure you do the following:

• Answer the assignment questions directly.
• Stay focused on the precise assignment questions. Do not go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
• Use evidence from your readings to justify your conclusions.
• Be sure to cite at least five credible resources.
• Make sure to reference your sources of information with both a bibliography and in-text citations. See Trident’s  guide, including the References/Citation Examples tab. Another resource is the Writing Style Guide, which is found under My Resources in the TLC Portal.

Your assignment will be graded using the following criteria:

1. Assignment-driven Criteria: Student demonstrates mastery covering all key elements of the assignment.
2. Critical Thinking/ Application to Professional Practice: Student demonstrates mastery conceptualizing the problem, and analyzing information. Conclusions are logically presented and applied to professional practice in an exceptional manner.
3. Business Writing and Quality of References: Student demonstrates mastery and proficiency in written communication and use of appropriate and relevant literature at the doctoral level.
4. Citing Sources: Student demonstrates mastery applying APA formatting standards to both in text citations and the reference list.
5. Professionalism and Timeliness: Assignments are submitted on time.