Academic Writing: Session 4

Session 4 · Module 1 90 minutes · self-paced

Modern Editorial Standards and Style Guides

This final session of Module 1 begins by introducing style guides: what they are, what they contain and how academic writers use them. It then covers current editorial conventions from the 18th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style: inclusive language, updated punctuation and tech terminology, streamlined citations, and ethical AI disclosure.

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

Explain what a style guide is, what it contains, and how academic writers choose and use one.
Apply modern inclusive language guidelines, including generic singular “they” and proper capitalisation of cultural and racial identifiers.
Master updated punctuation and mechanics rules, such as post-colon capitalisation and unhyphenated tech terms.
Format digital source citations, URLs, and DOIs according to streamlined CMOS 18 conventions.
Formulate transparent disclosure statements for AI-assisted research while upholding human authorship standards.

Phase 1 15 minutes

Introducing Style Guides and Standards

Illustration of a writer's desk with a navy hardcover book titled Style Guide, an open manuscript with citation numbers, a fountain pen and glasses, representing the style guides and standards that academic writers consult

Academic writers do not invent their own rules for citations, headings or punctuation. They follow published standards, and learning where those standards come from is the first step towards using them with confidence.

What is a style guide?

A style guide is a reference book or online resource that sets out agreed conventions for preparing and presenting written work. Its main purpose is consistency: every writer, editor and reader working with the same guide makes the same decisions in the same way.

Why academic writers need them

Consistency: the same rule is applied to every citation, heading and number in the document.
Credibility: careless citation or formatting distracts readers and can suggest careless research.
Efficiency: a decision made once by the guide does not need to be made again by the writer.
Fair attribution: citation rules show readers exactly where ideas and evidence come from.
Acceptance: many journals, publishers and instructors require a named guide and may return work that does not follow it.

What you can find in a style guide

Coverage varies from guide to guide, but most large guides deal with the same five areas.

Area	What it covers	A question it answers
Citation and referencing	In-text citations, footnotes, reference lists, how to cite books, articles, websites and data	“How do I cite a journal article with a DOI?”
Structure and formatting	Headings, title pages, margins, fonts, tables, figures and captions	“How should I style my subheadings?”
Language and mechanics	Spelling, capitalisation, punctuation, hyphenation, numbers and abbreviations	“Should I write nine or 9?”
Inclusive and bias-free language	Gender-neutral wording, cultural identifiers, language about disability and health	“How do I refer to a person whose gender is unknown?”
Ethics, rights and permissions	Quotation, copyright, permissions and disclosure, including the use of AI tools	“Do I need to say that I used an AI tool?”

Common style guides

Style guide	Typically used in	Citation approach
CMOS: The Chicago Manual of Style (18th edition, 2024)	Humanities, history, book publishing	Notes-bibliography or author-date
APA: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition)	Psychology, education, social sciences	Author-date
MLA: MLA Handbook (9th edition, 2021)	Literature, languages, some humanities	Author-page in the text, with a works cited list
IEEE	Engineering, computing, electronics	Numbered references in square brackets
AMA and Vancouver (Citing Medicine)	Medicine and health sciences	Numbered references
OSCOLA	Law (United Kingdom)	Footnotes
Harvard	Many disciplines, especially in the UK and Australia	Author-date; there is no single official manual, so follow your institution’s own Harvard guide

This list is not complete. Always check which guide your field, institution or target journal expects.

Which rules take priority?

A style guide is rarely the only authority. When instructions conflict, follow them in this order:

The assignment brief, instructor’s instructions or journal author guidelines.
The style guide you have been told to use, in the edition you have been told to use.
Your own consistent choices, wherever the guide gives options or says nothing.

Example: A journal’s author guidelines say “Follow APA 7th edition, but use British spelling.” The journal’s instruction about spelling takes priority, and APA applies to everything else.

Editions matter

Style guides are revised, and rules change between editions. The 18th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style (2024), for example, no longer requires the place of publication in book citations and endorses generic singular they. Always note which edition you are following.

Using a style guide in practice

Identify which guide and which edition is required.
Skim the contents page or overview to see what the guide covers.
Look up specific rules in the index or search function instead of trying to memorise them.
Keep a personal style sheet: a short list of the choices you made where the guide allows options, such as British or American spelling, or how to write numbers.
Check the whole document for consistency before submitting.

Check 1: which statement best describes a style guide?

Check 2: which question would a style guide most likely answer?

Check 3: which of these would you usually NOT find in a style guide?

Check 4: a psychology student is told to follow the 7th edition of APA. Which citation approach should they expect?

Check 5: a journal’s author guidelines say “Follow APA, but use British spelling.” What should you do?

Check 6: why does the edition of a style guide matter?

Check 7: which is the correct order of priority when instructions conflict?

Check 8: an engineering paper uses numbered references in square brackets. Which style guide is most likely?

Writing practice

Practice 1: in two sentences, explain to a classmate what a style guide is and why academic writers use one.

Model: “A style guide is a reference that sets out agreed conventions for citation, formatting, language and ethics. Academic writers use one to keep their work consistent, credible and easy for readers and editors to follow.”

Practice 2: your assignment says “Format your essay in APA 7th edition.” Name three things you would look up first.

Model: “Possible answer: (1) how to format in-text citations and the reference list, (2) the title page and heading levels, (3) rules for numbers, capitalisation and inclusive language.” Other relevant answers are acceptable.

Practice 3: you are writing a report for a UK university. Write three decisions for your personal style sheet.

Model: “1. Use British spelling (for example colour and analyse). 2. Write numbers below ten as words and use numerals from 10. 3. Use one citation style throughout and name the guide and edition at the top of the style sheet.” Other consistent choices are acceptable.

Practice 4: rewrite the passage so that it follows one set of conventions: British spelling, and numbers below ten written as words.

“Twelve participants completed the survey. Of these, 8 preferred the colour red and three preferred the color blue.”

Model: “Twelve participants completed the survey. Of these, eight preferred the colour red and three preferred the colour blue.”

Phase 2 15 minutes

Inclusive Language and Cultural Respect

🎤 Listen: introducing inclusive language and cultural respect

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[00:00]
Up to this point, you’ve been learning how to make academic writing more formal, more objective, and more carefully calibrated. This session adds another dimension, respect.

[00:12]
Editorial standards change because language changes, and academic style guides have to respond to the ways people describe themselves and their communities. Inclusive language isn’t about making your writing vague, artificial, or overly cautious. It is about choosing terms that are accurate, current, and fair to the people your writing refers to.

[00:34]
One practical example is singular they. In the past, writers often used he or she for a person whose gender was unknown. Today, that construction can sound clumsy, and it assumes that only two possibilities exist. Using they, them, and their gives you a cleaner sentence and a more inclusive one. A researcher must present their findings clearly.

[00:59]
The same principle applies to cultural identifiers. Capitalizing terms such as indigenous and black is not a decorative rule. It recognizes that these words refer to distinct communities and identities, not simply to generic descriptive categories.

Style guides and inclusive language

CMOS (The Chicago Manual of Style) is widely used in the humanities, publishing, history, and many interdisciplinary contexts. APA (the American Psychological Association style guide) is widely used in psychology, education, and the social sciences. Although their citation systems differ, both now support key principles covered in this course, including inclusive language and the use of singular they.

Generic singular “they”

CMOS 18 officially endorses the generic singular pronoun they / them / their for unspecified individual subjects, replacing clumsy or non-inclusive constructions like “he or she” or “he/she”.

Outdated: “A researcher must present his or her findings clearly.”
CMOS 18 standard: “A researcher must present their findings clearly.”

Capitalisation of cultural identifiers

Proper racial, ethnic, and cultural identifiers are capitalised to show cultural respect, for example Indigenous and Black.

Gender-neutral terminology

Dated or patronising terms are replaced with neutral academic phrasing: chairperson or chair instead of chairman; humanity or humankind instead of mankind.

Outdated	CMOS 18 standard
he or she / he/she	they / them / their
chairman	chairperson / chair
mankind	humanity / humankind
indigenous (lowercase)	Indigenous (capitalised)

Check 1: which sentence follows CMOS 18 inclusive language standards?

Practice 1: rewrite this sentence using the generic singular “they” and correct capitalisation.

“The chairman noted that mankind has always relied on indigenous knowledge systems, and every researcher must cite his sources.”

Model: “The chairperson noted that humankind has always relied on Indigenous knowledge systems, and every researcher must cite their sources.”

Check 2: which sentence uses inclusive language most effectively?

Check 3: which sentence follows current capitalization conventions for cultural identifiers?

Practice 2: revise this sentence using inclusive, gender-neutral terminology.

“The chairman asked each businessman to explain his proposal to the committee.”

Model: “The chair asked each businessperson to explain their proposal to the committee.”

More inclusive language practice

Check 4: which sentence avoids gendered job titles?

Check 5: which sentence uses singular they appropriately?

Check 6: which sentence follows CMOS 18 on capitalisation?

Check 7: which wording is more inclusive?

Check 8: what is the main reason for using inclusive language in academic writing?

Practice 3: rewrite the sentence with inclusive language.

“Each student must hand in his assignment, and the headmaster will return it to him.”

Model: “Each student must hand in their assignment, and the head teacher will return it to them.”

Practice 4: rewrite the sentence with inclusive language.

“Manpower shortages forced the chairman to hire more salesmen.”

Model: “Staffing shortages forced the chair to hire more salespeople.”

Practice 5: rewrite the short paragraph in inclusive language.

“A good researcher keeps his notes organised. He should also ask the indigenous participants how they wish to be described, and every participant must sign his consent form.”

Model: “A good researcher keeps their notes organised. They should also ask the Indigenous participants how they wish to be described, and every participant must sign their consent form.”

Phase 3 15 minutes

Punctuation, and Tech Terminology

Post-colon capitalisation rule

The best place to read about punctuation rules is in the style guide itself. However, these can change from one edtion to the next. For example, CMOS 18 calls for capitalising the first letter following a colon if the text that follows a complete independent clause, or a series of independent clauses.

“The study reached a definitive conclusion: The implemented intervention significantly reduced error rates across all cohorts.”

Digital and technical terminology

CMOS 18 also calls for hyphens are removed from established, merged technology-related terms. Write ebook (instead of e-book), esports (instead of e-sports), and online.

URL and DOI formatting

Retain trailing slashes in URLs where present: https://example.org/article/
Format DOIs cleanly as active, clickable URLs, e.g. https://doi.org/10.1000/182, rather than appending outdated prefixes like “doi:”.

Outdated	CMOS 18 standard
e-book	ebook
e-sports	esports
doi:10.1000/182	https://doi.org/10.1000/182
Colon followed by lowercase independent clause	Colon followed by capitalised independent clause

Check 1: which sentence correctly applies the post-colon capitalisation rule?

Practice 1: remove the hyphen from the outdated tech term.

“Students downloaded the e-book before the e-sports tournament began.”

Terminology practice

Check 2: which DOI format follows CMOS 18?

Check 3: which sentence follows CMOS 18 on technology terms?

Check 4: which sentence applies the post-colon rule correctly?

Check 5: which URL follows the CMOS 18 guidance on trailing slashes?

Check 6: in CMOS 18, what are headline style and sentence style now called?

Check 7: a manuscript uses title case for first-level subheads and sentence case for second-level subheads, applied consistently at each level. Is this acceptable?

Check 8: which sentence is preferable under CMOS 18?

Practice 2: correct the outdated terms and the DOI.

“Students read an e-book about e-sports (doi:10.1000/182).”

Model: “Students read an ebook about esports (https://doi.org/10.1000/182).”

Practice 3: correct the capitalisation after the colon.

“Her conclusion was clear: the policy needs urgent revision.”

Model: “Her conclusion was clear: The policy needs urgent revision.”

Practice 4: make the subheads consistent by using title case throughout.

“Research Methods and Design / data collection and analysis / Ethical Approval”

Model: “Research Methods and Design / Data Collection and Analysis / Ethical Approval”

Phase 4 15 minutes

Streamlined Citations and AI Ethics Guidelines

Elimination of publication cities

Modern publishing citations no longer require the city or place of publication, recognising the globalised, digital nature of academic publishing.

Outdated: New York: Routledge, 2020.
CMOS 18 standard: Routledge, 2020.

AI ethics and attribution

No AI authorship

Artificial intelligence models, such as ChatGPT, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors on academic papers, following COPE and CMOS guidelines.

Human verification

Authors remain strictly accountable for validating all facts, citations, and data generated or processed with the help of AI tools.

Transparent disclosure

Any substantial reliance on generative AI for brainstorming, editing, or data analysis must be disclosed in an acknowledgment section or methodology footnote.

Non-compliant	Ethical CMOS 18 revision
“This paper was co-authored by John Smith and ChatGPT.”	“Author: John Smith. Disclosure: Generative AI (ChatGPT) was used to assist with initial data formatting; all drafting, interpretation, and source verification were performed exclusively by the author.”

Check 1: which statement satisfies CMOS 18 AI ethics guidelines?

More citation and AI ethics practice

Check 2: which book citation follows CMOS 18?

Check 3: who is accountable for the accuracy of AI-assisted content in a paper?

Check 4: where should substantial AI use be disclosed?

Check 5: which statement does NOT meet ethical standards?

Check 6: which disclosure is the most transparent?

Check 7: a reference list entry has eight authors. Under CMOS 18, how many are listed?

Check 8: in a CMOS 18 author-date text citation with three authors, how many names appear?

Practice 2: update this reference to CMOS 18 conventions.

“Smith, John. Research Methods. London: Sage, 2018.”

Model: “Smith, John. Research Methods. Sage, 2018.”

Practice 3: write a one-sentence disclosure for a paper in which an AI tool was used to improve the language of a draft.

Model: “Generative AI was used to improve the language of an early draft; the author reviewed all changes and takes full responsibility for the content.” Other accurate wording is acceptable.

Practice 4: rewrite this non-compliant statement.

“Co-authors: Dr. Lee and an AI assistant, which wrote the literature review.”

Model: “Author: Dr. Lee. Disclosure: Generative AI was used to help draft sections of the literature review; the author revised the text, verified all sources and takes full responsibility for the content.”

Phase 5 10 minutes

Cross-Style Awareness

CMOS 18 and APA 7th alignment

Major style manuals now align on key principles, including singular “they” and inclusive language guidelines more broadly. This convergence means the core register, objectivity, and inclusivity rules covered in this module carry across both humanities-oriented Notes-Bibliography systems and scientific Author-Date systems, giving writers confidence regardless of discipline.

The mechanical details differ between style guides — citation formatting, footnote conventions, reference list order — but the underlying voice a writer should adopt is now largely consistent. Mastering the principles in this module transfers directly, whichever specific style guide a given publisher or institution requires.

Check 1: true or false? CMOS 18 and APA 7th now take fundamentally opposed positions on inclusive language.

More cross-style practice

Check 2: which element differs most between CMOS and APA?

Check 3: which citation system places sources in footnotes or endnotes with a bibliography?

Check 4: your instructor requires APA, but a source article you read uses CMOS. Which style do you follow in your own paper?

Check 5: true or false? Both CMOS 18 and APA 7th accept singular they.

Check 6: what transfers across style guides?

Practice 1: in two sentences, explain how notes-bibliography and author-date citation differ.

Model: “In notes-bibliography style, citations appear in footnotes or endnotes and a bibliography lists the sources. In author-date style, a short citation of the author and year appears in the text and is matched to a reference list.”

Practice 2: your assignment says to use APA 7th edition, but your notes follow CMOS. Write a short plan for what you will do.

Model: “I will use the APA 7th edition for citations and formatting because the assignment requires it. I will check the rules for the reference list and headings, and I will keep the inclusive language and register conventions, which both guides share.” Other sensible plans are acceptable.

Practice 20 minutes

CMOS 18 Editorial Audit Workshop

Edit each non-compliant passage into full CMOS 18 standards, applying inclusive language, correct mechanics, and ethical AI attribution.

1. “Each student must submit his paper to the publisher in Boston, MA by Friday; he should also check his e-book for guidelines.”

Model: “Each student must submit their paper to the publisher by Friday; they should also check their ebook for guidelines.”

2. “The committee identified one primary obstacle: indigenous communities were not consulted prior to the policy launch.”

Model: “The committee identified one primary obstacle: Indigenous communities were not consulted prior to the policy launch.” (Indigenous is capitalised, and the word after the colon is capitalised because it introduces a complete clause.)

3. “This paper was co-authored by John Smith and ChatGPT.”

Model: “Author: John Smith. Disclosure: Generative AI (ChatGPT) was used to assist with initial data formatting; all drafting, interpretation, and source verification were performed exclusively by the author.”

4. “Dr. Patel presented the findings in Nairobi; the e-sports data came from a survey of 200 black and indigenous students: all participants signed his or her consent form.”

Model: “Dr. Patel presented the findings in Nairobi; the esports data came from a survey of 200 Black and Indigenous students: All participants signed their consent form.”

5. “The report, written with a chatbot listed as co-author, cites Smith (London: Routledge, 2017) and the doi:10.1000/777.”

Model: “The report was written by the author, who used a generative AI tool for language editing and verified all content. It cites Smith (Routledge, 2017) and https://doi.org/10.1000/777.”

6. Write a personal style sheet with three decisions for your next academic paper (for example spelling, numbers and citation style).

Model: “1. British spelling throughout. 2. Numbers below ten in words, numerals from 10. 3. CMOS 18 author-date citations, with the edition named at the top of the style sheet.” Other consistent choices are acceptable.

Module 1 Capstone Assignment Homework

Comprehensive Style and Ethics Audit

Rewrite the mock manuscript excerpt below into a polished academic paragraph that satisfies every Module 1 standard: formal register (Session 1), objective tone (Session 2), appropriate hedging (Session 3), and CMOS 18 compliance (Session 4). Expand contractions, replace informal phrasal verbs, remove second-person address and emotive language, calibrate any overconfident claims, and correct all outdated mechanics and citation formatting.

“This paper’s terrible original data clearly proves that every teacher who doesn’t use AI tools is falling behind, and you can obviously see this trend in the numbers. The study, co-authored by Dr. Elena Voss and ChatGPT, dealt with a lot of problems in traditional classrooms, and it’s clear the old methods won’t survive much longer. Researchers carried out interviews with teachers and got rid of any responses that didn’t support the hypothesis. The committee identified one big issue: indigenous teaching methods weren’t included in the review, which was a disastrous oversight that completely undermined the study’s credibility. Each teacher had to submit his feedback through an e-mail survey, and he needed to check his e-book resources beforehand. The citation for the main source reads: New York: Pearson, 2019, and the DOI was listed simply as doi:10.1000/482 without a working link. Honestly, mankind has never seen such a badly managed research project.”

Model answer: “This study investigates the use of artificial intelligence tools in traditional classroom settings. The available evidence suggests that teachers who do not use AI-supported resources may face increasing challenges in adapting to changing educational practices. The study examined several issues in conventional classrooms and excluded responses that did not meet the established data-quality criteria. The review identified one limitation: Indigenous teaching methods were not included, which may affect the scope of the findings. Each teacher submitted their feedback through an email survey and reviewed their ebook resources beforehand. The principal source is cited as Pearson, 2019, and the DOI should be formatted as a clickable URL: https://doi.org/10.1000/482. Disclosure: Generative AI was used to assist with initial language editing; all research design, analysis, interpretation, and source verification were performed by the author.”

Takeaway Reference sheet

Session 4 Summary Sheet

Download a PDF summarising what style guides contain, inclusive language rules, updated mechanics, citation formatting, and AI ethics guidelines from CMOS 18.

Session 4: Modern Editorial Standards and CMOS 18 Updates

Style guides · inclusive language · mechanics and tech terms · streamlined citations · AI ethics disclosure

The same summary is available below as HTML. The PDF has not been verified as a tagged, accessible document.

Read the summary on this page

1. What Style Guides Contain

Area	Typical content
Citation and referencing	In-text citations, footnotes, reference lists
Structure and formatting	Headings, title pages, tables, figures
Language and mechanics	Spelling, capitalisation, punctuation, numbers
Inclusive language	Gender-neutral wording, cultural identifiers
Ethics and permissions	Quotation, copyright, disclosure of AI use

Style guide	Typically used in / citation approach
CMOS (Chicago), 18th ed., 2024	Humanities, publishing: notes-bibliography or author-date
APA, 7th ed.	Psychology, education, social sciences: author-date
MLA, 9th ed., 2021	Literature, languages: author-page and works cited
IEEE	Engineering, computing: numbered references
AMA / Vancouver	Medicine, health sciences: numbered references
OSCOLA	UK law: footnotes

Priority when rules conflict: (1) instructor or journal instructions, (2) the named style guide and edition, (3) your own consistent choices (record them in a style sheet).

2. Inclusive Language

Outdated	CMOS 18 standard
he or she / he/she	they / them / their
chairman	chairperson / chair
mankind	humanity / humankind
indigenous (lowercase)	Indigenous (capitalised)

3. Mechanics and Tech Terminology

Outdated	CMOS 18 standard
e-book / e-sports	ebook / esports
doi:10.1000/182	https://doi.org/10.1000/182
Lowercase after colon + complete sentence	Capitalise after colon + complete sentence

4. Streamlined Citations

Outdated: New York: Routledge, 2020.

CMOS 18: Routledge, 2020. (place of publication omitted)

5. AI Ethics and Attribution

AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors. Authors remain fully accountable for verifying all AI-assisted content. Substantial AI use must be disclosed in an acknowledgment or methodology note.

Non-compliant: “This paper was co-authored by John Smith and ChatGPT.”

Ethical: “Author: John Smith. Disclosure: Generative AI (ChatGPT) assisted with data formatting; all drafting and interpretation were performed by the author.”

6. Cross-Style Awareness

CMOS 18 and APA 7th share key principles, including singular they and inclusive language. Mechanical details such as citation format and reference list order differ, so always check the guide and edition you are required to use.

Self-Check Before You Submit

[ ] I know which style guide and edition is required, and I follow instructor or journal instructions first.

[ ] My choices are consistent, and I have recorded them in a style sheet.

[ ] Language is inclusive: singular they, neutral terms, capitalised identifiers.

[ ] Tech terms, colons, DOIs and URLs follow the guide.

[ ] Citations omit outdated elements, and any AI use is disclosed, not listed as authorship.

Module 1 complete

You have now completed all four sessions of Module 1: academic register, objectivity and scholarly distance, epistemic modesty and hedging, and modern editorial standards under CMOS 18. Download your takeaway summary any time from the previous step.

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