DR. NICHOLSON'S APA WRITING STYLE ASSISTANCE PAGE

The APA Writing Assistance page provides in-depth assistance with the principle writing style used in Business and Psychology, APA (American Psychological Association) style. There are several style guides, but APA is the simplest to use. Using a style guide such as APA helps to organize your work and to make it visually neat and clear. There are links in this site to MLA, Chicago, Turabian and other style guides.

This page and the numerous references here should be useful to you beyond this class. It should provide you insights into several parts of the writing process. There are informative sections on style, grammar, references, headings, punctuation, common errors, confusing word pairs and more, including indications of how to cite references from the Internet.

I have written an exemplar APA Style Guide sample document in Word, reflecting changes reflected in the Sixth and most recent edition (2010) of the guide (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association). It is recommended that you read through the simple Sample Word Document to get a feel for what APA style looks like.

How to Create a Proper APA Reference for your Textbook

You could use some help your first time, or even if it is not your fist time. First there was the mighty and powerful Citation Machine. Now there is the Son of Citation Machine.

Enter the Son of Citation Machine link above. In the left hand column select "APA 6th Edition" -- then under "Books and Documents" select "Book" -- Now you are in business, from here it is as easy as pie to create a properly formated APA reference of any book. Just starting filling in the blanks, beginning with the author's last and first names.

Son of Citation is a short cut for when you're in a hurry. However, this APA Style Help Page I have created for you is loaded with other tools. Take some time and explore it, you might find it useful.

Setting up Microsoft Word for APA style

Video of APA 6th Edition Style in Word 2007

This is a You Tube video showing how to set up a Word document to write a paper in APA style. Very cool! When you finish that video you will be taken to a new link of several helpful videos on all phases of writing papers in APA style.

American Psychological Association (APA) Writing Style

APA Style Resources

APA On line

What is APA Style?

The On line Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University

The OWL on Using APA Format (Updated 6th Edition)

The APA Style Crib Sheet at Georgia Southern University

Getting Started Writing a Paper in APA Style

How Should Term Papers Look in APA Style?

How to Write Papers with Loads of Grammar Help (The University of Richmond)

A Sample Paper About APA Style: A Useful for Organizing Course Papers
Utilizing APA Style

Sample Paper in APA Style using APA Style

How to Structure Papers Using APA Style

Headings

Headings from the OWL (On line Writing Lab at Purdue University)

Headings Guide from the University of Wisconsin Writing Center

Headings from the APA Style Crib Sheet at Georgia Southern University

Page Numbers

Page Numbers in APA Style from Reference Point

References -- Citing Sources

A Great URL Citation Guide! Plug in the Information and this Site will show you how to generate both MLA and APA Citations

APA References from the OWL (On line Writing Lab at Purdue University)

Citing Sources for Several Sytes (APA, MLA, Turabian, etc) from Duke University

Using APA Style to Cite and Document Sources from Bedford St. Martins On line

APA Reference Style (Georgia Southern University)

APA Reference Style (5th Edition)

APA Style for Electronic References

How to Prepare and Structure Annotated Bibliographies

Here I have done something similar to what I did at the beginning of this APA Writing Help section. Namely, I have written a sample annotated bibliography. It is in word format so you can easily view and/or download it.

A Sample Annotated Bibliography

In addition, below are several websites specifically dealing with the nature, use, preparation and correct APA style of annotated bibliographies. An annotated bibliography is an expanded set of references with short descriptions and/or evaluations of the reference material. It can serve as an excellent vehicle for organizing research sources on a particular topic. This is especially useful for the preparation of term papers.

APA Format for Annotated Bibliographies (Cal Poly San Obispo)

How to Prepare Annotated Bibliographies (Cornell University)

Write an Annotated Bibliography (UC Santa Cruz)

How to Write Annotated Bibliographies (University of Newfoundland)

Annotated Bibliographies (The OWL at Purdue University)

Annotated Bibliographies (University of Wisconsin)

Grammar, Spelling, and Punctuation Help

OWL: Purdue University On line Writing Lab Grammar Help

Grammar Topics: University of British Columbia in Victoria

Vocabulary Vitamins: Grammar, Punctuation, Quotations

Writing Center: The University of Ottowa

Frequently Asked Grammar Questions

Frequently Asked Grammar Questions

Welcome to Dr. Grammar (University of Northern Iowa)

A Special Warning on Plagiarism

Do Your Own Work: If you copy sources and do not properly cite them, you run a high risk of getting caught. The penalties for plagiarism can be severe. Plagiarism is writing something that you copied from a source without citing the source, giving the impression that the ideas were yours when they were not. It is good to use other people's ideas properly in your papers, but you must cite them, put them in your references, give them due credit. These web sites will help you understand plagiarism and how to avoid it.

Avoiding Plagiarism: Practical Strategies (Duke University -- With Good Video)

Electronic Plagiarism Seminar