Everything You Wanted to Know About APA (but were afraid to ask) Brought to you by the Burlington College Writing Center
Documentation is not sexy. It is also not rocket science.
However, it is an essential part of any writing assignment which requires research. It allows you to bring in other people to help you write your paper. You can think of your sources as honored guests at your fancy cocktail party.
Fortunately, you dont have to make room in your brain for this information. All you have to do is consult a handbook or an website like the Purdue University Online Writing Lab: owl.English.purdue.edu/owl/
Their website includes an APA Workshop, which will introduce you to the style of documentation required by the American Psychological Association (APA). Why do I want to know this? you might ask.
Because… if you are writing a paper for a social sciences class such as psychology, sociology, economics, or business, your readers will better understand your text if you provide them with a familiar structure they can follow. You establish your own credibility by demonstrating an awareness of your specialized audience and their needs as fellow researchers.
APA style uses in-text citations to introduce the reader to your source by giving names and dates of publication, as well as the page numbers where the information was found: According to Jones (1999), Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time citing sources. The difficulty could be attributed to the fact that they did not consult a manual or a reliable website such as Purdue OWL when writing their papers (p. 102).
The in-text citation is like a road sign, letting the reader know that more information is available at the end of the paper on the References page.
The References page provides a list of the sources you used in the paper, whether they were books, articles, websites, databases, or any other type of online or print publication. The formats differ slightly, depending on the kind of source you are referencing. Heres an example of the basic format for books: Jones, Tom (1999). Secrets of Success: Using the APA Style. New York: Simon and Schuster. This entry identifies the author, date of publication, title of book, city of publication, and publisher.
From this information, fellow researchers can find your source and learn more about the subject.
Remember… Writers must use both in-text citations and References page entries. Having one without the other is like losing a sock!
See your APA manual or consult an online source to learn more about using this style of documentation.
Come see us in the Burlington College Writing Center if you need assistance with APA documentation, or any other part of the writing process!