by Maddy Over the past academic quarter, I have been learning more about APA style for one of my psychology classes. I have always been familiar with writing in APA style, however, the class I am in now, is designed for the student to become more knowledgeable about the rules and formatting of APA. I have been more accustomed to writing in MLA style which is different in terms of rules, formatting, and structure. Now that I am predominantly writing in APA style, it has been a learning curve to remember all of the various rules of citations and formatting. Another thing that has been more difficult is trying to incorporate a more active voice in my writing. Writing in this style is more challenging for me because it takes another level of being aware of individual writing style and sentence structure to become proficient at detecting this. I also find that typically I just write in a passive voice which worked for me up until this point in my academic career. In this blog post, I am going to discuss the various tricks and tips that I have learned that helped me to become more familiar with writing in APA style. These are resources that I have been using and while they work for me, they might not work for every writer. In learning a new writing style, it is important to find what works for you and in sharing some of these resources you might find something that helps you in APA writing. For this class, it was required to purchase the APA Publication Manual. In this manual, the different rules of citations, formatting, grammar, etc are all written out so it is easy to find answers to questions. If you write in APA style frequently, the publication manual might be a good book to purchase. I like being able to type on my computer and then be able to go through the book to answer small questions or check references. A peer in my class pointed out that there is actually a free version of this book online. The website version is a little less dense than the printed manual, but it serves as a quick way to search for questions that you might have. Check out this resource if you have questions about formatting or referencing. Purdue Owl is a great online resource. I have used this tool to quickly look up questions about unfamiliar citation rules or references. This is a good resource for quickly getting examples of citations or formatting. They also have a sample APA paper with all of the correct rules implemented and the rule itself annotated in the margins. This sample paper is great for people who like seeing examples of how to implement various formatting requirements. When using Purdue Owl, be sure to check if you are looking at APA 7th edition and not APA 6th edition. Sometimes, I have been looking at the 6th edition rules without realizing. Also, the APA Publication Manual always has the final say on any formatting or citation rules. Make sure you are double checking the APA style guide website or Publication Manual to answer specific questions that you might have. Reference generators, like EasyBib, are also great resources. There are so many out there that can be useful for organizing references for a major project. While these references might be really helpful for organizing for generating a future reference page, always double check that the reference is in proper formatting and not missing any small details like a comma or period. Something that has also been difficult is being more aware of and trying to write in an active voice. This type of writing is more difficult because it demands that the writer be paying more attention to having agency in their sentences. For me, I researched examples of active vs. passive voice on Purdue Owl and I was able to learn from and apply those rules in my paper. This was definitely a learning curve but once you get the hang of it, you are able to write in an active voice and correct passive to active. Also, creating multiple drafts will allow you to look over the paper for active voice. APA style demands so many technical skills and it is important to always set aside time to complete these papers. You do not want to rush the formatting or anything like that for these sorts of assignments. Allowing yourself time to create outlines and multiple drafts allows you make sure that proper citations are used and sentence structure and organization are the most effective. APA style is difficult and it is definitely a learning curve adjusting to the new style and rules. Be sure to be kind to yourself in this learning process.
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January 2024
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