This librarian always had to remind herself to allot some extra time when writing papers to format the final draft, with particular attention to citations. (This was especially important when some instructors required APA guidelines, and others used MLA. Footnotes vs. in-text citations… what fun!)
So as you’re working on final papers and taking a break to check this site, let me urge you to build in a little extra time for that final part of paper writing that makes such a difference in your completed, polished final project and that allows your ideas to shine.
- Alliant Library’s Introduction to APA (6th Edition) – here you’ll find the basics on general guidelines and lots of examples of commonly cited sources
- Alliant Library’s Dissertation Clearance Guide, APA Formatting – goes into a little more depth, with lots more examples of sources you might expect to find. If you’re using headings in your paper, this also explains APA rules for those.
- American Psychological Association’s APA Style – the APA’s official site on all things APA Style. This has quick links on commonly asked formatting and reference questions, and a blog that delves deep into the ins and outs of APA Style. For example, did you ever wonder about how to cite a Kindle?
- Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) – beloved by many students (and this librarian) for its ease of navigation and numerous examples, it’s a great quick reference with oodles of examples and a well-annotated sample paper.
Whether you compose your paper in perfect APA Style as you go or get all your thoughts down and then go back to perfect headings, in-text citations, etc., consider keeping one or more of these sites open to help when you have a question. And of course, stop by your Alliant campus library and we’ll pour over the APA Publication Manual with you to find the answers to your questions.
Happy Writing!
Alliant Library Blog 