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APA Style Help & Tools

{{page_title}}, best bet: apa's academic writer.

Academic Writer is the only authoritative and complete online environment for teaching, writing, and publishing in APA Style®, now updated to the 7th Edition. Designed to help users develop their writing and professional research skills, Academic Writer combines sophisticated learning and teaching tools, advanced writing and content management technology, and full integration of APA’s best-selling Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association® to create an unparalleled web-based suite of integrated services and tools.

Access Academic Writer anytime with this link:

library.purdueglobal.edu/academicwriter

Academic Writer Documentation & Tips

The below links lead to more information, tips, and training about the basics of using Academic Writer.

• Library Guide to Academic Writer
• Getting Started Guide (PDF)
• Creating Academic Writer Accounts (PDF)
• Accessing the Publication Manual (PDF)
• Technical Requirements

Using Academic Writer's Writing Tools

Academic Writer contains a Writing section where you can create and write a full APA-formatted paper.  You can write the entire paper in Academic Writer or just use it to setup the title page, headings, and references.  Export your work at any time to a Microsoft Word document.  Below are documents from Academic Writer about the essential features of their Writing tools.  

• Setting up the Title Page
• Adding References to Papers (PDF)
• Adding In-Text Citations (PDF)
• Adding Tables (PDF)
• Exporting Papers (PDF)

Featured Items from Academic Writer

Basics of APA Style

Learn the basics of APA Style, including how to format a manuscript, understand the form and function of common manuscript parts, organize and express your thoughts clearly and precisely, employ the mechanics of style, use graphic elements effectively, credit sources and acknowledge the contributions of others, and construct a comprehensive and reliable reference list.

Academic Writer

© 2020 American Psychological Association.

How to Avoid Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism

Learn how to avoid plagiarism and self-plagiarism, including how to identify plagiarism, understand its risks and consequences, cite sources properly, and develop sound writing practices.

Learn how to set up the title page of an APA Style paper, including the page header and running head, title, author name and affiliation, and author note.

Paper Template: ("Merenda" Sample Student Paper)

This sample response paper presents a university student's personal reaction to an article about whether medication is prescribed too often to young children to treat psychological disorders. The title page demonstrates the simple default layout for a student paper. The paper has a simple setup with only a title page, body of text, and references. No "running head"! Response papers typically do not include author notes or abstracts, though this may vary by assignment.

Visit the Writing Center

Need writing help?  Visit the Writing Center to contact a tutor, submit your paper for review and feedback, or ask APA Style-related questions, as well as access dozens of writing tutorials, videos, webinars, and other instructional resources.

• Writing Center

PG Writing Center's Top APA Links

• Common Citations in APA Format
• APA Title Page and Running Head Video
• APA (7th Edition) Demystified in 5 Minutes Video
• Formatting an APA Style (7th Edition) Reference List Video
• Writing With Integrity (APA Style 7th Ed.)

eBook on APA Style 7th Edition

Zotero: Free Reference Management Tool

Zotero [zoh-TAIR-oh] is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources. This tool is especially popular for heavy researchers at the grad level and above.

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• Using Sources & APA Style

The Purdue Global Writing Center supports writers in college composition and across the curriculum with resources that cover a range of topics on using sources and APA Style from documentation guidelines and videos on formatting a title page and reference list to writing with integrity and avoiding plagiarism. Browse the collection below or use the search tool to locate topics on using sources, APA Style, and more.

USING SOURCES

Basic Documentation Guidelines

How to write effectively when using sources

Writing With Integrity

Expectations for academic research and professional writing and how to avoid plagiarism

Podcasts on Using Sources

Find podcasts on a variety of topics covering using sources, APA Style, conducting research, analyzing articles, and avoiding plagiarism.

APA STYLE DOCUMENTATION & FORMATTING

APA Common Citations and References

Locate clear examples of in-text citations and reference list entry formats for common types of digital and print sources.

APA Demystified in Five Minutes

Understand the basics of APA Style by watching this 5-minute video.

Formatting an APA Style Paper and Title Page

Follow the guidance in this video tutorial when formatting an APA Style title page in Microsoft Word.

Formatting an APA Style Reference List

Follow the guidance in this video tutorial when formatting an APA Style reference list in Microsoft Word.

Formatting Graphics and Visuals

Learn how to format tables and figures such as images in APA Style.

Formatting an APA Style PowerPoint Presentation

Learn how to format a PowerPoint following APA Style guidelines for lists, citations and references, tables, figures, and images.

• PLAGIARISM INFORMATION

Plagiarism FAQ

Find answers to frequently asked questions about plagiarism.

Understand the expectations for academic research and professional writing and how to avoid plagiarism

Internet Research: Avoiding Plagiarism

Learn about internet research, common knowledge, and how to avoid plagiarism when using online sources.

BLOG ARTICLES ON APA STYLE

Resource Spotlight: Accessing and Using the Writing Center

The Academic Success Center invites readers  to view our newest resource, “Accessing and Using the Writing Center: A Guide and Invitation.” Our Writing Center resources and services aim to empower Purdue Global students with tools to become successful academic writers, and this guide and invitation allows them to access the tools they need quickly and easily.  …

Teaching Inclusive Communication and Evolving Language as a Professional Skill

“Oh TK, that’s just politically correct BS!” “Let me guess, we’re ‘woke’ in this class?” “I always use that word. It’s not a slur.” “Am I going to be ‘cancelled’ now?” “What about my First Amendment rights to say what I want?” Hello everyone! This is Teresa Kelly–TK–from the Department of Composition and WAC. Whenever…

APA Style 2020 Posts You Don’t Want to Miss

Now that 2020 is in our rearview mirror (thank goodness!), I thought it appropriate to usher in the New Year with a recap of not-to-miss Writing Center blogcasts that concern APA Style as we transition fully to the 7th edition. As those of you who subscribe to the blog know, since the blog began its…

A “We” Problem

In informal writing, the use of the first-person plural pronoun “we” is commonplace, as in, We tend to use language willy-nilly when writing informally. Some of you might not think twice about my use of “we” in that last statement (which is fine), but some of you might be saying, “Wait a minute. Hold on.…

Formal vs. Informal Writing

Writing to many is about dos and don’ts, especially don’ts–don’t use first person, don’t use second person, don’t use slang, don’t use contractions, don’t use hyperbole. Don’t, don’t, don’t. And of course these “don’ts” are usually couched within the context of formal vs. informal writing in that the don’ts apply to formal writing and what…

Documenting Sources Made Easy

Many who are not familiar with the basics of APA Style documentation become confused, frustrated, and sometimes even stressed when they need to document a source that may not be typical or contains missing information, but the reality is that with a few deep breaths and a pragmatic approach, most can resolve any documentation challenge…

More Writing Resources

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Common Writing Assignments

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

These OWL resources will help you understand and complete specific types of writing assignments, such as annotated bibliographies, book reports, and research papers. This section also includes resources on writing academic proposals for conference presentations, journal articles, and books.

Understanding Writing Assignments

This resource describes some steps you can take to better understand the requirements of your writing assignments. This resource works for either in-class, teacher-led discussion or for personal use.

Argument Papers

This resource outlines the generally accepted structure for introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions in an academic argument paper. Keep in mind that this resource contains guidelines and not strict rules about organization. Your structure needs to be flexible enough to meet the requirements of your purpose and audience.

Research Papers

This handout provides detailed information about how to write research papers including discussing research papers as a genre, choosing topics, and finding sources.

Exploratory Papers

This resource will help you with exploratory/inquiry essay assignments.

Annotated Bibliographies

This handout provides information about annotated bibliographies in MLA, APA, and CMS.

Book Report

This resource discusses book reports and how to write them.

Definitions

This handout provides suggestions and examples for writing definitions.

Essays for Exams

While most OWL resources recommend a longer writing process (start early, revise often, conduct thorough research, etc.), sometimes you just have to write quickly in test situations. However, these exam essays can be no less important pieces of writing than research papers because they can influence final grades for courses, and/or they can mean the difference between getting into an academic program (GED, SAT, GRE). To that end, this resource will help you prepare and write essays for exams.

Book Review

This resource discusses book reviews and how to write them.

Academic Proposals

This resource will help undergraduate, graduate, and professional scholars write proposals for academic conferences, articles, and books.

In this section

Subsections.

APA (American Psychological Association) Style is commonly used in the social sciences. 

APA Resources with Examples

• Books/ebooks
• What's New in the 7th Edition
• APA Style Guide The official companion to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition.
• APA Style on Facebook

• APA Style Tips from the American Psychological Association
• Purdue University OWL: Purdue Online Writing Lab APA Formatting and Style Guide
• New in the 7th ed. from APA
• New in the 7th ed. from Purdue OWL
• New in the 7th ed. from Scribbr
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• Chicago/Turabian
• Citation Lookup This link opens in a new window
• Last Updated: Jan 10, 2024 4:38 PM
• URL: https://libguides.adelphi.edu/citation_style

• Ask a Librarian

Master of Science Engineering Technology (MSET)

• Manage Your Research
• Copyright and Plagiarism
• Common APA Citation Questions
• MET 52700 This link opens in a new window

Purdue OWL: APA

• APA Guidlines
• Videos on the Basics of APA
• General Format
• In-Text Citations: The Basics
• Reference List: The Basics
• Types of APA Papers
• APA Changes 6th Edition
• General APA Facts
• APA Sample Paper
• APA Formatting - The Basics
• APA Formatting: Reference List Basics
• APA References List: Complex Authors
• APA References: Periodicals
• APA References Entries for Books

Purdue OWL: Writing Tips

Choosing a Topic

Where Do I Begin?

Developing Strong Thesis Statements

Writing a Research Paper

Citation Management

• Citation Management Tools
• Quick Reference Generators

Citation management tools help you track and organize the articles you are gathering for your research.  Citation management tools also generate in-text citations, import records from databases, and reference pages.   NOTE : Errors do occasionally occur with citation managers, so always check your citations and references.

• Zotero by Michael Witt
• Endnote Desktop by Robert Freeman
• Endnote Basic by Jerilyn Tinio
• Endnote Web vs. Zotero
• Citation Machine
• NoodleToole Express (my favorite for difficult references)
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• Last Edited: May 23, 2024 6:11 PM
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Purdue Owl: APA Formatting & Style Guide

Developed by Purdue's Online Writing Lab. Contains resources on in-text citation and the references page, as well as APA sample papers, slide presentations, and the APA classroom poster.

Author/Editor (By:)

Contributor, corporate author, related organizations, citation type.

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Citing Sources & Style Manuals

• About this guide
• Why is citing sources important?
• APA Examples
• APA Sample Papers
• MLA Examples
• Additional Resources

• Academic Writer Tutorial: Basics of Seventh Edition APA Style An APA tutorial on the basics of APA 7th edition.
• APA Formatting and Style Guide Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University. OWL provides detailed information provides example papers in the APA format. OWL also provides many examples for citing sources.
• APA Style The official website of the APA. Includes helpful tutorials and tools for learning APA style, as well as a sample paper, sample reference page, and sample appendices. Scroll down to the section Popular Style Guidelines.
• APA Style Blog The APA Style Blog is the official companion to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition. It's run by a group of experts who work with APA Style every day. This is a great place to find additional information about citing sources in APA format. You can even email the experts if you can't find the correct format.
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• Last Updated: May 23, 2024 12:13 PM
• URL: https://guides.erau.edu/citestyle

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APA Style: Purdue OWL

• Why Document Sources?
• Differences Between the 6th and 7th edition
• Two Kinds of Citations
• What happens if you are missing a part of the reference?
• Periodicals
• Legal References
• Other Resources
• Citation and Grammar helps
• EasyBib | APA Format for Students & Researchers
• American Psychological Association
• Video and PowerPoint Tutorials
• Preferred Spellings
• Missing a part of the citation
• Videos on APA Style
• How to Cite ChatGPT

The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in-class and out-of-class instruction.

• APA Style General Formatting and Style Guide 7th ed
• Purdue OWL Purdue OWL is an online writing reference that provides detailed information on APA 7th, MLA 9th, Chicago 17th styles of citation as well as general citation and research assistance.
• Purdue Owl | APA Guide | Examples

Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

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• Last Updated: May 14, 2024 3:46 PM
• URL: https://westlibrary.txwes.edu/APA

Spring 2024 - ENGL 101 Capstone Project - Prof. Stewart

• Your Assignment
• Finding Sources Using OneSearch
• Finding Sources Using Databases
• Statistics and Data
• Finding Sources on the Open Web
• Evaluating Sources on the Open Web
• Annotated Bibliography
• Citing in MLA 9th Style
• Citing in APA 7th Style
• Getting Help @ the Library

How to Cite A Source in APA 7 Style

• Cite A Book in APA 7 (Purdue Owl)
• Cite A Scholarly Article in APA 7 (Purdue Owl)
• Cite A Website in APA 7 (Purdue Owl)
• Create In-Text Citations in APA 7 (Purdue Owl)
• Cite An Interview, Conference Presentation in APA 7 (Purdue Owl)

Schedule an Appointment with a Librarian

Updated: video tutorials on apa 7th. ed..

UPDATED: APA Basics and Sample Student Papers

This American Psychological Association tutorial introduces students to APA Style, including formatting papers, citing sources, and references.

For student papers, the first page of an APA style paper is the title page. This should include in order:

• Title of paper, capitalized. For example: Branching Paths: A Novel Teacher Evaluation Model for Faculty Development
• Author's name and institution or school
• Course number and name. For example: ENGL 105
• Instructor name. For example: Dr./Instructor James Khachikian
• Assignment due date. For example: December 12, 2021

After the title page, APA style student papers include the abstract. An abstract is the summary of the paper and the main ideas presented. The abstract page should be numbered and have the same running header. The page should have the Abstract, in bold font centered on the page . The abstract text should be in an accessible font like 12-point Times News Roman . It should be followed by Keywords, italicized . The keywords should be the main ideas from your paper.

HEADERS 

APA style papers must use specific formatting for headers. Each level of headers must be followed as outlined below.

Chart from the APA Headings website .

• UPDATED: Sample Student Paper in APA Format This sample paper is from the official APA website. This is an updated version per the 7th edition of the APA Manual.
• UPDATED: Sample Annotated Student Paper in APA Format This sample paper is from the official APA website. This is an updated version per the 7th edition of the APA Manual.

UPDATED: GCC Library's Guide to APA Style

This 2-page guide has been updated and is also available in print in the Library. There is now only one guide that replaces the older guides. A separate guide for print and electronic resources is no longer needed. 

• UPDATED: APA Style for Reference List: A Brief Guide This guide was last updated Fall 22

UPDATED: APA Style Guide from OWL Purdue & Other Resources

From Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL)

• UPDATED: APA Style, 7th edition
• Citing AI/ChatGPT Note: APA reccommends the use of AI for students and researchers to create text and to facilitate their research, not to write the full text of their paper or manuscript.

UPDATED: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition

This manual is the authority on the APA Style. The GCC Library has 2 copies of this book. One is available for checkout. The other is located at the Research Help Desk (cannot be checked out, but always available for use in the Library. Ask for it at the Research Help Desk).

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• Last Updated: May 21, 2024 9:02 AM
• URL: https://campusguides.glendale.edu/spring2024-English101-Stewart

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