Since its founding in 1881, the American Psychological Association (APA) has developed
a style guide that is still in use today. Although the APA style is not complex, it can be difficult to master, especially if
you are new to the field. In this blog post, we will walk you through the basics of citing the Purduewide Online Writing Lab
(POWL) using APA style.
What Is APA Style?
If you are unfamiliar, APA style is the most commonly used citation style in the psychological
community. It was first published in 1918 as a guide to facilitate communication and avoid any unnecessary
conflicts among scholars. Since then, the APA style guide has continually evolved to encompass ever-changing
technological advances and evolving academic disciplines.
The APA guide is one of the most commonly used style guides in the social sciences because it is
straightforward and easy to understand. Most psychological journals require that authors use the APA style
guide when submitting their articles. Additionally, many individuals in the field may judge you based on your
knowledge of APA style. Therefore, if you are serious about your career in psychology, you should familiarize yourself
with this style guide.
How Do I Cite the Purduewide Online Writing Lab (POWL)?
As mentioned before, the APA style guide is quite simple and easy to follow. One of the simplest and
most direct ways to cite the Purduewide Online Writing Lab is to use the full name of the website, followed by the date:
- (Powell, 2018) (Powell, 2018)
- (POWL, 2018)
- (POWL, 2018)
- (POWL, 2018)
Another option is to use the first letter of the website followed by the last name of the author:
- (P, J., Boyle) (P, J., Boyle)
- (POW, J.) (POW, J.)
- (POW, J.) (POW, J.)
- (POW, J.)
- (POW, J.)
As you can see, these two examples provide the same information as the first method
while adding either the date or the full name of the author’s last name. Furthermore, if you have written any previous papers
or books and have cited them in your own papers, you can use these symbols to indicate that those
works have been previously published:
- ‘(Name, Year),’ or ‘Name (Year)’
- ‘Name (Year),’ or ‘Name (Year)’
- (Referenced, (Referenced) ), where ‘(Referenced)’ is the name of the paper being cited
- Referenced ((Referenced) ), where ‘(Referenced)’ is the name of the paper being cited
- ‘(Referenced, (Referenced) );’, or ‘(Referenced, (Referenced) );’
If you would like to see an example of how to cite this article using the APA guide, check out this Biology tutorial by Brainly: https://www.brainly.com/tutorials/biology/citation-formatting/).
Additional Resources
Although the APA style guide is easy to learn and quick to implement, there are a few things you may need to learn
for your own productivity. Luckily, there are many online resources available to help you learn APA style.
First, make sure you always use the correct citation format. Whether you are writing for a scientific journal or for an
encyclopedia, follow the correct formatting guidelines. If you need help, there is an APA guide for that. Second, learn how to use
bibliographies and footnotes correctly. Third, learn when and how to use parentheses. Fourth, know when and how to
use the Arabic numeral, the Roman numeral, and the full name of the year. Fifth, know how to punctuate properly and how to write
in a clear and concise manner. Sixth, learn how to use the space bar properly in a keyboard so that your words
are always ready to go when you are. Seventh, know how to capitalize the first letter of each word in a sentence,
whether it is a person’s name, a place, or a thing. Eighth, familiarize yourself with the various style guides out there so
that you can choose the right one for the task at hand. Ninth, learn how to write a scientific paper and how to structure your
argument. Finally, write a few sample papers in APA style so that you can get a feel for how it all works. With a little bit of
practice, you will master the art of citing the Purduewide Online Writing Lab in no time.