Written By: Tim Johnson
ESL + Business Instructor | Aston American University
I can say from experience that when I took a break from college in 2005 after my first Master’s degree and went back in 2012 for a second Master’s degree, learning how to write was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. Being already enrolled in two courses at that time meant that I had to learn FAST! Of course, I was a little freaked out about it. While your course provides you with a small sample paper, you might need a little more when it comes to examples to grasp the idea.
There are plenty of things you can do and find on the Internet to help calm your nerves. One of the first things I did online was searched and found a PDF book concerning APA format with 290 pages of information. I know this seems like a lot of information and you probably don’t have time to sit down and read it now as you are already in your course. I certainly didn’t read it all either, but it is a good idea to skim the most important parts concerning citations for journal articles, books, magazines, and Internet sites as these are the most widely cited texts in a paper. It is also important to know how to paraphrase information from a source. If you know these vital things, you are pretty much ready to go.
While it is possible to find free books online about APA format, you can also search YouTube for information; like other knowledgeable individuals who might also currently be in school. However, be careful when it comes to YouTube because of course, anyone can upload anything online. It is better to find videos from current professors and then make a quick reference check on that individual to see if you can find them listed at the university they claim to be working at. If you can confirm the individual works at the university as a professor, it’s reasonably safe to say that you can trust the information they are publishing online.
Finally, for your “Reference” page, remember that your syllabus tells you of numerous websites to visit, which will generate an end of paper citation. The one I had personally used the most was www.citefast.com as I found it was the most reliable. However, there are several other good ones out there as well. Be sure to keep one or two of them in your favorites. They will cut the amount of time you spend properly making a citation.
APA format takes time and practice. Your instructor should also be willing to help you improve your APA format by giving you examples of their own work if they have anything available. The last thing you want to do is be accused of plagiarism simply because you didn’t know how to cite something correctly.
