I start my grad school program in a week and on the syllabus for one class it says that I must format all my papers in APA format. I just looked and there are a bunch of books on this (I never had to do it in college). Can someone recommend a book to me?
sophie78
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Re: APA Format - best book to explain it?
We all use this one. You can buy it at barnes and noble or through apa.org.
Thanks! Is it concise or am I going to be wading through dense grammatical stuff?
sweetadeline
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Re: APA Format - best book to explain it?
If you want a 'streamlined' explanation of the main points of APA format, try Diana Hacker's _A Writer's Reference_. I have the 4th edition. I think there are newer ones available. The book concentrates more on MLA style, but the APA section provides the 'basics.' Most of the book focuses on helpful grammar, style, and format stuff, but the section on citation styles is concise and helpful.
sophie78
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Re: APA Format - best book to explain it?
Posted by eogara
Thanks! Is it concise or am I going to be wading through dense grammatical stuff?
It takes some getting used to the format (what to italicize, etc.) but it has nothing to do with grammar. Use the sample reports they provide in the manual and it will be easy.
Jax430
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Re: APA Format - best book to explain it?
Posted by am470
Posted by eogara
Thanks! Is it concise or am I going to be wading through dense grammatical stuff?
It takes some getting used to the format (what to italicize, etc.) but it has nothing to do with grammar. Use the sample reports they provide in the manual and it will be easy.
I agree...i'm constantly flipping to the samples in the back of the book when formatting my reports. I find that I mostly need it for references, but if you never used it in undergrad, it's going to take a little getting used to.
eogara
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Re: APA Format - best book to explain it?
Thank you guys!!
shawl
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Re: APA Format - best book to explain it?
Even better than a book is EndNote, which is bibliographic software. You can link it to your school's library website, download citations, and then generate bibliographies in whatever format you like (there are tons of formats that come installed on EndNote, and I'm sure APA is one of them). HUGE timesaver!
ETA: just reread, and what you meant by APA may not have been the APA I was thinking of (too many acronyms!). But if you're writing lots of papers with citations/bibliographies, EndNote is the way to go nonetheless.
dm24angel
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Re: APA Format - best book to explain it?
I found some great online ones when I had to 're-learn' it....Many are formatted...if you type in APA, you can find the homepage for APA style....Its not that hard after your first paper or two!
