DPSY 6002 Week 4: APA Form and Style: The “Language” of Psychology
As part of the academic community of Walden University, you are learning to identify scholarly sources and critically evaluate and communicate your findings. You will also learn to communicate in writing in the “language” of the profession. APA format is the structure for scholarly writing for the behavioral and social sciences. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is the resource book you can use to understand this structure, and it is the style you should replicate in your own writing.
APA format is precise in terms of punctuation, the structure of citations and references, and in addressing topics such as bias in language and the ethics of authorship. You will be expected to apply APA format and scholarly writing in all your courses at Walden (and likely in your career). You can read about APA format, but it takes ongoing practice to be able to integrate it into your writing style. It is important to begin mastering these skills now.
Assignment 1: Basic Skills in APA
For this Assignment, you will practice basic APA skills to prepare you for Assignment 2. You will need to demonstrate your knowledge by completing this APA interactive tutorial which includes an APA Quiz. You are encouraged to retake the quiz as many times as you like to help you to improve in those areas you may find that need further practice. Also, it is recommended to use your APA Manual throughout the interactive experience to support and guide your efforts. Note: Make sure to follow the instructions below to save your results and upload for your Assignment submission.
To prepare for this Assignment:
- View the video APA Citations Part I: Methods to the Madness, and read the Study Notes from the Learning Resources.
- Become familiar with the APA Publication Manual; review Chapter 8, “Works Credited in the Text,” Chapter 9, “Reference List,” and Chapter 10, “Reference Examples” and note their contents and the variety of topics covered.
- Take the time to complete the interactive media program “APA Tutorial” to help you to practice the basic skills of APA citing and referencing your sources. Note: It is recommended to use your APA Manual throughout for support and guidance. You will have unlimited opportunities to retake the quiz portion of the tutorial so make sure to save the results you want for this Assignment submission.
Assignment:
- Complete the “APA Tutorial”, which includes a ten-question quiz.
- Once you have completed the quiz portion of the interactive tutorial, save your results page in a word document and upload the document to the Assignment 1 submission link. To copy your results page, use the Print Screen keyboard shortcut ctrl+prt sc, then paste the results into a Word document.
