Fan Mail From Deb Regarding APA Format

WheelCipher — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:00:00 GMT

This is a great piece of fan mail from Deb about APA format. I am not sure about the school you go to, but both Kaplan University and Norwich University require that students use APA format for writing papers.

I got your name from elearners. I have also read your blogs. I have learned a lot from you.

The one blog that caught my eye was about APA formatting. My husband is starting school soon and is required to writes his papers using the APA format.

He did some "Googling" and came across this website that has a downloadable APA software for $29.95 which I would think would be worth it if it does the formatting properly and easily.

The website is: www.perrla.com

Since neither my husband nor I know anything about this format, I was wondering if you would be so kind as to check it out and see if does the format properly. They offer a free demo on the website. I would hate for my husband to turn in his first paper using this software and the formatting is all wrong and doing by hand seems like you would spend more time on the formatting than on the actual writing of the paper.

I did post the same question on eLearners, but I'm not sure if I put in the wrong section or not, I didn't get any replies.

Thank you in advance!!

There are several APA templates out there. I have tried some of the paid versions and they seem to work well. There are also some free ones. If you do a Google search for “free apa template” you will find some. Ones that I use are located here:

http://www.apastyle.info/free-templates/template-for-word.html

http://www.jolenemorris.com/forstudents/APA.htm

The second option here is a little more friendly, but both work just fine. And they are FREE!

Also, please do a Google search for “APA format” and research this topic. You will find a lot of information about the topic. One of the best resources on the net is located at

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

I hope this helps!

Do you have any questions about distance education
or anything in this post? Feel free to contact Scott anytime!

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Great Questions From Julius

WheelCipher — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Good afternoon Scott.

My name is Julius. I am a recently-enrolled student at Kaplan online. I am desperately seeking knowledge, information, or to be pointed in the right direction in regards to acquiring some useful study guides or references in completing this business degree. While I have many strengths and currently am an employee of the Federal Government (FEMA), one of my weak areas is distance learning as it relates to researching and composing papers online.

This may not have been a setback for some and even not a big issue for you. But I would definitely appreciate any "books", study guides, reference tools or resources that might help me in being able to format, compose properly and learn the rules when writing a college paper for a business classes. Thank you so very much.

This is a great question. When people get into a DL program, they are not always familiar with the tools and skills needed to be successful. I hope this guide can help you and others.

First, Kaplan (and many other online schools I’ve heard about) wants the students to write papers in APA format. This is a common format. Formatting a paper to be 100% compliant with APA format can be difficult and time consuming if you are doing it manually. Even if you read a book (which I suggest you do anyway), it can be a bit confusing.

I suggest you get one or more of the APA template wizards for MS Word 2003. Some of them cost money, some of them are free. I have both. It’s money well spent. These templates format your paper for you and allow you to put the required information in them with little hassle. Furthermore, there are online citation tools such as Son of Citation Machine. This will help out tremendously.

Second, Kaplan and other institutions are still using Microsoft Word 2003. This is the standard across the board. The reason this is the case is because Microsoft Word 2007 saves the documents in a format that is NOT readable by Word 2003. You can do a “Save As” to save it in Word 2003 format, but some people (including myself) have overlooked that a time or two.

Google and Amazon.com are going to be your best resources for this. I have provided some links below that will get you started with APA format.

The next suggestion I have is that when you know what class you are going to be enrolling in, go to the library or Half Price Books (if you have one in your area) and get some additional reading material on the subject you are taking. I have found that not only does this provide me with additional sources in my school work (you will have to list many external sources in your work at Kaplan), but it will also help you gain a better understanding of the topic. Go above and beyond what is required. You will be better off for it.

I hope this helps you out.

Links:

APA Format on Google

Son of Citation Machine

APA Software on Google

FREE Templates for APA

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My Norwich University Experience : APA Format

Fan Mail From Deb Regarding APA Format

Great Questions From Julius