Reading/Writing Support: Oak Point APA Resources

APA Citation is the format that Oak Point follows, this is because every scientific individual who publishes an article also follows APA format. We are preparing you for the future.

1. APA helps Oak Point instructors identify where students obtained the information in papers, presentations, and handouts.

2. APA regulates plagiarism.

3. APA organizes papers for students so it's not a mishmash of information.

4. APA allows the reader to quickly check references cited within the paper.

What is plagiarism and why is it important?

In college courses, we are constantly exposed to other people’s ideas: we read them in texts, hear them in lecture, discuss them in class, and incorporate them into our own writing. As a result, it is extremely important that we give credit where it is due. Plagiarism is using others’ ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information.

How can student avoid plagiarism?

To avoid plagiarism, you must give credit whenever you use:

• Another person’s idea, opinion, or theory;
• Any facts, statistics, graphs, drawings—any pieces of information—that are not common knowledge;
• Quotations of another person’s actual spoken or written words;
• Paraphrase of another person’s spoken or written words.
• When in doubt, CITE!

To avoid plagiarism at Oak Point, you must use the 7th edition of the APA (American Psychological Association) citation manual and know exactly how to cite information. Improperly formatting your paper will cause you to lose points, so pay attention!

The following documents published by APA are useful reference documents that will help you master APA format.

Writing and Style Guides

Citations and References

Knowledge Check

Check out the documents below for 7th Edition APA! 

• The APA and Writing Overview with Citation Examples should be your first stop for APA and Citation help!
• The APA Checklist is awesome! It will walk you through everything you need to ensure that you've completed an APA paper.
• Check out the APA Paper Example #1 for a visual idea of how your paper should look when properly formatted.
• APA and PowerPoint Presentations will show you guidelines for citing within a presentation since there are no sanctioned APA rules on "APA Style for Presentations."
• Finally, check out the Common Writing Errors of Oak Point Students to be sure you're in the clear.

Take a look at this video to learn how to format your paper according to 7th Edition APA!

. 

The Library has a station with physical handouts of paper format examples, citation FAQs, and more. If you would like to download and view all APA materials, visit the Oak Point Writing Guide! To receive help from a writing tutor, utilize TutorMe! This is located in Brightspace. It is free and unlimited for all students needing assistance with paper composition.