Writing styles exist to ensure consistency and quality. LU students are expected to use APA Style, unless a professor asks you to follow another writing style.
Resources for APA Style
Online Guides
- Online Writing Lab – The “OWL” at Purdue: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
- The Writing Center – University of Madison, Wisconsin: http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/DocAPA.html
- MBA Thesis Writing Manual – Appendix E: Guide to Using APA Style – Lincoln University (download now)
- APA Guide from LU Library (2-page version): (download now)
APA Tutorials
- Basics of APA Style by apastyle.org (about 10 minutes): http://flash1r.apa.org/apastyle/basics/index.htm
- APA Tutorial – Test Your Knowledge by University of Southern Mississippi: http://lib.usm.edu/legacy/tutorials/apatutorial/tutorialindex.html
Free Citation Creator
- BibMe – a free automatic citation creator that supports several writing styles, including APA, MLA, Chicago, and Turabian formatting: http://www.bibme.org/
- Go to “Format” and select “APA”
- Enter the ISBN or other bibliographic information
- Select “Find Book
- If the search pulls up the book you’re looking for, then select “Add to My Bibliography”
- Once your bibliography list is complete, you can download it into a Word document.
- To download your bibliography, you will need to register first — but, don’t worry, it’s free!
Books in LU Library
Browse the “Research & Writing Collection” on the 1st Floor of LU Library to find books on using APA Style correctly, including the following:
- Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition
Call Number: 808.066 .P83 2010
ISBN: 1433805596
This is the essential book of APA style. - Concise rules of APA style
Call Number: 808.066 .C66 2010
ISBN: 143380560X
This is a pocket guide to the new 6th edition of the APA Style Manual. - APA The Easy Way
Call Number: 808.066 .H68 2005
ISBN: 978-0923568962
This is a short (60-page) guide to APA Style.
A Few Other Tips
- Use the “References” tab in MS Word to automate your citations and reference list.
- Create your own “Style Sets” in MS Word according to the style rules (e.g. , for APA: double space, 12-pt, Times New Roman, etc.)
- Find a sample citation for the type of resource and mirror it (e.g. journal article, book, web site, etc.)
- Email the APA Style Expert: StyleExpert@apa.org
- Ask LU Library Staff!