One of the immediately apparent advantages of the American Psychological Association format is that it creates a working image that is pleasing to the eye and makes the paper comfortable to follow. It instantly makes the paper look more professional, and the uniform guidelines for running headers, title pages, text headings, and references and citations allow for easy and understandable organization of the material.
By learning how to correctly cite and reference data using APA, students are able to not only organize their sources but also avoid plagiarism. This is vital when writing research papers, which are mostly based on large quantities of sources. Following the guidelines for in-text citations and references makes the paper more credible and alleviates the risk of plagiarism accusations due to information attributed to a different author. The APA materials on the Purdue Owl Site also provide a lot of information on how to format different types of papers and what information should be covered in which section, specifically the introduction, which can be very helpful when beginning writing a paper and struggling with the questions that need to be answered in the introduction (Invention: Starting the Writing Process, n.d).
Citation and referencing of third-party research is a very important aspect of academic writing. By studying the references in a research paper and comparing them to the text, the members of the academia can assess the extent of research that was carried out by a student, his or her understanding of the area of study, both of the referenced works, and of the topic researched by the student, and the novelty of the student’s ideas and approaches.
APA format allows for a very efficient and coherent presentation of information in a manner that would be accessible to both students and professors.
The materials on the structure of the paper make writing easier by providing outlines and tips for different sections. These materials have helped me a lot in learning how to construct my introductions in a way that would validate the purpose of the paper and draw the reader in by establishing my credentials as a researcher. The APA format guided me towards the concise yet comprehensive presentation of the core ideas and questions of the work.
By providing guidelines for correct referencing and citing, APA format makes the work more readable and easy to follow, particularly by establishing how third-party information should be presented in the body of text (In-Text Citations: Author/Authors, n.d.).
The information about the American Psychological Association format on the Purdue OWL site was very helpful for improving my understanding of the structure of a credible research paper and the requirements it must follow in order to be recognized by the scientific community. Unlike other popular formats, like the AGPS Harvard or the Modern Language Association, APA is much more intuitive and consistent in how it formats different sources, while at the same time being very effective and comprehensive, which is especially seen in its system of referencing and in-text citations (In-Text Citations: The Basics, n.d.). Finally, the APA guides the user towards a spare and straightforward writing style, which is appropriate for scientific research and is very useful when writing the introduction to the paper. The format requires the students to consider their word choices, provides regulations for the expression of one’s opinion, and requires them to remain prosaic and refrain from bias, which really augments an introduction into a research paper.
References
Invention: Starting the Writing Process. (n.d). Web.
In-Text Citations: Author/Authors. (n.d). Web.
In-Text Citations: The Basics. (n.d). Web.