APA Style and Its Usage in Academic Writing
The choice of APA style in academic writing is preconditioned by the fact that it allows a reader to quickly locate and identify the resources used for in-text citations. The presence of such indicators as an author’s name and the year of publishing grants one an opportunity to immediately consult with the source and get some extra information regarding the topic. There is a strict requirement among educational establishments across the world for each type of academic paper to contain in-text citations as the major markers of a properly conducted research.
Naturally, their main purpose is to give credit to expressed arguments and support ideas by highlighting the validity, reliability, and relevance of written content (Geisinger et al., 2013). By the example of the article devoted to childhood obesity, one can demonstrate how convenient and informative APA style is when it comes to citing material. The researchers state that the rates of childhood obesity have decreased by 17 percent over the past decade (“The state of childhood obesity”, 2017). Even though the author’s words have been paraphrased, one can easily find the resource by its name and make sure the overall idea is retained. Such resources as Google Scholar and Google Books can assist with the matter.
Direct Quotations
When citing a fragment of the article directly, one needs to observe formatting and add the information from the source, which states, for example, that “between 2010 and 2014, 31 states and three territories reported declines in obesity rates among toddlers” (“The state of childhood obesity”, 2017, para. 2).
References
Geisinger, K. F., Bracken, B. A., Carlson, J. F., Hansen, J. I. C., Kuncel, N. R., Reise, S. P., & Rodriguez, M. C. (2013). APA handbook of testing and assessment in psychology, vol. 1: Test theory and testing and assessment in industrial and organizational psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
The state of childhood obesity. (2017). Web.