Video Transcripts:

Crash Course in APA Style

Last updated 3/17/2020

 

Visual: Video opens with the title of the video and the description “The 4 steps of the writing process in 4 minutes or less” and a picture of a stop watch. 

Audio: Welcome to the Writing Center’s crash course in APA! Crash course videos are a great fit if you are new to APA or haven’t used APA in some time.

 

Visual: Slide changes to say the following: Not familiar with an area, tip, or term? Look it up!

APA

• References
• Citations
• Style

As the speaker talks, the following key terms flash on the screen: reference entries, quotes, paraphrases, parenthetical citations, narrative< citations, et al., ampersand, citation frequency, secondary sources, personal communications, citing yourself, template, verb tenses, passive voice, anthropomorphism, serial commas, abbreviations, capitalization, numbers.

Audio: In this video, we’ll review the two types of APA rules, citing sources and style. APA has many citing and style rules, and we’ll give you quick tips and introduce you to terms in each of these areas, but we won’t be talking about them in-depth—remember, this is a crash course! Instead, get out a pen and paper. If you’re not familiar with one of these areas of APA, a tip we give, or a term we use (we’ll help you by displaying key terms in bold), write it down so you can look it up later! At the end of the video we’ll show you where to find more information on our website. Let’s get started! 

 

Visual: Slide changes to the following with an image of the APA Manual: APA

• Social science writing
• Accurately citing sources
• Consistently presenting information
• Reference List + Citations

Audio: APA is the citation style used in the social sciences, so as a primarily social science university, Walden students use APA. APA’s purpose is to help writers accurately cite sources and consistently present information. APA uses a reference entry and citation method for crediting sources. This means you will list all of the sources you cite in the body of your paper in a reference list at the end of your paper. Citations appear in the body of your paper, and any source cited in the body of the paper must appear in the reference list.  

 

Visual: Slide changes to the following: References

• Appear on its own page
• Listed alphabetically
• Publication information changes
• Books, journal articles, and webpages

Author, A. (Year). Title of the source. Publication information. 

Audio: The reference list appears on its own page and individual reference entries are listed alphabetically by the first author’s last name. Each reference entry includes the source’s authors, publication year, title, and full publication information. The publication information changes the most depending on how the source was published. Walden students primarily use books, journal articles, and webpages in their writing, so we suggest you focus on these types of reference entries first.

 

Visual: Slide changes to the following: Citations

• Appear in the body of the paper
• Paraphrased or quoted information

 

Parenthetical	Narrative
(Author, Year)	Author (Year) reported…
(Author, Year, p. xx)	Author (Year) reported... (p. xx).

 

Audio: Citations always consist of the source’s author and year, including the page number when citing a quote. You should include citations for both paraphrases and quotes and can do so either narratively or parenthetically.

 

Visual: The citation table is replaced with the list of citation variations the speaker discusses. 

Audio: These are the basic citation rules and formats, so learn these first. After that, you can learn the citation variations, including when to use et al., when to use an ampersand, citation frequency, secondary sources, personal communication citations, and citing yourself. 

 

Visual: Slide changes to the following: Formatting

• Course paper template for paper formatting and headings
• Wording: Verb tenses, passive voice, and anthropomorphism
• Presentation: Serial comma, abbreviations, capitalization, and numbers

Audio: Finally, there are rules about consistently formatting and presenting information. Paper formatting, including the title page and headings, are explained in the course paper template. APA also has rules about verb tenses, passive voice, anthropomorphism, serial commas, abbreviations, capitalization, and numbers. While these may seem like a lot of rules, we suggest you start with the course paper template, then slowly incorporate the other style rules into your writing one at a time. 

 

Visual: Slide changes to the following: APA 

• References
• Citations
• Style

Then as the speaker discusses the website, a screenshot of the Writing Center’s home page is displayed with the home page URL: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter. Each section of the home page is highlighted as the speaker talks about it. 

Audio: Now you’ve learned about APA’s citing and style rules! Next, search our website for any of the APA rules, quick tips, or terms we discussed that you wrote down. Use the search box at the top-right corner, the Quick Answers box, or the main menus to find more information and begin learning!