Interactive & Multimedia Resources:

APA Scavenger Hunt

This activity will familiarize you with the APA resources on the Writing Center’s website.

Reference Entries

1. There is a basic format to APA reference entries, but the specifics will change based on the type of source you are using (i.e., a book versus a journal article). To help you learn the nuances of how to cite different types of sources, find our common reference entry examples, writing out the example we have for the content on an organization's webpage.
    
   Bookmark this page on your Internet browser so you can use it as you write.
    
2. You have used a book called Global Health: An Introduction to Current and Future Trends by Kevin McCracken and David R. Phillips in your literature review.  You note that it was published by Routledge in Abingdon, UK, in 2012.  Format a reference list entry for this source below. Consult the Writing Center website for examples if you get stuck.
    
3. You are trying to help a classmate edit her reference list, and you notice she has written the entry below for a journal article.  Correct and rewrite the entry (and tell her how to find an article’s doi).
    

   Steward, M. (7 August 2005). “Electronic Medical Records,” in Journal of Legal Medicine.  Volume 26, Issue 4.  (pg. 491-506). Retrieved through Walden Library database.

4. In your course you have viewed a Walden University-produced video called “Management Techniques: Helping Employees Succeed,” the third part of a series called Theory and Practice in Corporate Management.  You can’t locate a date the video was produced.
    
   Locate the appropriate page on the Writing Center’s website for citing online videos and format a reference list entry below.
    
   Bookmark this page on your Internet browser so you can use it as you write.
    
5. APA uses what is called a hanging indent. Find out how to set a hanging indent in your reference list.
    
   Practice adding a hanging indent to a previous paper or a draft you are currently writing.

Citations

1. APA uses the author and publication year for citing sources within the body of your paper. Find the two different ways you can format your citation within a sentence using the author name “Staw” and the publication year “2000,” listing them here. Consult the Writing Center website for examples if you get stuck.
    
2. You are trying to decide which way to cite the following quotation from page 1263 of Maynard, Gilson, and Mathieu’s 2012 article “Empowerment—Fad or Fab? A Multilevel Review of the Past Two Decades of Research.”: “psychological empowerment has been operationalized within the literature”. Write two sentences incorporating the direct quotation in different ways. Use correct APA citation style in each example. One sentence should use a narrative citation while the other should use a parenthetical citation. Consult the Writing Center website for examples if you get stuck.
3. APA allows students to replace some surnames in citations with “et al.,” meaning “and others.” Find APA’s rules about when you can use “et al.” and use them to create a first and second citation of an article by Lange, Lee, Dai, and Torkelson published in 2009. You are quoting from a passage that appeared on page 8, as well as a passage on page 11. Consult the Writing Center website for examples if you get stuck.

Formatting

1. Using templates to write your papers will help make formatting your paper per APA much easier. We have many different templates for students in different programs. Find the template that is appropriate for your program and assignments.
    
   Once you have found the template, download it to your desktop so you can easily access it every time you work on an assignment.
    
2. APA’s heading rules are very specific regarding capitalization, as well as formatting. If you were writing a paper titled “Mentorship and Leadership Practices of Nursing Faculty” with the following heading levels, how would you capitalize and format them in your paper?
    
   Consult the Writing Center website for examples if you get stuck.
   • Nursing faculty job satisfaction [Level 1 heading]
   • Nursing mentorships—[Level 1 heading]
   • Formal mentoring—[Level 2 heading]
   • Informal mentoring—[Level 2 heading]
   • Barriers to mentoring—[Level 1 heading]
   • Empowering mentorship—[Level 1 heading]
   • Conclusion—[Level 1 heading]
   • References
      
3. APA’s rules also address writing style. Although there are many of these rules, common errors students make concern capitalization, numbers, and serial commas. Fix the following sentences for these APA style rules.
    
   Consult the Writing Center website for examples if you get stuck.
    
   1. Bandura’s Social Learning Theory incorporates modeling as one of its foundations.
   2. The manager surveyed 3 of his employees, asking that they respond within two days.
   3. Based on these theories, instruments and variables, I was able to pose specific research questions.

Once you have completed this scavenger hunt, consult the answer key.