The American Psychology Association provides guidelines to acknowledge information quoted from different sources. Basically, APA is a referencing style typical in humanities and allows students to avoid all forms of plagiarism. Also, the latest APA style guide emphasizes on the use of authentic sources. In particular, the APA writing format requires scholars to create a title page, use author-date or –pagination in-text citations, have a detailed reference list and cite information from credible sources only, which makes it better than other citation methods.
Title Page
The APA writing format must have a title page. For instance, the first page should have the heading of the paper, and writer and institution’s name. In this case, the heading should appear three spaces down the page followed by the name of the author and institution. Besides, these details should be at the center of the page. Thus, the APA paper must have an appropriate title page.
APA Citation Format
The APA writing format allows a writer to use precise in-text citations to acknowledge quoted information. For instance, one must use in-text citations with author-date or –page format. In this case, the author-date in-text citations apply in cases of paraphrased information. Besides, the person must provide the page number containing direct quotations. Thus, the APA style paper must have accurate in-text citations.
References
The APA writing format forces people to include the APA reference page at the end of a document. For instance, one must list all the sources used as in-text citations in the “References” page. In this case, writers should arrange the used sources in alphabetical order in relation to the author’s surname. Besides, the APA format reference page should contain full bibliographic details of every cited source. Thus, papers prepared in the APA format must have a detailed reference list.
Advantages of the APA Writing Style
The APA writing format is better than other citation methods since it requires one to refer to information from credible sources only. For instance, one must use reliable sources for in-text citations. In this case, the person should provide the Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) or Internet links to all online sources. Also, the DOI and Internet links help a reader to locate the original sources for authentication purpose. For example, only credible online sources have a DOI number. Then, other citation styles like Harvard do not emphasize on the use of DOI for online sources. Unfortunately, it is hard for a reader to validate the cited information in Harvard style. Besides, a writer using the Harvard style guide may have the temptation to use predatory sources. Thus, the APA writing format emphasizes the use of credible online sources to obtain the necessary evidence for preparing an academic paper.
Conclusion on the APA Writing Format
In conclusion, papers formatted in APA should have a title page. Firstly, the title page contains the heading, name of the author, and relevant institution. Then, one must use author-date citations and include the page number for direct quotes. In turn, the last page of an academic paper in the APA writing format should have a detailed list of references. Also, people must present the sources in alphabetical order in relation to the author’s surname. Finally, the APA style format is different from other formatting styles since it emphasizes on the use of credible online sources. Hence, writers must provide the DOI and Internet links to online sources.