Using
the APA Manual
The purpose of this section of the VIRC is
to help you become familiar with the contents of the APA Manual
so that you can use it effectively while writing your proposal
and final project report. This tutorial is NOT intended to be
a substitute for the APA Manual.
A
Requirement of EDCI 590
M.Ed. students are required to follow American Psychological
Association (APA) style in all papers, including both the EDCI
590 proposal and final project report (Track II Handbook,
2007, pp. 23, 26). APA style is explained in the Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association (referred
to as the APA Manual). The APA Manual is the standard guide
for formatting and style in scholarly papers in the field of
education and other social sciences. Most faculty will require
their EDCI 590 students to obtain and use the most recent
edition of the APA Manual while working on their proposal and
project.
Differences Between Manuscripts and Student Papers
One important thing to understand about the APA Manual is that
its basic purpose is to inform scholars about how to prepare
manuscripts for publication in periodicals published by the
American Psychological Association (APA, 2001, p. xxvi). Since
students rarely publish their papers in APA periodicals, not all
of the features of APA manuscript style are appropriate for
student papers. Therefore, Chapter 6 of the APA Manual
explains some of the differences between APA manuscript style
and the style appropriate for student papers.
