Discussion: APA Formatting

As a doctoral independent scholar, you must continually develop your understanding of and ability to apply APA style to your academic writing. In this program, the APA requirements not only apply to every Discussion and written Assignment you will complete, but also to your Doctoral Study. Learning to apply the rules and standards of APA requires practice and perseverance, but with time, you can achieve mastery. In this Discussion, you will evaluate the current strength of your APA skills in order to map out a path for ongoing development and to help set yourself up for success throughout your program.

To prepare for this Discussion, complete the APA Quiz and review your results.

Post an assessment of your APA knowledge strengths and areas of opportunity. Your assessment should include answers to the following questions:

What aspect(s) of APA formatting did you find easier to comprehend? Why?

What aspect(s) of APA formatting do you find most challenging? Why?

How will you plan to minimize or overcome your challenges in APA formatting? Provide specific examples.

Be sure to support your work with a minimum of two specific citations from the APA Manual and any additional sources.

Refer to the Week 2 Discussion Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this rubric to assess your work.

Read a selection of your colleagues' postings.

Respond to two or more of your colleagues' postings in one or more of the following ways:

Support or refute your colleague's analysis of his or her assessment.

Suggest one or more additional APA resources (e.g., Walden Writing Center resources, other websites) your colleague may find beneficial that will help with the particular APA formatting challenge identified.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what insights you gained as a result of reading the comments your colleagues made.