The Value of Learning APA Formatting

More essays relating to incremental learning workshop. Whee.

-------------------------------------
There are several reasons why students benefit from learning APA formatting. An ability to develop professional writing skills, the clarity to defend a point or idea, an understanding of how to separate their own ideas from those of others, and an ability to share credit where it is due are only a few of the valuable benefits students gain from following the APA guidelines for writing papers.

With repeated exposure, students generally learn from previous mistakes. Using APA guidelines allows students to grasp an understanding of professional grade writing. By developing these skills, they work to bring in the key ideas of any discussion, elaborate the main points, summarize those important elements, and then share where they received information to back up their writing (i.e. the Introduction, Body, Conclusion, and References of a standard paper).

As students use information, theories, and ideas to support their paper's key points, they begin to work on forming persuasive and thorough arguments. These same skills that show in course submissions can be replicated in the professional sphere. A well-worded document could allow an individual to gain more funds for a desired project, argue for a raise, or gain a promotion.

Making sure that students learn the value of proper citations is both challenging and important. I am sure that most college professors run across some serious 'repeat offenders' who either continually skip or misuse their references. By repeatedly exposing students to the importance of separating their own ideas from that of others, we help them to understand the creative process, and maintain fairness. Clear use of citations allows the reader to isolate the original theory and then identify the changes or progression that the author made on those original ideas.

Sharing the credit for original ideas is another benefit that carries over into the professional world. There are many times when people will be required to work together in teams to complete projects. The ability to clearly section out fellow team members' contributions can work to dispell worries that the person is looking to "steal" another teammate's ideas.

For all of these reasons, and many others, students clearly benefit from learning to follow APA guidelines.