Library News Blog

There are new features to the APA's Academic Writer tool available through the PG Library.  Highlights include: 

• Learning Commons FAQs

• Orientation Lessons

• Version History

• Grammar Check

• Reference Tagging

More information and details are below:

If you haven’t logged into Academic Writer, or if you’re a new user, there are some helpful new features that will enhance your Academic Writer experience.

After logging into Academic Writer, select the drop-down menu from the Welcome link. Clicking on Site Help will open a new window where you can access immediate answers to the most frequently asked questions about how to use Academic Writer. Browse through the articles, or enter your search terms to find articles relevant to your question. 

Please note that Site Help is not a knowledge base of APA style questions, but rather it is a knowledge base about using Academic Writer. 

Back to the drop-down menu, clicking on Orientation will provide you with various quick guides and tutorials about how to use Academic Writer. Selecting Getting Started with Academic Writer will show you how to navigate and use the site, while selecting Writing in Academic Writer will provide detailed guidance about how to use the Writing Center. Please note that both of these links are also available directly on the homepage, too, for quick and easy access. 

Selecting My Papers from the My File Cabinet drop-down menu will bring you to a great new tool allowing you to browse version histories of your paper. This can be especially helpful if content failed to save or was lost. Version history enables you to view and revert to previous versions of your paper. Using the comparison screen allows you to compare previous versions with the current version of your paper. 

If you’ve used Academic Writer in the past, you may be aware of the spell checker feature, but if you haven’t logged in to your account in a while, you may not be aware of the new grammar check feature! Much like the grammar checker in a Word document, Academic Writer underlines words and phrases to flag possible errors. This is a default feature, but if it becomes distracting, it can be turned off by click on the ABC button:

Finally, Academic Writer now provides an easy new way of organizing and tracking your references. Tagging is Academic Writer’s answer to folders. Tags can be added as you create your references and are then visible in your References list. Tags can also be searched by keyword in the top right search bar. If you want to go back and add tags to previously created references, simply click on the edit icon next to your desired reference, and then add your tags. Keep in mind that you can add multiple tags to a reference; just separate them by a comma. 

We hope you find these new features helpful. To start using them, visit Academic Writer. 

A big update is coming in August to APA's Academic Writer.  See below for details:

• Academic Writer will update its tutorials, examples, templates, and writing tools to follow APA Style 7th Edition rules on Monday, August 3, 2020.  
• On Monday, August 3, 2020, Academic Writer may be unavailable for use most or all of the day, while APA’s technical staff update the product.  
• Starting August 4, 2020, or as soon as the update is finished, the new version of Academic Writer will be available.
• The link to Academic Writer will not change and remain: library.purdueglobal.edu/academicwriter
• New to Academic Writer? For a preview of changes and an overview video, check out our new Guide to Academic Writer.

Additionally, we want to share that our colleagues in the PG Writing Center have also been working on updating their sources to follow APA 7th Edition rules in recent weeks and all APA instructional resources should finish updating by August 15, 2020.

Timeline reminder: 

After these updates, it will be time to start learning the new rules in APA Style 7th Edition. But don't worry, you still have plenty of time! These updates mean we are now entering the second “phase” of PG's APA Style 7th Edition adoption plan:

• 2019/2020: Students can use either APA 6th or APA 7th editions. 
• August 2020: Start learning the changes in the 7th edition once the Academic Writer update is available.
• January 1, 2021: This is the deadline! All students must follow only the 7th edition. 

First, some background for those who haven’t heard:  The 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, the official source for APA Style®, is now available.  As you are aware, Purdue Global currently uses the 6th edition across all programs at the university.   

Does everything in the Library follow 7th edition rules now?

Not yet and you don't need to worry about changing to the 7th edition yet either! You’ll have plenty of time to prepare for the 7th edition and do not need to become an expert today. In fact, many resources about APA Style, including official ones from the APA, will not even update until next summer.  Academic Writer, the APA's tool for effective writing, will continue to use the 6th edition guidelines until August 2020. 

Also, don’t forget, the most important part of every assignment is the content and displaying your effective writing skills anyway! 

What’s changing in the 7th edition?

APA gives a broad overview of features and changes on their website.  You can also read the introduction to the manual, which reviews every section and also reviews changes.  Specifics, however, will not be available until after publication and your friendly neighborhood PG Librarians receive a copy.  

So, where is this preview link in Academic Writer? 

Additionally, starting October 1st, a preview link will be included within the footer of Academic Writer:

This link will provide more information on some of the new features and planned updates that will roll out in August 2020.  

In addition to 7th edition changes, Academic Writer will also redesign many of its interactive tutorials and add more student-assignment focused examples and features, like the ability to write an annotated bibliography in Academic Writer’s Write Center.

What should I do next?

For now, there’s no need to do anything when using Academic Writer—the tool, including all papers, will continue to use the 6th edition until August 2020.  You can also keep writing your assignments following 6th edition rules.  More announcements will be made over the next year about the transition to 7th edition, including in your courses and in the PG Academic Success Center. 

Library Resource Update: APA’s online teaching, learning, and writing tool formerly known as APA Style CENTRAL is now called Academic Writer.  Don’t worry—there have been no changes to your account or papers!  The new name also comes with a few improvements, including a reorganized Reference Center that puts APA reference forms front and center.  You can access Academic Writer here: library.purdueglobal.edu/academicwriter

We are passing along an important update that APA Style CENTRAL’s name will be changing to Academic Writer. The change will occur on January 7, 2019.

In addition to the new name, Academic Writer will streamline to three centers (instead of four) for teaching and learning effective writing—the Learning Center, the Reference Center (formerly known as the Research Center), and the Writing Center. The Publishing Center, dictionaries, and electronic reference books will be removed. The changes put their APA Style instruction and writing tools front and center.

The new link will be: library.purdueglobal.edu/academicwriter

Below are PDF guides on using common features in Academic Writer:

Adding References

Adding In-Text Citations

Accessing the APA Publication Manual in Academic Writer

New to using APA Citation Style?  Or just want some tips? Check out this two-part introduction to it - one is a short video overview of APA Style and the second is an interactive tutorial on common citation formats:

Video: APA Citation Style (link)

Tutorial: APA Citations (link)

Want to improve your APA Style skills?  The Library offers APA Style CENTRAL, a complete guide to writing and researching with APA Style rules. APA Style Central lets you access interactive tutorials and quick guides, plan and track your research, format citations and references, and view sample research papers and much more.

You can access APA Style Central at: library.purdueglobal.edu/apastylecentral

Looking for The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, also known as the DSM-5? And once you find it, how to cite it?  We have the answers!

To access the DSM-5, use the DSM Library database: library.purdueglobal.edu/dsm5

To cite the DSM-5, see the answer here: http://purdueglobal.libanswers.com/faq/201315