Writing Resources

Stylin on MacOS

admin — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 23:56:02 +0000

Finally, after years of waiting, StyleEase has released new versions of their APA and MLA writing products for MacOS. Now Macintosh academic users can enjoy the same freedom to focus on the content of their papers and leave the formatting up to professional software that does it right.

We encourage you to check out StyleEase for Word 2011 on MacOS. You must have Word 2011 — the latest and greatest Office software for Macs from Microsoft; if you do, StyleEase works just like it does on PCs, meaning you get a proven product that takes care of most mechanical details of writing your papers in APA Style or MLA Style.

Click one of the following links for a $5.00 discount on StyleEase:

StyleEase for APA style for MacOS/Word 2011

StyleEase for MLA style for MacOS/Word 2011

Document Preparation Software for APA, MLA, or Turabian Software

admin — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 02:39:37 +0000

These programs manage the creation and editing of documents in your word processor, and automate the insertion of bibliographic and in-text citation information.

StyleEase from StyleEase Software, LLC

StyleEase is the most comprehensive solution we’ve seen. It covers all aspects of document preparation, and has the most complete menu of reference entry possibilities. StyleEase is the only program we’ve seen that verifies that each bibliographic entry contains all of the required information. And most impressively, you only interact with one form screen per reference entry, where a lot of the other programs take you through a series of screens.

It’s also the only program we’ve seen that allows you to insert or delete sections (abstract, new chapters, appendixes, tables of contents, and so on) at any time. Most of the other programs set these sections up when you create the document, and that’s your only chance.

StyleEase has an easy to use interface and does a lot of little things right, like automatically converting names into correct format and automatically updating your table of contents and page numbering.

The APA and MLA versions of StyleEase include a database of bibliography entries that allow you to instantly reuse and edit citations and reference entries in any document you create.

Includes free updates whenever a new version of a manual is published.

Available for download or on CD for APA, Chicago/Turabian, Seminary, and MLA Styles. Works with any version of Microsoft Word on any Windows computer. The APA product (and only the APA product) also works on Macintosh.

Reference Point from Reference Point Software, LLC

Reference Point’s templates are available for many different word processors, and work with. Reference Points templates work well, are fairly comprehensive, and are generally easy to use. Our biggest complaint is that you have to cascade through a series of screens to complete a reference entry, and you can’t easily add or delete sections in a document after you’ve created it.

Available for download for APA and MLA Styles. Works with numerous word processing programs on both Windows and Macintosh computers.

This program is a runner-up to StyleEase, lacking some of the polish and extra features. A solid value, especially if you’re using a word processor other than Word, or if you’re working on a Macintosh, on which StyleEase is not available.

FormatEase from Guilford Publications

FormatEase is the predecessor to StyleEase, written by the same programming team over ten years ago. It does an okay job, but lacks polish, and is missing several important features. FormatEase has an outdated and visually sparse appearance, does a poor job of handling online and electronic reference entries, and lacks a modern help system.

Available for download or on CD for APA Style. Works with Microsoft Word.

APA Style Helper from the American Psychological Association

Amazingly enough, We’ve heard absolutely nothing good about this software from the APA itself. Our own experience confirms the opinions expressed by numerous reviewers: this is a poorly designed, awkward to use program that you should avoid

Available for download or on CD for APA Style. Works with Microsoft Word.

Many users have reported abandoning use of this software after purchase and buying an alternative.

APA Perrla from Perrla

One of the early entries in the APA formatting software world, along with FormatEase. Although Perrla has updated its capabilities to cover the Fifth Edition of the APA Manual, its user interface hasn’t been updated and remains clunky. There are better choices.

Available for download for APA Style. Works with Microsoft Word.

APA Referencing Macros from Southern Ocean

In a phrase: sparse and inexpensive. This software provides reference entry management and not much else in terms of document preparation. Its top-level reference entry menu has a different look and feel than any of the others, but entering bibliographic information is difficult and confusing; in fact, our testers couldn’t get a single entry to work properly.

Available for download for APA Style. Works with Microsoft Word.

Recommendations

Our conclusion: StyleEase remains our choice for students and professionals seeking an easy to use, comprehensive solution for document preparation on Windows computers. It does everything and its interface is easy to navigate. StyleEase offers more flexibility in creating and editing documents than any of its competitors, verifies the completeness of your reference entries, and includes free upgrades. For Macintosh users, we recommend StyleEase if you’re using APA Style, and we recommend Reference Point for other styles.

Click one of the following links for a $5.00 discount on StyleEase:

StyleEase for APA style

StyleEase for MLA style

StyleEase for Chicago/Turabian style

StyleEase for Seminary style

Eight Things to Know About APA Online References

admin — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 04:45:10 +0000

APA Style can be difficult to understand, especially those pesky reference entries that can get pretty complicated. Professors can be sticklers for correct references, so get all the help you can. Reference entries (known elsewhere as Bibliography entries) are designed to make it possible for the reader of your paper to find the material you cite in your paper. Online references can be extra complicated, because you have to include information about where you found the material online. The APA Manual presents examples, but there are still a lot of possibilities that leave the writer wondering how to handle certain references. The good news is that there are several excellent software products that will take care of these details for you, and that there are numerous web sites dedicated to teaching you about APA Style. And here are some handy tips, which are basically distilled information that might simplify APA online references for you:

1.	When you read about electronic references or electronic sources in APA Style, you’re really reading about online reference or sources; for some reason, the APA chose to call them electronic references.
2.	A basic online reference looks like this: Mill, D. (2008, May 12). Title. Retrieved July 28, 2008, from http://www.web.sfx
3.	Notice that the online access part of the reference entry starts with a prefix like Retrieved, includes the retrieval (or access) date, and includes the web page. There are other optional things you might need to add, but basic online access includes these elements. Online references can be tricky because online material can change or disappear rapidly, and because web pages can change locations. To help with this, APA Style requires an access date in most online reference entries; the theory is that if a reader knows when you accessed a certain web page, s/he can find the exact material you used. But, if the material is in final format and has a stable online address, then APA Style says you can leave the date out of your reference. Since this is a judgment call that could cost you points, we recommend always including you access date (unless citing material that has a DOI or is in a database, as described later on this page.
4.	If you’re citing an online source that you found on a named web site, you can add the site’s name to help your reader recognize the source. For example: Mill, D. (2008, May 12). Title. Retrieved July 28, 2008, from Famous Web site: http://www.web.sfx
5.	Some online material, particularly scholarly journal articles, has been assigned unique identifiers, called Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs). Each DOI identifies a very specific source that will not change. It’s much like an ISBN barcode for specific book in a bookstore. If the material you are citing has a DOI, you don’t need to provide any other online access information in APA Style. That’s because the DOI is so specific. For example: Mill, D. (2008, May 12). Title. doi:1234567.8901.2345
6.	You don’t always use the prefix Retrieved from for online material, although that’s the most common one. For example, use Message posted to for a blog or wiki posting. And if you’re citing a source that you access through another web site, use available from. For example, if you’re citing a file you downloaded by clicking a link on a web page, you would use something like: Mill, D. (2008, May 12). Title. Available from http://www.someplace.com
7.	Entries in online databases are considered to be in final, stable form in APA Style, so you don’t include an access date with these either. For example: Some Agency. (2003). Title [Data file]. Retrieved from ShrinkWrap Database. (1234) The (1234) in the example is the ID of the data file in the named database, sometimes called an accession number.
8.	For most traditional material that you find online, like an online newsletter, an online copy of a book, an online movie, and so on, you cite the online version just like you would the traditional version. And you add the online retrieval information at the end of the reference. You might be citing an online version of a traditional (printed) source, such as an online copy of a book, then you refer to the book exactly as you would for the printed version, and then add the online access information. For example: Mill, D. (2002). Article. In Book (p. 2). Retrieved May 4, 2008, from http://www.sfx