Why Is APA Citing Important for Nursing Students?

American Psychological Association (APA) style is one of the frequently used within social sciences to cite various sources. APA citation guide in its 6 th edition that provides a general format for in-text citations and reference page. APA has established standards of citation for writing and researching. It applies in science and social science fields like nursing.

Nursing writing for research and journal contents supports analytical and logical writing which fits this noble profession. Writing and research in APA style might be a requirement for completing nursing papers in the course of a degree program.

What Makes APA Citing Important for Nursing Students

1.Sets writing standards

Writing nursing research and journal in APA helps to provide standards for scientific research and writing. Writing in APA style enables the writer to produce a clear, logical and concise work. APA style uniformity allows easy locating of the critical findings and ideas in nursing research. It establishes credibility for the author through citation of authoritative research sources. Nursing scholars globally benefit from the use of APA as it enables them to share current advances as well as policy updates in their specialty and healthcare in general. Most of the nursing degree programs require students to cite their academic work in APA style as it creates a way to for precise and accurate communication by the students.

Nursing students cannot make an impact on the academic writing if they do not master APA. They have to fulfill requirements for completing a nursing degree that includes writing a capstone project, thesis or action research project to blend their class knowledge with research and solve a problem in the nursing field.

This research requires appropriate APA writing style and formatting. Healthcare and nursing fields usually include essential information that requires regular updating to keep up with discoveries as well as innovations. The date of research in a nursing paper is necessary for showing the way findings are relevant and up-to-date. APA citation in the proper way allows presentation of an accurate picture about the information that forms the basis of conclusions.

2.Enhances Quality of Written Communication

Nursing writing is an essential component of communicating information that defines professional nursing practice and exhibiting skills to pass the knowledge. Nursing students and professionals must produce accurate and a precise written account on the provision of quality health care to the patients.APA style encourages professionally written communication. Nursing notes also are legal forms of documentation hence it is critical to writing these documents in a concise, accurate, logical and precise manner. These papers must also state the author of the work they are representing through accurate citation. APA allows proper citation.

3.Exhibits relevance of content

Professional nursing portfolio exhibits the growth and skills in nursing. Some places like particular states in the USA might require a nursing portfolio for a re-licensure process. Nursing portfolios might be a requirement for nursing graduates who are seeking employment or registered nurses pursuing an advanced position. A nursing portfolio contains documentation of certifications, research or scholarly work, degrees and certifications. Academic writing includes capstone research, research projects, and thesis or published journal articles. APA citation allows authors of scholarly work to properly highlight the relevancy of their research and show that they can attribute the work to sources.

4.Allows consistency

APA provides writers with a consistent format for organizing their research or arguments efficiently. The readers also benefit if they are familiar with APA because they know the particular section where they can find the information they need. For instance, a reader who wants the position that the writer takes on a subject can go to the discussion section without reading everything else. It is simple as APA has a pre-determined format for all sections from the information on title page to conclusion and bibliography. APA formatting also enables authors to organize their ideas in similar lines used by researchers with a benefit of a spin-off. Familiarity with various sections of APA makes someone a better reader of resources available in the library.

5.Protection against plagiarism

Plagiarism is the use of other people’s ideas or direct quote with proper acknowledging of the source. APA citation basics below help to protect writers from suspicions or allegations of plagiarism.

Writing solidly in APA format gives the writer ideas more credibility because it shows an ability to speak the language of academia to professors or reviewers. It only takes the use of authoritative sources for information in relevant sections, cite and reference the words properly.