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Software for Academic Writing
There are two broad
categories of software for use with APA, MLA, and Chicago/Turabian
writing styles:
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Document Preparation
Programs are the right choice for almost all undergraduate
students, most graduate students, and some professional researchers.
They are designed to help you write papers, theses, and
dissertations. They typically create properly formatted documents,
and provide menu choices that simplify inserting and editing
reference entries and citations, headings, and content into those
documents.
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Bibliography Database
Programs focus on the task of retrieving reference entry
information from online databases, in addition to providing menu
choices for creating and editing reference entries and citations.
Most of these programs provide at least rudimentary document
formatting and editing capabilities. They are the right choice for
most professional researchers, who need to maintain an re-use a
large number of reference sources.
If you're a student who needs
to write papers in APA, MLA, or Chicago/Turabian style, there's good
news. There are programs that can handle all of the important tasks of
creating and editing your documents, and these programs can be used
throughout your academic career. So for a small investment (typically
$25 to $50), you can purchase a tool that makes your life a lot easier
and saves you a lot of time.
Just make sure that the
software you buy meets your needs and takes care of all of the tasks
involved in document preparation:
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Formatting the document
layout, including the title page, running heads, and margins.
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Adding and deleting
important document sections like appendixes, new chapters,
abstracts, lists of figures, etc.
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Handling all forms of
bibliography and in-text citation formatting, and assuring that the
entries are complete.
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Reusing citations in any
document you write, without requiring retyping of information.
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Properly sorting
(alphabetizing) your bibliography, according to the (sometimes very
complicated) rules of the style.
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Adding tables and figures.
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Numbering your pages
correctly.
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Updating all page
numbering, tables of contents and figures in preparation for
printing
Document Preparation Programs
These programs manage the creation and editing of
documents in your word processor, and automate the insertion of
bibliographic and in-text citation information.
Software |
Description |
StyleEase
(StyleEase Software, LLC)
Versions available for APA, Chicago/Turabian, and
MLA styles.
Available in download or CD-ROM format.
Works with any version of Microsoft Word on any
Windows computer. |
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. |
Reference Point
(Reference Point Software, LLC)
Downloadable versions available for APA and MLA styles.
Works with numerous word processing programs on
both Windows and Macintosh computers.
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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.
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
(Guilford Publications)
APA version available for download or on CD-ROM. |
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. |
APA Style Helper
(American Psychological Assoc.)
APA version available for download and on CD-ROM. |
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.
Many users have reported abandoning use of
this software after purchase and buying an alternative. |
APA Referencing Macros
(Southern Ocean)
APA version available for download. |
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. |
APA Perrla
(Perrla)
APA version available for download. |
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. |
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.
If you're using a Macintosh, we recommend the Reference
Point templates.
Bibliography Database
Programs
These programs provide access to online bibliography
databases, and maintain their own databases of reference entries for
incorporation into your documents. They are not very robust with respect
to document preparation or manual entry of references.
Software |
Description |
EndNotes
(ISI ResearchSoft) |
The standard program for retrieving bibliographic
information from online databases for many years.
You can access just about any database (some
require paid subscriptions), and EndNotes can format retrieved
bibliography entries into thousands of different formats,
including APA, MLA, and Chicago/Turabian.
The document preparation features are weak and
incomplete, but the bibliographic entry and retrieval features
are the best in the business. |
Citation
(Oberon Development) |
We call this "EndNotes Jr." It's
slightly limited compared to Endnotes and significantly less
polished, but it does a good job.
You can use Citation to access databases just
like you do with Endnote, and it adds a web-based bibliographic
database that you can easily access. |
EndNotes has been the bibliographic database program, and for good reason. It does everything
you expect it to do, and it does it well. It has very limited document
preparation features, but that's not its purpose. Citation is the new up
and comer, and is significantly less money. It does a good job, and they
are aggressively marketing it. If you're on a budget and willing to use
less refined bibliographic retrieval software, Citation is probably
worth checking out.
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