Reading articles online doesn’t mean that you can’t write on them, and a paperless workflow doesn’t mean that you can’t map out your ideas visually. Here is the OWL’s collection of the best digital tools for reading, annotation, organizing, and writing.
Have a tool to share? Email us at owl@stedwards.edu!
At St. Edward’s, APA style is required in many undergraduate business courses, as well as in the graduate programs in the School of Management and Business and in the Master of Arts in Counseling program. But the print Publication Manual of the APA was last updated in 2009 (6th ed.) and is directed at researchers and scholars writing articles for publication in scholarly journals, not students writing papers. So, although the Manual contains lots of good writing advice and essential information about formatting, documentation, and citation, it might not have a lot of clear information on how to cite the sources you find yourself needing to cite.
Enter the official, searchable APA Style Blog! How do I cite something I found on a website? How do I cite a social media post? How do I cite an annual report? It’s all covered, with examples. In the OWL, we couldn’t get along without the APA Style Blog; we use it every day.
Serious about developing your writing skills? In the Good Reads on Writing series, we’ll suggest some books and articles in which writers give insider tips, complain about their writing problems, and tell stories about how they got from idea or assignment to published work. 
If you’re in a certain mood, you might find the title Good Prose (find it at the Austin Public Library) to be a reminder that most of the writing we do is not going to be great, and that even our best efforts might result in something that’s merely good enough. But it’s also a reminder that writing that good-enough stuff is hard work, real work. Authors Tracy Kidder, a writer, and Richard Todd, his editor for many years at the Atlantic, make no secrets of the many drafts tossed in the wastebasket during the process of crafting articles and books. Over the four decades that Todd and Kidder worked together, they’ve come up with lots of golden advice. Here are a few nuggets from the book:
The book itself exemplifies clarity we should all strive for in writing. It’s a product of editorial synthesis, the result of collaboration between a writer and an editor who are equally relentless. Few writers have this relationship, but if you happen into one, by all means, don’t let it go.
Update: The APA Style Blog weighs in on the singular “they.”
Question
Why can’t I use “they” as a singular pronoun? I tried to use “he or she” instead, but it’s cluttering up my writing! Are there any other options?
Answer
The short answer for students is as follows: avoid the singular “they” in formal writing unless you’re a language-change renegade, you’re working in a progressive discipline, or you know your professor is OK with it. Use plurals instead.
This is a hot topic, so we created a Slideshare to answer the question.
Question
When do I place the apostrophe after the “s,” and when does it go before the “s”? I feel like I once knew the rules, but now I’m in the habit of relying on autocorrect,and my professor marked errors in my paper :-/
Answer
First off, let’s review the two uses of apostrophes:
RULES
EXCEPTIONS
Need a quick-reference resources for apostrophe rules? This infographic is the best!
Question
I am writing a paper for an MLA seminar, and I am wondering which pronoun to use in this sentence:
The researchers concluded that the children ____ had eaten breakfast performed better on the test.
Do I use “that” or “who”?
Answer
“That” is for things or concepts. When referring to a person or people, always use “who.” Using “who” to refer to people makes the writing more graceful, and it also results in more humanist writing. Every person is a “who,” regardless of our differences. Use “who” for people; change the world!