Using Proper Writing Style & Formatting
The School of Professional Studies recommends the APA 6th Manual for most courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels with the exception of MLA Style in undergraduate humanities courses and use of the AP Style in some communication courses. Your instructors will direct you to the appropriate style to use for your courses.
The use of a style manual does not exclude the need to use good grammar and proper English in your writing. SPS recommends that you use the appropriate writing guide for your papers also. These texts might include: Strunk & White, Turabian, Chicago, New York, Hacker, etcetera. Again your instructor or the Writing Center will make recommendations.
Sample Thesis or Capstone Papers
Recommended Texts for Assistance in Academic Research Writing
Using MS Word to Auto Format Your Papers
Find Writing Assistance
Critical Thinking
Learn about APA style
To Learn about APA Style and how to use it follow the links below for tutorials.
SPS Publising Style
The Trinity School of Professional Studies research paper format, style, and referencing are based on the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Publication Manual, currently in the 6th edition. Differences between the SPS publishing Style and the APA style are designed simplify the document formatting process and to produce a published document that students and faculty will be proud of.
Sample Thesis or Capstone Papers
- Sample of a Meta-Analysis
- Sample of an Experimental Paper #1
- Sample of an Experimental Paper #2
- Sample of a Journal Article Published in APA 6th Edition Style
- Sample from the Purdue OWL
Recommended Texts for Assistance in Academic Research Writing
Using MS Word to Auto Format Your Papers
- Using MS Word to Auto Format in SPS Publishing Style
- This document was developed by SPS to assist you in formatting your research papers, Thesis papers, and Capstone papers in either SPS publishing style or APA publishing style. The documetn contains narratives and bulleted instructions with screen captures to instruct you in the step by step formatting of your papers
- APA formatting Microsoft Word 2007
- This video from IACLibrary2000 quickly explains how to set MS Word 2007 to auto format your paper in APA formating style. You can easliy adapt these directions to the SPS Publishing style or even MLA style
- How to Work with Styles in a Word 2007 Document For Dummies
- This video from the For Dummies series quickly explains how to use the style headings in MS Word 2007 to auto format your papers.
- *You can easily edit each heading style to match SP Publishing, APA style, or MLA style by highlighting the text, formating it as you wish it to appear. Then right click onthe style button for your heading level. Choose Update (heading level title) to Match Selection. Now all headings at that level will update to your correct heading style.
- How to Create a Table of Contents in Word 2007 For Dummies
- This video from the For Dummies series quickly explains how to use the style headings in MS Word 2007 to establish a Table of Contents in your paper. you can easily adapt this to meet the criteria of the SPS Publishing style, APA style, or MLA style.
- How to create a List of Tables and A List of Figures in MS Word 2007
- This video from the Institute of International Management explains how to add a list of Tables and a List of Figures in a MS Word document, which will be appropriate for your papers in SPS Publishing style, APA style, or MLA style.