Discuss and evaluate concepts and theories regarding ethics, ethical behavior, and ethical dilemmas within the criminal justice profession.
TT24
APACommonMistakesandGuidelines.docx
APA Common Mistakes and Guidelines
Some of the most common errors found are the use of a cover page and the requirements of that cover page. Some papers will be missing an abstract. The most common error was not citing the work. While many do a great job with providing data, remember that each time you change a thought you must provide an in-text citation as your opinion is only allowed in the Conclusion section of the paper. That is why you must have a Conclusion. The other common problem was providing page numbers on the in-text citations, e.g., (Diemer, 2007, pg. 38). The only time the page number is put in the in-text citation is when you use the “quotes.” Otherwise, you only use (Diemer, 2007). The other common mistakes are seen in the References section. Either the references are single-spaced when they should be double-spaced, are not in alphabetical order, and/or the second and subsequent lines of sources are not indented.
As you progress through the course, remember that all papers (except active learning discussions) must follow APA guidelines which include the following:
• Cover Page (Descriptor with page number, Running Head, Title, Author, and University – no more, no less)
• Abstracts
• In the body of your work, you must reference all of the comments. Your instructor is not interested in your opinion (unless the assignment calls for it), but is interested in the research. Each idea, thought, and comment must be attributed to someone or something. When reviewing APA, look how you cite the reference for the thoughts, e.g., (author, year) or direct quotes (author, year, page number)
• On the References page, references must be in proper APA format and in alphabetical order
· No more than 15% of the text may be the exact words of others, as reported in the TurnItIn.com (TII.com) report you will receive automatically after posting in the Assignments folder. Any exact text of others must be properly quoted and cited , per APA format. Copying text that is not quoted and cited is plagiarism and is a serious offense under the SLU Honor Code. Refer to the APA Manual and the SLU Library site for additional explanations and tutorials on avoiding plagiarism.
In addition, you need to start using scholarly journal articles to support your comments and not rely strictly on the internet. Do not forget you can contact the library for assistance. Please contact your instructor if you have any questions.
NOTE: After Module 1, your instructor will not be critiquing your paper using Microsoft Word’s Track Changes, as was done in Module 1. This module, after read your work, your instructor will be making general comment(s) on any formatting issues and your content in the Written Exercise Scoring Rubric, accompanying your graded paper. If you are asked a question, it is expected that you respond.
