This is a non-linear tutorial that teaches APA 6 style via simulations and games. It was peer-reviewed and formally accepted to PRIMO, and was selected as a Site of the Month (PRIMO is defunct as of 2025).
Its format makes this tutorial unique: it’s a series of games and self-directed learning opportunities wrapped in an essay-writing simulation. The scenario is that you, the learner, have finished writing an essay and have only to complete the citations to finish it all up! (If you’re anything like me, citations take as long as the writing does!).
The learner’s home base is a simulated desktop, compete with computer, the three sources they “used” for their paper, and an abbreviated APA style guide.
Learners may click on the computer to complete their references. On the left, the book, the iPad, and the phone each represent a source used for the paper. The APA book is an online style guide for reference.
Learners have to complete three references: a book, a website, and an article. Each reference is completed via quizzes, complete with multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and hotspot questions that step-by-step build each tutorial. The learner has access to the APA style guide every step of the way – and has the option (self-directed learning!) to play a game prior to attempting each reference to build their APA knowledge.
There are three included games, one in each reference module (I’ve split them out so you can try them individually):
- APA Reference List Tic Tac Toe (located in APA tutorial website module)
- VIP Game (located in APA tutorial article module)
- Authors APA Trivia Game (located in APA tutorial book module)
Authors Trivia Game
The trivia game is pretty straightforward – it’s a set of multiple-choice questions about how authors’ names are formatted in citations. I got the template from Tim Slade.
The Tic Tac Toe and the VIP Game are both completely built from scratch.
“VIP” Game: Volume/Issue/Page
The VIP Game is a modification of my Spaceshooter game – learners have to shoot down the incorrectly formatted “VIPs” – the Volume/Issue/Page facet of any APA article citation (that’s the order: VIP). It’s impossible to win, but learners can replay to achieve higher scores.
Tic Tac Toe Game
I’m especially proud of the Tic Tac Toe game. Each square leads to questions related to formatting a paper in APA style – the learner must answer three questions correctly, in a row, to win the square. Otherwise it goes to their “opponent.” Each square is linked to a question bank, so that the questions appear randomly, and the learner never plays the same game twice. If the learner scores three boxes in a row, they win! This game took a lot of development time all by itself.
Tutorial Structure
Here’s what the structure looks like, including a scene off to the side of unused just-in-case slides:
