Updated Reference Wizard for APA, MLA, & Turabian (Word Add-in)

For years, the Reference Wizard has been the heart of PERRLA.  We're excited that we've made it more powerful than ever before!

Simpler reference types

While PERRLA will still handle every kind of APA reference you can throw at it, we've simplified the types from over 200+ to a much more manageable fourty-seven.

Now, instead of having 15 different types of Book references, you can just select Book and move on.

The most common reference types are now: Book, Journal, Website, & Gray Literature.

Simpler Forms

After you've selected the reference type, we've updated the reference entry form to be more straight-forward.

Instead of answering a bunch of yes/no questions, we give you a single form where you can enter the data you have and leave the rest blank.  Seriously!  If your work doesn't have a date, just leave it blank.  We'll handle adding "n.d." for you.

Common Fields

Since we give you a single form to fill out, we're highlighting the fields that each reference commonly uses.  Commonly used field are outlined in blue.

For instance, while a book author can have a middle name or suffix listed on the book, it isn't very common.  However, a first and last name for an author is common.  Once you've entered some data into a common field, it will no longer show the blue outline.  This makes it easy to see what information in your reference you may still want to add before going to the next step.

Live preview

With the new Reference Wizard, you can see a preview of your reference at the bottom of the data form.  You no longer have to go to the third step to preview your reference (then go back to fix your typo).

Now, you can check out how your reference will look without leaving the form.

Better contributor names

The APA has always required authors, editors, etc. to be entered in the order they appear in the work.  We've updated how you add each of these contributors to a reference so you can edit or rearrange them directly.

We've even added the ability to include a contributor name's suffix (e.g., Jr., the Third and Best, etc.)!