Five Nursing Programs Tried PERRLA: Here’s What Happened
Five nursing programs ran full case studies with PERRLA, from a required rollout to one with no requirements at all. Here's what changed for faculty, students, and grades.
Let’s be clear up front: APA style is incredibly important to academic writing!
But teaching students how to use APA formatting – every spacing rule, citation detail, and reference quirk – in class? That’s not the best use of your time. Or theirs.
There’s a better way to think about it.
Professors Should Be Teaching Why APA Matters
In a world where AI can write a term paper and misinformation spreads fast, we believe teaching students to back up their claims with credible sources is more important than ever. That’s what APA is really about:
- Verifying ideas with evidence
- Citing valid, peer-reviewed sources
- Giving credit where it’s due
- Participating in an academic conversation
This kind of rigor isn’t just a formatting requirement – it’s a foundational skill for critical thinking, ethical research, and professional communication.
Professors should absolutely be teaching why APA matters.
They just don’t need to be the ones teaching students how to manually indent their references.
Why the “How-To” Shouldn’t Take Over Class Time
Let’s face it – teaching APA mechanics often turns into a class on:
- How to alphabetize authors with the same last name
- When to italicize a journal title vs. article title
- What a hanging indent actually means
Meanwhile, the deeper goals of writing – argument, structure, clarity, insight – get squeezed out.
Let the Tools Do the Tedious Work
PERRLA takes care of the technical APA rules:
- In-text citations
- References pages
- Proper spacing, punctuation, font, margins, and styling
- Building each section of the document
When the formatting is handled, your students are free to focus on the why – the ideas, the evidence, and the reasoning that makes academic writing so powerful.
Think of PERRLA as a teaching assistant that handles the mechanics so you can guide the meaning.
Real Impact from Partnering with Schools
We’ve worked with schools where professors shifted the how-to of APA formatting into PERRLA. What changed?
- Students understood why citations matter
- Professors spent more time coaching writing
- Papers had fewer formatting mistakes (and fewer formatting-based grade disputes)
- Everyone could focus more on learning, not just lining things up
TL;DR – Teach the Why, Skip the How
Professors shouldn’t be spending class time teaching the ins and outs of APA formatting. Instead, focus on why we cite sources, what makes evidence credible, and how students can build strong, ethical arguments. PERRLA will take care of the tedious parts – so you can focus on teaching what really matters.
