Prepared by Professor Lubna Abushaikha School of Nursing The University of Jordan

APA format/style APA is the American Psychological Association format and instructions for writing manuscripts for scientific publications It started with a report in 1929 then it was developed through the years with consecutive editions

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed., 2010) and the APA Style web site (

General APA Guidelines Your paper should be typed Margins: One inch on all sides (top, bottom, left, right) Font Size and Type: 12-pt. Times New Roman font Line Spacing: Double-space throughout the paper Spacing after Punctuation: – Space once after commas, colons, and semicolons within sentences. – Insert two spaces after punctuation marks that end sentences. Alignment: Flush left (creating uneven right margin)

Title Page Paragraph Indentation: 5-7 spaces Pagination: The page number appears one inch from the right edge of the paper on the first line of every page. Running Head: The running head is a short title that appears at the top of the pages of a paper or published article. – Typed flush left at the top of all pages. – Should not exceed 50 characters, including punctuation and spacing. – the running head and page number can be inserted into a header, which then automatically appears on all pages.

Title page Pagination: The Title Page is page 1. Running Head: The running head is typed flush left (all uppercase)following Running head: Key Elements: – Paper title – Author(s): Uppercase and lowercase letters, centered on the line following the title. – Institutional affiliation(s); Uppercase and lowercase letters, centered following the author(s). Paper Title: Uppercase and lowercase letters, centered on the page. No more than 12 words.

Order of Pages: – Title Page – Abstract – Body – References – Footnotes – Tables – Figures – Appendixes

References Your reference list should appear at the end of your paper. Your references should begin on a new page separate from the text of the essay; All text should be double-spaced just like the rest of your essay.

Types of referencing 1. In-text Examples: One author: Smith (2014) or (Smith, 2014) Two authors: Ali and Saleh (2014) or (Ali & Saleh, 2014) Multiple authors: Kahneman, Knetsch, and Thaler (1991) or ( Kahneman, Knetsch, &Thaler, 1991) 2. Reference list: written at the end of the paper

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number (issue number), pages.

Article in Journal Paginated by Volume Harlow, H. F. (1983). Fundamentals for preparing psychology journal articles. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 55,

Article in Journal Paginated by Issue Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15 (30), 5-13.

Article in a Magazine Henry, W. A., III. (1990, April 9). Making the grade in today's schools. Time, 135, Article in a Newspaper Schultz, S. (2005, December 28). Calls made to strengthen state energy policies. The Country Today, pp. 1A, 2A.

Exercise: How to write an article reference Walker, L.O., Murphey, C.L., & Nichols, F. (2015).The broken thread of health promotion and disease prevention for women during the postpartum period. The Journal of Perinatal Education, 24 (2),

Basic Format for Books Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher. Examples: Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Helfer, M. E., Keme, R. S., & Drugman, R. D. (1997). The battered child (5th ed.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press

Edited Book, No Author Duncan, G. J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (Eds.). (1997). Consequences of growing up poor. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation. Edited Book with an Author or Authors Plath, S. (2000). The unabridged journals K.V. Kukil, (Ed.). New York, NY: Anchor.

Exercise: citing a book Dorothy E. Zemach and Lisa A. Rumesik authored a book in 2005 entitled Academic writing: From paragraph to essay which was published by Macmillan in New York.

Exercise: How to write a book reference Zemach, D.E., & Rumisek, L.A. (2005).Academic writing: From paragraph to essay. New York: Macmillan.