Quick Guide to APA Formatting Developed by Jim Harger, M.S. and Elizabeth Harger, M.A. Updated: 8/20/2013

What is APA? The American Psychological Association (APA) style is the most commonly used format for documents in the social sciences. APA primarily regulates:  General document format specifications  Citation and Reference listing format standards to avoid plagiarism issues  Academic Stylistic Standards Spelling and capitalization rules Proper punctuation. Formal grammar usage Language (word choice)

Appendices Figures Tables ReferencesReferences Main Body Abstract Cover page Typically, student papers consist of three sections separated by a page break:  Cover page  Main body (content)  Reference page. Additional pages (Ex. abstract, etc.) may be required by the Instructor, or determined by the needs of the project. General Document Format Standards APA Paper Sections

 One inch margins (aka “Normal”)  Page headers: different on first page  Font: 12 pt. Times New Roman  Plain text only: No graphic artwork/creative effects to include extra lines, borders, emoticons, WordArt, etc. General Document Format Standards

 Left justified only  Lines: double-spaced throughout document.  Paragraphs First line indented one-half inch. No extra spaces between paragraphs.  Two spaces after each sentence. General Document Format Standards

 Page header detail Flush left: Short or Full document title in ALL CAPS * preceded by “Running head:” on cover page only) Flush right: Page number Running Head: SHORT OR FULL TITLE OF PAPER 1 Example: Cover page Example: Following page (and so on) SHORT OR FULL TITLE OF PAPER 2 General Document Format Standards

 Located in the upper half of page. Section 2.01, p. 23./Figure 2.1, p. 41. * Follow instructor’s guidelines if altered.  Three lines, double-spaced. Line 1: Full Title: (limit to 12 or fewer words) Line 2: Your name: first, middle initial(s), and last name. Line 3: Institutional affiliation  Author’s “note” is not required for student papers to include theses and dissertations. Section 2.01, p. 23 General Document Format Standards Cover Page

LevelAPA Heading Format per Section 3.03, p. 62 1Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase 2Left-aligned, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase 3 Indented, boldface, lowercase with a period. 4 Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase with a period. 5 Indented, italicized, lowercase with a period. Avoid having only one heading or subheading (American Psychological Association, 2010, p. 63). * Short papers typically do not require any headings unless instructor requires it. Do not include “Introduction” nor “Conclusion” as a heading. (American Psychological Association, 2010, p. 63). Content Headings: 5 Levels General Document Format Standards

 Clear: be specific in descriptions and explanations.  Concise: condense information when you can.  Plain: use simple, descriptive adjectives and minimize figurative language (i.e. Idioms).  Avoid jargon, idioms, or other culturally specific metaphors. APA/Academic Stylistic Standards The prime objective is clear communication. Section , p

 Correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and other mechanics. Section , p  Formal grammar  Contractions are not used. Spell out all words.  Active voice preferred. Section 3.18, p. 77. APA/Academic Stylistic Standards Mechanics

 Abbreviations/Acronyms spelled out when first used. Example: American Psychological Association (APA). Section , p  Numbers one through ten spelled out. Section , p Language APA/Academic Stylistic Standards

 Avoid gender/sexist bias. Opt for gender neutrality or inclusion of both instead. Section 3.12, p. 73. For example, do not use “man” or “he” as a generic term if participants are both male and female.  Use current words/terms and follow appropriate capitalization rules for other biases. Section , p (i.e. racial/ethnic identity, disabilities, age, or sexual orientation). Language APA/Academic Stylistic Standards

APA Format In-text citations help readers specifically locate the quote, paraphrase, or summarized material. Every citation should have a corresponding entry listed on the References page of the paper. (American Psychological Association, 2009, p ).  Citations must include author’s name and the date of publication. Example: (Smith, 2011)  For direct quotes and close paraphrases, add a page number. Example: (Smith, 2011, p. 110)  For online sources that do not have page numbers, include the paragraph number. (Section 6.05, p. 171) Citations

With name in signal phrase: Hammond (1998) wrote in his book, Which World? Scenarios for the 21 st Century, “The world’s urban population is growing by more than 1 million every week” (p. 112). Without name in signal phrase: In the book, Which World? Scenarios for the 21 st Century, we are told “The world’s urban population is growing by more than 1 million every week” (Hammond, 1998, p. 112). APA Format Direct Quote Options

Quotes of 40 words or more, must be in a block style. Section 4.08, p. 92. Indent the entire quotation one-half inch (or.5 inches) from the left margin only. Do not use quotation marks. APA style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6 th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (6 th ed., 2nd printing). (Purdue Online Writing Lab, n.d., para 1) APA Format Block Quotes

First passage used: citation includes the version fully spelled out. No need to include version in later passages quoted, unless the version changes. Section 6.18, p “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master” Matthew 10:24 (English Standard Version). According to the sixth edition of the “Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association,” “reference list entries are not required when you cite ancient Greek and Roman works or classical religious works,” (p. 179). Please note however, that some instructors do require it be included on the reference page if used. APA Format Biblical Quotes

Use “and”between authors’ name in the signal phrase, but “&” between their names in citation/parenthesis. According to feminist researchers Raitt and Tate (1997), “It is no longer true to claim that women’s responses to the war have been ignored” (p. 2). Some feminists researchers question that “women’s responses to the war have been ignored” (Raitt & Tate, 1997, p. 2). APA Format Two Authors

First use: include all authors in the signal phrase or in parenthesis. Example: (Merriam, Cafferella, and Baumgartner, 2007) In subsequent uses, include only the first author's last name followed by "et al." Example: (Merriam et al., 2007) APA Format Three to Five Authors

First and all subsequent use: include only the first author’s name followed by “et al.” Smith et al. (2006) maintained that…. (Smith et al., 2006) APA Format Six (+) Authors

Specific document: If you are citing an entire website you may simply give the address within the text of your document. For example, APA Style is an excellent resource and guide to formatting all aspects of your document ( APA Format Websites

APA Format: Reference Listings “The purpose of listing references is to enable readers to retrieve and use the sources,” (Publication Manual, 2010, p. 180).  Only sources used in the document are listed on the reference page. Excludes personal communications (not retrievable). May exclude classical works (i.e. Bible) unless required by instructor.

 Each listing entry contains the following details: Author(s) Year of publication Title All publishing data necessary for unique identification and library search  To format specific types of listings, refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Section 6.22-A7.07, p APA Format: Reference Listings

 Center page title “References” at the top of the page. * Do not bold.  Alphabetize entries by the author’s surnames.  Double spaced.  Hanging indent: first line is flush left with subsequent lines indented one- half inch. APA Format: Reference Listings

References American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American psychological association. (6th ed., 2nd printing). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Apa style. Retrieved from Hammond, A. L. (1998). Which world? Scenarios for the 21 st century. Washington, D.C.: Island Press. Merriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., and Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide (3rd. ed.). San Franscisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.). General format. Retrieved from