1. APA

2. APA 6th edition book
Do not use any other book

3. What is APA?
Format devised by the American Psychological Association used to write professional papers
A specific set of rules for papers and manuscripts
Common form/style for easier reading

4. Nursing students !!!! Who uses APA?
Anyone submitting a paper in psychology, education, or the social sciences
Authors submitting manuscripts in the sciences
Nursing students !!!!

5. Why use APA? Common, uniform, accepted style
Intent is clear communication
Easy to review and evaluate the literature
Clearly cited authors

6. APA Format Includes: Every paper will have: - A Title page
- An Abstract (not always required by instructor)
- The Body of the paper (with citations)
- The References page

7. Title Page Contains: A running head A page number Title Author name
School Affiliation
Is the first page of the paper
(If this page is folded in half all this information will be on the top half just above an imaginary fold.)

8. Title The Title is: Concise
Explanatory; the reader knows what to expect
Should stand alone
Informs the reader what the paper is about
Recommended maximum length is 12 words (some instructors prefer 1-3 words)

9. Running Head Abbreviated title (1-2 words)
Only printed at top of title page
Identifies article for reader
Maximum of 50 characters (including letters, punctuation, spaces)
Located flush left and is written in uppercase letters
Only the title page contains the words “Running head”; all subsequent pages will have only the abbreviated title
Example:
Running head: HEART FAILURE

10. Abstract Brief summary of paper Main idea and major points
Titled “Abstract”
Should be < 120 words
Block form, no indentions
Double spaced
Is 2nd page of paper

11. Body of Paper This is the actual paper you have written:
Contains the information you want to tell your reader
Each page has a header and page number
Headings are used throughout the paper
Citations are used to credit sources
Quotes can be used
APA 6th edition: 2 spaces after each punctuation in BODY of paper

12. Page Numbers Page #1 is the title page Page #2 is the abstract
Page #3 starts the body of the paper
Number each page including the last page which is the reference page

13. Headings Located within the body of the paper
Indicate what the next section is about
Papers/manuscripts use from 1 – 5 levels of headings
Most ADN and BSN students use two levels of headings
See pages 62 and 63 of the APA book

14. Centered, Boldface. Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
5 levels of Headings
Centered, Boldface. Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
(Level 1 heading)
Flush left, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
(Level 2 heading)
Indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph heading with a period. (Level 3 heading)
Indented, boldface, italicized, paragraph heading ending with a period. (Level 4 heading)
Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with
period. (Level 5 heading)
(APA, 2010, p. 62)

15. Citations Identifies source of information cited in body of paper
Must appear on reference page and be identical in spelling and year
If you fail to cite a source then you are committing plagiarism
See pages 174 – 179 in your APA book for ways to cite different sources.

16. Quotes Author must receive credit when paraphrased or quoted
Quotes of < 40 words: include in text and use quotation marks (“…..”)
Quotes > 40 words: freestanding block, double spaced, no quotation marks, start on a new line, indent block (all lines) 5 spaces from left margin, if the quote is more than one paragraph, indent subsequent paragraphs from the new margin

17. Quotes continued… Place period or comma before the quotation mark
Other punctuation marks (colon, semicolon) belong outside the quotation marks unless it is part of the material that is quoted
Need copyright permission for use of more than 500 words

18. References Must have a reference for each citation in paper
References are NOT a bibliography
The reference section supports the research and content in the paper
Accurate and complete
Uses a hanging indent style
See page 198 – 214 of your APA book to see how to reference specific sources

19. Examples of Book Reference
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Harkreader, H., Hogan, M., & Thobaben, M. (2007). Fundamental of nursing: Caring and clinical judgment (3rd ed.). St. Louis, MO: Saunders.

20. Example of a Periodical Reference
Schumacher, K. L., & Meleis, A. I. (1994). Transitions: A central concept in nursing. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 26(2),

21. Example of a Web Source Reference
Joint Commission (n.d.). Facts about the Joint Commission. Retrieved December 16, 2006, from

22. Other Reference Information
More than one author, electronic sources, magazines, newsletters, newspaper, abstracts, encyclopedia, dictionary, brochure, government report, unpublished works, television, music, etc.
See APA Manual for complete guidelines (Chapter 7, page 193 – 224)

23. Where Can I Get Help?
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition.

24. Making It Easier
FREE:
Use the template on Microsoft or your word program
AT A COST:
There are various templates out there that you can research that will charge you a fee to use their product.
PERRLA.com
Pay one time fee for use of the product
Keeps a database of your references for you to retrieve later
Assists you to create citations and references
Developed by nurses for nurses
Updated frequently
PERRLA asks questions and inserts the information exactly where it should be on your paper.
Format only ~ you must still know and follow rules for everything else !

25. FAQ
In 6th edition APA, you do not need to write in the 3rd person. You may write in the first person. Be sure to ask your individual instructors which they prefer.
In 6th edition APA, there are 2 spaces after every punctuation in the body of the paper. (One space after each in the reference section.)

26. Reference
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

27. The End