1. Student Guide
to APA 6th edition

2. What is APA Format?
APA Style establishes consistent standards of written communication concerning:
the organization of content & writing style
citing references
and how to prepare a manuscript for publication in certain disciplines

3. Why Do I Need to Use APA?
Aside from simplifying the work of editors by having everyone use the same format for a given publication, using APA Style makes it easier for readers to understand a text by providing a familiar structure they can follow. Abiding by APA's standards as a writer will allow you to:
Provide readers with cues they can use to follow your ideas more efficiently and to locate information of interest to them
Allow readers to focus more on your ideas by not distracting them with unfamiliar formatting
Establish your credibility or ethos in the field by demonstrating an awareness of your audience and their needs as fellow researchers
Taken from

4. Who Uses APA? APA is used to document papers in fields such as:
Business
Health
Technology
In other words, all majors and professions at DU!  This includes you!

5. Similarities & Differences Between APA & MLA
APA and MLA use parenthetical citations in the text to refer readers to sources at the end of the paper.
APA and MLA both use numbered notes to add information that would interrupt the flow of the writing.
APA lists of works cited in the paper are called “References”; MLA lists are “Works Cited.”
Unlike MLA, APA includes the publication date in parenthetical citations, and the date appears after the author’s name in the References.
Unlike MLA, which lists an author’s full name on the Works Cited page, APA uses the author’s last name and only initials for the first and middle names.
APA and MLA capitalize, italicize, and use quotes with titles differently.
Taken from Prentice Hall’s Reference Guide, 8th edition, p. 456

6. Components of an APA Paper
Cover page (also called a title page)
Abstract (approximately half a page)
Body/text (with in-text citations)
References
Optional: Figures and Tables
Appendix

7. General Format of an APA Paper
Double-spaced
12-point Times New Roman font
One-inch margins on all sides
Two spaces after all end-of-sentence punctuation
Left-hand justification margins (no right-hand justification)
Tab key paragraph indentations
Running header flush to the left margin (if required)
Page numbers in header, flush to the right margin

8. Title/Cover Page in APA Format
Each title page should have:
A running head
A page number
Identifying information (title, student name, university name)

9. Title/Cover Page in APA Format (Optional Info.)
NOTE: The first three lines are required; the last three lines are optional. Always follow the request of your instructors.

10. Details of an APA Abstract
Note that this is now page 2 of the paper; students should remove the words “Running head:” from their header, leaving only the all-caps portion.
The word “Abstract” is centered on the page, with no font changes.
The abstract begins without indentation on the second line of text.

11. Details of the Body in an APA Paper
The title of the paper is restated at the top of the page, centered with no font changes.
If the paper uses section headings, there are specific formatting guidelines for them. (refer to A Pocket Style Manual, 6th edition)

12. General Format of an APA Paper: Headings
The first is for a major heading; the others are for subheadings beneath the major heading.
Follow the pattern in the chart:

13. General Format of an APA Paper: In-Text Citations
Avoid plagiarism by correctly citing in APA:
Direct Quotes
Paraphrases
Summaries
Please refer to pages in A Pocket Style Manual, 6th edition.

14. In-text Citation Basics
Direct Quote
Enclose the quote in double quotation marks
Provide the author
Year of publication
Print sources add a “p.” (page number)
Electronic sources add a “para.” (paragraph number)
Include a signal phrase (p in A Pocket Style Manual, 6th edition)
When using quote marks, all periods and commas go inside the quote, ALWAYS, except when using a citation demonstrated below.
Example:
Jones (1998) discovered "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199).

15. In-Text Citation Basics
Paraphrases & Summaries
If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference, but APA guidelines encourage you to also provide the page number (although it is not required.)
Provide the author
Year of publication
Print sources add a “p.” (page number)
Electronic sources add a “para.” (paragraph number)
Include a signal phrase (p in A Pocket Style Manual, 6th edition)
Helps to show beginning and end of source
Example:
Jones (1998) argued that APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (p. 199).

16. The APA Reference Page
The Reference page begins on its own page (not included at the end of the last page of the essay). (Hit CTRL-ENTER to start a new page.)
The word “References” is listed at the top and centered, with no font change.
Listings are put in alphabetical order by author’s last name (if no author is available, use the title). The date will never begin a reference on this page.

17. Reference Page Basics
Different types of sources have different requirements for what needs to be included, but the basics are:
Author(s)
Date of publication
Title
Title of periodical (if necessary) with volume and issue numbers
Page numbers (if part of a periodical)
Website retrieval information (if a web source)
DOIs (if available)

18. Reference Page Basics
Each reference cited in text must appear on the References page
Each entry on the References page must be cited in text
Two exceptions (in-text citations only):
Classical works
Personal Communications

19. Reference Page Basic Examples
Book
Author. (Year). Title. City, State: Publisher.
Example:
Bradshaw, C. (2012). Foreplay and the suburbs: A prequel to Sex and the City. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

20. Simple Website Citation
Reference Page Basic Examples
Simple Website Citation
Author. (Date published if available; n.d.--no date-- if not). Title of article. Title of Website. “Retrieved from” URL.
Example:
Jones, H. (n.d.). Why did it have to be snakes? Raiders of the Lost Ark References. Retrieved from
(Notice, there is no period after a URL when ending the reference)
(A date is only required if there is a belief that the webpage will disappear in the future; otherwise state, “Retrieved from URL”)

21. General Journal Citation
Reference Page Basic Examples
General Journal Citation
Author. (Year). Article title. Title of Journal, volume(issue), page numbers.
Example:
Summers, B. (2002). Stake your claim: Innovations in vampire slaying. Journal of Modern Demonology, 42(3),
*Include the DOI if it is on the article:
doi: /s
It may also starts with

22. Citation Assistance www.apastyle.org http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
A Pocket Style Manual, 6th edition
NoodleTools (DU library resource)
DU’s APA Brief Guide document is available through the library webpage and under “research services” link and “APA help” link.

23. Questions?