APA Style
Your
Instructor
Is
ALWAYS
Right!







8 ½” x 11” paper
Double-space EVERYTHING
10/12 pt. Times New Roman font, left aligned
2 spaces after punctuation
1 inch margins, all around
Indent paragraphs 1” (first line only)
Header (running head) – 50 characters max.
◦ Title-ALL CAPS
◦ Page number-upper right corner
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Page Header (use Insert Page Header)
◦ Running Head: TITLE IN ALL CAPS
◦ Page number flush, upper right

Title
◦ Upper half of page, centered, double-spaced
 Title-12 words max
 No abbreviations
 1 or 2 lines
 Your Name-no titles or degrees
 Concorde Career College

Page Header

Abstract
◦ Do not include “running head”
◦ TITLE IN ALL CAPS
◦ Page number flush upper right
◦
◦
◦
◦
Centered, top of page
No bold, italics, underline, quotation marks
No indent
150-250 word summary of paper (one paragraph)
 Accurate
 Concise
 Specific
◦ Keywords, optional
 Indent
 Keywords:

Title
◦ Top
◦ Centered

Content
◦ Indent 1”
◦ Double-space
◦ No breaks

Citations
◦ Intext
◦ parenthetical

References (no bold, italics, underline)
◦ Top of page
◦ Centered



Double-space
Hanging indent
Alphabetical, by author

Last name, Initial.

Alphabetize by last name of first author


Capitalize only first word of title and subtitle, first word after a
colon or dash in the title and proper nouns
Do not capitalize the second word in a hyphenated compound
word

Capitalize major words in journal titles

Italicize titles of longer works (books, journals)

Do not italicize shorter works (articles, essays)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/05/
And More!



Gale Resources
PubMed Central
Local Libraries (Need card and PIN)
◦
◦
◦
◦

Kansas City Missouri Public Library
Kansas City Kansas Public Library
Mid Continent Public Library
Johnson County Public Library
Google Scholar
Gale PowerSearch
 Limiters
◦ Full Text
◦ Peer Reviewed

Search Type
◦
◦
◦
◦



Keyword
Subject
Publication Title
Entire Document
Limit Results
Format
Advanced Search
◦ AND- limits results
◦ OR- expands results
Citations
http://10.10.99.160/sites/KansasCity-MO/SitePages/Home.aspx

PubMed Central (tutorials)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/advanced/
 Public Libraries (ask librarians for assistance)
 Google Scholar
http://scholar.google.com/

◦ Scholarly articles online
◦ Related works, citations, authors, and publications

LRC
◦ Catalog
◦ Current Periodicals
Let’s Get Organized!

FIRST LEVEL HEADINGS—ALL CAPS
◦ Secondary and beyond—Upper and lower case
◦ Sample outline:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/2008111
3013048_544.pdf

Parallelism
◦ Headings and subheadings should preserve parallel
structure
◦ Example:
I. CHOOSE DESIRED COLLEGE
II. PREPARE APPLICATION

Coordination
◦ Heading levels should indicate same level of
significance of information
◦ Example:
A. Visit and evaluate college campuses
B. Visit and evaluate college websites
1. Look for interesting classes
2. Note important statistics

Subordination
◦ Headings-more general
◦ Subheadings-more specific
◦ Example:
a. Describe an influential person in your life
(1) Favorite high school teacher
(2) Grandparent
b. Describe a challenging life event

Division
◦ Every heading should have 2 or more parts
◦ Example:
A. List relevant coursework
B. List work experience
C. List volunteer experience
1. Tutor at foreign language summer camp
2. Counselor for suicide prevention hotline



Determine purpose of paper
Determine audience
Develop thesis statement
◦ one- or two-sentence condensation of the
argument or analysis that is to follow
 to test your ideas by distilling them into a sentence or
two
 to better organize and develop your argument
 to provide your reader with a “guide” to your argument

Brainstorm

Organize

Order
◦ Ideas to include
◦ Group related ideas
◦ Arrange subsections
 General to specific
 Abstract to concrete

Label
◦ Create main and sub headings
Sample Outline:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/200811130130
48_544.pdf

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2
/10/
http://www.gale.cengage.com/powersearch/
enhanced/