APA STYLE AND FORMAT
A How-To Guide
General Format
Your essay should:
 be typed, double-spaced, with two spaces after punctuation
between sentences
 on standard-sized paper (8.5”x11”)
 with 1” margins on all sides
 in 10-12 pt. Times New Roman or a similar font
 include a page header (title) in the upper lefthand of every page and a page number in the
upper right-hand side of every page
General Format (cont’d)
Your essay should
include four major
sections:
References
Main Body
Abstract
Title page
Note: Some Professors don’t
require the abstract.
Title Page
Page header:
(use Insert Page Header)
title flush left + page number
flush right.
Title:
(in the upper half of the page, centered)
name (no title or degree) +
affiliation (university, etc.)
What should my title look like?
APA style titles
 State the main idea concisely
 Identify essential variables or theoretical issues of
import
 School
Counselors’ Role in Dating Violence Intervention
 Evidence-based Counseling Interventions with Children
of Divorce: Implications for Elementary School
Counselors
Bottom line: Be accurate; Be concise
(and you can shorten it for the “running head”)
Abstract Page
Page header: do NOT
include “Running head:”
Abstract (centered, at the top
of the page)
Write a brief (between 150 and 250
words) summary of your paper in an
accurate, concise, and specific manner.
Should contain: at research topic, research
questions, participants, methods, results,
data analysis, and conclusions. May also
include possible implications of your
research and future work you see
connected with your findings. May also
include keywords.
Main Body (Text)
Be sure the first text page is page # 3 (or 2, if no abstract)
 Type the title of the paper centered, at the top of
the page
 Type the text double-spaced with all sections
following each other without a break
 Identify the sources you use in the paper in
parenthetical in-text citations
 Format tables and figures
What goes in the main body?

Introduction


Review of the Literature


Analytical compilation of relevant research
Implications


Topic and purpose
Answer “Who cares?” and “So what?”
Conclusion

The big “take-away” for the reader
References Page
 Center the title–
References—at the top
of the page
 Double-space
reference entries
Do NOT include
“Running head:” in
the header after
the title page!
 Flush left the first line
of the entry and indent
subsequent lines (“hanging indent”)
 Order entries
alphabetically by the
author’s surnames
References: Basics
 Invert
authors’ names (last name first followed
by initials).
Alphabetize reference list entries by the last
name of the first author of each work.
Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of
an article title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or
a dash in the title, and proper nouns. Do not
capitalize the first letter of the second word in a
hyphenated compound word.
References: Basics (cont’d)
 Capitalize
all major words in journal titles.
 Italicize titles of longer works such as books and
journals.
 Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around
the titles of shorter works such as journal
articles or essays in edited collections.
List of References



Check and follow all rules regarding multiple
authors
Check and follow rules of capitalization and
notation of titles
Check and follow rules in general!
References Basics:
Books and Book Chapters
Helfer, M. E., Kempe, R. S., & Krugman, R.
D. (1997). The battered child (5th ed.).
Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
O'Neil, J. M., & Egan, J. (1992). Men's and
women's gender role journeys: A
metaphor for healing, transition, and
transformation. In B. R. Wainrib (Ed.),
Gender issues across the life cycle (pp.
107-123). New York, NY: Springer.
References: Periodicals (print & “e”)
Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The
New Criterion, 15(30), 5-13.
Bower, H. (2001). The gender identity disorder
in the DSM-IV classification: A critical
evaluation. Australian and New Zealand
Journal of Psychiatry, 35, 1-8.
doi:10.1046/j.1440-1614 .2001.00859.x
What is a DOI???
Digital Object Identifier:
 Provides
universal identifying information for a piece of
writing
 Must
be included in every article reference
Bower, H. (2001). The gender identity
disorder in the DSM-IV classification: A
critical evaluation. Australian and New
Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 35, 1-8.
doi:10.1046/j.1440-1614 .2001.00859.x
Digital Object Identifier: Location
Digital Object Identifier: Location
What if I don’t have a DOI?

Use the homepage web link
Meyer, W., III, Bockting, W. O., Cohen-Kettenis, P., Coleman, E.,
DiCeglie, D., Devor, H.,..Wheeler, C. C. (2001). The Harry
Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association's
standards of care for gender identity disorders. International
Journal of Transgenderism, 5(1). Retrieved from
http://wwwsymposium.com/ijt/soc_01/index.htm
Integrating Sources:
Paraphrasing v. Quoting



Quoting=precise wording
Paraphrasing=restating: intentionally NOT precise
wording OR sentence structure
APA suggests more paraphrasing than quoting
Integrating Sources: Logic

Using Signal Phrases
 Marks
boundaries
 Maintains fluency and authority
Most teachers gain experience on the job and develop
rigid habits and theories after as few as four years.
“Many teachers don’t last that long” (Kidder, 1989, p. 51).
Kidder (1989) asserted that most teachers gain experience
on the job and develop rigid habits and theories after as
few as four years, but he cautions that “many teachers
don’t last that long” (p. 51).
Integrating Sources: Logic

Contextualizing
 Introduces
material smoothly
 Provides opportunities to analyze
The solutions proposed by a number of advocacy groups underscore this
interest in political and cultural change. A report by the Henry J. Kaiser
Family Foundation (2004) outlined trends that may have contributed to
the childhood obesity crisis, including food advertising for children as
well as “a reduction in physical education classes…, an increase in the
availability of sodas and snacks in public schools…, and the increasing
number of highly processed high-calorie and high-fat grocery products”
(p. 1). Addressing each of these areas requires more than a doctor
armed with a prescription pad; it requires a broad mobilization not just
of doctors and concerned parents but of educators, food industry
executives, advertisers, and media representatives.
Integrating Sources: Fluency

…Ellipses…

[Brackets]

P,u.n:c;t,u.a:t;i.o,n!
Ellipses


Take the place of omitted words
What remains MUST be grammatically complete!
Roman (2003) reported that “social factors are nearly as
significant as individual metabolism in the formation
of…dietary habits of adolescents” (p. 345).
Brackets


Help explain confusing references
Help create proper grammar in context
Jan Harold Brunvand (2009), in an essay on
urban legends, states: "some individuals [who
retell urban legends] make a point of learning
every rumor or tale" (p. 78).
Jan Harold Brunvand claims some re-tellers
become obsessed, “mak[ing] a point of learning
every rumor or tale” (p. 78).
Punctuation
Maintain it within the quotation, OR use brackets or ellipses
to modify
 Drop it at the end of the quoted portion, and continue
punctuating YOUR sentence after the parenthetical citation.
Robbins et al. (2003) suggested that the
“therapists in dropout cases may have
inadvertently validated parental negativity
about the adolescent without adequately
responding to the adolescent’s needs or
concerns” (p.541), contributing to an overall
climate of negativity.
Exceptions: ? and ! Ex: “…contributing factors?” (p.9), a valid
question in light of…

In-Text Citations


Whether you paraphrase or quote, you MUST cite!
Citations are uniform in either case (paraphrasing
or quoting), but differ by context
Two types of citations

Contextual – generally, author’s surname and year within the
body of the sentence
According to Mitchell and Jansen (2004), bullying
leads to detrimental attitudes and experiences (p.
34).

Parenthetical – author’s surname and year appear in
parentheses, usually at end of sentence
…negative effects of bullying” (Mitchell & Jansen,
2004, p. 34).
…bullying leads to detrimental attitudes and
experiences (Mitchell & Janson, 2004, p. 34).
Exception: Long quotations

More than 40 words

Indented five spaces on the left throughout

NO quotation marks!

Citation as follows…
Sample Long Quotation
The solutions proposed by a number of advocacy groups
underscore this interest in political and cultural change. A
report by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (2004) outlined
trends that may have contributed to the childhood obesity crisis,
including food advertising for children as well as
a reduction in physical education classes and after-school
athletic programs, an increase in the availability of sodas
and snacks in public schools, the growth in the number
of fast-food outlets . . . , and the increasing number
of highly processed high-calorie and high-fat grocery
products. (p. 1)
Addressing each of these areas requires more than a doctor armed
with a prescription pad; it requires a broad mobilization not just
of doctors and concerned parents but of educators, food industry
executives, advertisers, and media representatives.
Notice the
difference in
parenthetical
placement!
APA Writing Style

Present your ideas in an orderly fashion.
 Use
transitions (then, next, while, since)
 Addition
links (in addition, moreover, furthermore,
similarly)
 Contrast
links (but, conversely, however, although)
 Cause-effect
links (therefore, consequently, as a result)
APA Writing Style
 Use
consistent verb tenses
 Use
the past tense to describe results
 Use the present tense to discuss results and present
conclusions
 Say
only what needs to be said
 Eliminate
redundancy, wordiness, jargon, overuse of the
passive voice, clumsy prose
APA Writing Style

Aim for precision and clarity
 Choose your words carefully. Make certain each
word choice means exactly what you intend it to
mean.
 Eliminate colloquial expressions such as “quite a
large part,” “practically all,” and “very few.”
 Clarify pronouns or avoid using them if possible.
 Avoid the first person, including the ambiguous
“we.”
APA Writing Style

Word Choice
 Avoid
labels when possible (not “the mentally ill,” but
“people with mental illnesses”)
 Be
wary of the verb “prove”—instead, “studies
indicate” or “evidence suggests”
More on Writing Style
Chapter 3 in the APA Manual(6th ed.):
“Writing Clearly and Concisely”
Well worth the read!
The Little Things…

In your own text, use “and” when there are two or
more authors. Within citations, use “&.”
Sartes and Neinstein (2002) note that
adolescent girls are more likely to experience
symptoms of depression that adolescent boys.
Adolescent girls are more likely to experience
symptoms of depression than adolescent boys
(Sartes & Neinstein, 2002).
The Little Things…

When citing information from multiple sources, list
the sources in alphabetical order and separate with
semi-colons.
Recent studies (Howard, Stein & Frazer, 2004;
Lance & Armstrong, 2004; Shine, 2003) indicate
that at least one tenth of working women have
been harassed within the past year.
The Little Things…

When citing a secondary source, use the following
format:
Women are reluctant to report harassment out of
fear of retaliation (Howard & Glasser as cited in
Jones, 2003).
Note: Only the “Jones” citation will appear on the
references page.
Note: It is considered much stronger in terms of research
technique to find and use the original source!
The Little Things…

Sources without dates
Use the abbreviation “n.d.” for no date.
Only one study suggests that students are motivated
solely by internal values (Smith, n.d.).
Helpful Links!


www.apastyle.org (check out the FAQs)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ (sometimes quicker than
using the manual—also, great writing resources in
general)

http://ww2.sjc.edu/pdf/cae/signalphrases.pdf

http://ww2.sjc.edu/pdf/cae/transitionaldevices.pdf