Basic APA writing
Erin Morgan, RN BSN
Katrina Aberdeen, RN BSN
Please familiarize yourself with the pause buttons
on the media player for additional viewing time.
Purpose
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The Purpose of the video is to introduce the basic guidelines of APA writing
style.
Note: This video in no way covers all the rules of the APA manual but provides
a foundation of the basic principles.
Parts of the Manuscript
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Title Page
Abstract
Body
References
Parts of the Title Page
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Title Page
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The Title Page is page 1.
Key Elements: Paper title, author(s), author affiliation(s), and running head.
Paper Title: Uppercase and lowercase letters, centered on the page.
Author(s): Uppercase and lowercase letters, centered on the line following the title.
Institutional affiliation: Uppercase and lowercase letters, centered on the line following the
author(s).
Running head: The running head is typed flush left (all uppercase) following the words "Running head:"
on the line below the manuscript page header. It should not exceed 50 characters, including punctuation
and spacing. The running head is a short title that appears at the top of pages of published articles.
Page header: Located flush right top line in uppercase and lowercase letters. Includes two to three
words of the title and page number.
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From APA style essentials by Vanguard at http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/index.aspx?doc_id=796#title
Abstract
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Abstract: The abstract is a one-paragraph, self-contained summary of the most important
elements of the paper.
Pagination: The abstract begins on a new page (page 2).
Heading: Abstract (centered on the first line below the manuscript page header)
Format: The abstract (in block format) begins on the line following the Abstract heading. The
abstract should not exceed 120 words. All numbers in the abstract (except those beginning a
sentence) should be typed as digits rather than words.
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From APA style essentials by Vanguard at http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/index.aspx?doc_id=796#title
Body
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Pagination: The body of the paper begins on a new page (page 3 or page 2 with no abstract).
Subsections of the body of the paper do not begin on new pages.
Title: The title of the paper (in uppercase and lowercase letters) is centered on the first line
below the manuscript page header.
Introduction: The introduction (which is not labeled) begins on the line following the paper
title.
Headers
Organizing your paper
Purpose of Headers
 Helps to organize the paper
 Acts as an outline for the paper
Tips about Headers
-Topics of equal importance have equal headings.
-Must have more than one subsection under each heading.
-Introductions do not require headings
The levels of headings
CENTERED UPPERCASE HEADING (Level 5)
Centered Uppercase and Lowercase Heading (Level 1)
Centered, Italicized, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading (Level 2)
Flush Left, Italicized, Uppercase, and Lowercase Heading (Level 3)
Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period. (Level 4)
Headings: one level
 Use level 1 only
Method (Level 1)
Headings: Two levels
 Use level 1 & 3
Method (Level 1)
Procedure (Level 3)
Headings: Three levels
 Use levels 1, 3, & 4
Method (Level 1)
Apparatus and Procedure (Level 3)
Pretraining period (Level 4)
Headers: Four levels
 Use levels 1, 2, 3, & 4
Experiment 2 (Level 1)
Method (Level 2)
Stimulus Materials (Level 3)
Auditory stimuli (Level 4)
Headers: Five levels
 Insert a fifth level above the previous four levels.
PATIENT STIMULATION (Level 5)
Experiment 2 (Level 1)
Method (level 2)
Stimulus Materials (Level 3)
Auditory stimuli (Level 4)
Citations
Documenting your data
Citations within the text
 Use author surname and year to identify sources within the text. Do
not include suffixes like Jr.
 Citations make it easy to identify sources in the reference list.
One work with one author
 Include surname and year in parenthesis at the end of the sentence.
Ex. ..examining patient responses (Morgan, 2005).
 If name appears in the text then include the year in parenthesis after.
Ex. Morgan (2005) examined patient responses…
 If both name and year appear in the text no parenthesis are needed.
Ex. In 2005 Morgan examined patient responses…
 Within a paragraph do not include year in subsequent citations.
One work two authors
 Always cite both names with each reference.
ex. ..these responses (Smith & Brown, 2002).
One work multiple authors
 Cite all authors the first time referenced in text.
Ex. (Smith, Brown, Young, & Kim, 2001).
 Condense as shown for subsequent first citations per paragraph for the rest of the paper.
Ex. (Smith et. al., 2001).
 Remove year from subsequent citations within same paragraph.
Ex. (Smith et. al.)
 Exception: If two references shorten to the same name in the same year, include as many
names necessary to differentiate between the two references.
Ex. (Smith, Brown, & Young, et. al., 2001)
(Smith, Brown, & Kim et. al., 2001)
Six or more authors
 Cite the surname of the first author only followed by et. al. from the beginning and throughout
the text.
Ex. Smith et. al. (2000)
 If two references shorten to the same name in the same year, include as many names
necessary to differentiate between the two references.
Ex. Smith, Jones, & Young, et. al. (1999)
Smith, Jones, & Brown, et. al. (1999)
Special citation situations
 Authors with same surname:
Include the authors initials with all citations even if the year differs.
ex. R.D. Smith (1999) and S.D. Smith (1998) found..
 Two or more works within same parenthesis:
List two or more authors alphabetically with semicolons separating.
ex. (Brown, 2005; Jones, 2001; Smith, 1999)
 These are just two commonly used special situations. Consult the APA manual for guidance
with other special citation situations.
Tables
Basic Concepts
Purpose of tables
 Efficiently present large amounts of data in a small space.
 Tables orderly display numerical data which aids in comparison.
Table tips
 Be selective in choosing tables. Too many take up space and
confuse the reader.
 Tables should be understood on their own.
 Refer to the table in the text and concisely tell the reader what to
look for.
ex. as shown in Table 2, the responses
were….
Table format
 Tables should be labeled with arabic numbers in the order they
appear in the text.
 Each table should have a brief, clear title.
 Word tables should be concise, double spaced, and not repetitive
of information found in the text.
References
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References: All sources included in the References section must be cited in
the body of the paper (and all sources cited in the paper must be included in
the References section).
Pagination: The References section begins on a new page.
Heading: References (centered on the first line below the manuscript page
header)
Format: Reference the APA manual format for individual types of resources.
The Nursing Lab computers have
the APA-style helper.
The APA helper
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Formats
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Title page
References
Page headers
Citations from references
Additional website resources
• http://www.apastyle.org/
• http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/index.asp
x?doc_id=796#title