EDST 3000- APA Format
APA style, or APA format are the terms commonly used to describe the writing style
guidelines which are developed, maintained, and periodically revised and updated by the
American Psychological Association (APA).
Over the years, the APA has developed a standard for writing style that is now widely
used by writers in the social sciences, education, business and psychology. Accordingly,
the APA documentation style is now used throughout the world, in both business and
academia. The APA's writing style is documented in its manual entitled:
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Fifth Edition (2001).
The APA's Publication Manual covers all aspects of the writing and publishing process
including: organizing, writing, formatting, keying, and submitting a manuscript for
publication. It provides detailed guidance on editorial style as well as on the appropriate
standards for publishing research in accordance with ethical principles of scientific
publishing.
There is often considerable confusion when teachers, students, editors and researchers
use the terms "APA style" or APA format". To clear up that confusion, the following
paragraph might help.
"When teachers ask you to write in "APA style," they do not mean writing style. They are
referring to the editorial style that many of the social and behavioral sciences have
adopted to present written material in the field. Editorial style consists of rules or
guidelines that a publisher observes to ensure clear and consistent presentation of written
material. Editorial style concerns uniform use of such elements as:
 punctuation and abbreviations
 construction of tables
 selection of headings
 citation of references
 presentation of statistics
 as well as many other elements that are a part of every manuscript
In-text citation of sources - APA
In general, APA in-text documentation format uses the author-date style of citation, with
the author's name, followed by the year of publication, cited within the body text of an
article. The complete details on the source document are included in the "References" list
at the end of the paper.
Normally, an in-text citation will be introduced with a "signal phrase" that includes the
author’s last name, followed by the year of publication in parentheses. When direct
quotes are used, the page number in the source document, preceded by a "p.", should
appear in parentheses immediately after the quotation. Example: As Smith (1998)
observed, "There was only one way to go after that" (p. 97).
In cases when the author's name is not in the signal phrase, enclose the author's last name,
the year, and the page number, in parentheses at the end of the quotation. Example:
(Smith, 1998, p. 263).
If the work cited has two authors, name both authors in the signal phrase and in
parentheses at the end of the quotation. For the latter, separate their names with the "&"
symbol. Example: (Hartwick & Rogers, 1999).
If there are fewer than six authors, cite all of them the first time and subsequently use
the first author's name followed by "et al." and the year. Example: The misbehaviors of
teachers have been investigated (Kearney, Plax, Hays, & Ivey, 1991). Misbehaviors were
found to reduce to three factors: incompetence, offensiveness, and indolence (Kearney et
al., 1991).
If a work has six or more authors, cite only the first author's last name followed by "et
al." and the year. Example: Communication apprehension has many correlates
(McCroskey et al., 1981).
If the author is an organization with a long cumbersome name, use the entire name in the
body text the first time it is used, with the acronym for the organization enclosed in
parentheses, followed by the year. Example: (American Society of Strategic Planners
[ASSP], 1997). For later citations of the same work, use the acronym followed by the
year. Example: (ASSP, 1997).
Personal Communications, Oral Interviews, Memos, Letters, Conversations, e-mail
communication, etc. are unpublished and should not be listed with references, because
the text is not available for others to examine. They are referenced in the paper only.
Include the name, type of communication, and date. Example: R. Pugliese (personal
communication, March 23, 1990) also verified that….
Referencing - APA
A list of all published sources (not personal communications) cited in the paper must be
included at the end of the paper. This list is entitled "References" and must begin on a
separate page after the last page of text. This heading should be centered on the page.
The reference list will be arranged in alphabetical order, by author's last name. If there is
more than one work by the same author, place the entries in order of publication date,
from oldest to most recent. (i.e. list 1991 references before 1995 references for the same
author).
The first line of each entry in the list of references is typed flush to the left margin.
Subsequent lines for the same entry are indented one-half inch. All lines are doublespaced with no extra spaces between entries.
All author's names in the references list are to use the inverted form; with last name first.
Initials should be used for the author's first name. For two or more authors, separate the
names by commas and use "&" instead of "and" for the last name mentioned.
For the references list, use the last name of the author; do not use "et al" there.
When an author appears as both a sole author, and as the first author of a group, list the
single author entry first.
If no author name is available for a publication, alphabetize the entry by the title of the
work, and use a shortened version of the title in parenthetical "in-text" citations in the
body of the text. For the title of the work being cited, use underlining or italics, not both.
They are equivalent in this case. Whichever convention is chosen must be used
throughout the essay for all titles cited.
When referencing BOOKS, capitalize the first word and all proper nouns contained in the
title and sub-title. Do not use all capitals.When citing ARTICLES capitalize the first
word and all proper nouns in the title. Do not put titles of articles in quotations.
When referencing PERIODICALS such as magazine articles or articles in scholarly
journals, list the volume number in arabic numerals, and underline it. Do not use "vol."
before the number, and do not use "p." or "pp." for the page numbers. (These can be used
when referencing newspaper articles or works in anthologies).
Referencing (APA), 5th edition- Follow these color codes:
Author(s) Date
Volume
Title of Book
Pages Place of Publication
Title of Article
Title of Periodical
Publisher
Other Information
Journal or Magazine Article
Wilcox, R. V. (1991). Shifting roles and synthetic women in Star trek:
The next generation. Studies in Popular Culture, 13(2), 53-65.
Newspaper Article
Di Rado, A. (1995, March 15). Trekking through college: Classes
explore modern society using the world of Star trek. Los Angeles
Times, p. A3.
Article from an Internet Database
Mershon, D. H. (1998, November-December). Star trek on the brain: Alien minds,
human minds. American Scientist, 86, 585. Retrieved July 29, 1999, from
Expanded Academic ASAP database.
Website
Lynch, T. (1996). DS9 trials and tribble-ations review. Retrieved October 8, 1997, from
Psi Phi: Bradley's Science Fiction Club:
http://www.bradley.edu/campusorg/psiphi/DS9/ep/503r.html
Book
Okuda, M., & Okuda, D. (1993). Star trek chronology: The history of the future. New
York: Pocket Books.
Book Article or Chapter
James, N. E. (1988). Two sides of paradise: The Eden myth according to Kirk and Spock.
In D. Palumbo (Ed.), Spectrum of the fantastic (pp. 219-223). Westport, CT:
Greenwood.
Encyclopedia Article
Sturgeon, T. (1995). Science fiction. In The encyclopedia Americana (Vol. 24, pp. 390
392). Danbury, CT: Grolier.
ERIC Document
Fuss-Reineck, M. (1993). Sibling communication in Star trek: The next generation:
Conflicts between brothers. Miami, FL: Annual Meeting of the Speech
Communication Association. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED
364932)