Idiots Guide to APA
Don’t make APA too complicated. It’s about looking at a sample and copying it.
Here are samples of the major research items you may need to cite.
PERIODICALS: Magazines, newspapers, journals
Notice the following:
 They are double-spaced
 The second line is indented
 The title of the article is not in all capitals
 The title of the journal or magazine is in italics and uses capitals
 After the title of the journal is the issue and/or volume number.
 The volume number is listed before the issue number: 11(1)
 The volume number is in italics
 The last item is the page numbers followed by a period
 They are alphabetized
 For information on APA
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html
 http://www3.uark.edu/qwct/resources/handouts/14%20Writing%20in%20APA%2
0Style.pdf
Samples on this page came from the OWL Purdue Website
Example:
Berndt, T. J. (2002). Friendship quality and social development. Current Directions in
Psychological Science, 11(1), 7-10.
Berndt, T. J., & Keefe, K. (1995). Friends' influence on adolescents' adjustment to school. Child
Development, 66, 1312-1329.
Meade- APA Handout 1
BOOKS
Notice the following:
 They are double-spaced
 The second line is indented
 The title of the book is not in all capitals
 The title of the book is in italics
 The city is listed before the publisher
 The authors first names are not used but rather their initials
 They are alphabetized
 There are many periods, notice their placement
 For information on APA
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html
Samples came from the OWL Purdue Website
Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal
publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed.).(1993). Springfield, MA: MerriamWebster.
Meade- APA Handout 2
INTERNET
Here are some samples of periodicals in APA format
Notice the following:
 They are double-spaced
 The second line is indented
 The authors first names are not used but rather their initials
 The date the information was retrieved is included
 The web address is included
 They are alphabetized
 There are many periods, notice their placement
 No period at the end because it might cause problems with the web address
 For information on APA go to
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html
 http://www3.uark.edu/qwct/resources/handouts/13%20Reference%20%20APA.pdf
Samples came from the OWL Purdue Website
The Foundation for a Better World. (2000). Pollution and banana cream pie. In Great
chefs cook with chlorofluorocarbons and carbon monoxide (Chap. 3). Retrieved July
13, 2001, from http://www.bamm.com/cream/pollution/bananas.htm
Smith, G. (2002). Life in the city. Retrieved May 14, 2006 from
http://www.lifeinthecity.com
Meade- APA Handout 3
Putting it all together: REFERENCE PAGE
1. Take all the sources you used and put them in proper APA
2. Alphabetize your references
2. Center the word “References” across the top of the page. Do not bold or
underline
3. Entire page should be double-spaced with no additional spaces between
references.
4. On the top right-hand of the page put a short title and a page number
Meade- APA Handout 4