Your Guide to
APA Style
WHAT IS APA ?
• When instructors ask you to write in the
APA Style, they are referring to the editorial
style that was adopted to present written
materials in the social and behavioral
sciences. The APA style is a requirement
for student writing assignments in many
leading universities.
Why do you have to learn APA
style?
• Because graduate level writing means
mastering uniform writing style.
• Because APA style is the most common
writing style in the social sciences.
What’s Included in APA Style?
• Basically everything in your paper:
- How your pages are set up
- How you cite sources
- Your references
- Your language
Where can you learn APA style?
Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association (6th edition)
Anderson C.E., Carrell S.T., & Widdifield, J.L. (2007). Citing
sources with APA documentation. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Lipson, C. (2006). Cite right. Chicago, IL: The University of
Chicago Press.
Amato, C.J. (2008). The world’s easiest guide to using the
APA (4th ed.). Corona, CA: Stargazer.
Internet Sources about APA
Citation Style
• You can also use reliable Internet sources to
find answers to your questions about APA
citation style:
http://www.apastyle.org/learn/faqs/index.aspx
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/p04_c09_s2.html
The List of References
• Required if you cite any sources in your
paper
• Every source cited in your paper must
appear on the reference list
• Double spaced!
Single-authored book
Perloff, R. M. (1995). The dynamics of
persuasion. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Dual-authored book
Baran, S. J., & Davis, D. K. (1995). Mass
communication theory: Foundations,
ferment and future. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth.
*Note: when listing authors, use an
ampersand (&) in the reference list, not
“and.”
Single-authored article
Garramone, G. M. (1985). Effects of negative
political advertising: The roles of sponsor
and rebuttal. Journal of Broadcasting &
Electronic Media, 29, 149-159.
*Note: The first letter of each word in the title
of the journal is capitalized.
Two or more authors (article)
Suzuki, S., & Rancer, A. S. (1994).
Argumentativeness and verbal
aggressiveness: Testing for conceptual and
measurement equivalence across cultures.
Communication Monographs, 61, 256-279.
*Note: Can you find the volume number and
page numbers in this citation?
Personal Communication
Personal communications may be private letters,
e-mails, interviews, telephone conversations, and
the like. Personal communications are not
included in the reference list. Cite personal
communications in text only.
T.K Lutes provided us with his
company’s business expenses in 2009
(personal communication, April 18,
2010)
Article in an online journal:
Retrieval Information
• Johnson, T. E. & Lee, G. (2009). The
relationship between shared mental models
and task performance in an online teambased learning environment. Performance
Improvement Quarterly, 21(3), 97-112. doi:
10:1002/piq.20033
* Include DOI, or Digital Object Identifier!
Article in an online journal:
Retrieval Information
Frederickson, B. L. (2000, March 7).
Cultivating positive emotions to optimize
health and well-being. Prevention &
Treatment, 3. Retrieved from
http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume3/
pre0030001a.html
*If DOI is not listed, the URL of where the document was
found is used instead
It’s only the beginning…
Learning how to
do your
reference page
is only the
beginning
IN-TEXT CITATIONS:
When do you need to cite your sources in
your paper?
• When you’re referring to an idea or concept
you drew from something you read.
• When you quote from something you read
or heard.
• When you want to give the reader some
other places to look for additional
information.
APA Style In-Text Citations
• Any works that are mentioned in the
body of your paper must be cited.
• There are two ways of citing the work
of other authors:
1) by paraphrasing, and
2) by quoting directly
In-Text Citations (Format)
• Include the author’s last name (no initials)
in your text. Write the year of publication
in parentheses. Then paraphrase the
statement.
Example:
According to Watkins (2005), the number of
MBA students in the United States will be
growing.
In-Text Citations (Format)
• If a work is referred to indirectly, cite the
last name of the author and the year,
separated by a comma, in parentheses
Example:
• These data are consistent with other
statistics and research concerning this topic
(U.S.Census, 2007; Patterson, 2009; Smith
& Jones, 2008)
What Is Paraphrasing?
Scott (1992) identified…
Several researchers
(Anthony, 1990; Gregory
& Jacobs, 1985; Polk et
al., 1980) reported…
Or at the end of a sentence
paraphrased from another
work (Scott, 1992).
Verbs used in APA style
acknowledged added admitted affirmed
agreed answered argued asked asserted attacked
believed called claimed commented compared
confirmed contended countered counterattacked
declared defined denied disputed echoed
emphasized endorsed estimated found,
AND MANY OTHERS….
Citing Sources With Several
Authors
1 – 5 Authors:
List the last names of all authors the first
time you cite them.
For a second or more time, list last name of
first author, followed by “et al.,” and the
date.
Citing Sources With Several
Authors
6 OR MORE AUTHORS:
If there are 6 or more authors, write the first
author’s last name followed by
‘et al.’ for the first and subsequent citations.
Examples
Scott, Williamson, and
Schaffer (1990)
reported that…
(FIRST TIME)
Scott et al. (1990)
reported that
(EVERY TIME AFTER)
6 or more authors, use
“et al.,” first time and
every time.
Citing while quoting
• You need to put the author last name(s) and
date, like while paraphrasing, but also the
PAGE NUMBERS or PARAGRAPH
NUMBERS (for online sources).
• Example: “the research findings clearly
indicate support for the hypotheses”
(Douglass, 1986, p. 55).
Warning
• Keep quotations to a minimum (less than 3
per paper)
• Don’t forget the quotation marks and page
numbers (or paragraph numbers), or you
will be guilty of plagiarism!
How to set up your paper in APA
• Use 8 ½ by 11” white paper, with margins
of 1” (or 1 ¼”)
• Double space EVERYTHING
• Font should be Times Roman 12 pitch
• Page numbers in upper right hand corners
Title Page
APA style requires a page number at the top
right-hand corner of each page of your
document. The first page of your
manuscript is the title page, which is
numbered page 1. The title page consists of
three parts: the running head, the title, and
the byline.
Running Head
The running head is an abbreviated
title specified by the author that would
be used if the article was published. It
should be typed flush left at the top of
the title page in all capital letters, and
should not exceed 50 characters.
Rules to follow when writing your
references page:
• Start the reference section on a new page.
• The word “References” should be centered
at the top of the page in boldface, but
should not be underlined or capitalized.
• List citations alphabetically by the author’s
last name. If you have more than one
citation for the same author, order them
from oldest to most recent.
Other rules
• Title page should contain the title of your
paper (not a topic, but a title that reflects the
content of the paper), your name, the course
name the paper is for, and the date you
wrote it
If you have references, tables,
and appendices…
They go in this order…
1. Title page
2. Paper
3. References
4. Appendices
5. Notes
6. Tables, Figures, etc.