THE BASICS OF APA STYLE
Sixth Edition
WRITING IN APA STYLE
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APA stands for the American Psychological
Association and this writing style was first
developed to effectively communicate research of
the Behavioral Sciences.
This writing style has been expanded to many
disciplines besides Psychology.
Publication in most scholarly journals require the
use of this style, therefore it is now taught at the
undergraduate level.
WHAT APA WRITING STYLE IS NOT
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APA is Not MLA-MLA writing utilizes quotes
which are referenced by numbers that match the
works cited page.
APA uses quotes sparingly if at all. A good rule
of thumb is to only use quotes on an exact
definition that you could not paraphrase. NOTE:
More than 2 quotes per paper is too many and it
is best if there are none.
APA is NOT an editorial or opinion style of
writing. Sources are paraphrased with little
opinion in the paper.
GUIDELINE TO STRUCTURING A
PAPER
Writing a paper at the college level
WHERE TO BEGIN……
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To begin writing, one must know the objective of the
assignment.
In APA assignments at the undergraduate level, most
assignments are either essays or research reports.
Both the essay and research report require a literature search
for information from reputable sources such as:
Journal articles
Web based journals
Limited use of recognized web sites ( e.g. National Institute of Mental
Health, Bureau of Labor Statistics)
 Limited use of books
 Absolutely no Wikipedia, or other type of encyclopedic reference.
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Information used in the paper is most often in the form of
previous research studies or review articles
Information is summarized and not quoted and one must use
citations.
Information cannot be copied word for word from the
study/article even if it is being cited. This is PLAGIARISM.
EXAMPLE:
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“There is an area of the brain that always
becomes active when a vivid memory is being
retrieved. The area is within the left inferior
prefrontal cortex. The activity of this area,
captured by an fMRI during learning, predicts
whether something that was stored is being
recalled in crystal clear detail.”
Excerpt taken from: Medina, J. (2009). Brain rules.
Seattle, WA: First Pear Press, 34-35.
If you wanted to cite the passage from this book,
one would summarize the passage in your own
words and give credit to the author.
The area of the brain responsible for recall of a vivid
memory is the inferior prefrontal cortex which can be
seen on an fMRI. Activated areas seen on the fMRI
during learning makes it possible to predict the level
of recall (Medina, 2009).
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The original text is summarized and at the end of the
summary the author’s last name and year of
publication are put in parentheses in text. If there
were two authors, both would be listed, such as
( Medina & Jones, 2009)
APA in text citation never uses initials, title of the
book or article or simply a number such as MLA (e.g.
(1) ).
The entire reference entry (Medina, J……) as seen on
the previous slide would be put in the reference
section.
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It has been reported that a Nazi-like professor is
insisting that all students learn to write in the
style of the American Psychological Association
(APA). Graduate students in the department do
not agree with her decision ( Peterson, 2009)
This citation must be listed in your reference
section in the format for a newspaper article.
THE RESEARCH PAPER
As an Research Proposal
STRUCTURE OF A RESEARCH PAPER
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Title Page
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Abstract
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Introduction
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Methods
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Results
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Discussion
TITLE PAGE
All APA papers must contain a title page.
 The title is very important and there are specific
rules in APA style.
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A title should be a concise statement of the main topic.
The title should identify the variables or theoretical
issues under investigation and the relationship between
them.
The title should be typed in upper and lower case letters,
centered between the left and right hand margins, and
positioned in the upper half of the page.
Recommended length for a title is no more than 12
words.
Good Title: Effects of Age on Detection of Emotional
Information
TITLE PAGE ( CONTINUED)
Page numbers are on the same line as the running
head.
 The page numbers begin on the cover page and begin
with one.
 The running head and number should be set up as a
header and it should continue on every page following
the title.
 The authors name ( byline) is centered under the title
and should have your first name, middle initial and
last name.
 The institution should be centered under the name.
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TITLE PAGE ( CONTINUED)
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The Running head appears on the title page and on every
page after.
The first letter of the first word is capitalized and the
second word is not, a colon follows the second word (e.g.
Running head: ). There should be two spaces after the
colon.
The actual running head should be the first 5 to 7 words
of the title and should not exceed 50 characters (
including spaces). The actual running head should be in
all caps.
Ex. EFFECTS OF AGE ON DETECTION OF EMOTION
Running head: EFFECTS OF AGE ON DETECTION OF
EMOTION
Running head: EFFECTS OF AGE ON…..
Effects of Age on Detection of Emotion
Pamela M. Stuntz
Texas Christian University
1
INTRODUCTION
The title of the paper is again repeated at the
beginning of the Introduction, centered at the top
of the page, under the running head and page
number.
 Strong opening paragraph that introduces the
specific problem under study and why the
problem is important. Ex,
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“Music is an important part of today’s culture and
many people listen to music while engaged in various
tasks. Does listening to music facilitate the task at
hand, or can it be distracting. Does the type of music
affect concentration or memory? As music is an
integral part of life, it is therefore important to
examine its effects on specific tasks. “
INTRODUCTION: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
The hypothesis should be introduced in the
introduction.
 While APA suggests the hypothesis should be at
the end of the introduction, for the purpose of
this assignment, the hypothesis should be in the
Opening paragraph of the introduction,
preferably in the last sentence. For Example:
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The purpose of the current experiment is to compare
the effects of country music and classical music on
learning as measured by a general psychology exam.
INTRODUCTION
Introduce the idea of previous research and cite
the studies that will be summarized later in the
paper.
 “Previous research suggests that listening to
classical music while studying enhances memory
(e.g. Anderson, 2005; Calvo & Lang, 2004;
Hinojosa, Mecado & Tapia, 2006)….
 Citations are made from references which are
presented in alphabetical order. Do NOT reorder
the names of the authors, simply present the
citations in alphabetical order with a comma, the
year, and separated by a semi-colon.
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INTRODUCTION (LITERATURE REVIEW)
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Based on information from literature search, no hard
data of your own to report.
Structured by you ( or instructions from class
assignment) to fit your topic.
Puts idea into the context of a particular thesis.
The objective of the lit review is to inform the reader
in depth on a particular topic or theme.
Another part of the lit review should describe studies
relevant to the proposed study.
Descriptions of previous studies should describe the
participants, basic methods and conclusions reached.
No statistics should be reported.
Relate each study you cite back to your proposed
study. .
TEXT
Following the intro paragraph within the
introduction, one should operationally define the
constructs in the paper.
 For example, in this example one may want to
define classical music and country music as well
as other constructs such as memory.
 After the section of operational definition, you
should begin discussing studies that relate to the
hypothesis.
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Discuss the relevant literature, but do not feel
compelled to include an exhaustive historical
account. A scholarly description of earlier work
provides a summary of the most recent directly
related work.
TEXT
When summarizing earlier research, avoid
nonessential details. Emphasize pertinent findings,
relevant methodology and major conclusions.
 Demonstrate the logical continuity between the
previous research and your study.
“For example, Anderson ( 2005) presented participants
with images representing four categories….(relevant
methodology)…….Results indicate that younger
adults show detection benefits for arousing
information in the environment ( major conclusions.
The focus of the present study is to determine the
extent to which age influences automatic detection of
emotional information.” (Continuity between the
previous research and your study).
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INTRODUCTION
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Summary paragraph within the Introduction:
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Here you will sum up the studies you discussed in
your introduction, with citations. You will also state
your prediction.
Previous research suggests that classical music, such
as Mozart enhances learning and memory in school
age children. Some research suggests that younger
people are more attuned to musical influence ( again,
list the references in alphabetical order). Gray and
Calvo ( 2005) indicated music enhances memory
automatic in adolescents and young adults, however
this effect appears to decline with age…It is predicted
that………..
METHOD SECTION
Each section after the introduction is separated
by heading, centered and bolded in the middle of
the page.
 The Method (NOT METHODS) section describes
in detail how the study was conducted.
 The Method section is subdivided into labeled
subsections:
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Participants
 Materials and Procedures
 Research Design
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METHOD(CENTERED AND BOLDED)
Participants(Left side justified and bolded)
Description of the participants should be in
this section, including how they were recruited
and from where. Other characteristics should be
identified such as gender and age.
Materials and Procedures
In this section, you should describe the
procedures of the experiment.
Research Design
RESULTS
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Data analysis is summarized in this section.
Report the data in sufficent detail to justify your
conclusions.
Mention all results, including those that do not
support your hypothesis.
Results should be bolded and centered over the
section.
DISCUSSION
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Evaluate and interpret the implications of the results
reported in the previous section especially with respect to
your original hypothesis.
Open the Discussion section with a clear statement of the
support or non-support of the original hypothesis.
If hypothesis are not supported, offer explanations.
Similarities and Differences between your results and the
work of others should be used to contextualize, confirm and
clarify your conclusions.
DO NOT simply reformulate and repeat points already
made.
Each new statement should contribute to your
interpretation and the reader’s understanding of the
problem.
DISCUSSION (CONTINUED)
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When interpreting your results, your discussion
section should also include:
Sources of potential bias, and other threats to
internal validity.
 Possible imprecision of measures
 Limitations and Weaknesses of the study.
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Application
End the discussion with a reasoned and justifiable
commentary of the importance of your findings.
 Discuss practical significance of the outcome, what
problems may arise anew, and which problems
remain unanswered.
 Possible future studies.
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REFERENCE PAGE
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The reference page lists all the sources used in the paper.
All references on the reference page must be cited in the
article.
All citations must be referenced in the reference page. (
Secondary sources are the exception)
The Reference page is the last page in the paper. It has a
page number and the title of the page is “References” not
Works Cited, with the title centered at the top.
Entries in the Reference section are listed alphabetically by
the surname of the first author of the publication. ( Do
NOT reorder the names of the authors in text or in the
reference section).
The entire reference page is double spaced with NO
ADDITIONAL SPACES BETWEEN REFERENCES!)
Each reference is introduced by a hanging indent.
REFERENCES
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APA writing necessitates the use of paraphrasing
sources such as periodicals ( journal articles),
books, reference books, chapters, research
reports, dissertations and theses, websites.
Many of these sources are in electronic form,
such as on-line journals.
This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, for
additional sources go to www.apastyle.org.
REFERENCES BY TYPE
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Periodicals-are items published on a regular basis,
such as journals, magazines, newspapers and
newsletters.
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General Form:
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Title of the
article, Title of Periodical, xx, pp-pp.
Ex: Slick, T. J., Schutte, N. J., & Light, M. A. (2006). Emotional
intelligence and self-esteem mediate between adult
happiness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 8, 38-48.
NOTE:
Authors first names are not listed, only initials.
Only the first word of the title is capitalized.
The title of the periodical is in italics.
The volume number is not in italics.
Must have page numbers.
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PERIODICALS (ELECTRONIC)
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Many journals are now in electronic format,
which is the same reference with either DOI
(Digital Object Information) information included
or if no DOI, give the URL of the journal home
page.
Slick, T. J., Schutte, N. J., & Light, M. A. (2006). Emotional
intelligence and self-esteem mediate between adult
happiness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 8, 38-48.
doi:10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225.
Or if not DOI use URL
Slick, T. J., Schutte, N. J., & Light, M. A. (2006). Emotional
intelligence and self-esteem mediate between adult
happiness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 8, 38-48.
Retrieved from http://www.appliedpsychology.org.
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BOOKS
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Format: Author, A. A. ( year) Title of book.
Location: Publisher. Pages used.
Shotton, M. A. ( 1989). Computer addition? A
study of computer dependency. London: Taylor &
Francis. 19-22, 24.
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Title of book is italicized and only the first word, or word
after punctuation is capitalized.
 Electronic version would also add doi or URL.
 Pages numbers needed.
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WEB SITE
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Web sites should be used sparingly as the
authenticity of the source is difficult to verify and
publishing is not as rigorous as periodicals and
books.
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Kidspsych ( year) http://www.kidspsych.org
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In text: Kidspsych is a wonderful resource for
children ( http://www. kidspsych. org).
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Electronic citation differs widely as to whether there
is an author or date, no author etc. Checking the web
site www.apastyle.org is advisable.
SOME WRITING PITFALLS
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism comes from the Latin word meaning
“kidnapping” and refers to the theft of another
person’s ideas or work and passing it off as your
own.
 Therefore, stealing someone else’s work and
passing it off as your own is wrong, even if it is
“accidental” or unintentional.
 To avoid plagiarism, be sure you are
paraphrasing the passage in question, and cite
the sources exactly.
 Penalty for plagiarism will be severe.
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LAZY WRITING
Your paper is expected to reflect your thoughts
after you have synthesized material that is
relevant to your topic.
 Therefore, rephrasing material which you don’t
understand, or citing material that is not
relevant is not plagiarism, but comes across
badly and poorly organized. Practices such as
these can result in a poor grade.
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TONE
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Tone is defined as the manner and attitude reflected
in the way you express your ideas.
Your writing should not sound arrogant or pompous,
nor flowery and wordy.
Try to be straightforward. For example….instead of
saying “The reader will note that the results
were”….say “The results were….
Don’t be too casual…..”Here’s what Jones and Smith
say…..” instead…”According to Jones and Smith….
Don’t use the first person. Although it is accepted in
APA style, it is at the discretion of the
instructor….this instructor does not want the use of
words such as I, we, us, etc….
VOICE (ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE)
Active voice: Eleanor Gibson (1988) proposed
that perceptual development in humans was a
never ending path of discovery.
 Passive voice: It was proposed by Eleanor Gibson
that perceptual development in humans was a
never ending path of discovery.
 Although the difference is slight, active voice is
preferred. APA style is concise and non-wordy.
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