A Practical Guide to APA StyleA Practical Guide to APA Style

Running head: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO APA STYLE 1

A Practical Guide to APA Style

Leecy A. Barnett

Lynn University

Running Head—All Caps

Up to 50 characters of the title

Byline—Use Name with Middle Initial

The Title PageThe Title Page

Title---Capitalize Important Words

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO APA STYLE 3

The BodyThe BodyA Practical Guide to APA Style

When the APA style was first conceived eighty years ago, the main

purpose was to develop standards for the publication of articles in the fields of

anthropology and psychology (American Psychological Association, 2001).

“Although designed for those who intend to publish,” Houghton and Houghton

(2007, p. xii) point out that, “numerous colleges and universities adhere to these

stringent guidelines.” Learning to do APA style well shows you are concerned

Center the title

Indent ¶s

Use Times New Roman or Courier as

font---size 12

In Text Citations--IdeasIn Text Citations--IdeasWhenever you get an idea from a source cite it using the author’s name and date of publication in parentheses at the end of the sentence or paragraph describing their idea. The period goes after the final parenthesis.

Example:

When the APA style was first conceived eighty years ago, the main purpose was

to develop standards for the publication of articles in the fields of anthropology

and psychology (American Psychological Association, 2001).

American Psychological Association is A corporate author

In Text Citations—Author in textIn Text Citations—Author in textIf you refer to the author(s) in the text of your paper, cite the source simply with the date of publication in parentheses next to the author’s name.

Example:

According to Fox (2007), the internet has played a significant role in the

increase of plagiarism in academia today.

In Text Citations—In Text Citations—Short Direct QuoteShort Direct Quote

When you directly quote a source you need to add quotation marks around the words or sentence you copy. The final period, however, comes at the end of the final parenthesis of the citation.

Example:

“Although designed for those who intend to publish, numerous colleges

and universities adhere to these stringent guidelines” (Houghton and Houghton,

2007, p. xii). For direct quotes you

need to add the page number

In Text Citations—Long Direct QuoteIn Text Citations—Long Direct QuoteWhen your direct quotation long than longer than 40 words put it in and indented paragraph without quotation marks. Now the final period comes before the citation ---it seems this rule is designed just to frustrate you!

Example:

APA format. The title page has a very specific format:

Your title page should already include the page header (described above). On the

first line of the title page flush-left, add a running head. Begin the running head

with the words “Running Head” followed by a colon. Then give an abbreviated

title of your paper in 50 characters or less in all caps. (Neyhart & Karper, 2007,

para. 5)When quoting from a webpage, determine the

paragraph # quoted and use that instead of a page #

References

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American

Psychological Association. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Houghton, P. M., & Houghton, T. J. (2007). APA: The easy way. Flint, MI: Baker

College.

Neyhart, D., & Karper, E. (2007, December 23). APA Formatting and Style Guide---

General Format. Retrieved January 18, 2008, from The Owl at Purdue:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Center References

•Alphabetical by Authors Last Name•Use initials rather than full 1st Name•Hanging Indent•Double Space

Tip:Do the

Reference Page 1st

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO APA STYLE 3 Reference PageReference Page

Author---Last Name, Initials 2-6 author write them out ---use & instead of and. After 6 write et al. Authors can also be a company or organization

Date of Publication--- year in parenthesis

Title—italicize

Publication information---City and state (if mentioned—use postal abbreviation) and publisher.

Example:

Houghton, P. M., & Houghton, T. J. (2007). APA: The easy way. Flint,

MI: Baker College.

BooksBooks

Author & Date of Publication--- same as book

Article Title— do not italicize

Journal Title—italicize

Volume —italicize

Page Numbers---numbers only

Example:

Smith, G. E., & Eggleston, T. J. (2001). Comprehending APA Style

Through Manuscript Analysis. Teaching of Psychology , 28, 108-110.

Print Journal ArticlesPrint Journal Articles

If you get you journal from a database add:•Retrieved from•Date (m/d/yr)•Name of database

Electronic Journal ArticlesElectronic Journal ArticlesThe APA style requires including the Document Object Identifier or

doi.Author & Date of Publication--- same as book

Article Title— do not italicize

Journal Title—italicize

Volume —italicize

Page Numbers---numbers only

doi: xx.xxxxx

Example:

Herbst-Damm, K.L. & Kulik, J.A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital

status, and the survival of terminally ill patients.

Health Psychology, 25, 225-229. doi: 10.1037/0278-

6133.24.2.225

Electronic Journal Articles without doiElectronic Journal Articles without doiOption 1: provide the URL of the journal homepage.

Sillick, T.J. & Schutte, N.S. (2006). Emotional intelligence and self-esteem

mediate between perceived early parental love and adult

happiness. E- Journal of Applied Psychology, 2(2), 38-48. Retrieved

from http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/ejap

Option 2: provide the name of the database used to access the article.

Borman, W.C. (1993). Role of early supervisory experience in supervisor

performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 443-

449. Retrieved from PsycARTICLES database.

Check with your professor as to which one you should use.

Author --- same as book if available---

No Author---use title of page

Date---most precise available; no date (n.d.)

Title of page —italicize

Example:

Neyhart, D., & Karper, E. (2007, December 23). APA Formatting and

Style Guide---General Format. Retrieved January 18, 2008, from The

Owl at Purdue: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

WebpageWebpage

Add:•Retrieved from•Date (m/d/yr)•Name of Website•url

YouTube videoYouTube videoAuthor or Compiler name.

No Author---use title of page

Date---(showing year, month, date).

Title of video —italicize

Example:

The Cobalt Agent. (2007, September 14) Ronald Reagan’s remarks on the

Challenger shuttle explosion. Retrieved April 7, 2009, from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JKIZ7j20EA

Add:•Retrieved from•Date (m/d/yr)•url

Using Microsoft Word 2007Using Microsoft Word 2007

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA100674921033.aspx?pid=CH100626361033