Advanced APA Style

Writing in APA Style on the course webpage

How to Answer APA Questions

• Look it up in the manual• Google search• OWL (Purdue Online Writing Lab)• Use the APA tab on the course website• Use the resources on the library website• Ask me or other faculty members• Ask the person sitting next to you

Clarity and Precision

• The prime objective of scientific writing is clear communication (p. 65).

• Say only what needs to be said (p. 67).• Make certain that every word means exactly

what you intend it to mean (p. 68).

APA References

• References should provide the most stable and direct route to the material possible.

• Each section of the reference ends in a period.• One component of the reference will be italicized.• Sources must be public.• Learn the basic form of each section then start learning

the variations.• References are in alphabetical order, have hanging

indents, and are double line spaced within and between.

Author Date Title Source

APA References: Author

• Basic formJohnson, B. A.

Johnson, B. A., Smith, R. S., & Jones, Q.

• Group: Spell it out and end with a periodNational Institute of Mental Health.

• The strange case of two authors (, &)

APA References: Date

• Basic form(1967).

• Conference paper(1967, April).

• Magazines and newspapers(1967, April 27).

• Rarely will you use month and day.

APA References: Title

• Basic formJobs in America: A century of inconsistency.

• Don’t italicize the title if the source is italicized.

APA References: Source

• Basic form: BookNew York, NY: Pearson Publishing.

• Basic form: Chapter in a book…. In J. B. Carroll & J. Waggoner (Eds.), Surviving teacher preparation in America (pp. 47-62). New York, NY: Pearson Publishing.

• Basic form: JournalJournal of Teacher Education, 11(6), 94-107.

• Basic form: Online sourceRetrieved from http://teaching.up.edu/edresearch

What to Capitalize in a Journal Name?

• Major Words (section 4.15)• All words of 4 or more letters• Minor words (3 or fewer letters)– Conjunctions– Articles– Short prepositions

Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management

APA References

Johnson, B. A., Smith, R. S., & Jones, Q. (1967). Jobs in

America: A century of inconsistency. Journal of

Teacher Education, 11(6), 94-107.

Reviewing Articles

• “Citation of an article implies that you have personally read the cited work.” [p.169]

• “Say only what needs to be said.” [3.08]

• When to use the phrase research says …– Research says that cooperative learning has social

benefits.– Use this structure only when research is plural,

otherwise omit the phrase and cite the specific research.

Key Terms

• To introduce key terms, put them in italic. Italic can be used for emphasis if emphasis can not be shown through syntax.

• Ironic, slang, or coined expressions are in quote marks. • Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference. When in doubt

use italic.• After a key term or coined expression has been intro-duced

do not put them in italics or quote marks again. • Note: Single quotation marks are only used in direct

quotations to set off material that was in double quotation marks in the original

APA Manual Sections 4.21 and 4.07

Contractions

• Do not use contractions in APA writing.– Ok, it alludes to this in about 10 places in the

manual although it never says it. – The manual does say that scientific writing is

formal writing and there is general agreement in the research community that use of contractions is an informal device.

Running Head

• Top of every page, flush left• Preceded by Running head:• All Caps• No more than 50 characters including spaces

and punctuation.

APA Manual Section 8.03

Direct Quotations

• Use them when paraphrasing would detract from the meaning. This means you would almost never use them.

• Direct quotations always require a page number citation.

• Page number format– (Johnson & Smith, 2010, p. 46)– (Johnson & Smith, 2010, pp. 112-113)– Before the period in short quotes and after the period in

block quotes (more than 40 words)APA Manual Section 6.03

Ad Homonym

• Ideas make the point—not the attributions of the author.

• Do not use first names, titles of articles, or employment descriptions.

• Citations lead the reader to the original text. They are not there to establish the veracity of the ideas presented.

Carroll, D. (2012, December 12). Mama’s jambalaya: Laissez les bons temps rouler! [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.batterjunkie.com/category/dinner/page/5/

• Some thoughts on electronic references– Don’t end DOIs or URLs with a period.– Included a retrieved date for sources that may change (or

do not use them).– If a real author name is not available use online names.– Do not italicize the titles of online articles.– Do italicize the name of the source if used in place of the

title.– Try not to break URLs. If you do, break at punctuation or

slashes.

18

APA

• For how long should original data gathered in a research study be kept?

• Five years after the date of publication.

(Section 1.08)

Parentheses

• To set off structurally independent elements• Reduce the use of parentheses to insert related

but independent ideas in a single sentence. Write two sentences.

• Learn how to use EM dashes but use those cautiously as well. (4.13)

APA Manual Section 4.09

Headings

• http://teaching.up.edu/edresearch/pages/apa-headings.html

• Only use a subordinate heading if the section in which it is used requires at least 2 labeled sub-sections

APA Manual Section 3.02 and 3.03

Introduction

• “The introduction to a manuscript [chapter 1] does not carry a heading that labels it as the introduction.”

• It is probably a good idea not to label the introductions to each section with a level 2 heading as well.

APA Manual Section 3.03

Etc.

• Do not use etc. This is imprecise writing.• If there are more components of a list, then list

them.

URLs

• Precede the URL with Retrieved from …• Use the complete URL (http://teaching…)• Do not make them blue or underlined.• Do not end a URL with a period.• Do not use urls for proprietary databases.• Included a retrieved date for sources that may

change (or do not use them).• Try not to break URLs. If you do, break at

punctuation or slashes.APA Manual Sections 6.31 and 7.01 for examples

Seriation (Lists)

• Always use the serial or Oxford comma.• “In any series, all items should be syntactically

and conceptually parallel.”

APA Manual Sections 3.04 and 3.23

APA

• Johnson, Smith, and Jones (2010)• (Johnson, Smith, & Jones, 2010)• Johnson, R. A., Smith, B. T., & Jones, Q. S. (2010). The use of cooperative

strategies…

• Instructional strategies including direct instruction, cooperative learning, and project-based learning…

• Always use the serial or Oxford comma (section 4.03)

Precision

• Approximations of quantity– Johnson (2010) describes a very important

attribute. It is much needed and extremely important.

–… describes numerous attributes.

• Incidental phrases– In other words, the concept is…

APA Manual Section 3.09

Type Setting

• Dashes• Ellipsis… Ellipsis.… • Diacritical marks (résumé)• Fractions ½ 1/2• Learn to use the indentation controls– Tabs are rarely needed for anything

• Learn to use style sheets in Word– Instructions on the webpage: Formatting APA Style

Sheets

APA Dashes

• Hyphen: connecting words that represent a single concept (project-based learning)

• EN Dash: showing relationships of time or distance (7–9:30 p.m.)

• EM Dash: inserting an additional thought or digression in the middle of a sentence (John did not go—attendance was mandatory—although Sally did attend)

• Avoid EM dashes. Avoid parentheses.

Attribution

• When referring to yourself or co-authors use:–Personal pronouns (I or we)–Do not use third person referents (this

researcher…)–Refer to yourself only when it provides clarity–Avoid passive voice (the data were gathered by

the researcher)APA Manual Section 3.09 and 3.18

Metaphors (Linguistic Devices)

• Avoid them—well, mostly (section 3.10) – Describing something in terms that are not true

He had gone to the well too often.

He got a thunderous response.• And our favorite—mixed metaphors

… a theory representing one branch of a growing body of evidence.

Rhetorical Questions

By noon, Tim left, and the rest of our group returned to the classroom. Why did this have to happen? What proactive steps should have been taken? How would I respond to Tim the next day? How would Tim respond the next day? How would the rest of the class respond? Was Tim’s inability to communicate the reason for all this commotion?

http://qualtrics.com/university/researchsuite/

APA—Multiple Citations Simultaneously

Various researchers (Mastropieri, Leinart, & Scruggs, 1999; Ates, 2013; Chafouleas, Martens, Dobson, Weinstein, & Gardner, 2004; Lo, Cooke, & Starling, 2011) have identified repeated readings in particular to improve oral reading fluency.

Parallel Structure

• Singular plural agreement– For each child attention was paid to their needs.

• Subject verb agreement – None of the studies is addressing the larger issue.

APA Manual Section 3.23

Slashes

• and/or him/herself

• Do not use a slash when a phrase would be clearer.

• Write for clarity and not efficiency.

APA Manual Section 4.11

Page Numbers

• Upper right• Page numbering starts on the first page even if

it is a title page.

APA Manual Section 8.03