wesley, m. c. (2007, june) apa style refresher

June 2007

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Wesley, M. C. (2007, June) APA style refresher.

Several Common Problems

1.Numbers and Percentages

2.Punctuation and Capital Letters

3.Spelling, Italics, Abbreviations

4.Seriation

5.Tables and Figures

Several Common Problems (con’d.)

6. Heading Levels (Three)

7. Miscellaneous

8. Citation Basics

9. Reference List Basics

On Numbers (APA 3.42-3.45)

Remember: Normally, numbers 10 and higher are written as numerals. Nine and lower are written out.

But there are many exceptions where they appear as numerals, too—mainly (a) elements of time and (b) participants in a study.

All eight boys threw rocks at a carp. Meanwhile, 14 cat- fish nipped at Senator Kerry’s arm. Crazy, but true!

I like saw you know like 150 people I like totally knew at Britney’s show. There were like 2 million people there. She played like 20 songs and it lasted like 3 hours. It was so like totally awesome.

Every 2 or 3 years my lovely bride and I spend a weekend in Huntsville, AL, remembering the romantic times we had denouncing civil rights legislation.

One hundred twelve clients with bipolar disorder and 75 with pyromania filled out a 5-point Likert-type scale.

In general, use arabic--not roman--numerals.

In chapter 2, the author describes the history of the world, with an emphasis on ground beef. Although the exciting history of meat loaf could be a dissertation in itself (see Appendix F), a timeline is presented in Figure 3 that summarizes the highpoints—or low points if you’re a cow . Indeed, the issue of viewpoint is further explored in Research Question 3. (Refer to p. {space}976.)

WAIT I MISSED THAT LAST ONE. WHAT WAS THAT

AGAIN?

Blah blah blah blah (p.{space} 976)

Percentages (APA 3.42d) are straightforward.

Use a numeral and percentage sign unless at the start of a sentence or if you’re quoting directly from a source that used a different style manual.

• Sixteen percent favor lethal injection.

• Another 12% favor Banquet pot pies, and 2% marked “Hemlock.”

Okay, Let’s Review

• Normally, numbers 10 and higher are written as numerals. Nine and lower are written out.

• But there are many exceptions where they appear as numerals, too—mainly (a) elements of time and (b) participants in a study.

• Use arabic numerals. Use a % sign.

Okay, Let’s Review

• I have two/2 children. My daughter, Sophia, is seventeen/17, and my son, Isaac, is thirteen/13.

• There’s a ten percent /10 percent / 10% chance of rain today.

Insert a serial comma in a series of Insert a serial comma in a series of three or more nouns or noun phrases three or more nouns or noun phrases

before the words before the words andand or or or: or:

Moe, Larry, and CurlyMoe, Larry, and Curly

Commas

Comma

Example 1

Hello, hello, and hello.

Example 2

Bacon, lettuce, or tomato.

Example 3

Bacon, Robbins, and Penn (2004) starred in Mystic River.

So remember, folks: Use a serial comma.

Wait. I missed that one.

What was that again?

USE A SERIAL COMMA. OKAY?

On Abbreviations

• Italicize statistical abbreviations

• Uppercase N means population; lowercase n means subsample

• Use etc., e.g., and i.e. only inside parentheses

e.g., means ________________

i.e., means ________________

For Example

That is

Spelling

Check the tables in chapter 3 for rules on hyphenation. In general, words with prefixes such as non, semi, pre, post, anti, multi, and inter are not hyphenated: pretest, posttest, antibiotic, antisocial, nonprofit, semipro, multiphased, subsample. But self-esteem, self-concept.

Possessives of proper nouns ending in s get ’s added:Rogers’s, Wilks’s lambda, Jones’s bottle of rum.

Italics (not underlines)APA says use italics. Psych students especially:

Stick to italics. Period.

Check the table in chapter 3 for rules on italics. Italicize book and journal titles and words used as key terms on first reference:

I just re-read the Grapes of Wrath. The term psychopharmocological always brings me back to my salad days at Penn State.

Table 4Comparison of Boys and Girls by

Height and Weight Variable Height Weight

Boys (n=61) 5 ft 1 in 104 lb

Girls (n=60) 5 ft 2 in 98 lb

Note. From “Analysis of Seventh Graders’ Hormones,” by W. Steeves, 2001, Journal of Despair, 98, p. 11. Reprinted with permission.

Figure 13. Causes of stress and its effects among graduate students. But is this really necessary? According to whom?

By the way, number tables and figures consecutively, that is, Table 1, Table 2, Table 3; Figure 1, Figure 2. . . .

Pressure fromPressure from

HomeHome

Pressure from Pressure from

WorkWork

Dangerous Levels of MedicationsDangerous Levels of Medications

Seriation (Lists)

• Vertical lists, go

1.

2.

3.

4.

• In the paragraph, use (a), (b), (c). . . .

tab 1.tabIn a vertical list like this

one, tab the 1. over, and tab again.

2. Double space. As in the last

sentence, go back to the left margin.

3. Use a #., not a #) or (#).

but Limbaugh and Amin (2000) blamed the

following for disruptive behavior among

adolescents:

1. Not saying the Pledge of Allegiance at

school in the morning.

2. Irresponsible parents.

3. The elimination of paddling.

Blah blah Kerry (2004), who said it was

(a) the right thing to do, (b) a mistake, and

(c) the right thing to do but a mistake.

But: Blah blah the Georgia senator,

who encouraged banning (a) atheism; (b)

pinkos, especially pinko demagogues; and

(c) coed dancing.

Headings (APA 3.31)

• Keep your reader from getting lost.

• A series of road signs.

• Some choices depending on how many levels you have.

• All levels belong in the table of contents, which on most word processing programs is generated automatically.

Here’s how you’d do three levels:

Next Level [L1]

Next Level [L3]

Next level. [L4]

Here’s how you’d do three levels:Here’s how you’d do three levels:

Twentieth-Century Theorists {L1}Twentieth-Century Theorists {L1}

Abraham Maslow {L3}Abraham Maslow {L3}

Self-actualizationSelf-actualization. {L4} This concept . {L4} This concept

arose during the theorist’s days at a deli counter arose during the theorist’s days at a deli counter

on Murray Avenue in the Squirrel Hill area ofon Murray Avenue in the Squirrel Hill area of

Table of Contents

Twentieth-Century Theorists [L1]……………….14

Abraham Maslow [L3]………………………14

Maslow’s Influence[L4]……………….16

Justin Timberlake [L3]………………………18

Justin on Quantum Physics..……………25

Twentieth-Century Theorists [L1]

Blah blah blah these are really swell guys that I’ll be discussing.

Abraham Maslow (1954) [L3]

Blah blah svelt Maslow (1954) blah blah ya da da da da da self-

actualization blah blah hungry but blah blah think sex is more important.

Self-actualization . [L4] Self-actualization blah blah papers written by

graduate students blah blah but did he ever play baseball or football?

Justin Timberlake [L3]

Blah blah blah Timberlake (2004) blah blah ya da da da da da talented

and intelligent blah blah famous performance at the Super Bowl blah blah.

Justin on quantum physics. The erudite performer (2004) blah blah

whose secret work at the NSF was only recently revealed blah blah. . . .

Spacing

• Normally, double space. I accept single-spaced reference lists, block quotes, table titles and figure captions, and other places where readability is improved.

• I prefer one space after a colon and period, but two spaces are accepted.

Miscellaneous

• Data and media are plural.

• Use respectful and inclusive language.

• No first person.

• American not British English.

• Avoid contractions.

My sister has three/3 children

The plane was two/2 hours late.

I’m going to eat lunch, take a nap and spend the whole evening writing a course paper.

I am going to eat lunch, take a nap, and spend the whole evening writing a course paper.

I may be 50/fifty but I don’t feel older than 49/forty-nine.

I’m not old, I am a nontraditional/ non-traditional student.

POP QUIZ

VERB TENSES

First rule: The verb tense must make sense.

Corporations lack the trust Americans had in them a decade ago.

The U.S. manned space program has experienced setbacks / experienced a major setback. . . .

There are growing concerns about the shortage of water in the American West.

The crime rate fell during the 1990s.

VERB TENSES

Second rule: Report the literature in past tense.

Freud (1917/1980) explained [not explains] that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Deming (1982) argued that blah blah.

Bennis (1980) believed [not believes]

Pumpernickel (2000) found that

Moribund (2001) wrote that

Talisman (2004) demonstrated/indicated/opined

VERB TENSES

Third rule: Report the literature in past tense, but it has to make sense.

Parker (1935) claimed that boys do not make passes at girls who wear glasses.

Bausch and Lomb (2002) studied male heterosexual college students (N=100) at Princeton and found that 75% of the students made passes at girls who wore glasses.

Review Number 1

In a study conducted some thirty years ago, Yenta, Bupkus, Pupik, and Kvetch (1974) identified 4 reasons for growing incidence of “hirsute visibility,” the tendency for hairy men to go shirtless at the beach. Yet O’Dell, O’Reilley and O’Connor (1981) found that a majority of women found hairy men to be “inspiring” and “thought-provoking” (p. 432). Richards’ (1992) study of Belgian women suggested that hairy, married European women had better self images than non-married women.

30. (10 and higher, plus element of time anyway.)Four, not 4. Use italics here.

Use a serial comma.

p.{space}432. Single space.Richards’s per APAself-imagenonmarried

Let’s Review Number 2

Nearly sixty percent of the respondents (N=120) in Jenkins’ (2001) study opposed the death penalty, on the following grounds, in descending order: (1) moral or religious conflict, (2) expense; and (3) sentencing injustices. Yet 80% (n=160) of the same sample said terrorists deserved the death penalty. The data in stage II of Jenkins study supports this contradiction as well. As shown in table 3, it’s mostly your liberals who are the biggest hypocrites on this matter.

In-Text Citations: The Hows– You must supply page numbers for

direct quotes from print sources or ¶ number for electronic ones.

– You must use quotation marks if quoting a source directly (unless block quote).

– Per APA 3.39, you are not required to provide page numbers for paraphrases, but “authors are encouraged to do so.”

– Use secondary sources carefully.

The Hows

• Follow the conventions of the style manual.

– In-text citations on pp. 117-122 & 207-214

– Reference lists chapter 5 (5th ed.)

– http://www.apastyle.org.

APA style uses author-date citations only.

The authors (or in their absence, the title of the work) appears first, followed by the year of publication, and often a page number at the end of a sentence.

Thron (2003) found that elves live at the South Pole as well as at the North Pole.

Other research (Maurer, 1943) suggested that elves live in Bentonville, AR, home of merchandising giant Wal-Mart, quietly being sued for discriminatory hiring practices.

APA style uses author-date citations only.

When citing multiple authors in parentheses, use an ampersand.

A northeastern liberal has as much chance of winning a national election “as does Captain Kangaroo” (Kelsey, Valen, & Dubiel, 2004, p. 211).

Kelsey, Valen, and Dubiel (2004) found that “nuance is overrated” (p. 211).

WAIT I MISSED THAT LAST ONE. WHAT WAS THAT AGAIN?

(In parentheses, use &)

Note: You gotta pay attention to stuff like punctuation, italics, and capital letters.

Practice Text 1

Steinbrink, J. E., & Cook, J. W. (2003). Media literacy skills and the “war on terrorism.” Clearing House, 76(6), 284-288.

The post-September 11 discussion in the U.S. media, based on fear of additional terror, showed an overwhelming preoccupation with nationalistic images and icons. The media’s “us versus them” discourse is based on patriotic motifs (U.S. flags everywhere); human-interest stories about the 9/11 victims that reinforce nationalism; and narratives that demonize “them,” such as reports about Taliban brutality and Palestinian suicide bombers. The net result of this media-manufactured nationalism (Burney, 2002) has been the cultivation of supreme loyalty as described by the slogan “war against terrorism.” Taken collectively, the media in the United States overwhelmingly support a form of egocentric nationalism and have been silenced into acquiescence because dissent is interpreted as non-nationalistic and unpatriotic.

1. The post 9-11 discussion in the U.S. press, based on

fear of additional terror, demonstrated an overwhelming preoccupation with nationalistic images. The media’s “us- vs.-them” discourse is based on patriotic themes ( flags everywhere); human-interest stories about the 9/11 victims that reinforce nationalism; and stories that demonize “them,” such as reports about the Taliban’s brutality and Palestinian suicide bombers. The result of this media-created nationalism (Burney, 2002) has been the cultivation of supreme loyalty as described by the slogan “war against terrorism.” Taken collectively, the media in the United States overwhelmingly supports a form of egocentric nationalism and have been silenced because disagreement is interpreted as unpatriotic.

PLAGIARISM

2. The post 9-11 discussion in the U.S. press, based on fear of more terror, demonstrated an overwhelming preoccupation with nationalistic images. The media’s “us- vs.-them” discourse is based on patriotic themes ( flags everywhere); human-interest stories about the 9/11 victims that reinforce nationalism; and stories that demonize “them,” such as reports about Saddam’s brutality and Palestinian suicide bombers. The result of this media-created nationalism (Burney, 2002) has been the cultivation of supreme loyalty as described by the slogan “war against terrorism.” Taken collectively, the media in the United States overwhelmingly supports a form of egocentric nationalism and have been quieted because disagreement is interpreted as unpatriotic (Steinbrink & Cook, 2003).

PLAGIARISM

3. According to Steinbrink and Cook (2003), the post 9-11 discussion in the U.S. press, based on fear of more terror, demonstrated an overwhelming preoccupation with nationalistic images. The media’s “us- vs.-them” discourse is based on patriotic themes ( flags everywhere); human-interest stories about the 9/11 victims that reinforce nationalism; and stories that demonize “them,” such as reports about Saddam’s brutality and Palestinian suicide bombers. The result of this media-created nationalism (Burney, 2002) has been the cultivation of supreme loyalty as described by the slogan “war against terrorism.” Taken collectively, the media in the United States overwhelmingly supports a form of egocentric nationalism and have been quieted because disagreement is interpreted as unpatriotic (p. 285).

Still plagiarized—Almost everything’s still right out of the

original and there are no quotation marks and

you didn’t read Burney.

WAIT I MISSED THAT LAST ONE. WHAT WAS THAT AGAIN?

Citing a source isn’t enough. If it’s a direct

quote or close to it, you must paraphrase or use

quotation marks.

Crummy solution 1a. According to Steinbrink and Cook (2003), “The post-September 11 discussion in the U.S. media, based on fear of additional terror, showed an overwhelming preoccupation with nationalistic images and icons” (p. 285). The authors wrote that the news media created an “`us versus them’” monologue “based on patriotic motifs (U.S. flags everywhere); human-interest stories about the 9/11 victims that reinforce nationalism; and narratives that demonize” our enemies (p. 285). Thus, “the media in the United States overwhelmingly support a form of egocentric nationalism and have been silenced into acquiescence because dissent is interpreted as non-nationalistic and unpatriotic” (p. 285).

Crummy solution 1b. According to Steinbrink and Cook (2003), “The post-September 11 discussion in the U.S. media, based on fear of additional terror, showed an overwhelming preoccupation with nationalistic images and icons” (p. 285), resulting in a “media-manufactured nationalism” (Burney, as cited in Steinbrink & Cook, p. 285). The authors wrote that the news media created an “`us versus them’” monologue “based on patriotic motifs (U.S. flags everywhere); human-interest stories about the 9/11 victims that reinforce nationalism; and narratives that demonize” our enemies (p. 285). Thus, “the media in the United States overwhelmingly support a form of egocentric nationalism and have been silenced into acquiescence because dissent is interpreted as non-nationalistic and unpatriotic” (p. 285).

Crummy Solution 2: Block Quote

• Direct quotes 40 words or more.

• Indent five spaces on the left; same margin on the right. single space preferred by some.

• Usually no need for opening or closing ellipses.

• Final punctuation comes before the parenthetical element.

. . . and unpatriotic. (p. 285)

No punctuation

Steinbrink and Cook (2003) wrote that

the post-September 11 discussion in the U.S. media, based on fear of additional terror, showed an overwhelming preoccupation with nationalistic images and icons. The media’s “us versus them” discourse is based on patriotic motifs (U.S. flags everywhere); human-interest stories about the 9/11 victims that reinforce nationalism; and narratives that demonize “them,” such as reports about Taliban brutality and Palestinian suicide bombers. (p. 285)

No punctuation

Solution 3: Paraphrase

• If you didn’t read it, either ignore it or go back and read it.

• Put it in your own words. Write it without looking at the original. Better than wordsmithing, consider what the passage is really about. Think critically. How important is the specific paragraph?

OriginalParaphrase

News coverage of 9-11 and the events that followed focused on patriotic images and created a good-guys/ bad guys dichotomy (Steinbrink & Cook, 2003, p. 285). The authors argued that because the press helped create through such imagery a xenophobic climate, anyone who dissented was seen as unpatriotic.

The post-September 11 discussion in the U.S. media, based on fear of additional terror, showed an overwhelming preoccupation with nationalistic images and icons. The media's “us versus them" discourse is based on patriotic motifs (U.S. flags everywhere); human-interest stories about the 9/11 victims that reinforce nationalism; and narratives that demonize "them," such as reports about Taliban brutality and Palestinian suicide bombers. The net result of this media-manufactured nationalism (Burney, 2002) has been the cultivation of supreme loyalty as described by the slogan "war against terrorism." Taken collectively, the media in the United States overwhelmingly support a form of egocentric nationalism and have been silenced into acquiescence because dissent is interpreted as non-nationalistic and unpatriotic.

Electronic Citations

• Start with APA’s basic forms.

• If it’s electronic, cite it as such.

• Be “creative” about page numbers.

• Include the date that you retrieved a nonpermanent electronic source.

• http://www.apastyle.org

In-text citation of Web page

Show retrieval date for nonpermanent Web sources. Electronic sources:

para. or ¶ or p. 2 of 6.

Best Method section, ¶ 3.

Reference List Format

Use hanging indents like this. Single spacing is preferred. Double space between each item.

Pay attention to what goes in what order.Pay attention to what is capitalized and what

isn’t.Pay attention to what is italicized and what

isn’t.Pay attention to the punctuation.

Reference List Format: Journal

Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. October, 1996.Volume 23, Issue 4.The Importance of Ethical Decision Making.Texas Business Reviewpp. 465-498

Lay, K., & Skilling, J. (1996). The importance of ethical decision making. Texas Business Review, 23, 465-498.

Reference List Format: Book

Dan Quayle and Nelson Rockefeller. 1998.Great 20th Century Vice PresidentsSt. Paul, MinnesotaMondale Press.

Quayle, D., & Rockefeller, N. (1998). Great 20th century vice presidents. St. Paul, MN: Mondale Press.

Reference List Format: Electronic

If a .pdf file:

Lay, K., & Skilling, J. (1998). The importance of ethical decision making [Electronic version]. Texas Business Review, 23, 465-498.

If some Web document:

Lay, K., & Skilling, J. (1998). The importance of ethical decision making. Retrieved July 12, 2004, from www.texasheroes.com/enron.html.

That’s the kind of stuff that the software can help you with.

End Notes Plus

ProCite

Reference Point

And there are others.

References Close Up

• Bush legacy: Hard work. • Journal of the Credibility Gap,

8(2), 23-41.• Of mice and men.• Pogoff, K. L., & Richman, M.

(1997).• Public Policy, 27(5), 56-67.

• Bartow, FL: Broken Clutch Press.

but

• Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Journal articles in sentence case, like this.

Journal Title and Volume in Italics, Sentence Case Like This.

Book titles italics, sentence case.

Separate authors with a comma and an ampersand.

Volume no. in italicsIssue in parens, no

spaceState abbreviation

unless biggie.

Review: Key Points on Citations

1. You must use quotation marks if quoting directly.

2. You must indicate the page number or paragraph number of a direct quote.

3. You can’t pretend to have read something firsthand you didn’t.

4. Paraphrase, or better yet, read and write critically.

WAIT! I ALMOST FORGOT!

1. It’s et al. Not et.al, et. al, etal, et.al

It’s et al., followed by a comma.

Ya di overrated (Roethlisburger et al., 2005)

2. Check the manual for when you can use et al.

WAIT! I ALMOST FORGOT!

3. If you’re listing groups of authors, they go in alphabetical order:

Ya di ya di ya di da (Bonds, Van Slyke, Bonilla, & Bell, 1990; Mazeroski & Groat, 1960; Stargell, Alou, & Clemente, 1970)

Questions?

wesleym@lindsey.edu