APA Citation Style Quick Guide The following sources were referenced:

Aaron, J. E. (Ed.). (2015). The little, brown essential handbook (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. And

Wyant, D. (2010). APA quick reference guide. Charlotte, NC.

Basic Components for APA Papers Papers written in APA have four basic components*:

1. Cover or title page

2. Abstract

3. Body of the paper

4. Reference section

*Papers can also include elements like tables, figures, and appendices.

Basic APA Formatting Margins Minimum of 1” margin on all sides

Left Alignment

Font Times New Roman for text

Sans Serif font (e.g., Arial) for statistics in tables and figures

Font Size 12 pt. for texts and headings; Table font can be reduced to 10 pt. but no smaller

Spacing Double-spaced throughout, including references

One space following any punctuation mark; one space between sentences

Paragraphs Indent the beginning of a new paragraph 0.5”.

Avoid one-sentence paragraphs.

Pagination Page numbers begin with the title page (i.e. page 1), but the number is not shown on the title

page. Beginning with page 2, numbers are placed in the upper right-hand corner.

Allow 5 spaces between the end of the header and the page number.

Numbers Numbers less than 10 are written out as words (i.e. one through nine).

Numbers 10 and greater use Arabic figures (10-999,999)

Use the % symbol and figures to report any number as a percentage (i.e. 6%, 23.5%).

Exceptions: Do not use a figure to start a sentence; write out the number.

-When writing out the number, also write out “percent.”

-Use the word “percentage” when writing in general terms and not referring to a specific

numerical value.

Abbreviations

& Acronyms

APA recognizes only seven acronyms as words that do not require definition:

HIV, AIDS, IQ, ESP, REM, NADP, ACTH

Define all other abbreviations by writing out the name in full on first use and putting

abbreviations in parentheses. Example: “…School of Social Work (SSW)…”

Once defined, you must use the abbreviation for all subsequent references. No flip-flopping!

Headings

APA format uses five levels of headings. These headings disclose your paper’s organization to the reader and can

clarify how material from various sections relate to each other. Most students use two or three levels of headings.

Level 1 Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading

Level 2 Flush Left, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading

Level 3 Indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.

Level 4 Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.

Level 5 Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.

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Title or Cover Page

Running Head: 50 CHARACTERS MAX. ALL CAPS

Your Paper Title: 10-12 Words

Your Name

Motlow State Community College

Class Number and Shortened Title (SOCI 1020: Intro to Sociology)

Instructor’s Name

Date of Submission

Abstracts

Abstracts are typically the 2nd page of your paper, and though they may vary in length, 120 words is a typical

length for this component of your paper. Your abstract should contain the following:

1. The purpose of your study

2. The methods used

3. Your findings

4. Your conclusions or implications

The word “Abstract” should be centered at the top of the page, not bolded. Do not indent on the first line of the

abstract the way you would a paragraph. Your abstract should also use the present tense whenever possible.

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*Remember: Starting with the 2nd page of your paper, you should include your header ½” from the top of

the page. This header is the same as your Running Head on your title page but does not use the words “Running

Head.”

Citing Sources in Your Text

When you make reference to someone else’s idea through paraphrasing, summarizing, or quoting, you should:

give the author’s last name, provide the year the source was published, and then list the page number of

the work in a parenthetical citation;

provide full citation information for the source on your References page.

Paraphrasing and summarizing involve putting a source’s information into your own words and sentence

structures, while quoting is copying the author’s words and structures exactly as written or spoken and placing

them within quotation marks. Citations have two parts. There is a parenthetical citation (a.k.a. in-text citation)

and a corresponding entry on your References page.

APA In-text Citations Your parenthetical citation should give enough information to identify the source listed on your References page.

APA style uses an author-date method of citation. When you quote, paraphrase, or reference an idea from a

source, you must include the author’s name and the publication date in your text. When providing page numbers

for citations, use “p.” to identify the page number for a quote from a single page; use “pp.” for a quote that spans

a range of pages.

A “signal phrase” introduces a quotation in order to help the reader understand why it is important and how it

fits into the rest of the paper. In the first example below, “Robertson (2010) maintains that…” is the signal

phrase.

IF THE AUTHOR IS NAMED IN SIGNAL PHRASE:

If the author is named and a publication date given while introducing the sourced material, then only a page

number is necessary in your citation:

Quotation:

Smith (2014) points out that “parents from Group A were exposed to similar sensory stimuli” (p. 136).

Paraphrase:

According to A. Toffler (2012), there have been two periods of revolutionary change in history: the agricultural

revolution and the industrial revolution (p. 10).

Note that the above source is paraphrased and not quoted. When paraphrasing specific information from a

source, that source still must be cited in the paper and in the references list.

IF THE AUTHOR IS NOT NAMED IN SIGNAL PHRASE:

Quote:

It may be true that “students often have difficulty using APA Style” (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

Paraphrase:

Some claim that APA style is often difficult for many learners (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

Note that although APA style does not require you to list page numbers when paraphrasing or summarizing a

text, it is strongly encouraged.

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IF USING TWO OR MORE WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:

Use a comma to separate years of multiple works. In in-text citations, the year of publication acts as the

distinguishing characteristic between multiple works by the same author.

IF USING AN INTERNET OR ELECTRONIC SOURCE WITH NO AUTHOR OR PAGE NUMBER:

Author Unknown:

List the organization as the author in the citation: (Planned Parenthood, 2015).

Date Unknown:

When the date of publication is unknown, use the date given on the Web page as copyright date, last updated, or

last revised date for the publication date (usually at the bottom of the Web page). If no date is given, use the

abbreviation “n.d.” for no date: (National Health Statistics, n.d.)

Note that you should NOT use web addresses in the text of your paper for citation material.

INDIRECT QUOTATION:

While you should always try to reference material from the original source, at times, you may have to use a

secondhand or indirect source, that is, a quotation you find in another source that was quoting from the original.

Name the original source in the text of your paper, and cite the secondary source in parentheses. Use “as cited in”

to indicate the source.

“Wallace argues that…(as cited in Smith, 2009).” *In this case, only the Smith reference should be listed on the

reference list.

LONG OR BLOCK QUOTATIONS

Sometimes, you will want to use long quotations. If your quotation is 40 words or more, you will format the quote

as a block quote. Omit the quotation marks and start the quotation on a new line. This block quote should be

indented 5 spaces from the left margin throughout and should maintain double spacing throughout. With a block

quote, your ending punctuation will come before the parenthetical citation.

Block quote example:

MULTIPLE AUTHORS

Sometimes, you will have sources by multiple authors. Use the chart below to determine your citation formatting.

2 authors (Author 1 & Author 2, year) Use “&” within parentheses. Write out the word “and”

When authors’ names are used in the signal phrase.

“…thus, leading to higher rates of HIV infection” (Peacock & Slocum, 2004).

According to Peacock and Slocum (2004), the “higher rates of HIV…”

As identified by Newacheck et al. (2004), these increased costs are incurred and cause

extraordinary needs:

…elevated requirements for primary and specialty medical car, as well as supportive services

such as rehabilitation, environmental adaptations, personal assistance, mental health, or respite

care. Therapeutics often allow families to care for their children at home rather than seek

outside and often publically-financed out-of-home care. (p.59)

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3-5 authors First use: List all authors, separating names with commas, and publication date.

(Ivy, Dees, & Coe, 1999)

Subsequent use: List first author + “et al.” and the publication date

(Ivy et al., 1999)

6 or more authors List the first author + “et al.” and the date

(Bucket et al., 2003)

APA References Page The basic format for all APA reference entries, no matter what the source, includes as much of the

following as is available:

1. the author’s name

2. the year of publication

3. the title of the work (italics if a book, in quotation marks if an article)

4. the city of publication

5. the publisher or n.p. (for no publisher given)

6. unless citing an entire work, the page number, or page range

For electronic or internet sources, you should also include:

7. the assigned DOI number or, if no DOI is given, the URL preceded by “Retrieved

from”

Indent all lines of an entry after the first one by 5 spaces and include a period (.) at the end of all citations. Also,

reference pages must be double-spaced. The examples in this handout are not.

OTHER IMPORTANT ELEMENTS:

Invert authors’ names, using each author’s last name first, and first initial.

Alphabetize entries by the first author’s last name.

Do not include extra line spacing between each entry.

Capitalize the first word in the title, the first word in a subtitle (if given), and any proper names.

Italicize the titles of books, journals, magazines, newspapers, and films.

Do not use end punctuation if a URL is the final piece of information in an entry.

Remember that References pages must be double-spaced. The examples in this handout are not.

BASIC FORMAT FOR A BOOK:

Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Title of book. City of Publication, State: Publisher.

One author:

Toffler, A. (1981). The third wave. New York, NY: Bantam.

Two authors:

Livermore, J. B., & Quigley, E. (2002). Field assessment in crisis counseling (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

If there are multiple authors, list all of their last names and first initials (as done in the example for 2 authors) up

to a total of 7 authors. If there are more than seven authors,, list the first six authors and then use “…, &” before

listing the very last author instead of writing all of the authors’ names (List first 6 + …, & last).

EDITED BOOK:

Editor Last Name, First Initial. (Ed.). (Year of Publication). Title of book. City of Publication, State: Publisher.

Richman, J., & Fraser, M. (Eds.). (2004). Assessment tools for behavior of elementary-school children. New

York, NY: Aldine.

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CHAPTER IN EDITED BOOK:

Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Title of chapter. In Editor’s Name (Ed.), Title of book (pp.

numbers). City of Publication, State: Publisher.

Sharpe, T. J., & Creed, R. T. (2007). Developmental disabilities. In S. J. Parish & H. Hu (Eds.), Advances in

serving vulnerable populations (pp. 33-67). Medfield, OR: Walnut Press.

Note that the editors’ names are not inverted.

GOVERNMENT, CORPORATE, OR ORGANIZATION WEB SITE:

Name of Government. Government Agency/ies. (Year of Publication). Title of the site [or Description: Home

page]. City of Publication, State: Publisher.

Department of Health and Human Services. (2007). Guide to service policy and program administration.

Washington, DC: Author.

If the agency or organization is also the publisher, put “Author” in the spot for publisher rather than repeating

the name.

REFERENCE FOR FEDERAL LAWS:

Name of Act § Section Number, Volume Number U.S.C. § Section Number (Year of Publication).

or

Name of Act, Pub. L. No. Number, § Section Number, Volume Number Stat. Page Number

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 § 102, 42 U.S.C. § 4332 (1994).

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-336, §2, 104 Stat. 328 (1991).

ARTICLE IN AN ONLINE NEWSPAPER:

Author Last Name, First Initial. (Date of Publication). Title of article. Title of Newspaper. Retrieved from

http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/

Parker-Pope, T. (2008, May 6). Psychiatry handbook linked to drug industry. The New York Times. Retrieved

from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/psychiatry-handbook-linked-to-drug-industry/?_r=0

ARTICLE IN A SCHOLARLY JOURNAL (OR MAGAZINE):

Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Title of article. Title of Journal or Periodical, Volume

(Issue Number), Page Numbers.

Gambrill, E. D. (2001). The tide is turning: Corporeal punishment in our schools. Quarterly of Social Work

Teaching and Education, 27(2), 14-19.

If the article has 7 authors, follow the same instructions for listing their names as noted under the basic book

format. For more than 7 authors, follow the instructions listed under the basic book format as well.

If a journal uses continuous pagination, do not include the issue number in the reference. If each issue of a

journal begins with page 1, include the issue number in the reference.

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ARTICLE IN AN ONLINE SCHOLARLY JOURNAL (OR MAGAZINE) WITH DOI:

Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Title of article. Title of Journal or Periodical, Volume

(Issue Number), Page Numbers. doi: number.

Smokowski, P. R., & Bacallao, M. L. (2006). Acculturation and aggression in Latino adolescents. Journal of

Abnormal Child Psychology, 34, 657-671. doi:10.1007/s10802-006-9049-4

DOI stands for digital object identifier; it is a unique identifier that acts as a persistent link to specific Web

content. When using a DOI, no retrieval date is needed. Do NOT add punctuation after the DOI number. Do

not add space between the colon that follows the DOI and the actual number.

ARTICLE IN AN ONLINE SCHOLARLY JOURNAL (OR MAGAZINE)- NO DOI AVAILABLE:

Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Title of article. Title of Journal or Periodical, Volume

(Issue Number), Page Numbers. Retrieved from URL Address

Sillick, T. J. & Schutte, N. S. (2006). Emotional intelligence and self-esteem. E-Journal of Applied Psychology,

45, 12-20. Retrieved from http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/ejap/article/view/71

If the work is retrieved from a public database or journal with open access, give the specific URL. If the work is

from a database that requires a subscription, give the URL for the journal’s home page.

DICTIONARY OR WORK WITH NO AUTHOR:

Title of book. (Edition). (Year of Publication). City of Publication, State: Publisher.

Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. (10th ed.). (1998). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.

WEB PAGE OR WEB SITE:

Author Last Name, First Initial. (Date of Publication). Title of document. Retrieved from http://Web address

Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderland, L., & Brizee, A. (2010, May 5).

General format. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

ONLINE VIDEO:

Author Last Name, First Initial. or Screen name. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video file]. Retrieved from

URL

Goyen, A. (2007, February 22). Downtown Marquette dog sled races [Video file]. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW3CNCGGgTY

BLOG:

Author Last Name, First Initial. or Screen name. (Year, Month Day). Title of post [Web log post]. Retrieved

from URL

Kraus, L. (2010, July 1). Great animation on motivation [Web log post]. Retrieved from

http://www.leekrausonline.com/

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INTERVIEWS, EMAILS, OR OTHER PERSONAL COMMUNICATION:

Do not include forms of personal communication on your References page in APA style. Instead, list the

necessary info in your in-text citation.

(First Initial. Last Name, personal communication, Date of Communication).

(G. Smith, personal communication, April 14, 2015).

All other types of sources not listed on this quick guide may be found in APA style guides.

Created Summer 2015 by Meagan McManus