APA Formatting & StyleQuick Tutorial

Adapted from OWL resource APA Formatting and Style Guide

Some basic info

What is APA?American Psychological Association

Why use APA?StandardGives credit to sourcesPlagiarism

How to use APA?

Double-spacedReference list only for info you’ve usedReading list not necessaryAKA Bibliography

How to use APA?

In-text citationParaphrasingDirect Quote

Reference listPrint ResourcesWeb Resources

In-text Citation

Name-date format (last name, year)(Jones, 1998)(Wegener & Petty, 1994)(Kernis, Cornell, Sun, Berry,

& Harlow, 1993)(Kernis et al., 1993)

(Harris et al., 2001)

5 authors, 1st mention

More than 5 authors

subsequently

In-text Citation – Paraphrasing

Single AuthorAccording to Jones (1998), APA style is a

difficult citation format for first-time learners.

APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998).

In-text Citation – Paraphrasing

Multiple authorsAccording to Pitt and Jolie (2005), Mr. And

Mrs. Smith is a really good movie thateverybody can enjoy.

Mr. And Mrs. Smith is a really good moviethat everybody can enjoy (Pitt & Jolie, 2005).

Abraham et al. (2008) stated thatAbraham et al. (2008) stated that……

In-text Citation – Direct Quote

Include page numberAccording to Jones (1998), "Students often

had difficulty using APA style, especiallywhen it was their first time" (p. 199).

Based on research, she found that“students often had difficulty using APAstyle especially when it was their first time”(Jones, 1998, p.199).

In-text Citation

Titles of books and reports are italicized orunderlined; titles of articles and chapters arein “quotation marks”.("Using APA," 2001)

Organisation as author(last name, n.d.)May not be that reliable

Use “para” for paragraph # for websites

Use n.d. for works with no date

You need to use in-text citation once youparaphrase or quote someone else’s ideas.

Reference List

Alphabetical orderHanging IndentAll lines after the first line of each entry should

be indented one-half inch from the left margin.Authors' names are inverted(last name first)

Reference List – BooksAuthor, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of

work: Capital letter also for subtitle.Location: Publisher.

Robert Oppenheimer: Letters and recollections.

Title subtitlecolon

Reference List – Books

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title ofwork: Capital letter also for subtitle.Location: Publisher.

Felton, S. (1989). Messie no more. UK:Fleming H. Revell.

Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APAguide to preparing manuscripts for journalpublication. Washington, DC: AmericanPsychological Association.

Reference List – Books

Edited bookDuncan, G.J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (Eds.).

(1997). Consequences of growing up poor.New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Smith, A.K., & Weiner, C. (Eds.). (1980).Robert Oppenheimer: Letters andRecollections. Cambridge, MA: HarvardUniversity Press.

Reference List – Books

Chapter in a bookAuthor, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of

chapter. In A. Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), Title ofbook (pages of chapter). Location: Publisher.

O'Neil, J. M., & Egan, J. (1992). Men's and women'sgender role journeys: Metaphor for healing,transition, and transformation. In B.R. Wainrib (Ed.),Gender issues across the life cycle (pp. 107-123).New York: Springer.

Reference List – Books

Chapter in a bookAuthor, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of

chapter. In A. Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), Title ofbook (pages of chapter). Location: Publisher.

NOTE:In this case, using B. Pitt as an example:Author’s name should be written as Pitt, B.But editor’s name should be B. Pitt

Reference List – Reference Books

Entry in EncyclopediaBergmann, P. G. (1993). Relativity. In The new

encyclopedia britannica (Vol. 26, pp. 501-508). Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.

DictionaryOxford Dictionary (7th ed.). (2000). Hinsdale,

IL: Penguin Press.

Reference List – Periodicals

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year).Title of article. Title of Periodical, volumenumber(issue number), pages.

Levin, Y. (2006). The Moral Challenge of ModernScience. The New Atlantis, 13, 32-46.

Wang, M.-Y., & Hwang, M.-J. (2004). The e-learninglibrary: Only a warehouse of learning resources?The Electronic Library, 22(5), 408-415.

Reference List – Periodicals

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year).Title of article. Title of Periodical, volumenumber(issue number), pages.

NOTE:Include volume number only if there’s no

issue numberVolume number in italicsNo space between volume number and the

parenthesis (brackets) for issue number

Reference List – Newspaper

Author is knownSchwartz, J. (1993, September 30). Obesity

affects economic, social status. TheWashington Post, pp. A1, A4.

No Author – Use TitleNew drug appears to sharply cut risk of death

from heart failure. (1993, July 15). TheWashington Post, p. A12.

Reference List – Online Articles

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date ofpublication). Title of article. Title of OnlinePeriodical, volume number(issuenumber). Retrieved month day, year, fromhttp://www.someaddress.com/full/url/

Bernstein, M. (2002). 10 tips on writing theliving Web. A List Apart: For People WhoMake Websites, 149. Retrieved May 2, 2006,from http://www.alistapart.com/articles/writeliving

Reference List – Web Sites

Digital Library Federation (1998). A workingdefinition of digital library [1998]. RetrievedOctober 19, 2006, fromhttp://www.diglib.org/about/dldefinition.htm

Campbell, C.P. (1998). Beyond Language: CulturalPredispositions in Business Correspondence.Retrieved January 19, 2008, fromhttp://infohost.nmt.edu/~cpc/internationalethos.html

Reference List – Wikipedia

Little Boy. (2008, March 19). In Wikipedia, TheFree Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 20,2008, fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Little_Boy&oldid=199343517

Although strictly speaking, you shouldn’t belisting Wikipedia as your one of yourreferences. It’s okay to use it as a startingpoint for your research, but…

References

Cornell University Library PSECDocumentation Committee. (2007). APAcitation style. Retrieved March 25, 2008, fromhttp://www.library.cornell.edu/newhelp/res_strategy/citing/apa.html

Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL).(2008). APA Formatting and Style Guide.Retrieved March 25, 2008, fromhttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/