INTRODUCTION TO APA STYLENHS AVID 12

APA

The Basics of APA style This tutorial will provide an overview of

APA style. During college, it will be helpful to

purchase the style guides of the style most commonly used in your major.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

One inch margins on each side

10-12 point Times New Roman

Four main sections include Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, and References.

TITLE PAGE

Title should be no more than 12 words in length

Texts are double-spaced

Author’s name (do not use degrees)

Name of institution where research was completed

RUNNING HEAD…WHAT IS THAT???

(The running head is what gets printed across the top of journal pages. The 50 characters include spaces.

It usually contains as much as the title that you can meaningfully fit into 50 characters (including spaces).

The words "Running head:" only appear on the title page.)

http://web.psych.washington.edu/writingcenter/writingguides/pdf/apatemplate.pdf

ABSTRACT

Write it last!

120 words or less in 1 paragraph

Summarizes your paper

Ask: What is most important Include 1-2 sentences of a summary

WHY DO WE USE A UNIFORM STYLE?

Express the key elements of quantitative results

Choose a suitable graphic form (tables) Report critical details of research protocol Describe individuals with accuracy and

respect Avoid inconsistencies among journals

Retrieved from http://www.apastyle.org/learn/faqs/why-apastyle-needed.aspx

IN TEXT CITATIONS

In-text citations correlate to entries in Reference section

Must include author and year of publication

Direct quotes include page number Weisgerber (2010) intended the audience to… “You’ll thank me for this later,” stated

Weisgerber (2010, p. 55). “Seriously, stay awake!” emphasized Weisgerber

(2010, pp. 56-57).

TOO MANY AUTHORS!!!!!!!

Use your style guide when citing multiple authors.

I CAN’T FIND HOW TO CITE IT…

Is it scholarly?

Check the style guide provided

You may need to consult the APA style guide

MAIN BODY

Say only what needs to be said

Vary sentence length

Watch length of paragraphs

Be clear with your word choice!

REFERENCES When gathering

information, take note of the following:

Author(s) Date of Publication Journal/Book/Resource Title Article Title Volume/Edition Pages Website (url)/Database Retrieval date (for web

source) Publisher/City of Publication

(for print sources)

Follow guidelines for the appropriate source

HELPFUL SITES

Purdue OWL resource APA Frequently asked questions Towson University Cook Library Site