format and style of an apa paper - lsu shreveport · 1 last updated: ryan sanders. june 23, 2016....

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Last updated: Ryan Sanders. June 23, 2016.

Format and Style of an APA Paper

APA FORMAT: GENERAL GUIDELINES

Format

1) All margins must be 1 inch.

2) Use 12-point Times New Roman font.

3) Double-space entire document. No extra space after paragraphs.

Organization

An APA-style paper typically includes a title, abstract, body, and reference section, though

students are encouraged to follow any specific directions given to them by their instructor.

Title Page

The title page—which unsurprisingly makes up the first page of the paper—includes four

elements that should be centered in the middle of the page: title, author (you, hopefully),

university followed by the class prefix and number, and the date of submission.

The title page is where you set up your page header, which includes the running head and the

page number. The running head—an abbreviated title that is a maximum of fifty characters—

should appear aligned to the far left in all uppercase letters in the header on all pages. Page

numbers should appear in the header as well, aligned to the far right.

Abstract

The abstract covers the main points of the paper and is not always required in all writing

assignments. Read any assignment instructions carefully to determine whether or not the paper

requires an abstract.

1) The abstract typically makes up the second page of the assignment.

2) The word “Abstract” should be centered at the top of the page.

3) The abstract should generally not exceed 120 words.

4) Do not indent the abstract paragraph.

Body

The body will contain all of the author’s main points as well as detailed and documented support

for those ideas.

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1) The body begins on its own page—generally on page three if there is an abstract and page

two if there is not.

2) The title of the paper should be centered at the top of the first page of the body, in initial

caps.

3) The introduction follows the title, but is not labeled. It should present the problem that

the rest of your paper seeks to address.

4) Headings are sometimes—though not always—used to separate the sections of the paper.

Headings are centered and bolded with each word of four letters or more capitalized (see

template for example). Subheadings can be used to further organize the area under a

heading into related subsections. If they are included, they are formatted just like

headings, except aligned to the left instead of centered. APA style dictates that

subheadings are unnecessary—and should therefore be avoided—unless the section

marked by the heading contains at least two potential subsections.

References

The reference page contains a list of all the sources cited in the paper.

1) This should start its own page—usually at the end of the entire paper.

2) The word “References” (no italics, bolding, or quotation marks) should be centered at the

top of the page.

3) It should include only sources that were actually used and cited within the paper.

4) The sources should be arranged in alphabetical order by the author’s last names.

5) To see how to properly cite a source for the References section, look at REFERENCE

EXAMPLES or the SAMPLE PAPER.

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APA FORMAT: STYLE, PUNCTUATION, AND MECHANICS

General

Write in the first and second person sparingly, or, better yet, not at all. This means avoiding the

use of I, we, you, us, etc. Instead, use third person: he, she, they, “one”, etc. Do not use

contractions.

For emphasis, use italics (not quotation marks, ALL CAPS, or bold).

Numbers

1) Use numerals: for numbers 10 and above; for any numbers grouped for comparison (ex. 1

in 5 dentists); for times, dates, ages, and measurements; for statistics and percentages;

and for numbers denoting a specific place in a series, book, or table (ex. Table 3, Group

5, Chapter 4).

2) Spell out numbers: below 10; at the beginning of a sentence, title, or heading; common

fractions; and approximations of time (ex. about three days, months, or years ago).

Acronyms

Acronyms must be spelled out in their entirety the first time they appear in a paper, immediately

followed by their abbreviated acronym set off in parenthesis. After their initial appearance, they

may be referred to using only this abbreviation.

Example:

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) made a Pokémon parody game

called “Pokémon: Black and Blue”. PETA used the game to accuse the Pokémon

franchise of promoting violence towards animals.

Punctuation

1) Use only one space after punctuation marks at the end of sentences.

2) Use ellipses when omitting material within a quote.

3) Place a comma after the penultimate word in a series (the Oxford Comma). Ex. Ryan,

Rachel, and Lucian flew to the moon on the back of a magical talking walrus.

Initial Capitalization

1) Capitalize all words of four or more letters in titles (books, articles, etc.) used in text.

This rule does not apply to the references section.

2) Capitalize proper nouns and names, as usual.

In-text Citations

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In-text citations are used in the body of a paper to show which sources a student used to support

their argument.

When you use material from a source—whether paraphrasing, summarizing, or directly

quoting—you need to document that source by using an in-text citation which corresponds to a

source in your reference section. All paraphrases, summaries, and quotes must be cited and

referenced. If they are not, then your use of the material is considered plagiarism which, of

course, can have SERIOUS ACADEMIC CONSEQUENCES.

Rules for In-Text Citation

1) In-text citations should include the author’s name, if available, and the year of publication.

2) Cite the last name of the author first followed by the year of publication. Do this each time

you use any material from that author (in the form of a paraphrase, summary, direct quote, etc).

This citation can be placed at the end of a sentence, or it can be incorporated into the

grammatical structure of the sentence.

Examples:

Thorough research has concluded that getting drunk in the bathtub is a super fun way to

spend an afternoon (Sanders, 2016).

According to researcher Ryan Sanders (2016) getting drunk in the bathtub is a super fun

way to spend an afternoon.

3) For a work by two authors, cite both last names followed by year on every reference.

Examples:

(Sanders & Hoffnung, 2016)

According to Sanders and Hoffnung (2016)...

4) For a work by three to five authors, cite all the last names followed by year on the first

reference, and the first author's last name followed by “et al” and then year on every subsequent

in-text citation.

Examples:

(Sanders, Hoffnung, & Hammond 2016)

(Sanders et al., 2016)

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5) For a work by six or more authors, cite the last name of the first author followed by “et al.”

and the year for all your in-text citations.

Examples:

(Sanders et al. 2016)

According to Sanders et al. (2016)...

6) If no author exists for the source, use the first few words of the title for your in-text citations.

Examples:

Research shows that statistically, he who smelt it probably has, in fact, dealt it (“Fake

Fart Science,” 2016)

7) If the material is a direct quote, the page or paragraph number of the source should

immediately follow.

Examples:

“I think every girl’s dream is to find a bad boy at the right time, when he

doesn’t want to be a bad boy anymore” (Hitler, 1939, p. 376).

Responding to criticism that her music panders to emotionally susceptible, hormonally

volatile teenage girls, Taylor Swift (2014) famously responded “He alone, who owns the

youth, gains the future” (para. 3).

8) Quotations with 40 or more words should be in block format.

A) Do not put a block quote in quotation marks.

B) Start a block quote on a new line.

C) Indent the ENTIRE block 0.5 inches from the left margin (in the same position as a new

paragraph).

D) Additional paragraphs within a block quote should have the first line indented an

additional 0.5 inches.

E) The in-text citation for a block quote is placed outside the final punctuation at the very

end of the quote.

F) Double space, just like the rest of the paper.

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APA: REFERENCES

The reference list should appear at the end of the paper. It provides the information necessary for

a reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the body of the paper. Each source you cite

in the paper must appear in your references; contrariwise, if a source appears in your references,

it must also appear in the body of your paper.

Your references should begin on a new page after the body. Label this page “References” (no

quotation marks, underlines, italics, etc) centered at the top of the page. The reference page is

double spaced just like the rest of your essay.

1) All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one-half

inch from the left margin. This is called a hanging indention.

2) Authors names are inverted—surname first, then first and middle initials. Do this for up to

seven authors (Author, A. A., Author B. B., Author C. C., etc). When authors number eight or

more, include the first six authors’ names, then insert three ellipses, and add the last author’s

name.

Example:

Potter, H. J., Weasley R. B., Granger H. J., Malfoy, D. L., Lovegood, L., Longbottom,

N.,...Hagrid, R. (1998). Dealing with death—from Cedric to Snape. How to Defeat the

Dark Lord in Seven Books or Less, 6, 476-542. doi:10.1080/13622200720003763650

3) In reference notes for journal articles, include both the volume and the issue numbers if each

issue of the journal is paginated separately (that is, if each new section starts over with the page

one). If the journal paginates continuously throughout the volume, then use the volume number

in the reference note.

4) Reference list entries must be alphabetized by the surname of the first listed author of each

work.

5) If you have more than one article by the same author, list the separate articles in order by the

year of publication starting with the earliest and ending with the latest.

6) When referring to any work that is NOT a journal—such as a book, article, or webpage title—

capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or

a dash in the title, and proper nouns.

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REFERENCE EXAMPLES: BOOKS, REFERENCE BOOKS, AND CHAPTERS

Entire Book — Print Version

Format:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year). Title of work. Location of Publication: Publisher.

Example:

Sanders, R. J. (2026). The art of creative cursing: how to peel wallpaper and make

a sailor blush. Baton Rouge, LA: Hopkins.

Electronic Version of a Print Book

Format:

Author, A. A. (year). Title of work. Retrieved from http://www.___________

Example:

Sanders, R. J. (2021). Strange things I’ve found in my belly button: unabridged edition.

Retrieved from http://www.whyismybellybuttonfullofsuchstrangethings.org

Format:

Author, A. A. (year). Title of work. doi:__________

Example:

Trump, D. J. (2020). Beneath the toupee: the highly erotic presidency of Donald Trump.

doi:13.1369/6666666666

Electronic-Only Book

Format:

Author, A. A. (year). Title of work. Retrieved from http://www.___________

Example:

Sanders, R. J. (2025). Have you ever wondered if you are already dead, and perhaps that

you are merely living this life over and over again on infinite repeat, doomed

to always make the same mistakes and miss the same opportunities until

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finally one day, right at the moment of your greatest success, right at the moment

where you are the happiest you’ve ever been, the devil will jump out from behind

a wall and kick you in the genitals, laugh, and press the reset button? Retrieved

from http://thingsithinkaboutwhenidrink.org/existentially_devastating/thought_66

Edited Book

Format:

Editor, A. A. (year). Title of work. Location of Publication: Publisher.

Example:

Sanders, R. J. (2026). A compilation of ancient Babylonian spells you can use to summon

horror-terrors to devour your enemies. Salem, MA: Blackwood Press.

Chapter in a Book

Format (Print):

Author, A. A., & Author B. B. (year). Title of chapter or section. In A. A. Editor & B. B.

Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. xxx-xxx). Location of Publication: Publisher.

Example (Print):

Sanders, R. J. (2026). Finding virgins to sacrifice to the dark deities in sexed-up modern

America. In H.P. Lovecraft & A. H. Blackwood (Eds.), A compilation of ancient

Babylonian spells you can use to summon horror-terrors to devour your enemies

(pp. 66-82). Salem, MA: Blackwood Press.

Format (Online):


Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. xxx-xxx). Retrieved from

http://www.__________

Example (Online):

Sanders, R. J. (2021). Different varieties and colors of lint. In C. Hammond & R.

Hoffnung (Eds.), Strange things I’ve found in my belly button: unabridged

edition (pp. 15-150). Retrieved from

http://www.whyismybellybuttonfullofsuchstrangethings.org

Format (Online with DOI):

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Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. xxx-xxx). doi:xxxxxxxx

Example (Online with DOI):

Trump, D. J. (2020). How I feel about my daughter’s perfect body. In J.E. Bush & R. E.

Cruz (Eds.), Beneath the toupee: the highly erotic presidency of Donald Trump.

(pp. 345-366). doi:13.1369/6666666666

Multiple Editions of a Book

Format:

Author, A. A. (year). Title of work. (xx ed.). Location of Publication: Publisher.

Example:

Sanders, R. J. (2084). The sex-bot revolution: the true chronicle of the rise of our robotic

overlords and why we deserve it (3rd ed.). Ruins of New York: Carved Stone

Tablets to Record Our Sins So That Future Humans Will Not Repeat Them

Publishing Co.

Entry in an Online Reference Work (Dictionary, Encyclopedia, etc.) — Byline

Format:

Author, A. A. (year). Title of entry. In A. A. Editor & B. B. Editor (Eds.),

Title of reference work (xx ed.). Retrieved from http://www.__________

Example:

Sanders, R. J. (2016). Swyve. In R. Hoffnung (Ed.), Dictionary of Curse Words

throughout Space and Time (Summer 2019 ed.).

Retrieved from http://www.cursewordsthroughoutspaceandtime.org/verbs/sexual

Entry in an Online Reference Work — No Byline

Format:

Title of entry. (year). Title of reference work (xx ed.). Retrieved from

http://www.__________

Example:

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Cotard delusion. (1996). Obscure and disturbing mental illnesses. Retrieved from

http://www.thiswebsitemademeschizophrenic.edu/walking_corpse_syndrome

Entry in Reference Work — No Byline

Format:

Title of entry. (year). In A. Editor (Ed.), Title of reference work (xx ed., Vol. xx,

pp. xxx-xxx). Location of Publication: Publisher.

Example:

Cotard delusion. (2027). In R. Sanders (Ed.), Obscure and disturbing mental illnesses

(5th ed., Vol 1, pp. 98-100). Asylum, LA: Creutzfeldt and Jakob.

Book Written and Published by an Organization

Format:

Organization. (year). Title of work. Location of Publication: Publisher.

Example:

The Flat Earth Society. (2019). Arguments for a flat earth from scientists around the

World. Washington DC: Author.

In this case, “Author” is written in place of the publisher because the organization (in this

case the Flat Earth Society) are also the ones who published the work.

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REFERENCE EXAMPLES: PERIODICALS

Journal Article With DOI

Format:

Author, A. A. (year). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume (issue), xxx-xxx.

doi: xxxxxxxx

Example:

Sanders, R. J. (2018). How to sell your soul and make a profit. Journal of the Occult

Sciences, 13 (6), 33-36. doi:66.6666/666666666666666666

Journal Article Without DOI — Internet

Format:


Retrieved from http://www.__________

Example:


Sciences, 13 (6), 33-36. Retrieved from

http://www.occultsciences.edu/pseudomonarchiadaemonum/index.php

Journal Article Without DOI — Print

Format:


Example:


Sciences, 13 (6), 33-36.

Article in a Magazine — Print

Format:

Author, A. A. (year, Month). Title of article. Title of Magazine, Volume (issue), xxx-xxx.

Example:

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Flow, A. (2016, June). No, I’m not upset! Stop asking me if I’m upset! Well, I’m upset

now because you kept asking me if I was upset! Women’s Monthly, 333 (36), 6-

12.

Article in a Magazine — Online

Format:

Author, A. A. (year, Month). Title of article. Title of Magazine, Volume (issue). Retrieved

from http://www.__________

Example:

Flow, A. (2016, September). Just don’t even talk to me right now, gah, your voice is so

annoying. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it, you're not mad at me now are you? You are,

aren’t you? I know you're lying, I’m not stupid! Women’s Monthly, 333 (39).

Retrieved from http://www.womensmonthlymagazine.com/icantevenrightnow/39

Article in a Newspaper — Print

Format:

Author, A. A. (year, Month day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper, pp. xx, xx.

Example:

Sanders, R. J. (2078, November 23). Polar bears burst into flames: manmade climate

change deniers still adamant. The Apocalypse Post, pp. A3, A6.

Article in a Newspaper — Online

Format:

Author, A. A. (year, Month day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper. Retrieved from

http://www.__________

Example:

Sanders, R. J. (2079, April 13). Death of print media determined to be murder: Internet is

declared number one suspect. The Apocalypse Post. Retrieved from

http://www.recordofthecollapseofcivilization.org/print_media

Report From University or Government Organization

Format:

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Organization. (year). Title of report. (Publication No. xx). Retrieved from

http://www.__________

Example:

The Illuminati. (2016). Declaration of war on the lizard people. (Publication No.

33-1399). Retrieved from http://www.thelegitilluminatiyo.gov/covert_wars

Report from Nongovernmental Organization

Format:

Author, A. A. (year). Title of report. (Research Report No. xx). Retrieved from Agency

Name website: http://www.__________

Example:

Human, N. M. (2017). The negative effects of undue discrimination and prejudiced

behaviors against reptilian Americans by certain hate-groups (Research Report

No. 11.2). Retrieved from Equal Rights for Scaly American’s Advocacy Group

website: http://www.lizardsarepeopletoo.org/hate_crimes/report_0013

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REFERENCE EXAMPLES: WEB PAGES (GENERAL)

Author Known

Format:

Author, A. A. (year). Title of work. Retrieved from http://__________

Example:

Sanders, R. J. (2029). A complete list of things that somewhat resemble genitals.

Retrieved from http://thingswhichlooklikegenitals.com

Author Unknown

Format:

Title of work. (year). Retrieved from http://__________

Example:

Nooooooooo! The horror! The horror! For the love of all that is holy, no! If you value the

sanctity of your soul, please, for the love of god, please, avert your eyes and flee

this evil place! It is already too late for me! (2016). Retrieved from

http://adorablenewbornkittensplayingwithstring.com/super_kawaii/;)

format and style of an apa paper - lsu shreveport · 1 last updated: ryan sanders. june 23, 2016....

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