www.bellevuecollege.edu/asc 425-564-2200

Bellevue College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, language, ethnicity, religion, veteran status, sex, sexual orientation, including gender identity or expression, disability, or age in its programs and activities. Please see policy 4150 at www.bellevuecollege.edu/policies/. The following people have been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Title IX Coordinator, 425-564-2641, Office C227, and EEOC/504 Compliance

Officer, 425-564-2178, Office R130. www.bellevuecollege.edu

What Is an APA-Style Essay?

APA (American Psychological Association) style is used mostly for writing in the social

sciences, but especially in psychology courses. In documenting sources, APA style emphasizes

authors and the dates their works were published. Everything in your paper, including the title

page, should be double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman.

An APA paper usually has four parts:

1. Title page

2. Abstract

3. Body of the paper with sources cited in APA format

4. Reference page with sources listed (instructor requirements may vary)

1. Title Page

For only the title page (select “different first

page” to format the header), type “Running

head:” before the TITLE IN ALL CAPITALS (Stop

at 50 characters, even if title is longer.)

Use a right-aligned tab in the ruler to insert

the page number 1.

Centered in the middle of the page: Full Title—

Capitalize all words except for FANBOYS or

prepositions that are four or fewer letters. A

“the” or “a” is capitalized only if it is the first

word of a title.

Your Name

Your School’s Name

Centered near the bottom: “Author Note”

Left aligned, indented half an inch: the course

name, section, and instructor name. Figure 1. Example of APA Title Page

2

FOR ALL PAGES AFTER THE TITLE PAGE, format the header as follows:

The title (up to 50 characters) in all CAPITALS on the left margin, page numbers on the right

margin.

2. Abstract

An abstract is a short summary of your paper, generally only 150 to 250 words. An

abstract is often optional in student papers, but if one is part of your assignment, write it after

you have composed your paper. Put it on page two, separate from the rest of the paper.

Format of the abstract:

Center “Abstract” at the top of the page.

The first line of the abstract is not

indented.

All text is in a single, left-aligned, double-

spaced paragraph (150-200 words)

3

3. Body of Paper

The margins are 1" from the top, bottom, left and right edges of the paper.

Begin your paper with your Full Paper Title centered (NOT in bold text), follow capitalization rules

as in Full Title from title page.

All new paragraphs, indent ½", with no extra space between paragraphs.

Center the major section headings (for example, Method, Results, and Discussion) in boldface

type. The same capitalization rules apply as for the paper title. Subsection headings may be left

aligned.

4

In-text Citations (How to Incorporate Sources into Your Text)

APA style requires internal citation, always giving the author’s or authors’ last name(s)

and the date of publication. However, unlike MLA style, you only need to include a page

number when you use a quotation. You can cite your sources different ways in your text, but

you should use signal phrases as much as possible, especially if you use quotations from

sources that don’t have page numbers.

A. Being Clear About Who Says What

The first time you introduce a text, give the full name and credentials of the author or authors

(X), the title of the work and the year it was published in a signal phrase. You may also name

the genre of the work (article from famous newspaper, trade journal, academic journal, TED

Talk, university course website, conference presentation, etc.). The verbs should use past or

past perfect tense:

“In his/her YEAR genre, “Title,” X argued that__________________.”

Example:

In her 2016 New York Times editorial “Insurance Reform and Lives Lost,” journalist Marcy Doe argued that . . .

To format Tables:

Above the table, type “Table #”

Next line: Title of Table in Italics

Below the table: Type “note:” followed by

source information

To format Figures:

(can include graphs, charts, or photos)

below the figure: Type Figure # (in italics),

followed by label and caption

5

B. Templates for Introducing Quotations in APA Style

X (YEAR) stated, “_____” (p. ###).

As the prominent philosopher X (YEAR) put it, “_____” (p. ###).

According to X and Y (YEAR), “_____” (p. ###) --use for sources with two authors

In X’s (YEAR) view, “_____” (p. ###).

X (YEAR) agreed/disagreed when she wrote, “_____” (p. ###).

Researchers have complicated matters further by saying, “_____” (X & Y, YEAR, p. ###).

C. Templates for Introducing Challenges to What X Says in APA Style

A number of sociologists (Y, YEAR; Z, et al., YEAR) have recently suggested that X’s (YEAR) work has several fundamental problems.

It has become common to dismiss X’s contribution to the field of sociology (Y, YEAR; Z, YEAR).

In YEAR, Y and Z offered harsh critiques of Dr. X for _____.

You can place the authors’ names, the date, and the page number (if you use a quotation and

your source has page numbers) in parentheses at the end of the sentence:

Researchers even went so far as to assert that the partying styles of

college students “had a direct effect on grades” (Kahn & Shahili, 2002,

p. 1513).

For long quotes of more than 40 words:

Entire passage is indented ½ inch, double

spaced, without quotation marks.

Page number in parentheses after the period

at the end of your quote. (###)

Figure 2. Example of a Long Quote Format

6

4. Reference Page

Beginning on a separate page after your body of the paper, center the title “References” at

the top, then list your resources alphabetically by author last name.

Double space all entries, but with

hanging indents of ½ inch. (A hanging

indent is when the first line of a

paragraph is against the left margin,

but subsequent lines are indented.)

Methods of creating hanging indents vary according to which word processing application you are using. All authors’ names are listed by family name, then initials; if a source has more than one author, separate the names with commas, and put an ampersand (&) before the last author. For works by many authors, list up to seven of them; if there are eight or more, list the first six, then follow with an ellipsis ( . . . ) and the last author’s name.

References

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological

Association (6th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

American Psychological Association. (2011). APA style: Learning APA style. In APA style.

Retrieved from http://www.apastyle.org/learn/index.aspx

Hacker, D. (2011). APA manuscript format. A writer’s reference (7th ed.). Boston: Bedford/St.

Martin’s. 484-496.

Figure 3. Example of References Page. Adapted from

“APA Documentation” by Bellevue College Library Media

Center. Retrieved from

http://bellevuecollege.edu/lmc/handouts/APA_2009.pdf