APA Styles: Formatting and Editorial Styles
APA Formatting: Parts of an APA Style Paper Title page with Author Note Abstract page Body of paper with Introduction Method Results Discussion References Tables or Figures
APA Formatting: Upper Title Page Title, centered, middle of page Author's full name Institutional Affiliation Other Elements Running head, right justified in top margin Label, followed by actual running head in all caps Followed by page number Same font style and size as rest of paper Double Space All Text throughout Paper
Upper Title Page Example Note the Right Justified tab that allows the page number to be right justified while the Running head is left justified
APA Formatting: Author Note Author's full name, departmental affiliation, institutional affiliation Acknowledgements Full Contact Information Begin with "Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to" Followed by your name, department, institution, and street address. Follow this with "Email:" and your email address Indent each paragraph
APA Formatting: Author Note Note the Page Break that allows you to be sure that the next page, the abstract, will always begin on a new page
APA Formatting: The Abstract Page Heading: Abstract Centered, at top of new page Plain format No paragraph indent for body of abstract Short description of article/study Keywords that describe key elements of study Indent ½ like a paragraph Italicize Keywords: Follow this with 5-8 descriptors
Abstract Example Note the formatting for the Keywords portion of the abstract: indented and italicized heading
APA Formatting: The Body of the Paper-- Introduction Heading: Title of paper as stated on Title Page Centered, at top of new page Plain format Begin the introduction of the topic Indent all paragraphs 1/2 Paraphrase information from sources Reference previous research appropriately
Example of the Beginning of an Introduction Note the title from the title page repeated as a heading on the first line of the introduction
Citing without Plagiarizing For every fact, idea, or organizational style that is not your own, you must acknowledge the source properly Paraphrases: Author(s) Name and Date of Publication Quotations: Author(s) Name, Date of Publication, and Page Number where information can be found Long Quotes (more than 40 words): Indent ½ on left No quotation marks Page number after the period
APA Formatting: Text Citations Examples of Paraphrasing American Psychiatric Association (APA, 2003) states that......... A rose is a just a rose (Kassin, 2001). O Neil, Hofstetter, and Egan (1992) are interested in treatments for arachnophobia. They argue that exposure might be the best way to reduce this problem.... O Neil et al. were also interested in the long-term effects of arachnophobia treatment.
APA Formatting: Text Citations Examples of Quoting American Psychiatric Association (APA, 2003) states that schizophrenia is a group of disorders rather a unitary mental disease (p. 531). Sometimes, a rose is a just a rose (Kassin, 2001, p. 208).
APA Formatting: The Body of the Paper-- Method Heading: Method Centered Bold Sub-sections: Subjects, Materials, Procedure No Indent Flush with left side of paper Bold Then indent all text paragraphs 1/2 Paraphrase information from sources Reference previous research appropriately
APA Formatting: The Body of the Paper-- Method Subjects Describe important characteristics of subjects Report number of subjects in each group Materials/Apparatuses/Stimuli Describe important characteristics stimuli, equipment, and materials Procedure Describe important steps in the process of carrying out the study
APA Formatting: The Body of the Paper-- Results Heading: Results Centered Bold Descriptive statistics are reported In the text In Figures (graphs) or Tables Inferential statistics are reported
APA Formatting: The Body of the Paper-- Discussion Heading: Discussion Centered Bold Summarize the statistical results Provide interpretation of those results, relating ideas back to the introduction Describe limitations of study Provide conclusions: how important are the results, given the limitations Provide future directions
APA Formatting: The Body of the Paper-- References Heading: References Centered Top of new page Provide detailed information about all sources in standard sequence Alphabetize sources by first author s last name Provide only first and second initials with last names of authors Check manual for details of books, journal articles
American Psychiatric Association (2003). Diagnostic and statistical manual, TR (4 th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology (2 nd ed.). Chicago: Prentice- Hall. O Neil, J. M., Hofstetter, M., & Egan, J. (1992). Treatment of spider phobia. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 65, 1154-1166. APA Formatting: References Examples