Student Learning Support Writing Support APA Style Formatting Overview The American Psychological Association style is commonly referred to as APA. Like other styles, all pages should be formatted with a one inch margin and the text should be written in a 12 point Times or Arial font. APA emphasizes the author s last name and the date of publication. Titles of texts are rarely, if ever, used in APA. Unlike other referencing styles, the in-text formatting of the citation for paraphrases and summaries are the same. APA also obscures the gender of the author by only listing the first initial of the author s name. APA referencing consists of in-text or parenthetical citations, and a reference list. The citations are the direct references to the texts you have read. Citations are written in the body of your work, hence they are in-text. Citations are also written in brackets or parenthesis, hence they are called parenthetical. Since the citation is considered part of your sentence, the period comes after the citation. APA is commonly used in programs such as Nursing, Social Work, Geography, Sociology, and Psychology. Use this handout as a general guide to APA formatting and refer to the official APA Style Guide for full details: APA Style Link APA General Formatting Standard letter paper size 8.5 x 11 Typed at 12 pt. Time New Roman font and double-spaced 1 margins on all sides Page header and number on all pages Page number in top right corner of EVERY page. Title page starts as 1. Title in top left of EVERY page Title page: Running head: TITLE OF PAPER All other pages: TITLE OF PAPER Use the Page Header tool in Microsoft Word
In-Text Parenthetical Citation There are three ways to cite a source: quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. For each of these options the author s last name and year of publication must be given. Note that the year is usually coupled with the author s name, and that the period comes after all citation information. Quote Use the source word for word. The author's last name, year, and page number must be given As Singh (2002) elucidates, the men who were surveyed tended to prefer apples (p. 66). Author Last Name (Year) lead into quote quote quote quote (p. page number). Paraphrase A part of the author s idea is put into your own words. The author s last name and year of publication must be given. Singh (2002) noted that unlike women, men enjoyed apples. Author Last Name (Year) summary of text in your own words. Summarize The author s larger argument or idea is put into your own words. The survey revealed that men enjoyed apples over pears (Singh, 2002). Summary of the text in your own words (Author Last Name, Year). When citing a work with two or more authors within a parenthesis an ampersand (&) is used. For example: (Grant, Fern, & Miller, 2008). However, within the sentence and in the reference list "and" is used. For example: Grant, Fern, and Miller (2008). In subsequent citations only the name of the first author must appear, for example: (Grant et al., 2008). For all styles of in-text citation, there are three ways to organize the information. All of the citation information must appear only once per sentence. There is no need to mention the author s name in the sentence, and then again in parenthesis. Emphasize the idea by placing the citation information at the end of the sentence. The colour of classroom walls has a strong effect on student s emotions (Lee, 2013). Emphasize the author by placing their name first.
Lee (2013) argued for a correlation between student emotion and classroom colour. Emphasize the year by placing it first. In 2013, Lee elucidated the relationship between colour and emotion in the classroom. Notice that the researched information is not simply dropped into the page. Instead, a flow is created by leading into the information. Block Quote If a quotation is longer than 40 words, then it is written out in a block quotation. A block quotation is started on a new line that is indented on the left side about 1.3 cm (½ inch) or one tab. The entire quotation should be double-spaced. Unlike in short quotations, the period comes before the quotation information. Zimmerman (1967) elucidated that the rise of folk music s popularity in the late 1960 s among Toronto s youth, coincided with the development of stronger bonds between male and female fans at concert venues. The Yorkville scene was exemplary of this. (p. 78) Reference List The reference list will contain all sources that you have consulted and been inspired by in developing your arguments and ideas for your essay. There is only one exception to this rule. Any personal communication between yourself and an individual is not recorded in the references, it is only cited in-text. The reference list should be given its own new page. This page will be final page of your paper. The title of the page is References, and the word References should appear in the center of your page. To format your references, do the following: Order all entries alphabetically using the author s last name Double space all entries The second line of any reference should be formatted with a hanging indent. A handing indent means that the row is indented on the left side about 1.3 cm (½ inch) or one tab
Use a DOI in place of a URL when possible When a publication date is not given use n.d. meaning no date If the author's name is not known, use the title of the work If using two or more texts by the same author, list the works in chronological order. If the author has two publications published in one year, then add a lowercase letter (a, b, c) after to year to designate which publication is which Sample References Entire Book Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher. Foucault, M. (1969). The archeology of knowledge. New York, NY: Routledge. Stolorow, R., Branshaft, B., & Atwood, G. (1987). Psychoanalytic treatment: An intersubjective approach. Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press. A Chapter in an Edited Book Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In A. A. Editor & B. B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pages of chapter). Location: Publisher. Draper, D. (2009). Advertising spoofs. In A. Roger (Ed.), Manhattan advertising (pp. 34-56). New York, NY: Price Press. Article Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number (issue number), pages. http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyyy Shuttle, H. (1972). Transcultural child psychiatry. Acta Paedopsychiatrica, 38(9), 229-231. Jinx, R. (2013). Toward a new theory of performance: Ballet and beyond. Journal of Performance Studies, 33, 23-56. doi: 10.1108/03199190108178181
U.S. Government of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (2003). Managing asthma: A guide for the public. Retrieved from www.bhil.gov/health/prof/asthma Online Newspaper Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/ Roux, D. R. (2006, July 14). Wild fermentation. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www. nytimes.com E-Book (Only available in e-book form) Author, A. A. (Year of Publication). Title of book. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/ Ullman, D. (2013). Torrid rapture. Retrieved from www.ebooks.com/showitem.lkjow-23 Video Producer, A.A. (Producer), & Director, B.B. (Director). (Year). Title of motion picture [Motion picture]. Country of Origin: Studio. Rollins. J. (Producer), & Woody, A. (Director). Midnight in Paris [Motion picture]. United States: United Artists. Producer, A.A. (Producer), & Director, B.B. (Director). (Year). Title of motion picture [DVD]. Available from hhtp://www.apa.org/videos/ Shaw, A. (Producer). (2005). Leaving or loving [DVD]. Available from http://www.youtube.com/leaving
Podcast Producer, A.A. (Producer). (Year, Month Day). Title of podcast [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/podcasts/ Smiley, F. (2010, October 17). After the Jump [Audio Podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.heritageradio.com Blog Post. Author, A.A. (Year, Month Day). Title of blog post [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/blogpost/ Ali, A. (2004, February 14). Terrible days in Toronto [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.theangrychicken.com/2004/days Headings In APA there are 5 levels of headings: Level of heading Format 1 Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase 2 Flush Left, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading 3 Indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period. 4 Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period. 5 Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period. Level 1 is also referred to as a title case. In Level 2, a lowercase paragraph heading, the first letter of the first word is in upper case and the remaining words are lowercase. Figures Tables and figures should be placed closest to the paragraph they describe. The source should be cited like a parenthetical citation, only without the parenthesis. Within the text,
refer to tables by their numbers. Do not use phrases such as: the table below, or the table on the last page. Table 1. Fraction of Movers by Desertion Status Nondeserter Returned deserter Deserter State Mover.440.422.636 Within-state County Mover.331.353.242 County Stayer.229.225.122 Note: State mover is an individual who moved across states; within-state mover is an individual who moved within a state but across a county; and county stayer is an individual who remained in the same county between enlistment and 1880. Title Page Double-spaced and in the upper half of the page. Include the full title (may take two lines), the writer s name, the institution name. Do not bold or italicize anything. Some professors may require additional information. Be sure to follow what your professor wants (date, professor s name, course name/code/section, etc).
Sample Title Page Running head: CULTURE OF EVERYDAY LIFE 1 A running head is a shorter version of the title The Culture of Everyday Life: An Examination of Students Daily Habits Radika Persaud Ryerson University Sociology of Learning SOC 888