APA Style Guidelines

Getting Started

Physical Format

No title page necessary.Black ink on white paper.Non-descript font (Times Roman—12).1-inch margins all around (except for

page #s).Double-spaced throughout.Fasten pages with a paper clip.

Heading, Title, and Page Number

Heading—top line, flush left (ds)(1) Your name(2) Professor’s name(3) Course title and number(4) Date

References Page

New PageDouble-spaced Center References at the top.Alphabetical Order--If no author,

alphabetize by the title.

References

Indent all but the first line in each entry by one-half inch.

Italicize the titles of books and periodicals.

Go through your paper to make sure all sources are on the list

Works Cited—Authors

Ball, E. (2000). Slaves in the family. New York: Ballantine Books.

If an editor: Rasgon, N. L. (Ed.). (2006). The effects of estrogen on brain function. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.

Do not include titles of authors—e.g. PhD, Dr., Sir.

Works by the Same Author

Arrange according to date, earliest first:Jules, R. (2003). Internal memos and other classified documents. London: Hutchinson.Jules, R. (2004). Derelict Cabinet. London: Corgi-Transworld.

Works Cited—Two Authors

Hardt, M., & Negri, A. (2000). Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UniversityPress.

Works Cited—Journal Article

Kellogg, R. T. (2001). Competition for working memory among writing processes. American Journal of Psychology, 114, 175-192.

Works Cited—Electronic Sources

Online publication by known author:Carr, A. (2003, May 22). AAUW applauds Senate support of title IX

resolution. Retrieved from http://www.aauw.org/about/

newsroom/press_releases/030522.cfm

Online Publications

Newspaper:Erard, M. (2001, November 16). A

colossal wreck. Austin Chronicle. Retrieved from

http://www.austinchronicle.com

Online Publications

Article in an online magazine:McClure, L. (2003, February 18). The

Salon interview: Molly Ivins. Salon. Retrieved from:

http://www.salon.com

Review of Capitalization

Manuscript page header:

Just the Important Words

The Remains of the Day

Review of Capitalization

Book Edition

(ed.)

Person is an editor

(Ed.)

Punctuating Quotations

[. . .] – use within brackets to show omissions within a quote.

[ ] – use brackets around your comments or explanations in a quote.

( ) – use parentheses outside the quote.

In-Text Citations

Author named in your text: “The influential sociologist Daniel Bell (1973) noted a shift in the United States to the ‘postindustrial society’” (p. 3).

Author not named in your text: “In 1997, the Gallup poll reported that 55% of adults think secondhand smoke is ‘very harmful’” (Saad, 1993, p. 4).

In-Text Citations

Work by a single author:(Bell, 1973, p. 3).

Work by two authors: (Suzuki & Irabu, 2002, p. 404).

Work by six or more authors:(Francisco et al., 2006, p. 17).

In-Text Citations

Work by an unknown author:(“Dealing the Peace Process,” 2003, p. 44).

Parts of an electronic source:(Robinson, 2007 ¶7).

Work quoted in another source:Saunders and Kellman’s study (as cited in Rice, 2006a)

Punctuating Block Quotes

In a rare circumstance your quote runs more than four lines. . .

Set it off beginning a new line.Indent ten spaces from the left margin.Type it double-spaced without quotation

marks.Place the page number after the final

period.

Ending Quotes

What to do when the quote has ending punctuation such as “?” or “!”

“How can I describe my emotions?” wonders the doctor in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein (42).

“You’ve got to be carefully taught,” wrote Oscar Hammerstein II about how racial prejudice is perpetuated.

Annotations

Provide a brief summary of the chapter, article, book, or website here. Use quotations sparingly. Use words such as claims, explains, or suggests to introduce the thesis of the article. For example, Dibattista claims that there are many sides to Chloe.

Annotations

In your second paragraph, assess the work and its value. Is it factual, unbiased, well documented? Is the source current? Then mention if you will be using the source in your research paper.

Reducing Bias in Language

Be more specific, not less- Age ranges rather than broad categories.

- Men and women—rather than ‘mankind’

- Avoid the generic ‘he’ - Specific ethnic or race labelingMention differences only when relevant.

Be Sensitive to Labels

Respect people’s preferences.Avoid labeling when possible Example: the depressed, LDs, the

elderlyUse ‘people first’ language Example: people over the age of 65,

people with learning disabilities.

Standards of Comparison

Be aware of hidden standards that compare the study group to an invisible (standard) group.

Example: “culturally deprived” (by what standard?)

Unparallel nounsExample: man and wife—instead of husband and wife.

Standards of Comparison

Avoid abnormal/normal comparisonsExample: Lesbians and the general public—instead, Lesbians and women identified as heterosexual.

Example: People with disabilities and normal people—instead, People with disabilities and people without disabilities.