A Practical Guide to APA Style

Running head: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO APA STYLE 1

A Practical Guide to APA Style

Leecy A. Barnett

Lynn University

Running Head—All Caps

Up to 50 characters of the title

Byline—Use Name with Middle Initial

The Title Page

Title---Capitalize Important Words

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO APA STYLE 2

Abstract

This is a very short paper done for the experience of learning how

to do and teach the American Psychological Association’s writing

style.

The Abstract is a one paragraph summary of the paper -------------(< 120 words). The Abstract is not indented.

Text is always double spaced. Never use boldface.

The Abstract

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO APA STYLE 3

The BodyA Practical Guide to APA Style

When the APA style was first conceived eighty years ago, the main

purpose was to develop standards for the publication of articles but has over the

years become a guide to all aspects of academic writing (American Psychological

Association, 2009). “Although designed for those who intend to publish,”

Houghton and Houghton (2007, p. xii) point out that, “numerous colleges and

universities adhere to these stringent guidelines.” Learning to do APA style well

Center the title

Indent ¶s

Use Times New Roman or Courier as

font---size 12

Headings•Complicated System of Multiple Levels

•Not always required by professors• See at Purdue---

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01 -

In Text Citations--IdeasWhenever you get an idea from a source cite it using the author’s name and date of publication in parentheses at the end of the sentence or paragraph describing their idea. The period goes after the final parenthesis.

Example:

When the APA style was first conceived eighty years ago, the main purpose was

to develop standards for the publication of articles in the fields of anthropology

and psychology (American Psychological Association, 2009).

American Psychological Association is A corporate author

In Text Citations—Author in textIf you refer to the author(s) in the text of your paper, cite the source simply with the date of publication in parentheses next to the author’s name.

Example:

According to Fox (2007), the internet has played a significant role in the

increase of plagiarism in academia today.

In Text Citations—Short Direct Quote

When you directly quote a source you need to add quotation marks around the words or sentence you copy. The final period, however, comes at the end of the final parenthesis of the citation.

Example:

“Although designed for those who intend to publish, numerous colleges

and universities adhere to these stringent guidelines” (Houghton and Houghton,

2007, p. xii). For direct quotes you

need to add the page number

In Text Citations—Long Direct QuoteWhen your direct quotation long than longer than 40 words put it in and indented paragraph without quotation marks. Now the final period comes before the citation ---it seems this rule is designed just to frustrate you!

Example:

APA format. The running head often causes confusion:

The running head is a shortened form of the title of your paper that appears in 

uppercase letters at the top left of each page of your manuscript. It helps to

identify the pages of your paper and keep them together….On the title page of

your manuscript, the label “Running head:” precedes the running head itself.

(Hume-Pratuch, 2012, para.2-3)When quoting from a webpage,

determine the paragraph # quoted and use that instead of a page #

References

American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication manual of the American

Psychological Association. Washington, DC: American Psychological

Association.

Houghton, P. M., & Houghton, T. J. (2007). APA: The easy way. Flint, MI: Baker

College.

Hume-Pratuch, J. (2012, May 10). Mysteries of the running head explained.

Retrieved from APA style blog: http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/running-

heads/

Center References

•Alphabetical by Authors Last Name•Use initials rather than full 1st Name•Hanging Indent•Double Space

Tip:Do the

Reference Page 1st

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO APA STYLE 3 Reference Page

Author---Last Name, Initials 2-6 author write them out ---use & instead of and. After 6 write et al. Authors can also be a company or organization

Date of Publication--- year in parenthesis

Title—italicize, only first word and first word after colon are capitalized

Publication information---City and state (if mentioned—use postal abbreviation) and publisher.

Example:

Houghton, P. M., & Houghton, T. J. (2007). APA: The easy way. Flint,

MI: Baker College.

Books

Author & Date of Publication--- same as book

Article Title— do not italicize, only first word is capitalized

Journal Title—italicize

Volume —italicize

Page Numbers---numbers only

Example:

Smith, G. E., & Eggleston, T. J. (2001). Comprehending APA style through

manuscript analysis. Teaching of Psychology , 28, 108-110.

Print Journal Articles

Author & Date of Publication--- same as book

Article Title— do not italicize, only first word is capitalized

Journal Title—italicize

Volume —italicize, (put issue in parentheses if page numbers start over in each volume)

Page Numbers---numbers only

doi: xx.xxxxx

Example:

Luttrell, V. R., Bufkin, J. L., Eastman, V. J., & Miller, R. (2010).

The APA style requires including the Document Object Identifier

or doi if available.

Teaching scientific writing: measuring student learning in an

intensive APA skills course. Teaching of Psychology, 37(3),

193-195. doi:10.1080/00986283.2010.488531

Electronic Journal Articles

If you cannot find the doi, put Retrieved from and the url instead.

Example:

Sillick, T.J. & Schutte, N.S. (2006). Emotional intelligence and self-esteem

mediate between perceived early parental love and adult happiness. E-

Journal of Applied Psychology, 2(2), 38-48. Retrieved from

http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/ejap

Electronic Journal Articles without doi

Author --- same as book if available---

No Author---use title of page

Date---most precise available; no date (n.d.)

Title of page —italicize, only first word is capitalized

Example:

Hume-Pratuch, J. (2012, May 10). Mysteries of the running head

explained. Retrieved from APA style blog:

http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/running-heads/

WebpageAdd:•Retrieved from•Name of Website•url

Author or Compiler name.

No Author---use title of page

Date---(showing year, month, date).

Title of video —italicize [Video file]--- only first word is capitalized

Example:

The Cobalt Agent. (2007, September 14) Ronald Reagan’s remarks on the

Challenger shuttle explosion [Video file]. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JKIZ7j20EA

Add:•Retrieved from•url

YouTube video

Using Microsoft Word 2013

Warning:You will have to be careful in the way you add information. It does not auto-correct

for capitalization. Also, you have to add the doi or url for an electronic article manually.