APA

Prepared by Zhian Fadhil Asaad

Style Guides

A style guide is a book that outlines the “rules” necessary to follow for any one kind of writing. These rules may be about simple things like grammar and punctuation, or more substantive questions about citation, layout, or format. Some guides may also speak to style as it applies to content and voice. Below is a primer on style guides. Note that these are U.S.-based style guides, and international users are sure to have their own rules to follow and books to buy! :

Associated Press. Associated Press is the go-to style for journalists and news writing. Sometimes this covers magazine writing, too, but each title is different. AP Style was originally written with the news wire in mind, and so symbols and “extras” like italics and underlining are kept to a minimum. For example, Latin names are printed without their accents in straight AP Style (although many publications correct this in their house style).

MLA. The Modern Language Association style is almost exclusively used in the academic world, and applies mostly to literature and humanities. This is likely the style first introduced to most writing students and undergrads. It does carry some similarities to CMS teachings. American Psychological Association. The APA carries its own standard for the social sciences such as psychology, sociology, education and politics. (Although the American Sociological Association produces a style guide specifically for sociology). APA style is sometimes used for engineering and business work, too. Chicago Manual of Style. CMS is the standard for book publishing, both fiction and non-fiction. It is not generally used for scholarly publishing (journals and research), although it is sometimes used for history. CMS is currently in its 15th edition.

Turabian: Turabian style is named after the book’s author, Kate Turabian, and focuses on style in research work. It is used for the research or academic arm of many subjects. In fact, many grad and undergrad students will be directed to use Turabian despite the availability of another system in their discipline. The CMS actually refers students to Turabian, and many will find it much easier to navigate, anyway.

AMA. The American Medical Association is currently in its 10th edition of the AMA style guide, printed by Oxford Press. Of course, this is the go-to manual for health, medicine and biology subjects.

NLM. The National Library of Medicine has an online-only style guide that is often used in some of the AMA disciplines.

CSE. The Council of Science Editors Manual covers natural sciences and biology.

ACS. The American Chemical Society got in on the act with a style guide specifically for (you guessed it!) chemists.

ASA. Is the American Sociological Association trying to sway some former APA users? Maybe, although the APA still seems to be the more popular, even with more sociological-oriented disciplines.

Harvard Style. Also called the Author-Date style of citation, but not a fully published guide per se.

APA Style

American Psychological Association The APA carries its own standard for the social sciences such as psychology, sociology, education and politics. (Although the American Sociological Association produces a style guide specifically for sociology). APA style is sometimes used for engineering and business work, too.

General APA Guidelines

Your essay should be typed, double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11") with 1" margins on all sides. You should use a clear font that is highly readable. APA recommends using 12 pt. Times New Roman font.(Include a page header  (also known as the "running head") at the top of every page. To create a page header/running head, insert page numbers flush right. Then type "TITLE OF YOUR PAPER" in the header flush left using all capital letters. The running head is a shortened version of your paper's title and cannot exceed 50 characters including spacing and punctuation.

Type your title in upper and lowercase letters centered in the upper half of the page. APA recommends that your title be no more than 12 words in length and that it should not contain abbreviations or words that serve no purpose. Your title may take up one or two lines. All text on the title page, and throughout your paper, should be double-spaced.

Beneath the title, type the author's name: first name, middle initial(s), and last name. Do not use titles (Dr.) or degrees (PhD.)

Beneath the author's name, type the institutional affiliation, which should indicate the location where the author(s) conducted the research.

Sample -1-

Abstract

Begin a new page. Your abstract page should already include the page header (described above). On the first line of the abstract page, center the word “Abstract” (no bold, formatting, italics, underlining, or quotation marks).Beginning with the next line, write a concise summary of the key points of your research. (Do not indent.) Your abstract should contain at least your research topic, research questions, participants, methods, results, data analysis, and conclusions. You may also include possible implications of your research and future work you see connected with your findings. Your abstract should be a single paragraph double-spaced. Your abstract should be between 150 and 250 words.You may also want to list keywords from your paper in your abstract. To do this, indent as you would if you were starting a new paragraph, type Keywords: (italicized), and then list your keywords. Listing your keywords will help researchers find your work in databases.

APA Formatting and Style Guide

Margins: The standard margin size in APA is 2.5cm (1 inch) for all four sides. Font & Spacing: The usual fonts for APA are Times New Roman or Courier, and the size is always 12-pt. Times New Roman is usually expected at university. Double space your paper. Remember that when you double space a paper, you DO NOT need to leave an extra line between paragraphs. While your left margins should be flush, do not justify the right side of your text. The first line of every paragraph should be indented five spaces.Paper Size: Use standard 8 ½ by 11 inch paper. Unless specified by your professor, do not put your paper in a plastic binder or cover.Page Header: Include a "header" in the top right corner of each page (use the "header" function in your word processor to ensure correct placement). The header should include the first two or three words of your paper's title and the page number. The page number should be five spaces after the end of the "header".

Major Sections: Your essay should include four sections (Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, References). a. Title Page: The title goes in the upper half of the title page, centred, typed in the same font as the rest of your paper. Type your name and the name of your university on separate lines under your title. Include a page header (as defined above) and a running head. Your running head should be near the top of the page; it should begin with the words "Running head" followed by the two or three words from your title that constitute the "header" on each page indicating the "header" centre of the page.b. Abstract: The abstract should appear on page two of your essay. Ensure your "header" is at the top of the page; the title of this page should be the word "Abstract" (without quotations marks or other formatting) centred on the first line. Your abstract should be no longer than 120 words and should provide a summary of your paper. Do not indent your abstract.

c. Body: The body of your essay presents your research and analysis divided into sections. There are five levels of headings in APA, although you can use as many as your paper requires. Each level of heading has a different type face and is positioned differently. Most undergraduate papers will use 2 or 3 levels of headings.

d. References: Every essay must include a list of references at the end. It provides all the publication information for the sources you cite in the body of your essay. The References page must be separate from the rest of your essay. It should have the title References (with no quotations or italics, in the same font as the rest of your paper).entries should be organized alphabetically by the last name of the first author; provide the last name and the initials for each authors entries should be double-spaced with a five-space hanging indent for all lines .

Sample -2-

ReferencesBonnie, R. J., Jeffries, J. C., Jr., & Low, P. W. (2000). A case study in the insanity defense: The trial of John Hinckley, Jr. (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Foundation Press.Cannon, A. (2003, November 17). Sniper insanity? U. S. News & World Report, 135 (17) p. 35.Parzen, M. D. (2003). Toward a culture bound syndrome-based insanity defense. Culture, Medicine & Psychiatry, 27, 131–155.

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