WHAT IS APA STYLE?

APA Style is a set of guidelines covering many different aspects of scholarly writing, including:

• formatting (title page setup, margins, line spacing, font, headings, etc.)
• mechanics of style (spelling, punctuation, capitalization, italics, etc.)
• grammar
• use of bias-free language
• references/citations

The APA Style Manual is published by the American Psychological Association (APA) and is used in psychology, nursing, business, communications, criminology, engineering, and related fields.

Check out the APA Style website for more info!

FORMATTING THE PAPER

Formatting the Title Page (page 1) for a student paper

• Create a Title Page for your work
• Scroll down to the center of the page and center the following:
  • Title of Your Paper
    • Bold your title
    • Use title caps
    • No quotation marks, italics, underline, etc.
  • Your Name
  • University Affiliation
  • Course Name/Number
  • Instructor
  • Due Date

Figure 19.1 Title Page Example

Formatting the Beginning of Your Written Content

To start the body of your text follow the proceeding steps:

1. Create a new page. This page (and all those that follow) should also include the header without the words “Running head.”
2. At the top of the new page, center and write the full title of your work. Do not use bold, underline or quotation marks. After the title, hit enter once, indent your paragraph ½ inch, and begin writing.

Levels 1-3 Headings

APA uses various levels of headings to distinguish sections in an essay. According to the OWL of Purdue, “[t]he levels are organized by levels of subordination, and each section of the paper should start with the highest level of heading.” The highest level of heading is 1 and the lowest is 5. However, in this section, only levels 1 through 3 are discussed.

Level 1 Heading

• Level 1 Heading (Centered, Bolded, Title Caps)
• Shows the section title (e.g. Literature Review, Methods, Results, Implications)

Figure 19.2 Heading 1

Level 2 Heading

• Level 2 Heading (Left-Justified, Bolded, Title Caps)
• Shows subsection titles (e.g. main ideas/topics)

Figure 19.3 Heading 2 Example

Level 3 Heading

• Level 3 Heading (Indented, bold, lower-case, period)
• Shows subsections of subsections (e.g. sub-topics of topics)

Figure 19.4 Heading 3

Properly formatted APA citations include two main elements: the reference list entry and the in-text citation. Below you will find sample citations for a variety of commonly-used reference types. For additional questions, consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.)

TWO PARTS OF APA CITATIONS

In APA Style, there are two parts to every citation: an in-text citation and a reference list citation.

In-text citations use only a few details of the source, enough to locate its matching reference citation in the reference list.

Reference list citations provide more information about the source, so that the reader can find it if they wish.

We will discuss both of these separately first and then together later. First, we will discuss reference list citations.

THE REFERENCE LIST

A reference list is an alphabetized list located on a separate page at the end of your paper that lists all the reference citations for the sources used in your paper to support your research.

Each reference citation includes key elements referred to as the Four W’s:

Author	Date	Title	Source Location
Who?	When?	What?	Where?

Asking these 4 questions helps identify the key elements needed for a reference list citation.

Using APA resources to help create a reference citation is like using a recipe. The ingredients are the key pieces of information about a source (4Ws). If you’re missing an ingredient, leave it out or substitute it.

Following a recipe’s directions is like following a citation example. If you follow the directions and add the ingredients at the right point, then your recipe (i.e. your citation) will turn out!

You are not expected to memorize APA guidelines. Instead, use available resources (APA Quickguide and this tutorial) to help guide you. Over time you will become more comfortable with creating citations yourself.

Creating Reference List Citations: Books/Ebooks

Next, we will use the 4 W’s to look at creating reference citations for the various sources evaluated in the previous chapters. Pay close attention to the punctuation and font emphasis (italic, underline) used.

Step 1: Find the 4 Ws

The 4 Ws for the book (there are four slides) 

Step 2: Arrange the 4 Ws in the correct order and with the correct formatting.

The citation for the book (click image to see it bigger)

The example above is an eBook accessed through a library database with no DOI.

• Author: is the book’s individual author.
  • As always, use only initials for all given names.
• Date: the copyright date of the book, found on the copyright page (©2011).
  • This is the guideline for all books and eBooks. The release date of a book is not used.
• Title: is in sentence-case and italics as it is a stand alone work
  • If a title has a subtitle, it is separated by a colon (:) with the first word of the subtitle in upper-case.
• Source location: is the book’s publisher (and for ebooks also the DOI or URL if available)
  • If the ebook is in a library database and has no DOI, treat the ebook like a print book and finish the citation with the book publisher; do not include the URL (unless your instructor asks you to do so)

Creating Reference List Citations: Trade Publications

Step 1: Find the 4 Ws

The 4 Ws for the trade article (there are four slides)

Step 2: Arrange the 4 Ws in the correct order and with the correct formatting.

The citation for the trade article (click image to see it bigger):

The example above is an article in a trade publication accessed through its online version on an open website.

• Author: the article’s individual author, as always last name followed by initials.
• Date: the publication date of the issue in () parentheses, Year-First, followed by the months.
• Title: the article title in sentence-case.
• Source location: the Publication’s Title (in Title-Case and italics), the article page range, and hyperlinked URL.
  • This example has no volume or issue numbers, so they are skipped.

Step 2: Arrange the 4 Ws in the correct order and with the correct formatting.

The citation for the journal article (click image to see it bigger)