APA 6TH EDITION FORMATTING

Citations, References, Quotes, and More

PROBLEM AREAS Consistency of citations.

Make sure the date is always correct. Make sure to cite the author, not the article title.

Table of Contents Make sure your subheadings and subheadings of the

subheadings match WORD FOR WORD with what is listed in the Table of Contents.

Tables and Figures Make sure these are formatted correctly and their title

matches WORD FOR WORD with what’s listed in the List of Tables and List of Figures.

References

CITATIONS When to cite

Whenever you are paraphrasing someone else’s work. Whenever you are mentioning someone else’s work. Whenever you are using a direct quote.

Always cite using the author, not the article title. The first time you are citing a source, always list all of

the authors unless there are 6 or more, then you may use “et al.” After the first time citing, if there is more than two authors,

you may use “et al.” When using a direct quote always put the page number,

or if it’s an online source, the paragraph number the quote can be found in.

CITATIONS CONTINUED Please make sure that you use a comma to separate

the author and the year (and page number if it is a direct quote).

When you are citing a source with more than one author in the text, you use the word “and.” Ex: John Smith and John Doe (2004)

When citing a source with multiple authors in parenthesis, you use the “&” symbol. Ex: (Smith & Doe, 2004)

http://www.bemidjistate.edu/academics/graduate_studies/AAABasic%20Citation%20Styles.pdf

TABLE OF CONTENTS AND LIST OF TABLES/FIGURES It is important that your wording always matches

WORD FOR WORD with what is listed in your

Table of Contents List of Tables List of Figures

TABLES AND FIGURES A table’s title is listed above the table like so:

Table X (not italicized)

Table Title (italicized) Make sure the table number is in normal Times New

Roman 12 point font above the table’s title, and the table title is in Time New Roman 12 point font but is italicized.

Any notes on the table should be below it in 10 point Times New Roman font.

A figure’s number (italicized) and title/caption (not italicized) should be below the figure with any notes and the source following the title, like so:

Figure X. Caption for figure X, serving as an explanation of the figure and as a figure title. Source: APA Manual 6th Edition

GENERAL ISSUES Make sure that you have the correct address for the School of Graduate

Studies on your paper. School of Graduate Studies

Bemidji State University

1500 Birchmont Dr NE #48

Bemidji, MN 56601-2699

218-755-2027 All the front matter templates located on our website have the correct address

on them. http://www.bemidjistate.edu/academics/graduate_studies/current/thesis/templ

ates/

Make sure that your paper is written in Times New Roman 12 point font. All of your paper; the only exception are notes below a table.

When using a direct quote, note that the punctuation goes after the citation. Like so: “Sensory Integration was statistically equal to the effect of other alternative

treatments” (Vargas & Camilli, 1999, p. 196).

REFERENCES A general guide to the formatting of references can be found on our

website: http://www.bemidjistate.edu/academics/graduate_studies/current/thesis /

If no date for publication can be found still format everything the same, but put n.d. where the year would go. Do this in citations within the paper as well.

When using APA 6th Edition, you do not need to list the retrieval date for website information.

Do, however make sure the URL you provide is working, leads DIRECTLY to the article used, and does not require one to sign up and create a password.

If you cannot find a specific person as an author, please list the group that published the piece. Ex: The American Museum of Natural History. (n.d.). The history of human

evolution. Retrieved from http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/human-origins/the-history-of-human-evolution

REFERENCES CONTINUED If you are listing a dictionary source, you first list the word you

defined, the copyright date, the dictionary you got the definition from, and the website if found online; if found in an actual book you would list the edition of the book (if given), the city, state and publisher. Ex: Symbiotic. (2013). In Merriam-Webster's online dictionary. Retrieved

from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/symbiotic Symbiotic. (2013). In Merriam-Webster's dictionary (11th ed.).

Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc. If you have multiple articles from the same author in the same

year, you must differentiate them like so: Smith, J. (2004a) Smith, J. (2004b)

Please also list the year like this in the citation to help alleviate any confusion as to which article you are referencing.

When in doubt, Google!