WRITING A PAPER IN THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA) FORMAT

WHY USE APA STYLE?

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• This is the most common format for documenting sources.

• This format is widely used for course papers and journal articles in Psychology and also in the social sciences, education, engineering, and business.

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA)

• Also called the “name-and-year” system of documenting sources because these are the two pieces of information you insert into the body of your paper. • Emphasizes how recent the information is.

CITE SOURCES FOR SUPPORT AND TO:• Avoid Plagiarism• Give Credit Appropriately• Advance Knowledge Base• Make Research Easier for Future Scholars

WHERE DO YOU PUT THE INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR SOURCES IN AN APA RESEARCH PAPER?

•APA requires information in two places: 1. In in-text citations, right in the body of

your paper. AND 2.At the end of your paper, on the

references page.

RULES FOR IN-TEXT CITATIONS• Place at the end of borrowed material. • Include the author’s last name and the date of publication. • Include the page number for direct quotations or a specific part

(i. e.: paraphrased items) of a paginated source. • Use a comma between elements and the abbreviation “p.” for

“page” and “pp.” for “pages.” • APA rarely refers to names of sources within in-text citations –

use author(s’) name(s)

WHEN DO I CITE SOURCES?•Direct Quotation•Webster (2009) reports that subjects in

the study “ran funnier than Marcus with one leg” (p. 253).

•Paraphrase •Webster (2009) further shows the

media biased approach to the University of Miami football (p. 222).

•Summary•Middle school students are gross for a

variety of reasons, including lack of hygiene and overall ignorance (Webster, 2010, p.22).

WHAT IS A DIRECT QUOTATION?

• A direct quotation is a group of words or sentences that you copy word for word and use as a part of your essay.

Example: “The scientific method has well-known and important advantages” (Schrope,2009, p. 24).

WHAT IS A PARAPHRASE?

• A paraphrase is restating a section of text in your own words.

• Length and sentence structure will be similar to the original.

WHAT IS A SUMMARY?

• If your source is unnecessarily detailed, you may put the information entirely in your own words.

Example: Student test scores tend to correlate strongly with amount of time spent studying (Marigold, 2006).

IN-TEXT CITATIONS

• Three Components of In-text Citations• Authors’ Last Name(s)• Year Source was Published• Page Number (if available)

TWO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT IN-TEXT CITATIONS

• Do I need to keep inserting the name of the author of my source over and over again?

• If I’m using the same source a lot, how often do I need to insert an in-text citation?

ANSWERS

• In both cases, you insert the information as often as you think the reader needs it. • Keep asking yourself, “Will the reader know where I found the

information in this sentence or paragraph?” and “Whose words/ideas/language am I using?” • It’s better to use too many in-text citations than too few. • You may also consider using less of that specific source.

•Your in-text citation tells the reader to look at your references page in order to find complete publishing information for that source.

THE REFERENCES PAGE

• Is at the end of your paper and begins on a new page. (Tip: Use “hard page break” or “section break” after the end of body.) • It is an alphabetical listing of all of the sources you referred to

specifically with an in-text citation in your paper. • It does not include sources that you may have read for

background information but did not actually incorporate into the paper.

REFERENCES PAGE, CONTD.

• The title of the page is References, not References Page, Bibliography, or Works Cited. • Subsequent pages do not have a title. • On the first line, center the word References, using the same font as the essay. It

is not underlined, italicized, or bold. • The references page is double spaced like the rest of the paper (no single space

within entries). • Each entry begins at the left margin (1”) and subsequent lines are indented an

additional 5 – 7 spaces or ½ inch using tab key. (This is called “hanging indent.”)

THE FORMAT FOR A BOOK CITATION SHOWS YOU THE “SKELETON”

OF ALL APA CITATIONS…

• Book format (with two authors) Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2005). Psychology

(8th ed.). New York, NY: Prentice Hall. Note the punctuation! • Last name, first initial., & last name, first initial. (date). Title of work.

Place of publication meaning City, State (using 2 letter postal abbreviation): Publisher.

FORMAT FOR AN ARTICLE IN A JOURNAL PAGINATED BY ISSUE

Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15(3), 5-13.

Last name, first initials. (date). Title of article. Title of Journal, vol(issue), pages.

NONPERIODICAL WEB DOCUMENT

Archer, Z. (n.d.). Exploring nonverbal communication. Retrieved from

http://www.zzyx.uscs.edu/~archer

Name of Web Page. (Year, month day) Retrieved from: Name of Web Site: URL