A Presentation by the Academic Resource Center at Gwynedd

Mercy University

An Introduction to

APA Style

Avoiding Plagiarism

Be careful when taking notes (Q, ME) Print source information as well as article Paraphrase Ideas not words Stay true to the author’s meaning Avoid block quotes Give context Begin each paragraph with your own idea

Why do we need to know APA?

To avoid plagiarism

To provide a clear, uniform style for references

To organize your paper so it is less confusing for the reader

Before you Begin

Make sure your margins are set at 1 inch

Use 12 pt. Times New Roman font

Everything in your paper should be double spaced and

Nothing is underlined

When do we cite?

When we borrow the words or thoughts of another person by

quoting

paraphrasing

summarizing

Title Page

Information Needed:

Running Head Header Title Name Institutional Affiliation

Sample Title Page:

Anorexia and Bulimia:

Causes, Symptoms, Effects, and Treatment

Emily M. Jacobs

Gwynedd Mercy University

Running head: ANOREXIA AND BULIMIA 11111111111111111

Sample Abstract

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

Abstract

This paper discusses Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences. He believes that there

are seven different intelligences, and each person is skilled in a certain one. The seven

intelligences are linguistic, musical, logical or mathematical, spatial, physical or kinesthetic,

interpersonal and intrapersonal. Within each intelligence are certain areas or skills in which a

person with that intelligence excels. Finally, this paper addresses Gardner’s theory of how to

assess children in these areas. He has proposed a Project Spectrum Approach, in which children

are observed in a comfortable and natural setting over a long period of time.

2

Headings

APA Style uses a unique heading system to separate and classify paper sections.

There are 5 heading levels in APA.

Regardless of the number of levels, always use the headings in order, beginning with level 1.

Headings

Level 1   Centered, Boldface, Capitalize Significant Words of Heading

Level 2 Left-aligned, Boldface, Capitalize Significant Words of Heading   

Level 3  Indented, boldface, Capitalize first word only, end heading with period. Start writing your paragraph here.

Level 4  Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase with   period.  Start your paragraph here.

Level 5  Indented, italicized, lowercase with period.

Headings

Bulimia

Parents often struggle to identify the symptoms of bulimia in their children. The warning signs

can be subtle and hard to pinpoint. Often, the parents present problems of their own. Jablow (1992)

explains that “mothers of bulimics tend to be more hostile and depressed than other mothers, and…fathers

tend to be more irritable, impulsive, and more alienated from the bulimic daughter” (p. 81).

Symptoms Families of bulimics often have difficulty dealing with problems and communicating effectively.

It is difficult for a young girl to live under such circumstances, so she tends to use her binge-purge cycle

as an escape and an area of her life that she can control.

Psychological indicators. Patients often demonstrate behavior that is unhealthy as a

Level 2

7

Level 1

Level 3

In Text/Parenthetical Documentation Information Required:

- Author(s) name

- Date of Publication

- Page number (for direct quotations)

Sample in-text citations

According to Adams (2001), the evidence was circumstantial.

According to Hastings (2004), “The sources presented provided modified results” (p. 421).

The information compiled is irrelevant to the successful completion of the experiment (Wyndmore, 1989).

Things to remember…

Quotes of 40 or more words appear in a block quotation format, indented with no quotation marks.

In a block quotation the period goes before the parentheses to show that the citation is not part of the quote

Block quotations are double spaced

Sample Block Quotation

done on the wrists, arms, legs, or stomach, are hard enough to break the skin and possibly deep enough to cause bleeding and scarring; however, they are not intended to cause permanent pain or suicide (Cool Nurse). According to Hayes (2005),

Self-inflicted injury is a coping mechanism, albeit not a particularly healthy one, used by those who want to live and are struggling to control their emotions. This self-injurious act is indicative of a failure by an individual to develop positive coping skills in the face ofoverwhelming stress. (p.1172)

Multiple Authors

For 1-2 authors, cite both names every time.

For 3-5 authors, cite all authors the first time; use just the first name with “et al.” in subsequent citations

More than 5: cite only the first author with “et al.” every time.

Citing a Book…

Elements of a reference to an entire book

Cone, J. D., & Foster, S. L. (1993). Dissertations and theses from start to finish:

Psychology and related fields. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Citing a Database Article

Last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Date). Article title. Journal

Title, volume number (issue number), page numbers. doi or Retrieved from URL

Borman, W. C., Hanson, M. A., Oppler, S. H., Pulakos, E. D., & White, L. A. (1993).

Role of early supervisory experience in supervisor performance. Journal of

Applied Psychology, 78(8), 443-449. Retrieved from

http://www.eric.com/jdlsiejls/supervisor/early937d%

References for Multiple Authors

Up to seven authors, list every author For sources with eight or more authors, use

the first six names followed by an ellipsis (…) and the last author’s name.

Ex. Dolan, R., Smith, R. C., Fox, N. K., Purcell, L., Fleming, J., Alderfer, B., …Roman, D. E. (2008). Management of diabetes: The

adolescent challenge. The Diabetes Educator, 34, 118-135.

A Database article with DOI

Brownlie, D. (2005). Toward effective poster

presentations: An annotated bibliography. European

Journal of Marketing, 41(11), 1245-1283.

doi:10.1108/03090560710821161

Citing a Website

Because websites frequently don’t provide all the information necessary for a complete citation, list the information you have in this order and omit items that may be unavailable or redundant.

First :Author, sponsoring organization or article title Complete date Title of article Name and issue of periodical OR Website name/Sponsoring organization Retrieval date if the website is likely to change the content URL address

Fredrickson, B. L. (2000, March 7). Cultivating positive emotions to optimize

health and well-being. Prevention & Treatment, Article 001a. Retrieved

from http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume3/pre0030001a.html

Basic Internet Citation

Exploring linguistics. (1999, August 9).

Retrieved from

http://logos.uoregon.edu/explore/orthogra

phy/chinese.html#tsang

The Reference Page

List your sources alphabetically Use a hanging indent if your reference is

more than one line of text The word “References” should be centered at

the top of the page Within a reference, list the authors in the

same order they are listed in the article Take notice of special rules for capitalization

and italics that are unique to APA

Sample Reference Page

ART IN THE CLASSROOM 12

References

Exploring Linguistics. (1999, August 9). Retrieved February 10, 2005, from

http://logos.uoregon.edu/explore/orthography/chinese.html#tsang

Guo, B. (1995). Gate to Chinese calligraphy. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press.

Hearn, M., & Smith, J. (Eds.). (2001). Chinese art: Modern expressions. New York: The

Metropolitan Museum of Art.

McCaffrey, J., & Jones, B. J. (2007, December 11). The changes in modern language. The New York

Times. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com

Paul, M.R., Jennings, S. J., & Guiliani, L. M. (2006). The benefits of art instruction in middle

school. Education Digest,12(4), 38- 46. Retrieved from

http://academicsearchelite.middl/aieo97cka;kps

More Information…

The ARC is available for further assistance in APA format.

Writing Tutors can help with more specific citation or style questions.

Call or email anytime, 267-448-1370 or arc@gmc.edu