APA General Formatting

Basics:

Margins must be one inch on all four sides.

Text is aligned to the left-hand margin, leaving a ragged right margin.

Page numbers should be aligned to the upper right-hand corner and should be included on the title, body, reference, and appendix pages.

Papers should be double-spaced, including block quotes and references section.

The first line of any paragraph should be indented ½ inch or five spaces.

There should be no additional space between paragraphs, since you are using double-spacing.

APA prefers 12-point Times New Roman font for the text and Arial font for figure labels. Headings:

Running headings should be in ALL CAPS aligned to the upper left-hand corner and should include the title page.

All headings of equal importance are given the same heading level.

Use only as many heading levels as needed.

If sections can be divided by two or more subsections, use subsection headings.

Heading level format Title Pages and Abstracts: Title pages are required for all academic research papers and should include the following:

Double-spaced

Name of Paper (1st line centered in the middle of the page)

Author (2nd line centered in the middle of the page)

Affiliation (3rd line centered in the middle of the page) An abstract may be required for lengthy papers (to be required at the discretion of the faculty). An abstract is:

A concise summary of the key points of research

One double-spaced paragraph

Between 150 and 250 words in length Click here for more information on title pages and abstracts. Citing Sources In-Text:

Paraphrased content in-text. When students utilize knowledge from a source but are not directly quoting the information, they can paraphrase citing references in-text. In these instances, the name of the author must be directly followed by the date. Examples: Author (Date): Williams (2000) notes… (Author, Date): A recent study (Williams, 2000) indicates that…

Direct quotations in-text. When students utilize direct quotes from a source, the following guidelines apply:

Direct quotation in-text citations must include the page number.

The period is located outside the quotes and after the end parenthesis.

If the quote ends with a question mark or explanation point, they would be placed inside the quotes, and the period would follow the end parenthesis.

If quoting from a web source with no page numbers, use paragraphs as an alternative.

Examples: “You can market to anywhere in the world” (Williams, 2000, p. 23). Williams (2000) notes, “You can market to anywhere in the world” (p. 23). Williams (2000) poses the question, “Could you market anywhere in the world?” p. 23). “You can market to anywhere in the world” (Williams, 2000, para. 5). Block quotes in-text. When students utilize block quotes from a source, the following guidelines apply: Use a block quote for any quotation containing 40 or more words. Actual quote indents are ½ inch or five spaces. Do not use quotation marks. The period is located at the end of the quote but before the parenthesis. Example: Williams (2000) notes, You could market anywhere in the world. Etc…. (p. 26)

On the next page, you will see some examples for continued citing of the same publication, publications with multiple authors, and publications from a group or organization.

Basic In-Text Citation Styles

Type of citation First citation in text Subsequent citations in text Parenthetical format, first citation in text

Parenthetical format, subsequent citations in text

One work by one author

Smith (2011) Smith (2011) (Smith, 2011) (Smith, 2011)

One work by two authors

Davis and Page (2005) Davis and Page (2005) (Davis & Page, 2005) (Davis & Page, 2005)

One work by three authors

James, Jones, and Walsh (1992) James et al. (1992) (James, Jones, & Walsh, 1992) (James et al., 1992)

One work by four authors

Smith, Page, Davis, and Walsh (2001)

Smith, et al. (2001) (Smith, Page, Davis, & Walsh, 2001)

(Smith, et al., 2001)

One work by five authors

Hale, Alba, Bates, Sanchez, and Lin (1998)

Hale et al. (1998) (Hale, Alba, Bates, Sanchez, & Lin 1998)

(Hale et al., 1998)

One work by six or more authors

Hammerstien, et al. (2006) Hammerstien, et al. (2006) (Hammerstien, et al., 2006) (Hammerstien, et al., 2006)

Groups (readily identified through abbreviation) as authors

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, 2000)

NOAA (2000) (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], 2000)

(NOAA 2000)

Groups (no abbreviation) as authors

Saint Leo University (2009) Saint Leo University (2009) (Saint Leo University, 2009) (Saint Leo University, 2009)

Adapted from American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

References: Format the reference section of academic papers as follows:

Reference section begins on a new page.

References are double-spaced.

Page numbers and running headers continue sequentially on all reference pages.

Heading should be “References” (not works cited or bibliography) and be in Heading 1 format.

Should only contain sources cited within the paper.

References should be alphabetized.

If same author is used more than once, that author should be sorted by publication year (earliest year first).

References should utilize a hanging indent of ½ inch or five spaces for all lines following the first line of the reference.

Books. Last name, first initial(s). (Year published). Title of book: Subtitle if applicable (capitalize

only the first word of the title: Capitalize also first word for any subtitle). (edition

number if there is one. Do not use superscript). City: Publishing company.

Example: Williams, P. J. (2000). Marketing your dreams (2nd ed.). Champaign, IL: Sports

Publishing, Inc.

More book examples Note: Only name the state with the city if the city is not well known. If several works by the same author, list by year of publication, earliest first. Also, hanging indents and all lines of the reference after the first line, are five spaces (in reference list only, not in-text) Examples: “You can market to anywhere in the world” (Williams, 2000, p. 23). Williams (2000) notes, “You can market to anywhere in the world” (p. 23). Williams (2000) poses the question, “Could you market anywhere in the world?” p. 23). “You can market to anywhere in the world” (Williams, 2000, para. 5).

Journals. A professional journal is different from a magazine: Sports Illustrated is a magazine; the Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport is a professional journal. For a journals’ issue number, if there is one, there is no space between the volume number and the parenthetical mark, and it is not italicized like the title and volume number. Journal reference listing. Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary

perspective on human mating. Psychological Review, 30(20), 5-40.

Journal article with doi from electronic source. Proietto, J. (2010, March 25). Endocrine aspects of obesity. Molecular & Cellular

Endocrinology, 103. doi:10.1016/j.mce.2009.12.004.

Journal article without DOI (when DOI is not available). Dyer, J. & Beck, N. (2007). Psychocardiology: Advancing the assessment and treatment

of heart patients. E-Journal of Applied Psychology 3(2), 3-12. Retrieved from

http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/ejap/article/view/88/120

Magazine articles.

Magazine reference listing. Henry, W. A. III. (1990, April 9). Beyond the melting pot. Time, 135, 28-31.

Online magazine article. Sutherland, B. (2009, April 18). Apple’s new weapon. Newsweek. Retrieved from

http://www.newsweek.com

Newspaper articles. Last name, initial(s). (Year, date published). Title. Name of Newspaper, volume number

if applicable, page number.

Example: Thomas, A. (1998, November 2). When good boys go bad. The St. Augustine Record,

46, pp. A5-A6.

Internet sources. Generally, electronic citations begin with the standard elements as in the previous examples, followed by a retrieval statement. Do not include hyperlinks.

Examples: Last name, initial(s). (Year, month of publication). Title of article. Title of Online

Periodical, volume number (Issue number if applicable). Retrieved from

http://www.theaddress.com

Marion, J. D. (2004, September). People who make the news: Famous on the

web. People Magazine, 26(45). Retrieved from http://www.peoplemag.com

Internet articles based on a print source. Only include Electronic Version (as shown

below) if you have viewed the article in only the electronic form that is the same as the print version. If there have been changes to the article in its electronic form, then leave Electronic Version out and add a retrieval URL.

Example citation in reference list, duplicate of a print source: Smith, A. B. (2000, March 7). Cultivating positive emotions to optimize health and

well-being [Electronic Version]. Prevention Journal, 3, 110-122.

Example citation in reference list, based on a print source, but modified: Smith, A. B. (2000, March 7). Cultivating positive emotions to optimize health and

well-being. Prevention Journal, 3, 110-122. Retrieved from

http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume3/pre003001a.html

Law cases. Name v. Name, Case citation. (Court and year in which the case took place). Example: Montalvo v. Radcliffe, 167 F. 3d 873 (E.D. VA 1998).

No author, date, or page number. You may find in your research articles and

publications with no author, date, and/or page numbers. Here are some guidelines:

When citing an article without page numbers, you should use paragraph numbers (para. 1).

When citing without an author, the entry should be a few words of the title or whole title, if short.

When citing with no date, use n.d. in place of the date. Example of in-text citation: (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 2005) Example of a reference: Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (11th ed.). (2005). Springfield, MA: Merriam-

Webster.