Assignment 1
Rock1027
APAFormattingandStyleGuide.pdf
APA Style Essentials http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/detail.aspx?doc_id=796
Last modified August 1, 2007
Douglas Degelman, Ph.D., and Martin Lorenzo Harris, Ph.D. Vanguard University of Southern California
79K PDF
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed., 2001) provides a comprehensive reference guide to writing using APA style, organization, and content. To order a copy of the Publication Manual online, go to http://www.apa.org/books/4200060.html. To view "PDF" documents referenced on this APA Style Essentials page, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader. To download the free Acrobat Reader, go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.
The purpose of this document is to provide a common core of elements of APA style that all members of an academic department can adopt as minimal standards for any assignment that specifies APA style. This Web document is itself not a model of APA style. For an example of a complete article formatted according to APA style, go to http://www.vanguard.edu/uploadedfiles/faculty/ddegelman/prayer.pdf. For an example of an undergraduate research proposal, go to http://www.vanguard.edu/uploadedfiles/faculty/ddegelman/psychproposal.pdf. To download a Microsoft Word template of an APA-style paper, go to http://www.vanguard.edu/uploadedFiles/Faculty/DDegelman/psychapa.doc
I. General Document Guidelines A. Margins: One inch on all sides (top, bottom, left, right) B. Font Size and Type: 12-pt. font (Times Roman or Courier are acceptable typefaces) C. Line Spacing: Double-space throughout the paper, including the title page, abstract,
body of the document, references, appendixes, footnotes, tables, and figure captions. D. Spacing after Punctuation: Space once after all punctuation. This includes using
one space (not two!) following punctuation marks at the ends of sentences. E. Alignment: Flush left (creating uneven right margin) F. Paragraph Indentation: 5-7 spaces G. Pagination: The page number appears one inch from the right edge of the paper on
the first line of every page (except Figures), beginning with the title page H. Manuscript Page Header: The first two or three words of the paper title appear five
spaces to the left of the page number on every page (except Figures), beginning with the title page. Manuscript page headers are used to identify manuscript pages during the editorial process. Using most word processors, the manuscript page header and page number can be inserted into a header, which then automatically appears on all pages.
I. Active voice: As a general rule, use the active voice rather than the passive voice. For example, use "We predicted that ..." rather than "It was predicted that ..."
J. Order of Pages: Title Page, Abstract, Body, References, Appendixes, Footnotes, Tables, Figure Captions, Figures
II. Title Page A. Pagination: The Title Page is page 1. B. Key Elements: Paper title, author(s), author affiliation(s), and running head. C. Paper Title: Uppercase and lowercase letters, centered on the page. D. Author(s): Uppercase and lowercase letters, centered on the line following the title. E. Institutional affiliation: Uppercase and lowercase letters, centered on the line
following the author(s).
F. Running head: The running head is typed flush left (all uppercase) following the words "Running head:" on the line below the manuscript page header. It should not exceed 50 characters, including punctuation and spacing. The running head is a short title that appears at the top of pages of published articles.
G. Example of APA-formatted Title Page: http://www.vanguard.edu/uploadedFiles/psychology/titlepage.pdf
III. Abstract: The abstract is a one-paragraph, self-contained summary of the most important elements of the paper.
A. Pagination: The abstract begins on a new page (page 2). B. Heading: Abstract (centered on the first line below the manuscript page header) C. Format: The abstract (in block format) begins on the line following the Abstract
heading. The abstract should not exceed 120 words. All numbers in the abstract (except those beginning a sentence) should be typed as digits rather than words.
D. Example of APA-formatted Abstract: http://www.vanguard.edu/uploadedFiles/psychology/abstract.pdf
IV. Body A. Pagination: The body of the paper begins on a new page (page 3). Subsections of
the body of the paper do not begin on new pages. B. Title: The title of the paper (in uppercase and lowercase letters) is centered on the
first line below the manuscript page header. C. Introduction: The introduction (which is not labeled) begins on the line following the
paper title. D. Headings: Headings are used to organize the document and reflect the relative
importance of sections. For example, many empirical research articles utilize Method, Results, Discussion, and References headings. In turn, the Method section often has subheadings of Participants, Apparatus, and Procedure. For an example of APA- formatted headings, go to http://www.vanguard.edu/uploadedFiles/psychology/headings.pdf
1. Main headings (when the paper has either one or two levels of headings) use centered uppercase and lowercase letters (e.g., Method, Results, Discussion, and References).
2. Subheadings (when the paper has two levels of headings) are italicized and use flush left, uppercase and lowercase letters (e.g., Participants, Apparatus, and Procedure as subsections of the Method section).
V. Text citations: Source material must be documented in the body of the paper by citing the author(s) and date(s) of the sources. The underlying principle is that ideas and words of others must be formally acknowledged. The reader can obtain the full source citation from the list of references that follows the body of the paper.
A. When the names of the authors of a source are part of the formal structure of the sentence, the year of publication appears in parentheses following the identification of the authors. Consider the following example:
Wirth and Mitchell (1994) found that although there was a reduction in insulin dosage over a period of two weeks in the treatment condition compared to the control condition, the difference was not statistically significant. [Note: and is used when multiple authors are identified as part of the formal structure of the sentence. Compare this to the example in the following section.]
B. When the authors of a source are not part of the formal structure of the sentence, both the authors and year of publication appear in parentheses. Consider the following example:
Reviews of research on religion and health have concluded that at least some types of religious behaviors are related to higher levels of physical and mental health (Gartner, Larson, & Allen, 1991; Koenig, 1990; Levin & Vanderpool, 1991; Maton & Pargament, 1987; Paloma & Pendleton, 1991; Payne, Bergin, Bielema, & Jenkins, 1991). [Note: & is used when multiple authors are identified in parenthetical material. Note also that when several sources are cited parenthetically, they are ordered alphabetically by first authors' surnames and separated by semicolons.]
C. When a source that has two authors is cited, both authors are included every time the source is cited.
D. When a source that has three, four, or five authors is cited, all authors are included the first time the source is cited. When that source is cited again, the first author's surname and "et al." are used. Consider the following example:
Reviews of research on religion and health have concluded that at least some types of religious behaviors are related to higher levels of physical and mental health (Payne, Bergin, Bielema, & Jenkins, 1991). Payne et al. (1991) showed that ...
E. When a source that has six or more authors is cited, the first author's surname and "et al." are used every time the source is cited (including the first time).
F. Every effort should be made to cite only sources that you have actually read. When it is necessary to cite a source that you have not read ("Grayson" in the following example) that is cited in a source that you have read ("Murzynski & Degelman" in the following example), use the following format for the text citation and list only the source you have read in the References list:
Grayson (as cited in Murzynski & Degelman, 1996) identified four components of body language that were related to judgments of vulnerability.
G. To cite a personal communication (including letters, emails, and telephone interviews), include initials, surname, and as exact a date as possible. Because a personal communication is not "recoverable" information, it is not included in the References section. For the text citation, use the following format:
B. F. Skinner (personal communication, February 12, 1978) claimed ...
H. To cite a Web document, use the author-date format. If no author is identified, use the first few words of the title in place of the author. If no date is provided, use "n.d." in place of the date. Consider the following examples:
Degelman and Harris (2000) provide guidelines for the use of APA writing style. Changes in Americans' views of gender status differences have been documented (Gender and Society, n.d.).
I. To cite the Bible, provide the book, chapter, and verse. The first time the Bible is cited in the text, identify the version used. Consider the following example:
"You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you" (Psalm 86:5, New International Version). [Note: No entry in the References list is needed for the Bible.]
VI. Quotations: When a direct quotation is used, always include the author, year, and page number as part of the citation.
A. A quotation of fewer than 40 words should be enclosed in double quotation marks and should be incorporated into the formal structure of the sentence. Example:
Patients receiving prayer had "less congestive heart failure, required less diuretic and antibiotic therapy, had fewer episodes of pneumonia, had fewer cardiac arrests, and were less frequently intubated and ventilated" (Byrd, 1988, p. 829).
B. A lengthier quotation of 40 or more words should appear (without quotation marks) apart from the surrounding text, in block format, with each line indented five spaces from the left margin.
VII. References: All sources included in the References section must be cited in the body of the paper (and all sources cited in the paper must be included in the References section).
A. Pagination: The References section begins on a new page. B. Heading: References (centered on the first line below the manuscript page header) C. Format: The references (with hanging indent) begin on the line following the
References heading. Entries are organized alphabetically by surnames of first authors. Most reference entries have three components:
1. Authors: Authors are listed in the same order as specified in the source, using surnames and initials. Commas separate all authors. When there are seven or more authors, list the first six and then use "et al." for remaining authors. If no author is identified, the title of the document begins the reference.
2. Year of Publication: In parentheses following authors, with a period following the closing parenthesis. If no publication date is identified, use "n.d." in parentheses following the authors.
3. Source Reference: Includes title, journal, volume, pages (for journal article) or title, city of publication, publisher (for book). Italicize titles of books, titles of periodicals, and periodical volume numbers.
D. Example of APA-formatted References: Go to http://www.vanguard.edu/uploadedFiles/psychology/references.pdf
E. Official APA "Electronic Reference Formats" document: Go to http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html
F. Examples of sources
1. Journal article
Murzynski, J., & Degelman, D. (1996). Body language of women and judgments of vulnerability to sexual assault. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 26, 1617-1626.
2. Book
Paloutzian, R. F. (1996). Invitation to the psychology of religion (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
3. Web document on university program or department Web site
Degelman, D., & Harris, M. L. (2000). APA style essentials. Retrieved May 18, 2000, from Vanguard University, Department of Psychology Web site: http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/index.aspx?doc_id=796
4. Stand-alone Web document (no date)
Nielsen, M. E. (n.d.). Notable people in psychology of religion. Retrieved August 3, 2001, from http://www.psywww.com/psyrelig/psyrelpr.htm
5. Stand-alone Web document (no author, no date)
Gender and society. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2001, from http://www.trinity.edu/~mkearl/gender.html
6. Journal article from database
Hien, D., & Honeyman, T. (2000). A closer look at the drug abuse-maternal aggression link. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15, 503-522. Retrieved May 20, 2000, from ProQuest database.
7. Abstract from secondary database
Garrity, K., & Degelman, D. (1990). Effect of server introduction on restaurant tipping. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 20, 168-172. Abstract retrieved July 23, 2001, from PsycINFO database.
8.Journal article, Internet-only journal
Bergen, D. (2002, Spring). The role of pretend play in children's cognitive development. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 4(1). Retrieved February 1, 2004, from http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v4n1/bergen.html
9. Article or chapter in an edited book
Shea, J. D. (1992). Religion and sexual adjustment. In J. F. Schumaker (Ed.), Religion and mental health (pp. 70-84). New York: Oxford University Press.
10. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text revision). Washington, DC: Author.
VIII. Appendixes: A common use of appendixes is to present unpublished tests or to describe complex equipment or stimulus materials.
A. Pagination: Each Appendix begins on a separate page. B. Heading:If there is only one appendix, Appendix is centered on the first line below
the manuscript page header. If there is more than one appendix, use Appendix A (or B or C, etc.). Double-space and type the appendix title (centered in uppercase and lowercase letters).
C. Format: Indent the first line 5-7 spaces. D. Example of APA-formatted
Appendix: http://www.vanguard.edu/uploadedFiles/psychology/appendix.pdf
IX. Footnotes: Content footnotes are occasionally used to support substantive information in the text..
A. Pagination: Footnotes begin on a separate page. B. Heading: Footnotes is centered on the first line below the manuscript page header.
C. Format: Indent the first line of each footnote 5-7 spaces and number the foonotes (slightly above the line) as they are identified in the text.
D. Example of APA-formatted Footnotes: http://www.vanguard.edu/uploadedFiles/psychology/footnote.pdf
X. Tables: A common use of tables is to present quantitative data or the results of statistical analyses (such as ANOVA). See the Publication Manual (2001, pp. 147-176) for detailed examples. Tables must be referred to in the text.
A. Pagination: Each Table begins on a separate page. B. Heading:Table 1 (or 2 or 3, etc.) is typed flush left on the first line below the
manuscript page header. Double-space and type the table title flush left (italicized in uppercase and lowercase letters).
C. Example of APA-formatted Tables: http://www.vanguard.edu/uploadedFiles/psychology/table2.pdf
XI. Figure Captions and Figures: A common use of Figures is to present graphs, photographs, or other illustrations (other than tables). See the Publication Manual (2001, pp. 176-201) for detailed examples. Figure Captions provide, on a single page, captions for the figures that follow.
A. Pagination: The Figure Captions page is the final numbered page of the paper. The Figures that follow the Figure Captions page do NOT have page numbers or manuscript page headers.
B. Heading for Figure Captions: Figure Caption(s) is centered on the first line below the manuscript page header. Double-space and type Figure 1. (or 2 or 3, etc.) italicized and flush left, followed by the caption for the figure (not italicized), capitalizing only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns.
C. Example of APA-formatted Figure Caption and Figure: http://www.vanguard.edu/uploadedFiles/Faculty/DDegelman/psychfigure.pdf
Copyright © 2000-2007 Douglas Degelman and Martin Harris
APA Formatting and Style Guide This resource was written by David Neyhart and Erin Karper.
Summary: APA (American Psychological Association) is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 5th edition of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page.
General Format
General APA Guidelines
Your essay should be typed, double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5 X 11 inches) with margins of 1 inch on all sides. Your final essay should include, in the order indicated below, as many of the following sections as are applicable, each of which should begin on a separate page:
Title page: includes a running head for publication, title, and byline and affiliation.
Image Caption: Sample APA title page; running head and page number in upper right- hand corner, definition of running head IN ALL CAPS, and vertically and horizontally centers the title of the paper, its author and her affiliation to the page.
Page numbers and running head: in the upper right-hand corner of each page, include a 1-2 word version of your title. Follow with five spaces and then the page number.
Abstract: If your instructor requires an abstract, write a 75-100 word overview of your essay, which should include your main idea and your major points. You also may want to mention any implications of your research. Place the abstract on its own page immediately after the title page. Center the word Abstract and then follow with the paragraph.
Headings: Although not absolutely necessary, headings can be helpful. For undergraduate papers, only one level of heading is necessary. Major headings should be
centered. Capitalize every word in the heading except articles (a, the), short prepositions (in, by, for), and coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or).
Visuals: Visuals such as tables and figures include graphs, charts, drawings, and photographs. Try to keep the visuals as simple as possible and clearly label each visual with an Arabic numeral (ex: Table 1, Table 2, etc.) and include the title of the visual. The label and the title should appear on separate lines above the table, flush left. Below the table, provide the source. A sample Figure treatment is shown below.
Image Caption: A sample figure and caption in APA style.
List of References: Create your list of references on its own page after the last page of your text. Center the title References one inch from the top of the page. Double space. Alphabetize the list of references by the last name of the authors. If the work has no author or editor, alphabetize the work by the first word of the title (excluding A, An, or The).
For more information about formatting an APA style paper, consult the publication manual, visit APA Style Essentials, or view a Sample APA Report or an APA Simulated Journal Article. Annotated bibliography writers might want to visit APA Format for Annotated Bibliographies. (Additional formatting resources, including Microsoft Word templates, are available in our Additional Resources section.)
In-Text Citations: The Basics
Reference citations in text are covered on pages 207-214 of the Publication Manual. What follows are some general guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay.
Note: APA style requires authors to use the past tense or present perfect tense when using signal phrases to describe earlier research. E.g., Jones (1998) found or Jones (1998) has found...
APA Citation Basics
When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, E.g., (Jones, 1998), and a complete reference should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.
If you are referring to an idea from another work but NOT directly quoting the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference.
In-Text Citation Capitalization, Quotes, and Italics/Underlining
• Always capitalize proper nouns, including author names and initials: D. Jones. • If you refer to the title of a source within your paper, capitalize all words that are
four letters long or greater within the title of a source: Permanence and Change. Exceptions apply to short words that are verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs: Writing New Media, There Is Nothing Left to Lose. (Note that in your References list, only the first word of a title will be capitalized: Writing new media.)
• When capitalizing titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound word: Natural-Born Cyborgs.
• Capitalize the first word after a dash or colon: "Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock's Vertigo."
• Italicize or underline the titles of longer works such as books, edited collections, movies, television series, documentaries, or albums: The Closing of the American Mind; The Wizard of Oz; Friends.
• Put quotation marks around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles, articles from edited collections, television series episodes, and song titles:
"Multimedia Narration: Constructing Possible Worlds"; "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry."
Short Quotations
If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and the page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.
According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style,
especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).
Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199);
what implications does this have for teachers?
If the author is not named in a signal phrase, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.
She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style," (Jones, 1998, p.
199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.
Long Quotations
Place direct quotations longer than 40 words in a free-standing block of typewritten lines, and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented five spaces from the left margin. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation five spaces from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout. The parenthetical citation should come after closing punctuation mark.
Jones's (1998) study found the following:
Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their
first time citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that
many students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for
help. (p. 199)
Summary or Paraphrase
If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference, but APA guidelines encourage you to also provide the page number (although it is not required.)
According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-
time learners.
APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998,
p. 199).
In-Text Citations: Author/Authors
APA style has a series of important rules on using author names as part of the author-date system. There are additional rules for citing indirect sources, electronic sources, and sources without page numbers.
Citing an Author or Authors
A Work by Two Authors:Name both authors in the signal phrase or in the parentheses each time you cite the work. Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use "&" in the parentheses.
Research by Wegener and Petty (1994) showed...
(Wegener & Petty, 1994)
A Work by Three to Five Authors: List all the authors in the signal phrase or in parentheses the first time you cite the source.
(Kernis, Cornell, Sun, Berry, & Harlow, 1993)
In subsequent citations, only use the first author's last name followed by "et al." in the signal phrase or in parentheses.
(Kernis et al., 1993)
In et al., et should not be followed by a period.
Six or More Authors: Use the first author's name followed by et al. in the signal phrase or in parentheses.
Harris et al. (2001) argued...
(Harris et al., 2001)
Unknown Author: If the work does not have an author, cite the source by its title in the signal phrase or use the first word or two in the parentheses. Titles of books and reports are italicized or underlined; titles of articles and chapters are in quotation marks.
A similar study was done of students learning to format research papers ("Using
APA," 2001).
Note: In the rare case the "Anonymous" is used for the author, treat it as the author's name (Anonymous, 2001). In the reference list, use the name Anonymous as the author.
Organization as an Author: If the author is an organization or a government agency, mention the organization in the signal phrase or in the parenthetical citation the first time you cite the source.
According to the American Psychological Association (2000),...
If the organization has a well-known abbreviation, include the abbreviation in brackets the first time the source is cited and then use only the abbreviation in later citations.
First citation: (Mothers Against Drunk Driving [MADD], 2000)
Second citation: (MADD, 2000)
Two or More Works in the Same Parentheses: When your parenthetical citation includes two or more works, order them the same way they appear in the reference list, separated by a semi-colon.
(Berndt, 2002; Harlow, 1983)
Authors With the Same Last Name: To prevent confusion, use first initials with the last names.
(E. Johnson, 2001; L. Johnson, 1998)
Two or More Works by the Same Author in the Same Year: If you have two sources by the same author in the same year, use lower-case letters (a, b, c) with the year to order the entries in the reference list. Use the lower-case letters with the year in the in-text citation.
Research by Berndt (1981a) illustrated that...
Personal Communication: For interviews, letters, e-mails, and other person-to-person communication, cite the communicators name, the fact that it was personal
communication, and the date of the communication. Do not include personal communication in the reference list.
(E. Robbins, personal communication, January 4, 2001).
A. P. Smith also claimed that many of her students had difficulties with APA
style (personal communication, November 3, 2002).
Citing Indirect Sources
If you use a source that was cited in another source, name the original source in your signal phrase. List the secondary source in your reference list and include the secondary source in the parentheses.
Johnson argued that...(as cited in Smith, 2003, p.102).
Note:When citing material in parentheses, set off the citation with a comma, as above.
Electronic Sources
If possible, cite an electronic document the same as any other document by using the author-date style.
Kenneth (2000) explained...
Unknown Author and Unknown Date: If no author or date is given, use the title in your signal phrase or the first word or two of the title in the parentheses and use the abbreviation "n.d." (for "no date").
Another study of students and research decisions discovered that students
succeeded with tutoring ("Tutoring and APA," n.d.).
Sources Without Page Numbers
When an electronic source lacks page numbers, you should try to include information that will help readers find the passage being cited. When an electronic document has numbered paragraphs, use the ¶ symbol, or the abbreviation "para." followed by the paragraph number (Hall, 2001, ¶ 5) or (Hall, 2001, para. 5). If the paragraphs are not numbered and the document includes headings, provide the appropriate heading and specify the paragraph under that heading. Note that in some electronic sources, like Web pages, people can use the Find function in their browser to locate any passages you cite.
According to Smith (1997), ... (Mind over Matter section, para. 6).
Note: Never use the page numbers of Web pages you print out; different computers print Web pages with different pagination.
Footnotes and Endnotes
Because long explanatory notes can be distracting to readers, APA style guidelines recommend the use of endnotes/footnotes. In the text, place a superscript numeral immediately after the text about which you would like to include more information, e.g.:
Scientists examined the fossilized remains of the wooly-wooly yak.1
Number the notes consecutively in the order they appear in your paper. At the end of the paper, create a separate page labeled Notes (with the title centered at the top of the page). Below are examples of two kinds of notes.
Evaluative bibliographic comments 1 See Blackmur (1995), especially chapters three and four, for an insightful
analysis of this extraordinary animal.
2 On the problems related to yaks, see Wollens (1989, pp. 120-135); for a
contrasting view, see Pyle (1992).
Explanatory or additional information considered too digressive for the main text 3 In a recent interview, Weller (1998) reiterated this point even more strongly:
"I am an artist, not a yak!" (p. 124).
Reference List: Basic Rules
Your reference list should appear at the end of your paper. It provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the body of the paper. Each source you cite in the paper must appear in your reference list; likewise, each entry in the reference list must be cited in your text.
Your references should begin on a new page separate from the text of the essay; label this page References (with no quotation marks, underlining, etc.), centered at the top of the page. It should be double-spaced just like the rest of your essay.
Basic Rules
• All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. This is called hanging indentation.
• Authors' names are inverted (last name first); give the last name and initials for all authors of a particular work unless the work has more than six authors. If the work has more than six authors, list the first six authors and then use et al. after the sixth author's name to indicate the rest of the authors.
• Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work.
• If you have more than one article by the same author, single-author references or multiple-author references with the exact same authors in the exact same order are listed in order by the year of publication, starting with the earliest.
• When referring to any work that is NOT a journal, such as a book, article, or Web page, capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns. Do not capitalize the first letter of the second word in a hyphenated compound word.
• Capitalize all major words in journal titles. • Italicize titles of longer works such as books and journals. • Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as
journal articles or essays in edited collections.
Reference List: Author/Authors
The following rules for handling works by a single author or multiple authors apply to all APA-style references in your reference list, regardless of the type of work (book, article, electronic resource, etc.)
Single Author
Last name first, followed by author initials.
Berndt, T. J. (2002). Friendship quality and social development. Current Directions
in Psychological Science, 11, 7-10.
Two Authors
List by their last names and initials. Use the "&" instead of "and."
Wegener, D. T., & Petty, R. E. (1994). Mood management across affective states: The
hedonic contingency hypothesis. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 66,
1034-1048.
Three to Six Authors
List by last names and initials; commas separate author names, while the last author name is preceded again by "&"
Kernis, M. H., Cornell, D. P., Sun, C. R., Berry, A., & Harlow, T. (1993). There's
more to self-esteem than whether it is high or low: The importance of stability
of self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 1190-1204.
More Than Six Authors
If there are more than six authors, list the first six as above and then "et al.," which stands for "and others." Remember not to place a period after "et" in "et al."
Harris, M., Karper, E., Stacks, G., Hoffman, D., DeNiro, R., Cruz, P., et al.
(2001). Writing labs and the Hollywood connection. Journal of Film and Writing,
44(3), 213-245.
Organization as Author
American Psychological Association. (2003).
Unknown Author
Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed.).(1993). Springfield, MA:
Merriam-Webster.
NOTE: When your essay includes parenthetical citations of sources with no author named, use a shortened version of the source's title instead of an author's name. Use quotation marks and italics as appropriate. For example, parenthetical citations of the two sources above would appear as follows: (Merriam-Webster's, 1993) and ("New Drug," 1993).
Two or More Works by the Same Author
Use the author's name for all entries and list the entries by the year (earliest comes first).
Berndt, T.J. (1981).
Berndt, T.J. (1999).
When an author appears both as a sole author and, in another citation, as the first author of a group, list the one-author entries first.
Berndt, T. J. (1999). Friends' influence on students' adjustment to school.
Educational Psychologist, 34, 15-28.
Berndt, T. J., & Keefe, K. (1995). Friends' influence on adolescents' adjustment to
school. Child Development, 66, 1312-1329.
References that have the same first author and different second and/or third authors are arranged alphabetically by the last name of the second author, or the last name of the third if the first and second authors are the same.
Wegener, D. T., Kerr, N. L., Fleming, M. A., & Petty, R. E. (2000). Flexible
corrections of juror judgments: Implications for jury instructions. Psychology,
Public Policy, & Law, 6, 629-654.
Wegener, D. T., Petty, R. E., & Klein, D. J. (1994). Effects of mood on high
elaboration attitude change: The mediating role of likelihood judgments.
European Journal of Social Psychology, 24, 25-43.
Two or More Works by the Same Author in the Same Year
If you are using more than one reference by the same author (or the same group of authors listed in the same order) published in the same year, organize them in the reference list alphabetically by the title of the article or chapter. Then assign letter suffixes to the year. Refer to these sources in your essay as they appear in your reference list, e.g.: "Berdnt (1981a) makes similar claims..."
Berndt, T. J. (1981a). Age changes and changes over time in prosocial intentions
and behavior between friends. Developmental Psychology, 17, 408-416.
Berndt, T. J. (1981b). Effects of friendship on prosocial intentions and behavior.
Child Development, 52, 636-643.
Reference List: Articles in Periodicals
Basic Form
APA style dictates that authors are named last name followed by initials; publication year goes between parentheses, followed by a period. The title of the article is in sentence- case, meaning only the first word and proper nouns in the title are capitalized. The periodical title is run in title case, and is followed by the volume number which, with the title, is also italicized or underlined.
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of
Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages.
Article in Journal Paginated by Volume
Journals that are paginated by volume begin with page one in issue one, and continue numbering issue two where issue one ended, etc.
Harlow, H. F. (1983). Fundamentals for preparing psychology journal articles.
Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 55, 893-896.
Article in Journal Paginated by Issue
Journals paginated by issue begin with page one every issue; therefore, the issue number gets indicated in parentheses after the volume. The parentheses and issue number are not italicized or underlined.
Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15(30), 5-13.
Article in a Magazine
Henry, W. A., III. (1990, April 9). Making the grade in today's schools. Time, 135,
28-31.
Article in a Newspaper
Unlike other periodicals, p. or pp. precedes page numbers for a newspaper reference in APA style. Single pages take p., e.g., p. B2; multiple pages take pp., e.g., pp. B2, B4 or pp. C1, C3-C4.
Schultz, S. (2005, December 28). Calls made to strengthen state energy policies.
The Country Today, pp. 1A, 2A.
Letter to the Editor
Moller, G. (2002, August). Ripples versus rumbles [Letter to the editor].
Scientific American, 287(2), 12.
Review
Baumeister, R. F. (1993). Exposing the self-knowledge myth [Review of the book The
self-knower: A hero under control ]. Contemporary Psychology, 38, 466-467.
Reference List: Books
Basic Format for Books
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for
subtitle. Location: Publisher.
NOTE: For "Location," you should always list the city, but you should also include the state if the city is unfamiliar or if the city could be confused with one in another state.
Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for
journal publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Edited Book, No Author
Duncan, G.J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (Eds.). (1997). Consequences of growing up poor.
New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Edited Book with an Author or Authors
Plath, S. (2000). The unabridged journals (K.V. Kukil, Ed.). New York: Anchor.
A Translation
Laplace, P. S. (1951). A philosophical essay on probabilities. (F. W. Truscott & F.
L. Emory, Trans.). New York: Dover. (Original work published 1814).
NOTE: When you cite a republished work, like the one above, work in your text, it should appear with both dates: Laplace (1814/1951).
Edition Other Than the First
Helfer, M.E., Keme, R.S., & Drugman, R.D. (1997). The battered child (5th ed.).
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Article or Chapter in an Edited Book
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In A.
Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pages of chapter). Location:
Publisher.
NOTE: When you list the pages of the chapter or essay in parentheses after the book title, use "pp." before the numbers: (pp. 1-21). This abbreviation, however, does not appear before the page numbers in periodical references, except for newspapers.
O'Neil, J. M., & Egan, J. (1992). Men's and women's gender role journeys: Metaphor
for healing, transition, and transformation. In B. R. Wainrib (Ed.), Gender
issues across the life cycle (pp. 107-123). New York: Springer.
Multivolume Work
Wiener, P. (Ed.). (1973). Dictionary of the history of ideas (Vols. 1-4). New York:
Scribner's.
Reference List: Other Print Sources
An Entry in An Encyclopedia
Bergmann, P. G. (1993). Relativity. In The new encyclopedia britannica (Vol. 26,
pp. 501-508). Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.
Work Discussed in a Secondary Source
List the source the work was discussed in:
Coltheart, M., Curtis, B., Atkins, P., & Haller, M. (1993). Models of reading
aloud: Dual-route and parallel-distributed-processing approaches. Psychological
Review, 100, 589-608.
NOTE: Give the secondary source in the references list; in the text, name the original work, and give a citation for the secondary source. For example, if Seidenberg and McClelland's work is cited in Coltheart et al. and you did not read the original work, list the Coltheart et al. reference in the References. In the text, use the following citation:
In Seidenberg and McClelland's study (as cited in Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, &
Haller, 1993), ...
Dissertation Abstract
Yoshida, Y. (2001). Essays in urban transportation (Doctoral dissertation, Boston
College, 2001). Dissertation Abstracts International, 62, 7741A.
Government Document
National Institute of Mental Health. (1990). Clinical training in serious mental
illness (DHHS Publication No. ADM 90-1679). Washington, DC: U.S. Government
Printing Office.
Report From a Private Organization
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Practice guidelines for the treatment of
patients with eating disorders (2nd ed.). Washington, D.C.: Author.
Conference Proceedings
Schnase, J.L., & Cunnius, E.L. (Eds.). (1995). Proceedings from CSCL '95: The First
International Conference on Computer Support for Collaborative Learning.
Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Reference List: Electronic Sources
Article From an Online Periodical
Online articles follow the same guidelines for printed articles. Include all information the online host makes available, including an issue number in parentheses.
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of
Online Periodical, volume number(issue number if available). Retrieved month
day, year, from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
Bernstein, M. (2002). 10 tips on writing the living Web. A List Apart: For People
Who Make Websites, 149. Retrieved May 2, 2006, from
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/writeliving
Online Scholarly Journal Article
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of
Journal, volume number. Retrieved month day, year, from
http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
Kenneth, I. A. (2000). A Buddhist response to the nature of human rights. Journal of
Buddhist Ethics, 8.Retrieved February 20, 2001, from
http://www.cac.psu.edu/jbe/twocont.html
If the article appears as a printed version as well, the URL is not required. Use "Electronic version" in brackets after the article's title.
Whitmeyer, J.M. (2000). Power through appointment [Electronic version]. Social
Science Research, 29, 535-555.
Article From a Database
When referencing material obtained from an online database (such as a database in the library), provide appropriate print citation information (formatted just like a "normal" print citation would be for that type of work). Then add information that gives the date of retrieval and the proper name of the database. This will allow people to retrieve the print version if they do not have access to the database from which you retrieved the article. You can also include the item number or accession number in parentheses at the end, but the APA manual says that this is not required. (For more about citing articles retrieved from electronic databases, see page 278 of the Publication Manual.)
Smyth, A. M., Parker, A. L., & Pease, D. L. (2002). A study of enjoyment of peas.
Journal of Abnormal Eating, 8(3). Retrieved February 20, 2003, from
PsycARTICLES database.
Nonperiodical Web Document, Web Page, or Report
List as much of the following information as possible (you sometimes have to hunt around to find the information; don't be lazy. If there is a page like http://www.somesite.com/somepage.htm, and somepage.htm doesn't have the information you're looking for, move up the URL to http://www.somesite.com/):
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of document. Retrieved
month day, year, from http://Web address.
NOTE: When an Internet document is more than one Web page, provide a URL that links to the home page or entry page for the document. Also, if there isn't a date available for the document use (n.d.) for no date.
Chapter or Section of a Web document
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. In Title of
book or larger document (chapter or section number). Retrieved month day, year,
from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/.
Engelshcall, R. S. (1997). Module mod_rewrite: URL Rewriting Engine. In Apache HTTP
Server Version 1.3 Documentation (Apache modules.) Retrieved March 10, 2006,
from http://httpd.apache.org/docs/1.3/mod/mod_rewrite.html
NOTE: Use a chapter or section identifier and provide a URL that links directly to the chapter section, not the home page of the Web site.
E-mails are not included in the list of references, though you parenthetically cite them in your main text: (E. Robbins, personal communication, January 4, 2001).
Online Forum or Discussion Board Posting
Message posted to an online newsgroup, forum, or discussion group. Include the title of the message, and the URL of the newsgroup or discussion board.
Frook, B. D. (1999, July 23). New inventions in the cyberworld of toylandia [Msg
25]. Message posted to http://groups.earthlink.com/forum/messages/00025.html
NOTE: If only the screen name is available for the author, then use the screen name; however, if the author provides a real name, use their real name instead. Be sure to provide the exact date of the posting. Follow the date with the subject line, the thread of the message (not in italics). Provide any identifiers in brackets after the title, as in other types of references.
Computer Software
Ludwig, T. (2002). PsychInquiry [computer software]. New York: Worth.
For more help with citing electronic sources, see the APA style web site's coverage of electronic references or Frequently Asked Questions about APA Style from the APA web site, or visit our additional resources section.
Reference List: Other Non-Print Sources
Interviews, Email, and Other Personal Communication
No personal communication is included in your reference list; instead, parenthetically cite the communicators name, the fact that it was personal communication, and the date of the communication in your main text only.
(E. Robbins, personal communication, January 4, 2001).
A. P. Smith also claimed that many of her students had difficulties with APA
style (personal communication, November 3, 2002).
Motion Picture
Basic reference list format:
Producer, P. P. (Producer), & Director, D.D. (Director). (Date of publication).
Title of motion picture [Motion picture]. Country of origin: Studio or
distributor.
Note: If a movie or video tape is not available in wide distribution, add the following to your citation after the country of origin: (Available from Distributor name, full address and zip code).
A Motion Picture or Video Tape with International or National Availability
Smith, J.D. (Producer), & Smithee, A.F. (Director). (2001). Really big disaster
movie [Motion picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures.
A Motion Picture or Video Tape with Limited Availability
Harris, M. (Producer), & Turley, M. J. (Director). (2002). Writing labs: A history
[Motion picture]. (Available from Purdue University Pictures, 500 Oval Drive,
West Lafayette, IN 47907)
Television Broadcast or Series Episode
Producer, P. P. (Producer). (Date of broadcast or copyright). Title of broadcast
[Television broadcast or Television series]. City of origin: Studio or
distributor.
Single Episode of a Television Series
Writer, W. W. (Writer), & Director, D.D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title
of episode [Television series episode]. In P. Producer (Producer), Series
title. City of origin: Studio or distributor.
Wendy, S. W. (Writer), & Martian, I.R. (Director). (1986). The rising angel and the
falling ape [Television series episode]. In D. Dude (Producer), Creatures and
monsters. Los Angeles: Belarus Studios.
Television Broadcast
Important, I. M. (Producer). (1990, November 1). The nightly news hour [Television
broadcast]. New York: Central Broadcasting Service.
A Television Series
Bellisario, D.L. (Producer). (1992). Exciting action show [Television series].
Hollywood: American Broadcasting Company.
Music Recording
Songwriter, W. W. (Date of copyright). Title of song [Recorded by artist if
different from song writer]. On Title of album [Medium of recording]. Location:
Label. (Recording date if different from copyright date).
Taupin, B. (1975). Someone saved my life tonight [Recorded by Elton John]. On
Captain fantastic and the brown dirt cowboy [CD]. London: Big Pig Music
Limited.
For more about citing audiovisual media, see pages 266-269 of the Publication Manual.
For information about citing legal sources in your reference list, see the Westfield State College page on Citing Legal Materials in APA Style.
Additional Resources
It's always best to consult the Publication Manual first for any APA question. If you are using APA style for a class assignment, it's a good idea to consult your professor, advisor, TA, or other campus resources for help with using APA style—they're the ones who can tell you how the style should apply in your particular case. For extraordinary questions that aren't covered clearly in the style manual or haven't been answered by your teacher or advisor, contact the Writing Lab for help at (765) 494-3723 or email by using our OWL tutor email form.
Print Resources
Here are some print resources for using APA style. Click The Purdue OWL does not make any profit from nor does it endorse these agencies; links are merely offered for information. Most of these books are probably available in your local library. From the American Psychological Association:
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th edition) (ISBN: 1557987912)
• Mastering APA Style: Student's Workbook and Training Guide (ISBN: 1557988919)
• Mastering APA Style: Instructor's Resource Guide (ISBN: 1557988900) • Displaying Your Findings: A Practical Guide for Creating Figures, Posters, and
Presentations (ISBN: 1557989788)
From other publishers:
• The World's Easiest Guide to Using the APA (ISBN: 0964385317)
• Writing With Style: APA Style Made Easy (ISBN: 0534363652) • Writing With Style: APA Style for Social Work (ISBN: 0534263119)
Online Resources from the APA
• APA Style Website • About APA Style • Electronic References in APA Style
o Electronic Media and URLs o General Forms for Electronic References o Reference Examples for Electronic Materials o Citations in Text of Electronic Material
• APA Style Tips • Tip of the Week • Frequently Asked Questions about APA Style • APA Style Helper (software program; requires purchase) • APA Style Guide for Electronic Resources (PDF download; requires purchase)
Other Online Resources: Formatting and Writing in APA Style
• APA Documentation (from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center) • APA Style Formatting Guide (from Indiana State University) • APA-Style Checklist (from Bill Southerly) • APA 5th Edition Guidelines (Adobe PDF from the University of Central
Arkansas)
Other Online Resources: Style Templates and Sample Papers
• Sample paper: APA style (Diana Hacker) • Sample APA Report (from The Write Source) • APA Simulated Journal Article (from Elmira College) • A Sample Paper in American Psychological Association Style (From Valencia
Community College) • Sample reference list (from Vanier College)
Other Online Resources: Documenting and Referencing Sources
• Using APA Style to Cite and Document Sources (from Bedford St. Martin's Online!)
• APA Style Electronic Formats (from Dr. Mary Ellen Guffey) • APA Style crib sheet (from the University of Minnesota at Crookston) • How to Cite Online Nursing Resources Using APA Style (from the University of
Nevada at Reno) • APA Citation Style: Examples for Nursing Students (from College of St.
Benedict/St. John's University) • Citing Legal Materials in APA Style (Westfield State College)
Types of APA Papers
There are two common types of papers written in fields using APA Style: the literature review and the experimental report. Each has unique requirements concerning the sections that must be included in the paper.
Literature Review
A literature review is a summary of what the scientific literature says about your specific topic or question. Often student research in APA fields falls into this category. Your professor might ask you to write this kind of paper to demonstrate your familiarity with work in the field pertinent to the research you hope to conduct.
A literature review typically contains the following sections:
• title page • introduction section • list of references
Some instructors may also want you to write an abstract for a literature review, so be sure to check with them when given an assignment. Also, the length of a literature review and the required number of sources will vary based on course and instructor preferences.
Visit our Sample Literature Review to see an example of what a typical APA review paper looks like and commentary on how it was written. The sample is a literature review written for an undergraduate psychology course at Purdue University.
NOTE: A literature review and an annotated bibliography are not synonymous. If you are asked to write an annotated bibliography, you should consult the Publication Manual for the APA Format for Annotated Bibliographies.
Experimental Report
In many of the social sciences, you will be asked to design and conduct your own experimental research. If so, you will need to write up your paper using a structure that is more complex than that used for just a literature review. We have a complete resource devoted to writing an experimental report in the field of psychology here.
This structure follows the scientific method, but it also makes your paper easier to follow by providing those familiar cues that help your reader efficiently scan your information for:
• why the topic is important (covered in your introduction) • what the problem is (also covered in your introduction) • what you did to try to solve the problem (covered in your methods section) • what you found (covered in your results section)
• what you think your findings mean (covered in your discussion section)
Thus an experimental report typically includes the following sections:
• title page • abstract • introduction • method • results • discussion • references • appendixes (if necessary) • tables and/or figures (if necessary)
Make sure to check the guidelines for your assignment or any guidelines that have been given to you by an editor of a journal before you submit a manuscript containing the sections listed above.
As with the literature review, the length of this report may vary by course or by journal, but most often it will be determined by the scope of the research conducted.
Visit our Sample Experimental Report, to see what an APA report looks like and commentary on how the paper is structured. The sample is a master's thesis written by a psychology student at Purdue University.
Other Papers
If you are writing a paper that fits neither of these categories, follow the guidelines about General Format, consult your instructor, or look up advice in the Publication Manual.
When submitting a manuscript to a journal, make sure you follow the guidelines described in the submission policies of that publication, and include as many sections as you think are applicable to presenting your material. Remember to keep your audience in mind as you are making this decision. If certain information is particularly pertinent for conveying your research, then ensure that there is a section of your paper that adequately addresses that information.
APA Stylistics: Avoiding Bias
Researchers who use APA often work with a variety of populations, some of whom tend to be stereotyped by the use of labels and other biased forms of language. Therefore, APA offers specific recommendations for eliminating bias in language concerning race, disability, and sexuality.
Make Adjustments to Labels
Although you should avoid labeling whenever possible, it is sometimes difficult to accurately account for the identity of your research population or individual participants without using language that can be read as biased. Making adjustments in how you use identifiers and other linguistic categories can improve the clarity of your writing and minimize the likelihood of offending your readers.
In general, you should call people what they prefer to be called, especially when dealing with race and ethnicity. But sometimes the common conventions of language inadvertently contain biases towards certain populations - e.g. using "normal" in contrast to someone identified as "disabled." Therefore, you should be aware of how your choice of terminology may come across to your reader, particularly if they identify with the population in question.
You can find an in-depth discussion of this issue and specific recommendations for how to appropriately represent people in your text on the APA website on the following pages:
• Removing Bias in Language: Disabilities • Removing Bias in Language: Race & Ethnicity • Removing Bias in Language: Sexuality
Avoid Gendered Pronouns
While you should always be clear about the sex identity of your participants (if you conducted an experiment), so that gender differences are obvious, you should not use gender terms when they aren't necessary. In other words, you should not use "he," "his" or "men" as generic terms applying to both sexes.
APA does not recommend replacing "he" with "he or she," "she or he," "he/she," "(s)he," "s/he," or alternating between "he" and "she" because these substitutions are awkward and can distract the reader from the point you are trying to make. The pronouns "he" or "she" inevitably cause the reader to think of only that gender, which may not be what you intend.
To avoid the bias of using gendered pronouns:
• Rephrase the sentence • Use plural nouns or plural pronouns - this way you can use "they" or "their" • Replace the pronoun with an article - instead of "his," use "the" • Drop the pronoun - many sentences sound fine if you just omit the troublesome
"his" from the sentence • Replace the pronoun with a noun such as "person," "individual," "child,"
"researcher," etc.
For more about addressing gender in academic writing, visit the OWL's handout on non- sexist language use.
Find Alternative Descriptors
To avoid unintentional biases in your language, look to the parameters of your research itself. When writing up an experimental report, describe your participants by the measures you used to classify them in the experiment, as long as the labels are not offensive.
Example: If you had people take a test measuring their reaction times and you
were interested in looking at the differences between people who had fast
reaction times and those with slow reaction times, you could call the first
group the "fast reaction time group" and the second the "slow reaction time
group."
Also, use adjectives to serve as descriptors rather than labels. When you use terms such as "the elderly" or "the amnesiacs," the people lose their individuality. One way to avoid this is to insert an adjective (e.g., "elderly people," "amnesic patients"). Another way is to mention the person first and follow this with a descriptive phrase (e.g., "people diagnosed with amnesia"), although it can be cumbersome to keep repeating phrases like this.
APA Stylistics: Basics
Writing in APA is more than simply learning the formula for citations or following a certain page layout. APA also includes the stylistics of your writing, from point of view to word choice.
Point of View and Voice
When writing in APA Style, you rarely use the first person point of view ("I studied ..."). First person is not often found in APA publications unless the writer is a senior scholar who has earned some credibility to speak as an expert in the field.
You should use the third person point of view ("The study showed ...) unless you are co- authoring a paper with at least one other person, in which case you can use "we" ("Our finding included ..."). In general, you should foreground the research and not the researchers.
However, it is a common misconception that foregrounding the research requires using the passive voice ("Experiments have been conducted ..."). This is inaccurate.
APA Style encourages using the active voice ("We conducted an experiment ..."). The active voice is particularly important in experimental reports, where the subject performing the action should be clearly identified (e.g. "We interviewed ..." vs. "The participants responded ...").
Consult the OWL handout for more on the distinction between passive and active voice.
Clarity and Conciseness
Clarity and conciseness in writing are important when conveying research in APA Style. You don't want to misrepresent the details of a study or confuse your readers with wordiness or unnecessarily complex sentences.
For clarity, be specific rather than vague in descriptions and explanations. Unpack details accurately to provide adequate information to your readers so they can follow the development of your study.
Example: "It was predicted that marital conflict would predict behavior
problems in school-aged children."
To clarify this vague hypothesis, use parallel structure to outline specific ideas:
"The first hypothesis stated that marital conflict would predict behavior
problems in school-aged children. The second hypothesis stated that the effect
would be stronger for girls than for boys. The third hypothesis stated that
older girls would be more affected by marital conflict than younger girls."
To be more concise, particularly in introductory material or abstracts, you should pare out unnecessary words and condense information when you can (see the OWL handout on Conciseness in academic writing for suggestions).
Example: The above list of hypotheses might be rephrased concisely as: "The
authors wanted to investigate whether marital conflict would predict behavior
problems in children and they wanted to know if the effect was greater for
girls than for boys, particularly when they examined two different age groups
of girls."
Balancing the need for clarity, which can require unpacking information, and the need for conciseness, which requires condensing information, is a challenge. Study published articles and reports in your field for examples of how to achieve this balance.
Word Choice
You should even be careful in selecting certain words or terms. Within the social sciences, commonly used words take on different meanings and can have a significant effect on how your readers interpret your reported findings or claims. To increase clarity, avoid bias, and control how your readers will receive your information, you should make certain substitutions:
• Use terms like "participants" or "respondents" (rather than "subjects") to indicate how individuals were involved in your research
• Use terms like "children" or "community members" to provide more detail about who was participating in the study
• Use phrases like "The evidence suggests ..." or "Our study indicates ..." rather than referring to "proof" or "proves" because no single study can prove a theory or hypothesis
As with the other stylistic suggestions here, you should study the discourse of your field to see what terminology is most often used.
Avoiding Poetic Language
Writing papers in APA Style is unlike writing in more creative or literary styles that draw on poetic expressions and figurative language. Such linguistic devices can detract from conveying your information clearly and may come across to readers as forced when it is inappropriately used to explain an issue or your findings.
Therefore, you should:
• minimize the amount of figurative language used in an APA paper, such as metaphors and analogies unless they are helpful in conveying a complex idea
• avoid rhyming schemes, alliteration, or other poetic devices typically found in verse
• use simple, descriptive adjectives and plain language that does not risk confusing your meaning
