APA Essay

2

Intro to APA – Formatting the essay

Elements of APA Formatting

· Double spaced document

· Font and font size – stick with Times New Roman 12 point font

· Also acceptable - 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, and 10-point Lucida Sans, 11-point Georgia, 10-point Computer Modern. *As instructor or publisher.

· 1” margins all around

· ½” indentations at the start of every new paragraph

· A header in the upper right margin. Page numbers begin on page 1 and end on the final page. (Directions: click on Insert, Page Number, Top of Page, and Plain Number 3.)

· Titles (including the Reference title) are centered, bolded, and written in the same font and size as the rest of the text.

· The titles are bolded, but they are not underlined or italicized. Properly capitalize titles. (Tool: https://capitalizemytitle.com/ ).

Tips

· Only press enter when you have reached the end of a paragraph.

· In APA, abbreviations should be limited to instances when a) the abbreviation is standard and will not interfere with the reader’s understanding and b) if space and repetition can be greatly avoided through abbreviation. You should not overuse abbreviations (writing is easier to understand when words are written out); you should also not underuse abbreviations (in general, if you use an abbreviation, it should appear at least three times in your paper, because fewer uses mean it is more likely your reader will forget what the abbreviation refers to).

· Save documents frequently as a Word Document. When using an Apple product, submit the paper as a PDF.

· If you are copying and pasting information, try to match your essays formatting. It is always a good idea to double check your work.

Purdue Owl Sample Paper

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/apa_sample_paper.html

Below is an example of a title page.

Title is Centered, Boldface, and Starts Three or Four Lines Below the Margin (All Document is Double Spaced, Times New Roman, 12pt) Press Enter Twice After Title

Student Name

University Name

Course

Instructor Name

Due Date

Formatting the Reference Page

If you are only referencing an idea, found in the source (like when you are summarizing or speaking in general) –use last name, year method.

For direct quotes or paraphrases –use last name, year, and page method.

Year always follows the last name of the author in the text or in the parenthesis.

Use commas to separate last name, year, and page number when all found within parenthesis.

p. = one page

pp. = range of pages

In-text citations for direct sources (Primary):

According to Jones (1998), “Quote” (pp. 199-201). Example of author in the text

Or

The author notes, “quote” (Jones, 1998, p. 199). Example of author in parenthesis

In-text citations for indirect sources (Secondary):

Johnson argued that...(as cited in Smith, 2003, p. 102).

(Johnson, 1985, as cited in Smith, 2003, p. 102).

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. Use the heading or section name, an abbreviated heading or section name, a paragraph number (para. 1), or a combination of these.

According to Smith (1997), ... (Mind Over Matter section, para. 6).

References

Lastname, F.M. & Lastname, F.M. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Vol.(Issue), page numbers. DOI

Lambert, J. (2021, February 4). A new chameleon species may be the world’s tiniest reptile. Science News. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/new-tiny-chameleon-species-may-be-world-smallest-reptile

Drollinger, T., Comer, L. B., & Warrington, P. T. (2006). Development and validation of the active empathetic listening scale. Psychology & Marketing, 23(2), 161-180.  https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20105

· ^should have hanging indents, alphabetized, use the word References for your title (boldface).

· All author’s names are inverted (Lastname, F. M.)

· When referring to the titles of books, chapters, articles, reports, webpages, or other sources, capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns.

· Note again that the titles of academic journals are subject to special rules.

· Italicize titles of longer works (e.g., books, edited collections, names of newspapers, and so on).

· Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as chapters in books or essays in edited collections.

Periodicals

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy

Books

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher Name.

Web page or online content

Lastname, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL

Lambert, J. (2021, February 4). A new chameleon species may be the world’s tiniest reptile. Science News. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/new-tiny-chameleon-species-may-be-world-smallest-reptile

Online News Article

Note: The format for this type of source depends on whether your source comes from a site with an associated newspaper.

If the source does come from a site with an associated newspaper, leave the title of the article unformatted, but italicize the title of the newspaper.

Lastname, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of article. Title of Publication. URL