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APA Treasure Hunt
Title Page Differences
APA formatting for research findings and papers is used by students studying in the
psychological department, as well as professionals working in the psychological fields.
Therefore, students and professionals alike use APA formatting to organize their writings,
research, and findings in order for readers to better find the material. However, there are a few
key differences between student psychology papers and professional psychology papers. For
instance, the title page for a student paper requires less than that of a professional manuscript that
might be published for others to find and read. A student title page requires the paper’s title,
name of the author(s), the affiliation of the author(s), the course number and name, the
professor’s name, the due date of the assignment, as well as a page number (The American
Psychological Association [APA], 2019). While professional title pages do include some of these
items, they also require an author note and a running head. All of this information for title pages
can be found on page 30 in the Publication Manual.
Abstract Details
Following the title page of an APA formatted paper or manuscript is the abstract. An
abstract is simply a summary of the paper’s contents so readers and researchers can acquire a
basic understanding of what they will be reading (APA, 2019). While professional manuscripts
are required to have an abstract, students are not often required to write one unless instructed
otherwise by their professor. Information on abstracts, their purpose, and their formatting rules
can be found on page 38 of the Publication Manual.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the act of presenting someone else’s words, ideas, research, etc. as one’s
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own, denying credit to the rightful person (APA, 2019). This is why citing sources is incredibly
important, allowing readers to see where writers found the information they are writing about
and giving credit to the original source of that specific information. Plagiarism is a concept that
most people have heard about and clearly understand, but it is also important for writers to know
the dangers of self-plagiarism. Self-plagiarism, like plagiarism, is the act of presenting a
previously written and published work as original, which can cause confusion and lead to the
number of articles written on a specific topic being larger than they actually are (APA, 2019).
The information for plagiarism and self-plagiarism can be found on page 21 and pages 254
through 256 within the Publication Manual.
The Liberty Way—Student Honor Code also touches on plagiarism in the context of
students’ assignments, making sure to clearly explain what any form of plagiarism is and the
consequences for such practices. Like the Publication Manual, the Honor Code stresses the
importance of properly citing sources and giving credit to the original author or creator of the
content being referenced.
Formatting Examples
Headings
Within the APA formatting guidelines, there are five different levels of headings. These
different levels serve the purpose of organizing the paper’s content and offering identification of
the information that follows. Essentially, levels of headings identify different sections within a
document. Level 1 headings identify the main sections and are centered with bold and title case
text. The levels that follow are subsections for each previous section. Level 2 headings are flush
left with bold and title case text, and level 3 headings are flush left with text that is bold,
italicized, and in title case. To clarify, Level 2 headings are subsections for level 1 headings,
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level 3 headings for level 2 headings, level 4 for level 3, and level 5 for level 4. The information
for headings, their purpose, levels of headings, and the formatting guidelines can be found on
pages 47 and 48 in the Publication Manual.
Organization as the Author
Properly citing sources is a huge part of APA format and avoiding plagiarism. Following
the formatting guidelines for both in-text citations and those on the reference(s) page is fairly
simple, especially when specific authors are given credit. However, there are times when whole
organizations are credited as the author and there are a few different rules for citing these
sources. For in-text citations, the organization can be abbreviated to avoid repetition, but it is
important to spell out the entire organization’s name upon its first mention in the document and
follow it by its abbreviation and then the date of publication. For example, the first in-text
citation for the Publication Manual would look like: (The American Psychological Association
[APA], 2019). After the initial in-text citation for a source that has an organization as the author,
writers can just use the abbreviation and the date, looking like this: (APA, 2019). Information on
in-text citations for organizations as the authors can be found on page 268 in the Publication
Manual.
On the reference page at the end of an APA formatted document, it is crucial to
understand the formatting guidelines in order to create a proper APA reference. In-text citations
are less complex than the final reference list entry (APA, 2019). For organization authors, it is
important to not abbreviate the name, but write it all out and end it with a period. Following the
name responsible for the work is the date of publication, the title of the work, and finally the
source with a hanging indention. This information can be found on pages 268, 283, and 286 in
the Publication Manual. For the Publication Manual, a properly formatted reference would look
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like:
The American Psychological Association. (2019). Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association.
https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9781433832185/epubcfi/
6/2[%3Bvnd.vst.idref%3Dx9781433832154-cover]!/4/2/2[coverimage]%4050:79
Religious Works
According to The American Psychological Association (2019), religious works are cited
similarly to that of books as well as being treated as having no author. However, because
religious works such as the Bible consist of many different translations, it is still important to
include the publishers when referencing these sources. Because original publication dates for
these works are hard or impossible to find, it is important for writers to include the republished
dates of a work as editing and publishing groups continue to update these works. For example, a
properly formatted reference list entry for the Christian Standard Bible should look like this:
Christian Standard Bible. (2017). Holman Bible Publishers. (Original work published in 2004)
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References
The American Psychological Association. (2019). Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association.
https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9781433832185/epubcfi/
6/2[%3Bvnd.vst.idref%3Dx9781433832154-cover]!/4/2/2[coverimage]%4050:79
Liberty University. (2023). The Liberty Way: Student Honor Code. Division of Student Affairs.
https://www.liberty.edu/students/wp-content/uploads/sites/89/2022/10/The-Liberty-
Way.pdf
