FOR TUTOR: WRITING EXCELLENCE ONLY!!!!

This APA style “Cheat Sheet” is provided as a resource to guide you as you prepare your

essay/writing assignments to ensure you are applying APA style and format correctly.

APA Format Requirements:

 Font: Times New Roman, 12 point

 Spacing: Double spaced text throughout the document, including after headings and

sections (such as Introduction, Needs Assessment, etc.), without extra spaces between

paragraphs. Although APA style recommends two spaces after punctuation to facilitate

ease of reading, for this course you may use one space after punctuation.

 Title and Reference Pages: Title and Reference pages are required for all

assignments. Specific instructions for these pages will follow.

 Margins: 1 inch top, bottom, left, and right margins

 Page Numbers: Each page of your document required pagination, placed in

consecutive order, starting with the title page. Insert header function in MS Word can be

used to automatically format and insert page numbers.

 Paragraphs and Indentation: Indent the first line of paragraphs ½ inch

(approximately 5-7 spaces).

Title Page Format:

 Running Head: Descriptive abbreviated title of your paper placed flush left in all

uppercase letters on the title page and all pages of your manuscript, limited to 50

characters, including words, punctuation, etc. Running Head is placed preceding your

abbreviated title on the title page only.

Ex: Running Head: ASSOCIATION BETWEEN INFLUENZA VACCINE AND ASTHMA

RELATED EMERGENCY ROOM VISITS

 Author, Course name/number, Instructor, and Academic Institution is horizontally and

vertically centered on the title page

Abstract

 If required, abstracts are placed on a separate page from the rest of the manuscript.

 An abstract are a brief summation of your study/project and typically does not exceed

250 words.

HSC 4050

Health Science Research Seminar

APA Style Cheat Sheet

In-Text Citations Format examples (author and year of publication are required)

Basic format for in-text citations:

 Author source stated within sentence structure:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2013) reports stroke is the fourth

leading cause of mortality in United States, contributing to approximately 130,000, or

roughly 1 in 19 deaths annually.

 Source not identified within sentence:

Stroke is the fourth leading cause of mortality in the United States, contributing to

approximately 130,000, or roughly 1 in 19 deaths annually. (CDC, 2013).

Format differences based upon author(s)

 Works by two authors: (Smith & Jones, 2009)

 Works by three to five authors: (Snow, Watson, & Crick, 2005) for the first

citation, subsequent citations insert (Snow, et al., 2005)

 Works by six or more authors: (Smith et al., 2007)

 More than one reference by the same author within the same calendar year:

(Smith, 2012a), (Smith, 2012b), etc.

 Two authors with the same last name: (R. Johnson, 2011)

 Personnel communication (i.e. interviews, email): (R. Smith, personal

communication, December 20, 2007.)

Note: Personnel communication is cited only and is not placed on reference

pages.

Reference Page format examples depending on type of resource and number of

authors:

Books:

Edition other than the first

Friis, R. H. & Sellers, T. A. (2009). Epidemiology for public health practice.

(4th ed.).Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Chapter in an edited book

Champion, V. L., & Skinner, C. S. (2008). The Health Belief Model. In K. Glanz, B.

K.Rimer, & K. Viswanath (Eds.), Health behavior and health education: Theory,

research, and practice (45-65). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Journal Articles

1 to 6 authors:

Guest, D. D., Evans, E. M. & Roger, L. Q. (2013). Diet components associated with

perceived fatigue in breast cancer survivors. European Journal of Cancer Care, 22, 51-

59. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2354.2012.01368.x.

More than 7 authors

Sperk, E., Astor, D., Keller, A., Welzel, G., Gerhardt, A., Tuschy, B.,…Wenz, F. (2014). A cohort analysis to identify eligible patients for radiotherapy (IORT) of early breast cancer. Radiation Oncology, 9(1), 154. doi: 10.1186/1748-717X-9- 154. Internet sources: National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute. (2012). Lower heart disease risk: What are the risk factors for heart disease. Retrieved from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/hearttruth/lower-risk/risk-factors.htm Note: doi numbers are inserted (if provided) directly after the page range

More examples are provided in the Introduction to American Psychological Association (APA)

formatting and style for health science research in module 6.