QUICK GUIDE TO WRITING IN

APA FORMAT

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 3

2. General format for APA-style papers 3

3. Parts of an APA-style paper 4

4. Sample citations in text 6

5. Sample references 8

6. Sample paper 10

1. Introduction

APA format is the prescribed manner for writing papers as established by the American Psychological Association. It is used by many disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences in addition to psychology, including sociology and criminal justice. It is similar in some ways to MLA format (the writing style used by disciplines in the humanities such as English), but there are many clear differences.

This purpose of this guide is to offer a brief overview of APA format and a quick reference guide for many commonly used sources. However, this guide may not include enough explanation or the actual source type that you are using. If the reference you need is not listed in this guide, or you would like more elaboration on the specific parts of APA-style papers, please refer to the actual manual: American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC.

2. General Format for APA-Style papers

All APA-style papers should be typed or word-processed in 12-point font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins at the top, bottom, and both sides. New sections should begin on a new page. Section headings should be centered. Subheadings (if used) should be left-justified. Bold type-face should not be used anywhere in the paper. References in the reference section should be created with the hanging paragraph style (for each separate reference, the first line is left justified, while all subsequent lines are indented). You should not use additional lines between references.

3. Parts of an APA-style paper

There are two basic kinds of APA-style papers: original research articles and review articles. Unless you are reporting some original research that you have just conducted, you are writing a review article: you are reviewing and summarizing other people’s research. So, the majority of people writing papers for a class will be READING research articles but will be WRITING a review paper. Both formats are summarized here for quick reference so you will be able to see the difference.

An original research article has the following parts in this order:

A Title page which contains the title of the article, the author(s) name(s), and the author(s) affiliation. If you are writing your paper for a class at Midlands Technical College, then your affiliation is Midlands Technical College. The title page also contains a description of the running head and the actual running head with the page number (1); the running head and page number go at the top of all pages of the paper.

The running head is a brief summary (1-3 words) of your title that serves as the header on all pages of the paper. The running head is defined at the top of the title page, but is also included as the header (along with the page number) on the title page as well. The purpose of the running head is to allow an editor or reviewer (or instructor) to identify with which paper each page belongs, in case the pages become separated.

An Abstract, which is a brief (100-150 words) but concise summary of the article.

An Introduction section where the background and significance of the research study is described. About 1 page long.

A Methods section where the exact methods used to conduct the study are described. In here you will find things like the number and type of participants used in the study and a description of exactly what was done.

A Results section where the data are described and statistical analyses are reported.

A Discussion or Conclusion section where the findings are explained.

A Reference section, where all sources are listed in alphabetical order by the first author’s last name.

A review article is the same, except that it does not have a Methods or a Results section; in a review article there is no study to describe and no data to be analyzed. Therefore a review article only has the following sections:

A Title page which contains the title of the article, the author(s) name(s), and the author(s) affiliation. If you are writing your paper for a class at Midlands Technical College, then your affiliation is Midlands Technical College. The title page also contains a description of the running head and the actual running head with the page number (i.e., 1 for the first page); the running head and page number go at the top of all pages of the paper.

An Abstract, which is a brief (100-150 words) but concise summary of the article.

An Introduction section where the topic or problem is introduced, and previous research and findings are described (a “review of the literature”). Usually about 1-5 pages long, depending on how many articles are summarized (general rule of thumb: this section will be about ½ to 1 page per reference).

A Discussion or Conclusion section where a brief summary of the paper is offered, and future directions for research are suggested. About 1 page long.

A Reference section, where all sources are listed in alphabetical order by the first author’s last name.

4. Sample APA Reference Style for Citations in Text

APA format uses just the author(s) last name(s) and the year of publication for all citations within the paper. You do not need first names, initials, initials, or suffixes like Jr. For example,

One work (article, book, etc.) by one author:

Walker (1999) compared reaction times

In a recent study of reaction times (Walker, 1999)

One work by two authors:

Walker and Smith (1999) compared reaction times

In a recent study of reaction times (Walker & Smith, 1999)

One work by three or more authors:

When you cite a work by more than 2 authors, you must cite all of the authors the first time, like this:

Smith, Jones, Rosen, Brown, and Rock (2001) found that

In a recent study of schizophrenia (Smith, Jones, Rosen, Brown, & Rock, 2001)

*You must spell out “and” in text, but use the “&” in parentheses

For all subsequent citations of this reference, you can use “et al.” (which means “and others”), like this:

Smith et al. (2001) also showed that

It has also been suggested that schizophrenia…. (Smith et al., 2001)

Groups as authors:

You usually spell out the whole group name (for example, an agency) for every citation, but you may spell out the name the first time with an abbreviation for subsequent citations. For example:

First citation: (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 1997)

Subsequent citations: (NIMH, 1997)

Two or more works within the same parentheses:

You must order the citations in parentheses in the same order they appear in the reference list (i.e., alphabetically).

If you have 2 or more works by the same authors in the same order (i.e., Smith & Jones for both, NOT Jones & Smith in one), then you can put the name just once, followed by the years, like this:

Past research (Smith & Jones, 1995, 1997, 2001)

For related references by different authors, list in alphabetical order, like this:

Past research (Brown et al., 1998; Jones & Smith, 2001; Smith & Jones, 1995).

Using Quotations

As a general rule, a good paper does not rely on many quotations; you should try to paraphrase information in your own words as much as possible. However, in cases where direct quotations are necessary, you need to cite the author(s) and year as well as the page number the quote came from, as follows:

One study suggests that ”the current system of managed care is shortsighted” (Smith & Jones, 1998, p. 321).

To quote an electronic source that does not provide page numbers, use the paragraph number the quote came from preceded by the ¶ symbol or the abbreviation para., like this:

(Myers, 2000, Discussion section, ¶ 5)

(Myers, 2000, Discussion section, para. 5)

5. Sample APA Reference Style for Reference Section

A journal article with one author:

Hogue, D. M (1999). The use of creative writing assignments in psychology courses. Journal of Applied Psychology, 32(2), 66-85.

A journal article with multiple authors:

Hogue, D. M., Gramlich, C., & Rider, D. (1999). The use of creative writing assignments in psychology courses. Journal of Applied Psychology, 32(2), 66-85.

A book:

Hogue, D. M., & Sales, B.D. (1999). Ancient quotations (3^rd ed.). New Orleans: Xavier Press.

A newspaper article:

Schwartz, J. (1993, September 30). Obesity affects economic, social status. The Washington Post, pp. A1, A4.

A movie/film:

Axelrod, J. (Producer), & Frankenheimer, J. (Director). (1962). The Manchurian Candidate [Motion Picture]. (Available from MGM Home Entertainment, New York, NY).

A television broadcast:

Crystal, L. (Executive Producer). (2001, January 3). The MacNeil/Lehrer news hour [Television Broadcast]. New York and Washington, DC: Public Broadcasting Service.

INTERNET REFERENCES

Internet articles based on a print source

Today, many articles are available in full-text form online.

If you’ve gotten your article online through a database like InfoTrac, use this form to reference it:

Smith, G.F., & Jones, B. (2001). Effects of aging on reference memory. Journal of Aging, 5, 117-123. Retrieved October 23, 2002 from InfoTrac database.

If you’ve gotten your article online directly from the journal website, use this form:

Smith, G.F., & Jones, B. (2001). Effects of aging on reference memory [Electronic version]. Journal of Aging, 5, 117-123.

An internet address or website:

The Online Site for Professionals in Psychology and Psychiatry. http://www.psychwatch.com (accessed 1 May 1999).

A document (with no author or date identified) posted to a web site:

Electronic reference formats recommended by the American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Retrieved August 22, 2002 from http://www.apa.org/journals/webref.html

**Use (n.d.) to indicate no date; if the document is dated, then you would put the year in parentheses after the title instead of the (n.d.).

6. Sample APA-Style Review Paper