APA Formatting and Style Guide

As with any referencing system, it is important to remember that this is an entire system of organizing the practical elements of your paper. That means there are specific ways to number your pages, create your title page, and establish headings, in addition to citing material from other authors. Always check withyour professor to find out how closely he or she wants you to follow these guidelines.For complete guidelines for APA format, as well as for specific issues not covered here, see:

American Psychological Association (2001).

 Publication Manual of the American Psychological  Association

(5

th

ed.). Washington: American Psychological Association.

1.Formatting

2.In-Text Citations3.References1.

Formatting

•

Margins:

The standard margin size in APA is 2.5cm (1 inch) for all four sides.

•

Font & Spacing:

The usual fonts for APA are Times New Roman or Courier, and the size isalways 12-pt. Times New Roman is usually expected at university.

Double space your paper.Remember that when you double space a paper, you DO NOT need to leave an extra line between paragraphs. While your left margins should be flush, do not justify the right side of your text. Thefirst line of every paragraph should be indented five spaces.

•

Paper Size:

Use standard 8 ½ by 11 inch paper. Unless specified by your professor, do not putyour paper in a plastic binder or cover.

•

Page Header:

Include a "header" in the top right corner of each page (use the "header" functionin your word processor to ensure correct placement). The header should include the first two or three words of your paper's title and the page number. The page number should be five spacesafter the end of the "header".

•

Major Sections:

Your essay should include four sections (Title Page, Abstract, Main Body,References).

a.

Title Page:

The title goes in the upper half of the title page, centred, typed in the samefont as the rest of your paper. Type your name and the name of your university onseparate lines under your title. Include a page header (as defined above) and a runninghead. Your running head should be near the top of the page; it should begin with thewords "Running head" followed by the two or three words from your title that constitutethe "header" on each page indicating the "header" centre of the page. An image of anAPA formatted title page is below.

Abstract:

The abstract should appear on page two of your essay. Ensure your "header" is at thetop of the page; the title of this page should be the word "Abstract" (without quotations marks or other formatting) centred on the first line. Your abstract should be no longer than 120 words andshould provide a summary of your paper. Do not indent your abstract.c.

Body

: The body of your essay presents your research and analysis divided into sections. Thereare five levels of headings in APA, although you can use as many as your paper requires. Each levelof heading has a different type face and is positioned differently. Most undergraduate papers will use2 or 3 levels of headings. The first three levels of headings are as follows:

One Level:

If your paper has one level of Headings, the Heading should be centred, using bothupper-case and lower-case letters:Method

Two Levels

: If your paper has two levels of Headings, the first level should be centred, using both upper and lower case letters. The second level of Headings should be flush with the leftmargin and italicized, using upper and lower case letters:MethodAbcdabcdabcdabcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcdabcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcdabcdabcdabcd abcd

Page 2 of 8

 Field Work 

Three Levels

: If your paper has three levels of Headings, the first level should be centred, using both upper and lower case letters. The second level of Headings should be flush with the leftmargin and italicized, using upper and lower case letters. The third level of Headings should beindented and italicized, written in lower case and followed by a period. Text should follow theheading on the same line:MethodAbcdabcdabcdabcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcdabcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd

 Field Work 

Abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcd

Study area details

. Abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcdabcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcdd.

References

: Every essay must include a list of references at the end. It provides all the publicationinformation for the sources you cite in the body of your essay. Every source you cite must be includedin your reference list. Do not include sources in your reference list that are not cited in your essay.The References page must be separate from the rest of your essay. It should have the title"References" (with no quotations or italics, in the same font as the rest of your paper) centred on thefirst line of the page. It should be double-spaced.Sample entries for the References list are at the end of this document.

2.

In-Text Citations

The APA format uses an author-date method for citing sources in the body of an essay. In other words, when you quote, paraphrase or refer to another text, you must include a reference to thesource's author's last name and year of publication.If you do NOT quote a source directly, you need only the author's last name and the year of  publication in your in-text citation. If you DO quote a source directly, you need also to include the page number for the reference.

Short Quotations:

If the quotation is less than 40 words long it should be incorporated into your textand enclosed by double quotation marks [" "]. If possible, introduce your short quotation with asignal phrase that includes the author's name followed by the publication date in parentheses. For example:

Page 3 of 8

As Smith (2008) concludes, "There is significant evidence to suggest that the earth is round" (p.123).If you do not name the author in your signal phrase, you must include that information in your  parenthetical citation immediately following the quotation. For example:More recently, scientists have found "significant evidence to suggest that the earth is round"(Smith, 2008, p. 123).

Long Quotations:

Quotations that are over 40 words long must be placed in the paper as a block of text set apart from the rest of the paragraph. Block quotations should start on a new line, be indented5 spaces from the left margin, and be double spaced (like the rest of the essay). Omit quotation marks.Your citation should come at the end of the quotation, as follows:More importantly, Smith's (2008) evidence suggesting that the earth is round rather thanflat is quite compelling:abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd abcdabcdabcd bcdabcdababcbcdabcdabcdabc dabcdabcdbcdabcdabc dabcdabcdabcdabababababababababd bcdabcd bcdabcdabcd abcd. (p. 123)

Paraphrase and Summary:

When you paraphrase or summarize another source, you mustacknowledge that source. You should, where possible, include the page reference for the ideas youare paraphrasing/summarizing. For example:Smith (2008, p. 123) insists the earth is not flat.

The following are some common examples of in-text citations.A Work by Two Authors:

 Name both authors; use the word "and" in the text and use theampersand in parentheses.



With signal phrase:

The study by Jones and Smith (2006) concludes . . .



Without signal phrase

: Their study concludes the earth is round (Jones & Smith,2006)

A Work by Three to Five Authors:

 Name all authors the first time you cite the source; insubsequent citations, use only the first author's last name and the phrase "et al".



With signal phrase:

The study by Jones, Smith, Ali, Rushdie and Murakami (2003)

Page 4 of 8

concludes . . .



Without signal phrase

: Their study concludes the earth is round (Jones, Smith, Ali,Rushdie & Murakami, 2003)



In subsequent citations, with signal phrase:

The study by Jones et al. (2003)concludes . . .



In subsequent citations, without signal phrase:

Their study concludes the earth isround (Jones et al., 2003)

A Work by Six or More Authors

: Use the first author's last name followed by "et al" in thesignal phrase or parentheses.



With signal phrase:

The study by Powell et al (2007) argues . . .



Without signal phrase

: Their study concludes the earth is round (Powell et al., 2007)

A Work by an Organization or Agency:

Use the organization's name as if it were an author.



With signal phrase

: The Canadian International Development Agency (2006) notesthat . . .



Without signal phrase

: Since 1996, Canada's budget for international development hasincreased by 10% (Canadian International Development Agency, 2006).

Two or More Works by the Same Author in the Same Year

: Use lower-case letters (a, b, c)with the year to distinguish between entries.



Smith's study (2007a) suggests that . . .

Indirect Sources

: When you need to use a source cited in another source, name the original inyour signal phrase and include the secondary source in both your in-text citation and your references list.



Dorosz argues that . . . (as cited in Smith, 2008, p. 123).

3.References

Your essay must include a separate References page (formatting described above). The rules for  basic entries are as follows:



entries should be organized alphabetically by the last name of the first author; providethe last name and the initials for each authors



entries should be double-spaced with a five-space hanging indent for all lines followingthe first line of each entry

Page 5 of 8



if you use multiple works by the same author, organize entries by the year of  publication



italicize books and journal titles



do NOT italicize or put in quotation marks articles or essays

Book - Single author:

Last Name, Initials. (Date).

Title of Book.

City: Publisher.Smith, J.A. (2004).

Great Dogs of North America.

(4

th

ed.). Toronto: Dog Press.

Book – Two authors:

Last Name, Initials, & Last Name, Initials. (Date).

Title of Book 

. City: Publisher.Smith, J.A., & Jones, J.C. (2002)

Great Dogs of North America

. Toronto: DogPress.

Book – Multiple authors:

Last Name, Initials, Last Name, Initials, Last Name, Initials, & Last Name, Initials. (Date). 

Title of Book 

. City: Publisher. Smith, J.A., Dorosz, C., Mann, T.T. (2008).

The Way it Is

. Toronto: ABC Press.

Journal Article – Single author:

Last Name, Initials. (Date). Title of article.

Title of Periodical 

,

volume

, page number range.Smith, J.A. (2004). Great Labradors.

 Dogs for All, 14

, 12-50.

Journal Article – Multiple authors:

Last Name, Initials, Last Name, Initials, & Last Name, Initials. (Date). Title of article.

Title of Periodical, volume,

page number range.Smith, J.A., Jones, J.C., & Campbell, S.D. (2002). Great Labradors.

 Dogs for All, 12

, 9-16.

Chapter in edited book:

Last Name, Initials. (Date). Title of Chapter. In Initials Last Name (Ed.),

Title of book 

(pp.range). City: Publisher. Smith, J.A. (1999). Dogs of Canada. In P.A. Jones (Ed.),

 Dogs

(pp. 34-56). City: Publisher.

Abstract:

Last Name, Initials. (Date). Title [Abstract].

 Periodical Title, volume

, page.Smith, J.A. (2004). Great Labradors [Abstract].

 Dogs for All, 14

, 12.

Entire Edited Book:

Last Name, Initials, & Last Name, Initials. (Eds.). (Date).

Title of work 

. City: Publisher.

Page 6 of 8

Smith, J.A., & Jones, J.C. (Eds.). (2002).

 Dogs of the World 

. Toronto: Dog Press.

Reference Book with no author:

Title (ed.). (Date). City: Publisher.Dogs of North Canada (2

nd

ed.). (2001). Toronto: Dog Press.

Review of a Book:

Last name, Initials. (Date). Title of review [Review of the

book 

/article Title].

 Journal Title,volume,

 pages.McDonald, K. (2005). Dog Days [Review of 

Great Dogs of North America

].

 New York Review of  Books, 25

, 13-15.

Electronic Sources: References

The following information is based on the APA's 2007 modifications of rules governing thedocumentation of electronic sources.



Generally, online articles follow the same rules for printed articles. For example, if an online journal has volume and issue numbers, then you should include that information in your entry.



Retrieval dates are necessary only for sources that are likely to change (blogs, institutionalwebsites, etc.). Online periodicals are unlikely to change once they are published, and so retrievaldates are not necessary.



URLs often change, so you should try to include a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) in your entry.Many publishers include DOIs on the first page of a document.

Online Periodical (with DOI):

Last Name, Initials. (Date). Title of Article.

Title of Periodical 

,

volume

number 

, page range.Doi: 000000000/000000.Smith, J.A. (2004). Great Labradors.

 Dogs for All, 14

, 12-50. doi:99.1234/1234567898836.

Online Periodical (no DOI): 

Last Name, Initials. (Date). Title of Article.

Title of Periodical 

,

volume

number 

, from URL.Smith, J.A. (2004). Great Labradors.

 Dogs for All, 14

Online Periodical (no DOI; exists as printed and electronic versions)

Smith, K. (2008). The world is round. [Electronic version]. Earth and Planetary Studies,66, 123-132.

Article from a Database (i.e., retrieved from library's online database):

Last Name, Initials. (Date).

Title of work 

. Retrieved month day, year, from source.Smith, J.A. (2005). . (2004). Great Labradors.

 Dogs for All, 14

, 12-50. Retrieved January 17,2006, from Zoological Record database.