American Psychology Association (APA) Formatting Basics

When to Use APA O Business O Criminology O Economics O Education O Nursing O Psychology O Social Work O Sociology Generally, the social sciences.

Similarities with MLA O Double spacing O Parenthetical in text citations MUST relate to the reference page. O Give credit where credit is due – Any words or thoughts not your own MUST be cited.

Setting up the page O 1” Margins on all sides O 12 pt. font – Most often Times New Roman O Double Spaced O No UNDERLINES allowed O BOLD only for allowed headings or tables

Parts of the Paper O Title Page (includes “running head”) O Abstract O Body (including in-text citations) O References

Title Page Running Head: Shortened version of title ALL CAPS No more than 50 characters

Body Full title is centered on the first page of the body

Body Bold: only for headings In-text citations: Author (s) Year Pg # (for quotes, if available.)

References NOT: “Works Cited” Still listed in alphabetical order and has hanging indents.

MS-Word Tips: Page Layout

MS-Word: Editing Header Insert page numbers first, then header. Be sure to click “Different First Page” for the running head.

MS-Word: References Be sure to choose APA 6 th Edition Click “Insert Citation” to get fields

Citation Creators O Look for APA options on database articles O (example of one website)

RESOURCES: Walden University Online Writing Center – “Ten Common APA Nuances” (Includes links to how-to videos) Sample APA Paper with annotations Purdue Owl – Online Writing Lab – APA Format