A Presentation by the Academic Resource Center at Gwynedd Mercy University

An Introduction to APA Style

Avoiding Plagiarism Be careful when taking notes (Q, ME) Print source information as well as article Paraphrase Ideas not words Stay true to the author’s meaning Avoid block quotes Give context Begin each paragraph with your own idea

Why do we need to know APA? To avoid plagiarism To provide a clear, uniform style for references To organize your paper so it is less confusing for the reader

Before you Begin Make sure your margins are set at 1 inch Use 12 pt. Times New Roman font Everything in your paper should be double spaced and Nothing is underlined

When do we cite? When we borrow the words or thoughts of another person by quoting paraphrasing summarizing

Title Page Information Needed: Running Head Header Title Name Institutional Affiliation

Sample Title Page:

Sample Abstract

Headings APA Style uses a unique heading system to separate and classify paper sections. There are 5 heading levels in APA. Regardless of the number of levels, always use the headings in order, beginning with level 1.

Headings Level 1 Centered, Boldface, Capitalize Significant Words of Heading Level 2 Left-aligned, Boldface, Capitalize Significant Words of Heading Level 3 Indented, boldface, Capitalize first word only, end heading with period. Start writing your paragraph here. Level 4 Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase with period. Start your paragraph here. Level 5 Indented, italicized, lowercase with period.

Headings

In Text/Parenthetical Documentation Information Required: - Author(s) name - Date of Publication - Page number (for direct quotations)

Sample in-text citations According to Adams (2001), the evidence was circumstantial. According to Hastings (2004), “The sources presented provided modified results” (p. 421). The information compiled is irrelevant to the successful completion of the experiment (Wyndmore, 1989).

Things to remember… Quotes of 40 or more words appear in a block quotation format, indented with no quotation marks. In a block quotation the period goes before the parentheses to show that the citation is not part of the quote Block quotations are double spaced

Sample Block Quotation done on the wrists, arms, legs, or stomach, are hard enough to break the skin and possibly deep enough to cause bleeding and scarring; however, they are not intended to cause permanent pain or suicide (Cool Nurse). According to Hayes (2005), Self-inflicted injury is a coping mechanism, albeit not a particularly healthy one, used by those who want to live and are struggling to control their emotions. This self-injurious act is indicative of a failure by an individual to develop positive coping skills in the face of overwhelming stress. (p.1172)

Multiple Authors For 1-2 authors, cite both names every time. For 3-5 authors, cite all authors the first time; use just the first name with “et al.” in subsequent citations More than 5: cite only the first author with “et al.” every time.

Citing a Book…

Citing a Database Article

References for Multiple Authors Up to seven authors, list every author For sources with eight or more authors, use the first six names followed by an ellipsis (…) and the last author’s name. Ex. Dolan, R., Smith, R. C., Fox, N. K., Purcell, L., Fleming, J., Alderfer, B., …Roman, D. E. (2008). Management of diabetes: The adolescent challenge. The Diabetes Educator, 34,

A Database article with DOI Brownlie, D. (2005). Toward effective poster presentations: An annotated bibliography. European Journal of Marketing, 41(11), doi: /

Citing a Website

Basic Internet Citation Exploring linguistics. (1999, August 9). Retrieved from phy/chinese.html#tsang

The Reference Page List your sources alphabetically Use a hanging indent if your reference is more than one line of text The word “References” should be centered at the top of the page Within a reference, list the authors in the same order they are listed in the article Take notice of special rules for capitalization and italics that are unique to APA

Sample Reference Page

More Information… The ARC is available for further assistance in APA format. Writing Tutors can help with more specific citation or style questions. Call or anytime, or