RULES FOR APA WRITING APA American Psychological Association

Why We Use Documentation Styles? All writers and students who write papers using external sources must document their papers using a specific style to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism or academic dishonesty means stealing others’ words and ideas whether word-by-word or paraphrasing into one’s own language and using them without acknowledging the sources. Any student that plagiarizes on any assignment would be subject to the school’s penalties for such offense. Penalties includes: failure in the course, loss of financial aid privileges, suspension and/or expulsion. Carelessness is not a valid excuse for plagiarism. Plagiarism of any kind or cheating in any fashion is not tolerated.

Why We Use Documentation Styles? Plagiarism can occur when: 1. Using other people’s words, ideas, and opinions as the students’ own 2. Paraphrasing other’s words, ideas, and opinions without acknowledging the source 3. Copying from a source word by word without using quotation marks and in-text citation regardless of including the bibliographic citation (the References page).

How to Avoid Plagiarism? To avoid plagiarism, one must cite all the sources using in-text citation and bibliographic citation following the required style.

APA Style The writer should follow a certain guidelines set by this style. The paper should have a title page, abstract, main body, and references page. This style has two parts: - In-text citation (parenthetical citation) - References entries (bibliographic entries)

TYPING INSTRUCTIONS All margins are 1 inch, no more-no less. When typing in Word, the 1 inch margins are usually default. Manuscript is LEFT-justified (that means the right side will be uneven). Use Times New Roman Use font size 12 Double Space

Number all pages BEGINNING with title (or cover) page. Page number goes in the upper-right corner. On the left-hand margin of the title page, write Running head: followed by a short version of the title (Note: The next slide demonstrates an APA 6 th edition model title page. Title page information may vary depending on instructor’s recommendations.) TITLE PAGE

Add a title in the center of the title page. Do not place quotation marks around title. Do not underline title. Do not italicize title. Title should be 2 – 5 words. Titles do not end with punctuation because they are not full sentences.

Abstract It must include the page header, and it comes after the title page. The word Abstract must be centered at the first line, without quotation marks, bold, italics, or underlining. Provide a summary of the main points of the paper in one single paragraph (less than 250 words). The first line is not indented.

Example of the Title Page

Example of the Second Page

Example of the Third Page

Avoid leaving a single line at the bottom of a page (i.e., first line of a paragraph begins at the bottom of a page and then carries over to the next page--called a widow). Avoid leaving a single line at the top of a page (i.e., last line of a paragraph is carried over to the next page--called an orphan). AVOID WIDOWS AND ORPHANS

The only words that have “quote” marks around them are direct quotations taken from a source, and you must cite the source of the quote. There are two types of quotes: Short quotes Long quotes QUOTING

SHORT QUOTES  Short quotations - direct quotations of 1 to 39 words should be enclosed within double quotation marks.

SAMPLE SHORT QUOTE According to the National Institute of Health report, “Smoking is the single worst thing people can do to their bodies” (Nelson, 1998, p. 63).

LONG QUOTES Long Quotations - direct quotations of 40 or more words should be displayed in a double-spaced block format with every line indented five spaces from the left margin. NO quotation marks are used.

SAMPLE LONG QUOTE In Johnson’s study, 76% of students polled indicated their lack of knowledge regarding research papers. Johnson’s study found the following: Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for help. (p. 199)

In-Text Citation: Direct Quote If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and the page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Do not forget to include a reference to this quote in the reference list. –a. According to Jones (1998), “People who eat a healthy diet live on average 10 years longer than those who do not" (p. 199). –b. Jones (1998) found that “people who eat a healthy diet live on average 20 years longer than those who do not" (p. 199). –c. “People who eat a healthy diet live on average 10 years longer than those who do not” (Jones, 1998, p.199).

In-Text Citation: Paraphrasing If you are paraphrasing an idea, you have to make reference to the author and year of publication. –According to Jones (1998), smoking is one of the main causes of premature death. –Smoking is one of the main causes of premature death (Jones, 1998).

CITATIONS Citations should take place in two areas of your written work: –in the body of the text—parenthetical or in- text citations –on a separate page entitled References

CITATIONS Do NOT have sources cited on your reference page UNLESS they are cited in the text of your paper. Just because you read an article does NOT mean it belongs in your reference section. Every study cited in the text of your paper MUST be referenced on your reference page.

REFERENCE PAGE Center the title References. Double space the references. Alphabetize the list of references by the last name of the authors. If the work has no author or editor, alphabetize the work by the first word of the title (excluding A, An, or The). Use hanging indention style for the References page References are on the last page. Reference page is numbered just like the rest.

SMOKING ON CAMPUS5 References Rosen, I.M., & Darnall, C.R. (2008). Reducing tobacco use in adolescents. American Family Physician, 77, Retrieved from Young, E. (2009, February 21). Sleep well, keep sane. New Scientist, 201(26), Retrieved from

NON-PRINT MATERIAL: INTERVIEWS AND No personal communication is included in your reference list ; instead, parenthetically cite the communicator’s name, the fact that it was personal communication, and the date of the communication in your main text only. A. P. Smith also claimed that many of her students had difficulties with APA style (personal communication, November 3, 2002). The director of the writing tutoring center stated, “We have plenty of tutors for all students at every hour” (W. Johnson, personal communication, September 30, 2007).

NON-PRINT MATERIAL: VIDEO Spurlock, M. (Director). (2004).Super Size Me [motion picture]. New York: Kathbur Pictures, Inc.

NON-PRINT MATERIAL: ELECTRONIC DATABASE Electronic Database Relman, D. A. & Olson, M. The advantages of peer tutoring. Journal of Higher Education, 2, Retrieved January 22, 2003, from Ebsco Host database.

NON-PRINT MATERIAL: INTERNET DOCUMENT (Not From a Database) Author, A. or Title of Organization (Date of publication). Title of document. Retrieved month day, year, from address. FACTNet (2003). What is mind control? Retrieved January 22, 2003, from

When citing a study with more than two authors: Cite the first author's last name and then et al. Year of publication Example: (Slate et al., 1995) Two Authors

Referencing Electronic Materials Check websites such as: /01/

Do NOT begin a sentence with a number. If you have to, spell the number out. Do NOT use contractions (that’s right, don’t do this!). Do not have any in your paper. Please use the spell check function of your word processing program prior to submitting your paper. NO excuse for having misspelled words. DO NOT:

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