APA Style Writing and Formatting APA Manual 6 th Edition Use this presentation as a guide when you are writing for graduate classes at Concordia University,

APA Style Writing and Formatting

APA Manual 6th Edition

Use this presentation as a guide Use this presentation as a guide when you are writing for graduate when you are writing for graduate classes at Concordia University, classes at Concordia University,

Nebraska. Nebraska.

Writing Style• American Psychological Association

(APA) formatting was developed to standardize documents.

• APA formatting is required in all CUNE graduate coursework.

• All page numbers in this guide refer to the APA Manual, 6th edition.

APA Formatting• APA formatting addresses:

– Writing style (p. 87)– Manuscript format (p. 21)

• Abstracts are used only in research papers

– Manuscript format in-text citations (p. 169)– Manuscript format reference pages

(p. 193)

APA Writing Conventions: Pronoun Usage

• Do use the 3rd person.– He, she, it, him, her, his, hers– They, them, their, theirs

• Do not use the 2nd person.– You, your, yours

• See p. 79.

Pronoun Usage Cont’d• Do not use the 1st person.

– I, me, my, mine– We, us, our, ours

• Except in special circumstances– Discussions– Specific assignments

• See p. 79.

Word Choice• Choose words carefully.

– To communicate ideas effectively– Less is usually better– Be as specific as possible– Creditable writing depends on using language that

communicates clearly

• Jargon and/or slang are strictly forbidden.

• See p. 65.

Colloquialisms• Write like a professional, not as you

speak.– “Report” versus “write-up”– “Reviewed” versus “looked at”– “7%” rather than “a few”– “Meeting” rather than “get-together”

• See p. 65.

Expressing Numbers• The general APA style rule governing the

use of numbers in a text is:– Use numerals to express numbers 10 and

above– Use words to express numbers below 10

• See p. 111

Voice• Use an active voice to clarify who is doing

what. • Correct:

– Respondents completed the questionnaire in 15 minutes.

• Incorrect:– The questionnaire was completed in 15 minutes by

the respondent.

Voice Cont’d• Use the passive voice to clarify who or

what received the action, not the person or people responsible.– Example: Traditional IQ tests were

administered as part of the admissions process.

• The use of the tests is emphasized, not the givers of the test.

Biased Language• Do not use emotional-extreme language.

• It is of the utmost importance…• Happiness totally depends on…

• Do not use biased language• Racial• Gender• Socioeconomic status• Creed (belief)

• See p. 73.

Document Formatting• Click here to see an example of an APA-

formatted title page and document

• 12-point, Times New Roman font

• Double-spaced throughout the document– No additional spacing between paragraphs,

headings, etc.

• See p. 228.

Formatting Cont’d• Paragraph indention

– All paragraphs are indented .5 inches (5 spaces)

• Page numbers– Upper right corner– Begin with the first page of the document

• See pp. 229-230.

HeadingsAPA Headings

Level Format

1 Centered, Boldface, Capitalize All Major Words

2 Flush left, Boldface, Capitalize All Major Words

3 Indented, boldface, lowercase, end with a period.

4 Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase, end with a period.

5 Indented, italicized, lowercase, end with a period.

See p. 62.

When to Use Parenthetical Citations

• Use parenthetical citations when quoting any words that are not your own.– Quoting means to repeat another source word

for word, using quotation marks.

• See pp. 170-173.

In-Text (Parenthetical) Citations

• Citing quotes within text– The author’s last name, publication year, and page

number(s) of quote must appear in the text or citation.– Example: Caruth and Green (1996) state that “a

traumatic response frequently entails a delayed, uncontrolled repetitive appearance of hallucinations and other intrusive phenomena” (p. 11).

• See p. 174.

In-Text Citations Cont’d• Only last names are used.• The period comes after the citation, not

inside the quotation marks. • ‘Page’ is represented with a “p” followed by

a period in parentheses.– (p. xx)

• See p. 174.

In-Text Citations• Work with one author

– (Smith, 1998, p. 11)

• Work with two authors– (Smith & Jones, 1998, p. 11)– Note: Both authors will always be included.

• See pp. 174-179.

In-Text Citations Cont’d• Work with three to five authors

– When first cited, list all of the authors.• (Smith, Jones, White, & Green, 1998, p. 11).

– In subsequent citations:• (Smith et al., 1998, p. 11)• Note the punctuation of et al.

• See pp. 174-179.

In-Text Citations Cont’d• Example

– According to some studies “a traumatic response frequently entails a delayed, uncontrolled repetitive appearance of hallucinations and other intrusive phenomena” (Caruth & Green, 1996, p. 11).

• Note: “&” is used in the citation.• Note: The period comes after the citation, not inside the

quotation marks.

• See pp. 174-179.

Quoting a Quote• Example

– You are reading an article by Elwell (2012) and on page 13 you read the following:

• In a recent article Smith (2011) states “2013 will be the hottest summer this decade” (p. 6). If this is the case, the swimming pool industry should make more money than it has in recent years.

Quoting a Quote Cont’d• In your paper, you write:

– Several experts have commented on the summer of 2013. According to Smith “2013 will be the hottest summer this decade” (as cited in Elwell, 2012, p.13). Elwell (2013) adds “ the swimming pool industry should make more money than it has in recent years” (p.13).

• See pp. 170-174.

Quoting a Quote Cont’d• Note the following:

– “As cited” is used because you are using a direct quote made by Smith BUT you are reading it in the article by Elwell (you are not reading Smith’s 2013 article).

– Reference page will only include an entry for Elwell, because that is the article you are reading.

Formatting References• Formatting the reference page

– All references must contain the following information:

• Author’s name• Title of work• Publication information

• See pp. 180-214.

Formatting References Cont’d• Formatting references:

– 1 inch margins– Double-spaced– No underlining or boldface– 12-point, Times New Roman font– Hanging indent format: first line is flush left;

subsequent lines are indented .5 inch.

• See p. 37 and pp. 180-184.

References• Books

– Print – Electronic

• Journals– Print– Electronic

• Magazines– Print – Electronic

• Newspapers• Encyclopedia• Book chapter• YouTube• And others as

needed

Additional References• Purdue OWL

• Citation Machine

• Son of Citation

• APA Style

• APA Citation Wizard