The Basics of an APA paper

The Basics of an APA paper

Melinda Floyd

American Psychological Association Citation System

APA shows up in four ways in your paper:

• Formatting: 12 pt. TNR, double spaced, 1” margins, running head with page numbers, appropriate headings, cover sheet, References page

• Full References: These are the full, formal references you list at the end on their own page. It is a bibliography, which in APA is called “References”

• In-text Citations: Also called internal citations, these are little mini versions of the full references, used to mark where and when you used something from that source within your paper. Think of it like a flag, highlighter, or marker. We do this with “signal phrases” and/or “parenthetical” citations.

• Language: APA trains us to use words that are gender neutral and free of bias

Sample Paper Title Page

Some may think that the amount of money that stays in the local economy is negligible, but the numbers are surprising. Out of every one hundred dollars that are spent locally, forty-five dollars stay in the community as opposed to the thirteen dollars that stay when a consumer buys from a corporate chain store (Weisul, 2010). Weisul cites some new national groups that advocate independent businesses. One organization encourages consumers to switch just ten percent of all their purchases to locally owned retail. Another group is asking that citizens switch their bank accounts to a local credit union from national banks, because credit unions do not give out taxpayer funded bonuses and are less likely to collapse than large banks (2010).

Another reason people should buy locally instead of from big box retailers is so that communities can become self-sufficient. Especially with all the recent recalls on contaminated toys from China, it would be ideal that consumers know what they are getting when they spend their money (Schwartz, 2009). This also applies to food: when consumers know that their food is coming from local farms, there is less concern about the quality of the food, the instability of supply lines, diseases and bacteria (Hughes & Hosein, 2009).

Samples and Excerpts

ReferencesHosein, H., Hughes, H. (Producers). (2005). Independent America [Documentary Film]. United

States: Id Communications. Schwartz, J. (2009). Buying local: how it boosts the economy. Retrieved from

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1903632,00.htmlWeisul, K. (2010). Consumers buy into ‘buy local’. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/

magazine/content/10_09/b4168057813351.htm

In-text citations

While full references include more detailed publication information, In-text citations just include a simple checklist of 3 pieces of information:

#1: author’s last name, or the company name

#2: year of publication

#3: page number (though you don’t see this one too often

any more)

(Floyd, 2005, p. 26)

Terminology

“Parenthetical citation” refers to the idea that in-text citation

information is enclosed in parentheses.

parenthetical citation

The necessity of supporting HB 986, titled “Bring Back the Leprechauns” cannot be overstated. The designing Representatives’ efforts to outlaw the leprosy vaccine in order to combat the severely diminished leprechaun presence in our communities will ease the burden of prejudice against these gold-creators (Floyd, 2010). As lawmakers are arguing, the lucky leprechauns are the last hope for a balanced budget, and an outbreak of leprosy among ordinary citizens is totally worth it.

Terminology

The “signal phrase” provides some information about your source outside of the parenthetical

citation.

signal phrase

According to a 2011 study, there is a desperate shortage of unicorns in the Louisville area (Floyd). According to Floyd (2011), this shortage is due mostly to lawmakers placing the impetus on the military to bomb rainbows, in an attempt to make them rain gold. This action is following public outcry after the failure of HB 986 to pass the Senate (O’Brian, 2011).

In-text citations

APA format dictates the use of page numbers only when you are dealing with a direct quotation

And, of course, you only use a page number when there actually is one“Death is not a period that ends the sentence of life, but a comma that punctuates it to more

lofty significance” (A Testament of Hope, 1991, p. 222).

Is it a quotation? Is the source paginated? If yes to both, you need to include the page number. If not, leave it out

In-text citations

Questions come into play with different circumstances…

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?What if there’s more than one

author?What if I can’t find a page number?

What if there is no publication date?

What if it’s a website?

What if I can’t find the author's name?

In-text citations

You still need the three pieces of information, you simply make appropriate substitutions

When there is no author, use the name of the company or organization (whoever is responsible for publishing the information). (Internal Revenue Service, 2012)

When there is no year, use n.d. (Floyd, n.d.)

When there are no page numbers, just leave that blank

In-text citations

Either through a signal phrase, a parenthetical citation, or a combination, as long you have those three items represented in the sentence, you are done

In the above example, the name of the organization is in the signal phrase (check off #1), the year is in a parenthetical citation (check off #2) and the page numbers aren’t necessary because it isn’t a quotation (check off #3). Here is the full reference for the above material:

PETA. (2012). Olivia Munn bares all to expose fur farms. Retrieved from https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3957

According to PETA (2012), Olivia Munn, who has Chinese heritage, has gone undercover into China to expose cruelty in fur farms.

In-text citation options

1. “Other educational re- searchers have found that many students tend to take filmic accounts of the past at face value without considering their credibility” (Metzger, 2010, p. 128).

2. Metzger (2010) states that “other educational re- searchers have found that many students tend to take filmic accounts of the past at face value without considering their credibility” (p. 128).

3. A 2010 study on film in the classroom suggested that “other educational re- searchers have found that many students tend to take filmic accounts of the past at face value without considering their credibility” (Metzger, p. 128).

4. On page 128 of his 2010 article, Metzger says that “other educational re- searchers have found that many students tend to take filmic accounts of the past at face value without considering their credibility”.

These are all correct, it’s just a matter of where you as the writer want to place the emphasis

Formatting: One very common mistake

The period comes AFTER the citation. The citation is a part of that sentence, so it is enclosed in the sentence.

A 2010 study on film in the classroom suggested that “other educational re- searchers have found that many students tend to take filmic accounts of the past at face value without considering their credibility” (Metzger, p. 128). Though he…

Do not do it this way:A 2010 study on film in the classroom suggested that “other educational re- searchers have found that many students tend to take filmic accounts of the past at face value without considering their credibility.” (Metzger, p. 128) Though he…

Full References

Your first job is to match the type of source with the corresponding pattern that APA tells you to use.

Are you citing material from a journal article? A movie? A website? All of them look a little different, because it makes better sense to highlight the differences in their publication information. Your go-to places for referencing APA templates should be the Kaplan Writing Center website, your handbook, or the APA website and/or manual

The OWL is another good reference, and I suggest you familiarize yourself with it

Formatting References

Though all sources have a custom pattern or template, most of them start the same:

Last name, comma, First initial of the author (or authors)

Floyd, M. (2012).Next, the year. 9 times out of 10 you will only need to fill in the year, BUT If this article is in a magazine or a newspaper you will also include the month and day, AFTER the year. The pattern will tell you; don’t decide for yourself, just follow the template

Floyd, M. (2012, January 17). DO NOT rethink date formatting. 1/17/12 is right

out.

Formatting References

APA uses SENTENCE STYLE capitalization for article titles. Only the first word, acronyms, and proper nouns are capitalized, just like a

sentence.

Floyd, M. (2012). The art of APA citation.

Next is usually the title of the article or book

What follows these three basic pieces to a Reference template depends entirely on the type of source you are working with. Consult the OWL to identify the template you should use for each of your sources.

Online SourcesOnline sources are now the most commonly utilized kind of source. There are two kinds of online sources you will be using the most:

Academic sources from online databases, such as journalsAccess to “American Scholar” through “MasterFile Premier”

Access costs moneyMostly will be formatted as a “periodical”

Websites www.whatever.com/.edu/.org/.gov, etc.

excepting online newspapers, or anything set in stone

Online Sources, cont.

The OWL at Purdue (2010) tells us, “for articles that are easily located, do not provide database information. If the article is difficult to locate, then you can provide database information.” The basic blueprint for an article you find through the online library catalogue, therefore, is as follows:

Last name, first initial. (year). Title written like a sentence. Name of journal italicized, volume number italicized (issue number), page-page.

Metzger, S.A. (2010). Maximizing the educational power of history movies in the classroom. The Social Studies, 101(3), 127-136.

References

The OWL at Purdue. (2010). APA formatting and style guide. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/

Alignment…

Floyd, M. (2012). The art of APA citation. Fake Entries

Today, 24, 138.

Your entries should be LEFT ALIGNED and double spaced. The first line should rest on the

margin. If it falls naturally to more lines, they should be indented.

This is called a hanging indent.A hanging indent can be difficult to achieve with urls, but do the best you can

Organize References Alphabetically

Entries should be listed in alphabetical order, by author last name, or if you have to substitute an organization name for an author (which will happen) you use that. Base it on whatever is first in the entry, because that is what will be in your in-text citation, and that is how your reader will associate the full reference with the mini-reference.

References

Hosein, H., Hughes, H. (Producers). (2005). Independent America [Documentary Film]. United States: Id Communications.

Schwartz, J. (2009). Buying local: how it boosts the economy. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1903632,00.html

Weisul, K. (2010). Consumers buy into ‘buy local’. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_09/

b4168057813351.htm

Concerning punctuation:

Remember – punctuation matters. All you have to do is follow the blueprints

precisely.References

Hosein, H., Hughes, H. (Producers). (2005). Independent America [Documentary Film]. United States: Id Communications.

Schwartz, J. (2009). Buying local: how it boosts the economy. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1903632,00.html

Weisul, K. (2010). Consumers buy into ‘buy local’. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_09/

b4168057813351.htm

Congratulations!

You have completed a crash course on the basics of APA citation.

Now, we can open the Writing Center site and practice putting some citations together