exhaustive reference guide.

APA STYLE SEVENTH EDITION – 2019

This module is designed to show the basic elements of

APA style writing and provide examples of appropriate
APA guidelines; however, it is not intended as an

exhaustive reference guide.

WHY USE APA?

APA writing style provides a foundation for effective
communication aiding writers to present ideas in a
clearer, concise, and organized manner.

APA rules create uniformity and consistency.

APA (Seventh Edition) has broadened its audience
consulting not only by psychologists but also students &
researchers in many fields such as business, education,
social work, nursing and many other behavioral and
social sciences.

BASIC APA PAPER CONSIST OF:
 The title page

 Text of the paper

 Reference page

 Notice No Running Head – YAY!

THE TITLE PAGE

APA requires seven basic elements to your title page:

1. Title

2. Author name

3. Institution affiliation

4. Course number/name

5. Instructor name

6. Due date

7. Page number (top header right)

SEVEN COMPONENTS OF THE TITLE PAGE

 Title

 Author name; first name, last name, no titles or

degrees used.

 Institution affiliation – American Public University

 Course number/Course name

 Instructor name

 Assignment due date (Month, ##, YYYY)

 Page number, page number in header flush right

TEXT OF THE PAPER

The body must conform to but a few guidelines:

• 1” margins all the way around

• All text double-spaced

• Every new sentence 1 tab indent (0.5 inches)

GENERAL FORMATTING INFORMATION

Begin writing your paper on page two (the cover page is page
one). The page numbering top right hand side must reflect
page 2 in the Header.

Same typeface throughout – various typeface font choices
acceptable (2.19).

Double space the entire paper (2.21).

Margins are set at one inch (top, bottom, left, and right) (2.22).

First sentence of every paragraph must e indented (2.24).

Center the title at the top of page two. The title is written in the
title case (6.17).

Quotes 40+ words blocked no quotation marks (8.27)

.

WRITING THE PAPER

 APA writing should be straightforward with an
active voice – i.e., “Jones developed the project..” as
opposed to the passive voice – i.e. “The project was
developed by Jones…”

 Use past tense when describing earlier research

 Spell out the first use of an acronym (example:
American Public University (APU) – first use. Next
time referenced in paper use (APU).

QUOTES OF 40 WORDS OR MORE

 If a quotation contains 40 words or more,
 treat it as a block quotation
 Start a block quotation on a new line
 Indent the whole block 0.5 in. from the left margin.
 Double-space the entire block quotation. (8.27)

 Do NOT use quotation marks for the entire quotation.

 You must give credit for the source.
 Place periods or commas within quotation marks when

they are part of the quoted material.
 At end of quote, place period then page number. Example:

…… placebo effect. (p. 276)

CITATIONS–GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE

 It is very important to give
proper credit when words or
thoughts are not ours originally.

 Citing the source means
mentioning the author/s within
the text so the reader can look up
the source at the back of the
paper.

 APA has very specific ways this
must be done. The model must
be followed exactly. With a little
practice, citing sources gets
easier!

PARAPHRASING

 Paraphrasing is your own rendition of someone else’s information or idea. (8.23)

 Parenthetical Citation Example: Many people possess knowledge on a multitude of
topics, but infrequently have the chance to take advantage of such knowledge
(Conner, 2004).

 Narrative Citation Example: Conner suggested many people possess knowledge on a
multitude of topics, but infrequently have the chance to take advantage of such
knowledge (2004).

 Direct quote: reproduces words verbatim from an author or source. (8.25)

 Parenthetical Citation Example: “Many of us understand all sorts of things but never
have the opportunity to take the time to try them out” (Conner, 2004, p. 161).

 Narrative Citation Example: According to Conner (2004) “Many of us understand all
sorts of things but never have the opportunity or take the time to try them out” (p.
161).

BASIC IN-TEXT CITATION STYLES

Author type Parenthetical citation Narrative citation

One author (Luna, 2020) Luna (2020)

Two Authors (Salas & D’Agostino, 2020) Salas and D’Agostino (2020)

Three or more authors (Martin et al., 2020) Martin et al. (2020)

Group author with abbreviation
First citation

Subsequent citations

(National Institute of Mental Health
[NIMH], 2020)

(NIMH, 2020)

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH,
2020)

NIMH (2020)

Group author without abbreviation (Stanford University, 2020) Stanford University (2020

Table 8.1 p. 266

NEW GUIDELINES FOR CITING REFERENCES

 Keep the format as simple as possible.

 No retrieval dates needed unless the source material may
change over time. (9.16)

 For electronic references, give the DOI, if no DOI is assigned
provide the URL. (9.34)

 For works associated with specific location, include the
location such as conference presentations, include the
location, (Example: New York, NY) (9.31)

THE DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER (DOI)

 The digital object identifier (DOI)

 is an alphanumeric string identifying content

 Give DOI for

 journal articles,

 books,

 book chapters accessed online.

 Do not use the phrase retrieved from

 Do not give a retrieval date. (9.34)

 For electronic references,

 give the DOI

 If no DOI assigned, provide the URL. (9.35)

TO SEARCH FOR A DOI

Search for a DOI: Go to a free DOI lookup:

 http://www.crossref.org/guestquery/

or

 http://www.crossref.org/SimpleTextQuery/

http://www.crossref.org/guestquery/

REFERENCE PAGE

➢ The Reference page is the last page (unless an appendix).

➢ Insert a page break at the end of the final paragraph to prevent distortion

➢ The word References should appear at the top center of the page.

➢ Entries are double spaced, left and additional lines of each reference are indented
(hanging indent).

Example

References

Stielow, F. J. (2003). Building digital archives.

New York: Neal- Schuman.

REFERENCES ARE ALPHABETIZED

➢ References

➢ Alphabetical order by author(s) last name

➢ List last name, then first and middle initials (if applicable) only.

➢ Author. Date. Title. Source.

➢ When author is unknown or cannot reasonably be determined, move the title of the work
to the author position followed by a period before the date of the publication, i.e.,
Anderson, M. (2018). Getting consistent with consequences. Educational Leadership, 76(1),
26-33. or Anonymous. (2017). or Generalized anxiety disorder. (2019). respectively.

➢ Only list the last name of an author or authors followed by initials for the first and
middle names. For example: Marcia L. Conner would be listed as Conner, M. L.

➢ Do not list the author as anonymous or unknown unless the work is signed
‘Anonymous’. (9.29)

INSERT THE PUBLICATION DATE IN PARENTHESES

FOLLOWING THE AUTHOR.

 Following the author’s name is the publication date. The date (in
parentheses) is always the second part of a reference. (9.4) List the date as
follows:

 (year only). For example: (2009).

 (year, month). For example: (2007, January). Note: Do not use month
abbreviations.

 (year, month, day). For example: (1998, June 16).

 (range of dates (e.g., range of years, range of exact dates) (9.13)

 (n.d.). Use n.d. for works without a publication date (9.17)

 Capitalize only the first word of titles, proper nouns (names of people,
places, studies, etc.), & subtitles following a colon (:). (6.29)

WHAT TO ITALICIZE

 Italicize the name of books, reports, webpages, and other stand-
alone works (6.22) journals, magazines, or newspapers (10.1 ex.3),
but do not italicize the name of an article. (10.1 ex.5)

 Journal: Journal of Social (10.1 ex.1)

 Magazine: Newsweek (10.1 ex.15)

 Newspapers: The New York Times (10.1 ex.16)

 Book: Learn more now: 10 simple ways to learning better, smarter
& faster. (10.2)

JOURNAL ARTICLE REFERENCE WITH DOI
EXAMPLE (10.1 EX. 1)

Last name, Initials. (yyyy of journal volume). Article title. Journal,
volume number, (issue number), pages. doi: xx.xxxxx

Roy, A.J. (1982). Suicide in chronic schizophrenia. British Journal of
Psychiatry, 96(1), 171-177. doi: xx.xxxx

It should be noted using the words Volume or Vol., Issue or Iss., or
Pages, p. or pp. are not acceptable in the reference citation. Also, the
journal title and volume number are italicized.

***Note: For electronic references, give the DOI, if assigned, if not
include the URL.

EXAMPLE JOURNAL ARTICLE REFERENCE
WITHOUT DOI EXAMPLE (10.1 EX. 2)

Last name, Initials. (yyyy of journal volume). Article title. Journal,
volume number, (issue number), pages.

Roy, A.J. (1982). Suicide in chronic schizophrenia. British Journal of
Psychiatry, 96(1), 171-177.

It should be noted using the words Volume or Vol., Issue or Iss., or
Pages, p. or pp. are not acceptable in the reference citation. Also, the
journal title and volume number are italicized.

Note: Provide URL if DOI is not available. (9.35)

EXAMPLE BLOG POST EXAMPLE
(10.1 EX. 17)

Last name, Initials. (Date). Title of article. Title of Blog. Source location

Klymkowsky, M. (2018, September 15). Can we talk scientifically about

free will? Sci-Ed. https://blogs.plos.org/scied/2018/09/15/can-

we-talk-scientifically-about-free-will/

https://blogs.plos.org/scied/2018/09/15/can-we-talk-scientifically-about-free-will/

https://blogs.plos.org/scied/2018/09/15/can-we-talk-scientifically-about-free-will/

EXAMPLE CHAPTER IN AN EDITED BOOK
WITHOUT DOI EXAMPLE (10.3. EX. 39)

Last name, Initials. (yyyy). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title

of book (if 2nd+ ed., pp. #). Publisher Name.

Weinstock, R., Leong, G. B., & Silva, J. A., (2003). Defining forensic

psychiatry: Roles and responsibilities. In R. Rosner (Ed.), Principles

and practice of forensic psychiatry (2nd ed., pp. 7-13). CRC Press.

ONLINE MEDIA TEMPLATE

Source

Author Date Title
Social media site

name URL

Twitter and Instagram:
Author, A. A. [@username].

Name of Group [@username].

Facebook and others:
Author, A. A.
Name of Group.
Name of Group [Username].
Username

(n.d.).

(2019, August, 8).

Content of the post up to the first 20 words.

Content of the post up to the first 20 words
[Description of audiovisuals].

[Description of audiovisuals].

Site Name. https://xxxxxxx

Retrieved August 27, 2020,
from https://xxxxx

Table 10.15 p. 348

https://xxxxxxx/

https://xxxxx/

WEBPAGES OR WEBSITES TEMPLATE

Source
Author Date Title Social media site

name
URL

Author, A. A. &
Author, B. B.

Name of Group.

(2020).

(2019, August).

(2020, September 28).

(n.d.).

Title of work. Site Name. https://xxxxxxx

Retrieved
December 22,
2020, from
https://xxxxx

Table 10.16 p. 351

https://xxxxxxx/

https://xxxxx/

ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES

➢ The new Seventh Edition of the APA Manual has various templates
along with various examples of different types of references
including, but not limited to,
➢ periodicals
➢ books
➢ technical
➢ research reports
➢ meetings & symposia
➢ doctoral dissertations & master’s theses
➢ reviews & peer commentary
➢ audiovisual media
➢ data sets, software, internet message boards, electronic mailing lists &

other sources

WRITING & GRAMMAR

BASIC WRITING COMPONENTS

 Title: Name your paper. The title can “hook” your readers.

 Introduction Paragraph: Tell the readers what you are about
to tell them. The thesis statement is often the last sentence of
the first paragraph.

 Thesis Statement: Essentially, a thesis statement answers
the question, “What do I want my readers to know after they
have read my essay?”

 Body: Discuss topic. The number of paragraphs will depend
on the length and complexity of your paper.

 Concluding Paragraph: A short summary. Do not introduce
any new information.

WRITING TIPS

 Use Formal Voice: Academic writing is more formal than casual
conversations, emails, and instant messages.

 Complete Sentences: Write in complete sentences. Complete sentences
contain both subjects and verbs.

 Subject-Verb Agreement: Be sure your subject and verb agree. For
example, “we are” rather than “we is,” or “they did” rather than “they
done.”

 Verb Tense and Active Voice: Limit shifts in verb tense, and use active
voice rather than passive voice.

 Awkward Phrasing: Use standard English phrasing. For example, “try to
do” rather than “try and do,” or “we went” rather than “us went.”

 Long Paragraphs Preferred: Be sure your ideas are fully developed in
each of your paragraphs. This usually results in paragraphs of three to
five sentences.

WRITING TIPS CONT…

 Brainstorming: Before beginning to write, take the time to put your
ideas on paper. Mind-mapping and list-making are two useful
brainstorming techniques.

 Organizing: Plan your paper or assignment. This may be as simple as
a chronological list of your points or as elaborate as a formal outline.

 Multiple Drafts: Professional writers create multiple drafts of their
writing. You should too.

 Extra Time: Quality writing takes time – lots of time. Build in a

cushion of extra time.

 Allow Time Between Drafts: While a break of 24- hours or more is

ideal, a 30-minute break will yield positive results.

 Help From Others: Being mindful of plagiarism and academic
honesty, request proofreading help.

WRITING TIPS CONT…

 Full Wording Rather Than Contractions: Convert contractions to
their complete word-partner. For example:
▪ it’s = it is
▪ won’t = will not
▪ haven’t = have not

 Homonyms: Homonyms are words that sound alike but are
spelled differently and have different definitions. For example,
new and knew, your and you’re, and know and no or piece and

peace, or versus and verses.

 Non-words: Ensure that all your words are standard English
words. For example, “alot” is not a word.

 Frequently Misspelled Words: Be alert for commonly confused
words. For example, possess and posses, a lot and allot, definitely
and defiantly, and their and there.

 etc.: Avoid using etc. at the end of a list unless it is part of a
quotation.

WRITING TIPS CONT…

 Use 3rd person point of view (unless opinion paper): Avoid pronouns such as
I, we, my, our (1st person) and you, yours, your, us, we (2ndperson). Deal with
facts, thus, providing citations within paper and reference page. Focus on
subject; not feelings about the subject. The use of 3rd person retains a formal
tone: Academic writing is more formal than casual conversation.

 Parenthesis: Parentheses are most often used in citations. Before using them
in other applications, consult the APA handbook for guidance.

 Commas and Introductory Phrases: Usually commas are placed between an
introductory phrase and the main sentence; however, commas are rarely used
to separate a concluding phrase.

 Colon: Colons should only be used when the introductory phrase is a
complete sentence.

 Semicolon: Semicolons are used to either connect two complete sentences, or
to connect a list that contains commas.

 Slashes: Use dashes rather than slashes.

WRITING TIPS CONT…
 Punctuation when ending a Quote: If quotation is at the end of a

sentence, close quote with quotation marks, cite the source in
parentheses, and end with a period or other punctuation outside
the final parenthesis. (6.7)

 Mid-sentence quote: If quote is in mid-sentence, close quote with
quotation marks, cite the source immediately after the quotation
marks, and continue the sentence. (6.7)

 Question Marks and Quotation Marks: Place question marks
outside the quotation mark unless the question mark is part of
the quotation.

 Single Quotation Marks: The only time you use single
quotation marks is inside of double quotation marks.

 Exclamation Points: Exclamation points should not be used
unless the exclamation point is part of a quotation.

 Titles of Books and Magazines: Italicize the title of books and
magazines.

SPELL-CHECKER,
GRAMMAR-CHECKER,

AND YOU!
Use your word processor’s spell-checker and grammar-
checker to catch common mistakes. Remember, these are
tools and no software program is perfect.

Spell-checkers identify the words in its dictionary but can not
identify correct contextual spelling.

Grammar-checkers may fail to identify incorrect punctuation
or usage. It may also highlight correct usage and
punctuation.

You must follow along behind them
to ensure that the spelling and grammar
are correct.