apa format
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APA Format: Another Way to Cite Sources
The How’s and Why’s of Using APA Format
A Writing Center Presentation
APA=American Psychological Association
The reason we use a standard form of citing sources is so that there is
no confusion. It’s standard, therefore someone 3,000 miles away (who also uses APA) will understand what the citation
means.
APA is commonly used for social science based disciplines.
What does the American Psychological Association say?
“When editors or teachers ask you to write in ‘APA style,’ they do not mean writing
style. They are referring to the editorial style that many of the social and behavioral sciences have adopted to
present written material in the field.”
Q: Where Do I Start?
A: With the Cover Page…
Title centered
and double-spaced
Running Head: PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICH 1
How to Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich:An Easy Lunch That (Almost) Anyone Can Create
Susie StudentRowan Cabarrus Community College
Q: Where Do I List My Sources?
A: In the paper and on the References page…
Heading centered on new page
Entries listed alphabetically – author’s last name is first; initials used for first and middle
names
Year of publication Title of work –
only first word is capitalized
unless it is a proper noun
City of publication
Publisher
Q: What About the Citations in the Paper?
A: In-text Citations are Based on the References page…
Harris, S. (2004). Getting over the fear of being afraid.
New York: Penguin.
The area of the brain that contains past memoriesis sometimes filled with “horrid distortions of pasttragedy” (Harris, 2004).
Sample Reference Page Entries
Book
Smith, J. (2005). Teaching the children of tomorrow. Springfield, IL: Education Press.
Author's last name and first and middle initial
Year of publication
Title and subtitle (if any), italicized
*Only the first word is capitalized unless there is a proper noun in the title
City of publication (if the city is not well
known or is a duplicate, list the
state as well)
Publisher
Always be sure to indent every line after the first of each
entry
Where to find this information in a book…
Book Title(also on the cover)
Copyright/Publication Date
Publisher Information
Author’s Name
Magazine, Journal or Periodical
Carter, H. & Smith, M. J. (2003). Exploring world culture: An understanding of Ethiopia. Culture de Monde, 12(2), 26-37.
Author's last names and first (and middle)
initials.*Use “&” instead of
“and”
Year of publication
Article title (and
subtitle)*Only first words and
proper nouns are capitalized
Magazine, journal or
periodical title; italicized
Volume number (italicized), and issue
number if any
Page numbers
Where to find this information in a magazine…
Title of article
Magazine title; date of publication; volume and
issue numbers; page number
Author of the article
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_HOYdbgL7E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFo_KBQtv9o
Additional Resources for APA format…
Online Writing Lab at Purdue University
APA Style.Org: Electronic Resources
Vanguard University APA Style Essentials
Son of Citation Machine
If you need one-to-one assistance…
GO TO THE WRITING CENTER!
*And earn Extra Credit!