General • Your essay should be typed, double-spaced on standard-sized

paper (8.5" x 11") with 1" margins on all sides. You should use a clear font that is highly readable. APA recommends using 12 pt. Times New Roman font.

• Include a page header (also known as the "running head") at the top of every page. To create a page header/running head, insert page numbers flush right. Then type "TITLE OF YOUR PAPER" in the header flush left using all capital letters.

Formatting and Writing Style• Paper should contain Title, main body, and

reference page• Title page should contain: paper title, your

name, and school name.• Pages after the title should contain paper

name

APA Basic Guidelines

EX: Title Page

In-text citation

Short quotes: Direct quotes should include the author’s name, year of publication, and page number. EX: According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).

If the Author isn’t named before the quote include the last name in parentheses.

EX: She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.

Long quotes (40 words or longer):

Start the quote on a new line. Indent ½ inch from the left margin. Keep double spaced.

EX: Author (date)

double spaced quote. (p. ###)

Summary or Paraphrase:

If you are paraphrasing from a source you only have to include the author and year of publication.

EX: According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult

citation format for first-time learners.

References• All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list

should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. This is called hanging indentation.

• Authors' names are inverted (last name first); give the last name and initials for all authors of a particular work for up to and including seven authors.

• Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work.

• For multiple articles by the same author, or authors listed in the same order, list the entries in chronological order, from earliest to most recent.

• Present the journal title in full. Keep the journal titles exactly same as how it is on the journal.

• Italicize titles of longer works such as books and journals

• Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles or essays in edited collections.

Sources

scdiscus.org: online databases. Access to thousands of professional journals, magazines, and books. Not a search engine

Destiny catalog: subject search and reference books

Search engines: Be aware of where you info is coming from!

Follow these guidelines for websites • Authority-who’s publishing?• Accuracy- is the information correct? How do you

know?• Objectivity-does the information show bias? What is

the reason for the site?• Currency-How old is the site? When was it last

updated?• Coverage-How much information does the site give? Is

the information limited?

Need more help?

• Visit the Media Center blog and follow the links located under Reference

• Visit http://www.apastyle.org/

• Ask the librarians