APA Formatting and Style Guide
Purdue OWL staff
Brought to you in cooperation with the Purdue Online Writing Lab
The American Psychological Association (APA) citation style
is the most commonly used format for manuscripts in the
social sciences.
APA regulates:
• Stylistics
• In-text citations
• References
What is APA Style?
Personal pronouns where appropriate
•?: “We conducted an experiment…”
•?: “The authors conducted an experiment….”
Active voice rather than passive voice
•?: “We asked participants questions.”
•?: “The participants have been asked questions by
the researchers.”
Point of View &Voice
Language in an APA paper should be:
• Clear: be specific in descriptions and explanations
• Concise: condense information when you can
• Plain: use simple, descriptive adjectives and minimize
figurative language
Language
The Literature Review:
• Summarizes scientific literature on a particular research
topic
• Includes:
• a title page,
• introduction, and
• a list of references
Types of APA Papers
The Experimental Report:
• Describes your experimental research
• Includes:
• a title page,
• abstract,
• introduction,
• methods, results, and discussion sections,
• a list of references,
• appendices,
• tables, and
• figures
Types of APA Papers
If your paper fits neither category:
•Follow the general format
•Consult the instructor
•Consult the APA Publication Manual
Types of APA Papers
Your essay should:
•be typed,
•double-spaced,
•have 1” margins,
•use 10-12pt. Standard font (ex. Times New Roman), and
•be printed on standard-sized paper (8.5”x 11”)
[Note: If you are writing a manuscript draft, APA suggests using two spaces
between sentences to aid readability (see pp.87-88 in the APA manual).]
General APA Format
Every page of your essay should:
•Include a page header (Title, all caps) in the upper lefthand
corner and
•the page number in the upper right
General APA Format
Your essay should
include four major
sections:
References
Main Body
Abstract
Title page
General APA Format
Title:
(in the upper half of the
page, centered)
name (no title or
degree) + affiliation
(university, etc.)
Page header:
(use Insert Page
Header)
title flush left + page
number flush right.
Title Page
Page header: do
NOT include
“Running head:”
Abstract: centered,
at the top of the page
Write a 150- to 250-
word summary of your
paper in an accurate,
concise, and specific
manner.
Abstract Page
• Number the first text page as page number 3
• Type and center the title of the paper at the top of the
page
• Type the text double-spaced with all sections following
each other without a break
• Identify the sources you use in the paper in
parenthetical, in-text citations
• Format tables and figures
Main Body (Text)
• Center the title (References)
at the top of the page. Do not
bold it.
• Double-space reference
entries
• Flush left the first line of the
entry and indent subsequent
lines
• Order entries alphabetically
by the surname of the first
author of each work
Reference Page
• Invert authors’ names (last name first followed by initials)
• EX:“Smith, J.Q.”
• Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title
and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the
title, and proper nouns. Do not capitalize the first letter of
the second word in a hyphenated compound word.
• EX: The perfectly formatted paper: How the Purdue
OWL saved my essay.
References: Basics
• Capitalize all major words in journal titles
• 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
References: Basics
APA is a complex system of citation. When compiling the reference
list, the strategy below might be useful:
1. Identify the type of source:
Is it a book? A journal article? A webpage?
2. Find a sample citation for this type of source
Check a textbook or the OWL APA Guide:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
3. “Mirror” the sample
4. Make sure that the entries are listed in alphabetical order and that
the subsequent lines are indented (Recall References: Basics)
Making the Reference List
In-text citations help readers locate the cited source in the
References section of the paper.
Whenever you use a source, provide in parenthesis:
• the author’s name and the date of publication
• for quotations and close paraphrases, provide the
author’s name, date of publication, and a page number
In-text Citation: Basics
When quoting:
•Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase
•Include the author’s name, year of publication, and page number
•Keep the citation brief—do not repeat the information
In-Text Citation:
Quotations
Provide the author’s last name and the year of
publication in parenthesis after a summary or a paraphrase.
In-Text Citation:
Summary or Paraphrase
Include the author’s name in the signal phrase, followed by
the year of publication in parenthesis.
In-Text Citation:
Summary or Paraphrase
When including the quotation in a summary/paraphrase, also
provide a page number in parenthesis after the quotation:
In-Text Citation:
Summary or Paraphrase
Introduce quotations with signal phrases, e.g.:
According to Xavier (2008), “….” (p. 3).
Xavier (2008) argued that “……” (p. 3).
Use such signal verbs such as:
acknowledged, contended, maintained,
responded, reported, argued, concluded, etc.
Use the past tense or the present perfect tense of verbs in signal phrases
when they discuss past events.
In-Text Citation:
Signal Words
When the parenthetical citation includes two or
more works, order them in the same way they appear in the reference
list—the author’s name, the year of publication—separated by a semicolon.
In-Text Citation:
Two or More Works
When citing a work with two authors, use
In the signal phrase, use “and” in between the authors’
names
In parenthesis, use “&” between names
In-Text Citation:
Works with Two Authors
When citing a work with three to five authors, identify all authors in the
signal phrase or in parenthesis.
(Harklau, Siegal, & Losey, 1999)
In subsequent citations, only use the first author’s last name followed by
“et al.” in the signal phrase or in parentheses.
(Harklau et al., 1993)
In-Text Citation:
Works with 3-5 Authors
When citing a work with six and more authors, identify the first author’s
name followed by “et al.”
Smith et al. (2006) maintained that….
(Smith et al., 2006)
In-Text Citation:
Works with 6+ Authors
When citing a work of unknown author:
•use the source’s full title in the signal phrase
•cite the first word of the title followed by the year of publication in
parenthesis.
According to “Indiana Joins Federal Accountability System” (2008)
OR
(“Indiana,” 2008)
Titles:
Articles and Chapters = “ ”
Books and Reports = italicize
In-Text Citation:
Unknown Author
When citing an organization:
•mention the organization the first time you cite the source in the signal
phrase or the parenthetical citation.
•If the organization has a well-known abbreviation, include the
abbreviation in brackets the first time the source is cited and then use only
the abbreviation in later citations.
In-Text Citation:
Organization
When citing authors with the same last names, use first initials with
the last names.
(B. Kachru, 2005; Y. Kachru, 2008)
When citing two or more works by the same author and published
in the same year, use lower-case letters (a, b, c) after the year of
publication to order the references.
Smith’s (1998a) study of adolescent immigrants…
In-Text Citation:
Same Last Name/Author
When citing interviews, letters, e-mails, etc., include the communicator’s
name, the fact that it was personal communication, and the date of the
communication.
Do not include personal communication in the reference list.
In-Text Citation:
Personal Communication
When citing an electronic document, whenever possible, cite it in the
author-date style. If electronic source lacks page numbers, locate and
identify paragraph number/paragraph heading.
In-Text Citation:
Electronic Sources
APA uses a system of five heading levels
APA Headings
Level Format
1 Centered, Boldfaced, Upper & Lowercase Headings
2 Left-aligned, Boldface, Upper & Lowercase Headings
3 Indented, boldface, lowercase heading with a period.
4 Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase heading with period.
5 Indented, italicized, lowercase heading with a period.
Headings
Here is an example of the five-level heading system:
Headings
Label tables with an Arabic numeral and provide a title. The label and title
appear on separate lines above the table, flush-left and single-spaced.
Cite a source in a note below the table.
Table 1
Internet users in Europe
Country Regular Users
France 9 ml
Note: The data are adapted from “The European Union and
Russia” (2007). Retrieved from http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu
Tables
Label figures with an Arabic numeral and provide a title. The label and the
title appear on the same line below the figure, flush-left .
You might provide an additional title centered above the figure.
Cite the source below the label and the title.
Figure 1. Internet users in Europe. Adapted from The European Union and
Russia: Statistical comparison by Eurostat Statistical Books, 2007,
Retrieved from http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu
Figures
The Purdue OWL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu
The Purdue Writing Lab @ HEAV 226
Composition textbooks
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6
th ed.
APA’s website: http://www.apastyle.org
Additional Resources
The End
APA Formatting and Style Guide
Brought to you in cooperation with the Purdue Online Writing Lab
