INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT GUIDING LECTURE

Academic Writing Drs.H.Muhammad Syafi’I S,M.Pd

Introduction to APA (American Psychological Association) Style

INDIVIDUAL SUMMARY BY :

LAILA MARYAM RAY (11810422677)

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND TEACHER TRAINING

UNIVERSITY ISLAMIC OF SULTAN SYARIF KASIM RIAU

PEKANBARU

2020
 APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Introduction

Academic scientific work is a form of academic writing using scientific principles that
are presented scientifically and in scientific language. The different rules will distinguish
academic writings from writings on Facebook, blogs, or magazines and newspaper articles.
The material in scientific writings contains scientific ideas. Scientific Writing academic also
contains scientific studies or research results and is a picture the development of science
presented in scientific papers. Scientific papers describe general facts that have been proven
as scientific studies. Then thinking activities that are based solely on unproven assumptions
not included in scientific papers.

When someone wants to write an academic paper, one of the things that is
determining the success of his writing is whether or not many other scientists quote his
writings. The higher the number of citations of a work, it is expected the higher the benefits
of the work. The higher the rate of quotation, the benefits works and the needs of the
scientific community for a work increasingly high.

Citation is the information needed to make the paper needed easily the source is
found. Citation can help the reader and guide the reader to find the source of information
used by the author. The purpose of writing citations on a scientific papers are to show readers
the basis of thought, explanation or analysis underlying the writing. Broadly speaking there
are 3 (three) types of citation, viz Chicago (or Turabian), which is used in many fields /
general, MLA, types of citations used in the field of humanities, and APA, which is used in
social sciences, education, and business. The focus of this article will discuss APA Style.

What is APA ?

APA is an abbreviation of the American Psychological Association, so APA Styles is

one form of citations issued by the APA organization, especially for psychology and social
fields. The following are the characteristics of the citation writing style from APA Styles

1) Bibliography sorted alphabetically by author's last name or title if not there is a writer.

2) The author's first name is written as initials.

3) If there is an equal author inside Bibliography is written sequentially from the oldest year.
4) You can add letters a, b, c

APA Style quote types are grouped into 2 namely: 1) Direct quotes are ideas know the
concepts of others copied in accordance with the original. Direct quotations in the APA
format written by mentioning the author's name, year of publication, and page of the sentence
quoted. 2) Indirect quotes are concepts from other people that are quoted using the writer's
own words. In the APA format, quotations are not directly written in sentences or text by
specifying the author's name and year of publication, without writing the page cited works

APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite

sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 7th edition of the
APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult
the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (7th ed.).

Introduction to APA Style The American Psychological Association has set the
standard for communication in the medical and social sciences since 1929. This guide is
based primarily on the Publication Manual of the APA, Sixth Edition 2010.

APA style is one of the most common citation and formatting styles you will
encounter in your academic career. Any piece of academic writing can use APA style, from a
one-page paper to a full-length book. It is widely used by hundreds of scientific journals and
many textbooks. If you are writing a paper for a psychology or sociology class, it is possible
that your professor will ask you to write in APA style.

An “APA paper” refers to the formatting of content, not necessarily the content itself.
This formatting dictates the specifics of elements such as the title page, abstract, in-text
citations, and reference page.

The Purpose of APA Style

The APA style guide aims to accomplish several goals:

- to ensure consistent formatting and presentation of information, for the sake of clarity
and ease of navigation;
- to ensure proper attribution of ideas to their original sources, for the sake of
intellectual integrity; and
 - to provide a clear structural scaffold for an experimental paper, for the sake of
scientific rigor.

How Does APA Style Work?

When working with APA there are two things to keep in mind: in-text citations and
the reference page. In-text citations will use the author’s name and the date within your
research paper. These citations will refer back to the reference page at the end, which lists all
the sources that you may have used in your research paper.

Note: If you are assigned a research paper in APA style for one of your courses, it’s a
good idea to ask your instructor the questions below. He or she will be able to explain details
about the requirements for the paper. For now, we will go over the basic instructions of how
to use in-text citations and how to set up the reference page.

Grammar and Formatting

APA style includes many basic grammatical rules. For example, APA style does use
the Oxford comma, which some other citation styles (e.g., AP style) do not. Other examples
include rules about what punctuation should be included inside a quotation and when to use
what type of dash.

APA style also has rules about formatting, such as how to use different levels of
headers throughout your paper and what size margins you should use.

Citations

APA style also puts forth guidelines for citing your sources—in fact, this is why it is
called a “citation style.” For example, APA style has specific rules for what information to
include in your References section, how to cite quotations within a paragraph, and how to
incorporate block quotations.

The Scientific Method

APA style rules are not limited to grammar and formatting; in fact, it was originally
developed as a set of guidelines for writing without bias in the sciences. The guidelines for
reducing bias in language have been updated over the years and provide practical guidance
for writing about race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, and disability status.
 APA style provides a roadmap for the structure of a scientific paper that closely
mirrors the scientific method, with sections for the Introduction (including your hypothesis),
Method, Results, and Discussion.

APA Layout Overview:

Title page : Provides the author’s name, the title, the running head (short title), and the
university affiliation. May contain additional information in an author note .

Abstract : Header matches the body pages, not the title page. Includes a concise and non-
evaluative summary of the research project, describing the problem, the method of study, the
basic findings, and the implications in only a paragraph.

Body pages : Starts with the full title centered on the first page. 12 point, Times New
Roman font, one-inch margins, indented double-spaced paragraphs .

Reference page : Starts with “References” centered at the top of a new page. Uses hanging
indent to separate individual references .

General Formatting Rules :

Font

Your paper should be written in 12-point Times or Times New Roman font.

Line Spacing

All text in your paper should be double-spaced.

Margins

All page margins (top, bottom, left, and right) should be 1 inch (or greater, but 1 inch is
standard). All text, with the exception of headers, should be left-justified.

Indentation

The first line of every paragraph and footnote should be indented 1 inch (with the
exception of the first line of your Abstract, which should begin at the margin).
Page Numbers

Page numbers in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3…) should appear right-justified in the
header of every page, beginning with the number 1 on the title page. Most word-processing
programs have the ability to automatically add the correct page number to each page so you
don’t have to do this by hand.

General Grammar Rules :

The Oxford Comma

The Oxford comma (also called the serial comma) is the comma that comes after the second-
to-last item in a series or list. For example:

The UK includes the countries of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

In the above sentence, the comma immediately after “Wales” is the Oxford comma.

In general writing conventions, whether the Oxford comma should be used is actually
a point of fervent debate among passionate grammarians. However, it’s a requirement in
APA style, so double-check all your lists and series to make sure you include it!

Capitalization After Colons and Em Dashes

If you have a colon or em dash (—) in the middle of a sentence, and what follows
after is an independent clause (i.e., it could be a sentence on its own), the word after the colon
or em dash should be capitalized (as though the following sentence were on its own). For
example:
There was only one possible explanation: The train had never arrived.
Here, “The train had never arrived” could stand as its own sentence because it is an
independent clause (i.e., it has both a subject—the train—and a verb phrase—had never
arrived). Therefore, we capitalize its first word following the colon.

However, if we make one small change to this sentence, the rule changes:

There was only one possible person to blame: the train conductor.

Here, “the train conductor” cannot stand as its own sentence, so its first word following the
colon is not capitalized.

Sentence Spacing

It used to be convention to type two spaces after every period—for example:

“Mary went to the store.  She bought some milk.  Then she went home.”

This convention was developed when typewriters were in use; the space on a
typewriter was quite small, so two spaces were needed to emphasize the end of a sentence.
However, typewriters, and therefore this practice, are now obsolete—in fact, using two
spaces after sentences is now generally frowned upon. APA style in particular includes an
explicit rule to use only single spaces after periods:

“Mary went to the store. She bought some milk. Then she went home.”

A Note on the Table of Contents

Because APA style is so often used for journal articles, which appear as part of a
larger body of work, it does not provide guidelines for tables of contents for the individual
papers themselves. If your professor asks you to include a table of contents in your paper,
they will give you their own guidelines for formatting.

What Is APA Format?

APA format is the official style of the American Psychological Association (APA)

and is commonly used to cite sources in psychology, education, and the social sciences. The
APA style originated in a 1929 article published in Psychological Bulletin that laid out the
basic guidelines. These guidelines were eventually expanded into the APA Publication
Manual.1

So why is APA format so important in psychology and other social sciences? By

using APA style, researchers and students writing about psychology are able to communicate
information about their ideas and experiments in a consistent format. Sticking to a consistent
style allows readers to know what to look for as they read journal articles and other forms of
psychological writing.
 If you have never taken a psychology or social science class before, then you are
probably accustomed to using a different style guide such as MLA or Chicago style. New
college students are often surprised to find that after spending years having another
formatting style drilled into their heads, many university-level classes instead require APA
style. It can be a difficult transition, especially if you have to bounce back and forth between
different styles for different classes. Getting a solid grasp of the basics and bookmarking a
few key resources can make learning this new format a bit easier.

Important Tips for APA Style Reference Pages

- Your references should begin on a new page. Title the new page "References" and
center the title text at the top of the page.
- All entries should be in alphabetical order.
- The first line of a reference should be flush with the left margin. Each additional line
should be indented (usually accomplished by using the TAB key).
- The reference section should be double-spaced.
- All sources cited should appear both in-text and on the reference page. Any reference
that appears in the text of your report or article must be cited on the reference page,
and any item appearing on your reference page must be also included somewhere in
the body of your text.
- Titles of books, journals, magazines, and newspapers should appear in italics.
- The exact format of each individual reference may vary somewhat depending on
whether you are referencing an author or authors, a book or journal article, or
an electronic source. It pays to spend some time looking at the specific requirements
for each type of reference before formatting your source list.

A Few More Helpful Resources

If you are struggling with APA format or are looking for a good way to collect and
organize your references as you work on your research, consider using a free APA citation
machine. These online tools can help generate an APA style reference, but always remember
to double-check each one for accuracy.

Purchasing your own copy of the official Publication Manual of the American

Psychological Association is a great way to learn more about APA format and have a handy
resource to check your own work against. Looking at examples of APA format can also be
very helpful.

While APA format may seem complex, it will become easier once you familiarize
yourself with the rules and format. The overall format may be similar for many papers, but
your instructor might have specific requirements that vary depending on whether you are
writing an essay or a research paper. In addition to your reference page, your instructor may
also require you to maintain and turn in an APA format bibliography.

GUIDELINES FOR WRITING YOUR RESEARCH PAPER

Your APA paper should include five major sections: the Title Page, Abstract, Main
Paper, Paper Format and References And Citations. See the timeline handout for important
due dates.

1. TITLE PAGE
• Your paper should begin with a title page that follows APA format.
• Your title should be interesting and inform the reader of your topic.
2. ABSTRACT
• An abstract page should include the page header. On the first line of the abstract page,
center the word “Abstract” (no bold, formatting, italics, underlining, or quotation marks).
• Beginning with the next line, write a concise summary of the key points of your
research. (Do not indent.) An abstract should summarize your research topic, research
questions, participants, methods, results, data analysis, and conclusions. • Your abstract
should be a single paragraph double-spaced. Your abstract should be between 150 and
250 words.
3. MAIN PAPER (will have four distinct parts):

I. INTRODUCTION

• In general, all papers should begin with an introduction that includes a thesis statement
(see handout on a good/bad thesis).
• The purpose of the introduction is the same as any research paper: in one to two
paragraphs, briefly introduce and state the issue to be examined.
• The introduction always states what you are trying to prove/disprove in the paper.
II. THESIS STATEMENT
• The most important part of your introduction is this statement.
 • The thesis statement is the direction of your paper.
• Your thesis must always be underlined in everything you turn in.
III. BODY
• Each body paragraph should include a topic sentence.
• Your topic sentences must always be underlined in everything you turn in.
• I repeat: Underline each topic sentence of each paragraph.
• Paragraphs have no less than four but no more than six sentences.
• Topic sentences explain/summarize what will be addressed in the paragraph.
• These topic sentences also act as transitions to create a coherent argument.
• Transitions link paragraphs together and unite the overall position of your argument.
• Paragraphs support the particular thesis statement with evidence/examples.
• The body of your paper should clearly show that your argument/critique/analysis is
moving in a certain direction (the direction outlined in your introduction).
IV. CONCLUSION
• Bring cohesion to your paper by clearly reiterating your main points.
• Summarize your themes and sub-points.
• Explain what was suggested in the body of your paper.
• Tie up your argument and drive home your thesis statement.
• You should attempt to show that your thesis has been proven.
4. PAPER FORMAT
• Paper length: Micro honors and Econ 230 honors 9-11 pages (not including title and
reference pages)
• 12 point font with 1 inch margins
• Double-spaced • Headings (where appropriate)
• Your paper’s turnitin.com originality score of no less than 15% and no more than 25%
• Uses a single source no more than five times.
• Your paper is due May 13th
• Your thesis always underlined.
• Your topic sentences always underlined.
5. REFERENCES AND CITATIONS
Main resource materials:
• Primary source documents e.g., books such as The Wealth of Nations and JSTOR
scholarly articles--no less than three must come from the 30 economic journals and my
handout on them.
 Ancillary resource materials:
• Cited think tanks (e.g. Cato.org, Brookings Institute)
• Popular writings (e.g. NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Economist, other media).
• No more than three (and they should not be the focal point of your paper’s evidence).
• wiki’s and blogs are not acceptable sources.
• How many sources should you have? No less than seven and no more than eleven.
• Note: you may only use two of the in-class readings as direct sources. I strongly
suggest that any single source not be overly relied on.
In-Text Citations (APA Format)
• Rather than footnotes or endnotes, APA Format uses in-text citations.
• Avoid plagiarizing through the use of in-text citations that identify ideas, information
or words from a particular source. APA still requires a bibliography!

Conclusion :

From the material above we can conclude that in writing scientific papers we must
look at the type of paper we will be working on because each type is different in the way of
writing, such as the APA style used for social sciences, education, and business.