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Online Writing Lab

The Basics: APA (6th Edition) Guidelines

What is APA?
APA stands for American Psychological Association, and is a documentation style. Basically, APA affects the following components of your essay: 1. Style/manuscript format 2. Quoting and In-text citations 3. Reference page We will go over each of these components by briefly explaining the guidelines to follow, as well as offering several examples. If you are still confused, dont worry! Additionally, we encourage you to have a copy of the textbook, Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th Edition (2010) (available through MBS Direct, ISBN 10-43380561-8). You may also download and save a copy of the APA 6th Edition PowerPoint presentation located in Doc Sharing of the SUO APA Online Writing Lab. And, as always, your APA tutor will answer any questions that arise.

Why Does SUO use APA?

Though MLA style is preferred for English courses, this course is designed to prepare you for other courses at South University Online, which predominately use the APA style. APA is used to document secondary sources used in your work. To avoid plagiarism, you must clearly indicate information you have incorporated into your paper from newspapers, magazines, books, web sites, etc.

Whether you are writing answers for your discussion questions, working on the longer papers for the course, or compiling information for a research project, you are going to be working with the thoughts and words of other people. Therefore, it is necessary for you to avoid quoting these authors all the time. Instead, you should critically read what they have written and then paraphrase their words using proper documentation.

Formatting: The Essay

(Section 8.03) Margins at least one inch [2.54cm] at top, bottom, left, right. Place page numbers in upper right corner using the Insert feature (See instructions below.) Indent first lines of new paragraphs 1/2 inch Space ONCE after the periods of the initials in an authors name (e.g. J.R. Zhang) Space TWICE after the punctuation marks in a sentence. Italicize book titles, periodicals, microfilms, new, technical, or keywords Use size 12, Times New Roman typeface

Formatting: The Title Page

Running head (See instructions below on using the Header function in Word 07.) Page header Essay title (byline may be optional) with the following in this order: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Student Name Name of Course Date Instructor Name of College

Using the Header Function in Word (2007)

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

Quoting and Paraphrasing

Sections 6.03, 6.04
Quoting If the quotation appears in mid-sentence, end the passage with quotation marks, cite the source in parenthesis immediately after the quotation marks, and continue the sentence. Example:

Interpreting these results, Robbins et al. (2003) suggested that the therapists in dropout cases may have been inadvertently validated (p. 541), contributing to an overall climate of negativity.
Otherwise, end the passage with quotation marks, cite the source in parenthesis immediately after the quotation marks, and then place a period outside the parenthesis, as illustrated:

Confusing this issue is the overlapping nature of roles in palliative care, whereby medical needs are met by those in the medical disciplines; nonmedical needs may be addressed by anyone on the team (Csikai & Chaitin, 2006, p. 112).
Paraphrasing Similar to citing a quotation, when paraphrasing or referring to an idea contained in another work, cite
the author, year and page number in parenthesis, and include punctuation at the end of parenthesis, as illustrated:

Interpreting the results of one study suggested the attrition rates of the therapists substantiated the parents concerns about the adolescents (Robbins et al., 2003, p. 541).
Block Quoting (Section 4.08) A block quotation is quotation that is over 40 words. Use block quotes sparingly! Indent the quote 1/2 from the left margin. Remove quotation marks, and insert punctuation at end of quote,

before citation, as illustrated:

Quoting Material Without Pagination (Section 6.05) If paragraph numbers are visible, use them in place of page numbers using the abbreviation para, as illustrated:

Basu and Jones (2007) suggested the need for a new intellectual framework in which to consider the nature and form of regulation in cyberspace (para. 4).
If the source includes headings and neither paragraph or page numbers are visible, cite the heading and the number of the paragraph following it.

Basu and Jones (2007) suggested the need for a new intellectual framework in which to consider the nature and form of regulation in cyberspace (Discussion section, para. 1).
If headings are too unwieldy to cite in full, use a short title enclosed in quotations for the parenthetical citation:

Empirical studies have found mixed results on the efficacy of labels in educating consumers and changing consumption behavior (Golan, Kuchler, & Krissof, 2007, Mandatory Labeling has Targeted, para. 4).

Citing Sources
Sections 6.11=6.21
Example paraphrase with one author (Section 6.11)

Kessler (2003) found that among epidemiological samples Or Eary onset results in a more persistent and severe course (Kessler, 2003).
Citing a Sources Within a Source (Section 6.17) Use as cited in to cite an articles secondary source. However, only cite the article on the reference page, not the secondary source, as illustrated:

Allports diary (as cited in Nicholson, 2003) And Seidenberg and McClellands study (as cited in Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, & Haller, 1993)
Note: The author(s) listed in the as cited parenthesis, would be listed on the references page, as illustrated in the second example: Coltheart, M., Curtis, B., Atkins, P., & Haller, M. (1993). Models of reading aloud: Dual-route and parallel-distributed-processing approaches. Psychological Review, 100, 589-608.

Citing Multiple Authors (Section 6.12) When a work has authors, always cite both names every time the reference occurs in text. When authors number 8 or more, include the first 6 authors names, then insert three ellipses (), and add the last authors name. See illustration for preferred citation order:

First use as first citation in text: Kisangau, Lyaruu, Hosea, and Joseph (2007) found Next, use as subsequent first citation per paragraph thereafter. Kisangau et al. (2007) found Then, omit year from subsequent citations after first nonparenthetical citation within a paragraph. Include the year in subsequent citation within a paragraph is parenthetical (see Section 6.11). Kisangau et al. found
Personal Communication (Section 6.22) Personal Communication may include private letters, memos, some electronic communication (e.g. e-mail), personal interviews, and telephone conversation. What you cite must have scholarly relevance use judgment when using personal communications.

A recent study suggested that Childhood obesity is at an all time high (J. Weaver, personal communication, October 30, 2008).
Note: Personal communications do not provide recoverable data; personal communications are not included in the references page.

Reference Examples
(Chapter 7)
A reference page documents the essay provides the information necessary to identify and retrieve each source. Cite all sources used in paper List sources alphabetically

Author name (s), year of publication, title of source, place of publication, publishers name Double-space Indent five spaces, second and all other lines of each reference entry

Example Citations
Journal with DOI (Section 7.1) What is a DOI (Digital Object Identifier)? According to the APA 6th Edition (2010): the DOI System provides a means of persistent identification for managing information on digital networks (p. 188). Therefore, a DOI is assigned to the retrieved article, then include this in place of the URL.

Author, A.A. (year). Title of article. Title of Periodical xx, pp.-pp. doi: xx.xxxxxxxxx -----Herbst-Damm, K.L. & Kulik, J.A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and the survival times of terminally ill patients. Health Psychology 24, 225-229. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225 Sample in-text citation: (Herbst-Damm & Kulik, 2005, p. 226).
Journal Article without DOI (Section 7.3)

Author, A.A. (year). Title of article. Title of Periodical xx, (volume if available), pp.-pp. ----Light, M.A. & Light, I. H. (2008). The geographic expansion of Mexican immigration in the United States and its implications for local law enforcement. Law Enforcement Executive Forum Journal 8 (1), 73-82. Sample in-text citation: (Light & Light, 2008, p. 74).
Magazine Article (Section 7.7)

Author, A.A. (year). Title of article. Title of Periodical xx, (volume if available), pp.-pp.

----Chamberlin, J., Novotney, A., Packard, E., & Price, M. (2008, May). Enhancing worker well-being: Occupational health psychologists convene to share their research on work, stress and health. Monitor on Psychology, 39 (5), 26-29. Sample in-text citation: (Chamberlin, Novotney, Packard & Price, 2008, p. 27).
Online Magazine Article (Section 7.8)

Author, A.A. (year). Title of article. Title of Periodical xx, (volume if available). Retrieved from URL ----Clay, R. (2008, June). Science vs. ideology: Psychologists fight back about the misuse of research. Monitor on Psychology, 39 (6). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/ Sample in-text citation: (Clay, 2008, para. 3).
Online Article, No Author (Section 7.9)

Title of article. (year). Name of Newsletter/Website. Retrieved from URL ----Six sites meet for comprehensive anti-gang initiative conference. (2006, November/December). OJJDP News @ a Glance. Retrieved from http://www.ncjrs.gove/html/ojjdp/news_at_glance/216684/topstory .html Sample in-text citation: (Six Sites Meet, 2006, para. 2).
Example References Page

The APA OWL is available to help with writing and APA issues. To access the APA OWL, go to the student Campus Common at https://mycampus.southuniversity.edu/portal/server.pt Click on the ACCESS LEARNING button on the Campus Common page. Another page will pop up, and the APA OWL will be listed under the current session.