APA Style Essentials (5th edition)

APA Style Essentials
http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/index.cfm?doc_id=796
Last modified August 9, 2002

Douglas Degelman, Ph.D., and Martin Lorenzo Harris, Ph.D. 
Vanguard University of Southern California

General Guidelines	Abstract	Text Citations	References
Title Page	Body	Quotations	Tables and Figures

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  (5th ed., 2001) provides a comprehensive reference guide to writing using APA style, organization, and content. To order a copy of the Publication Manual online, go to http://www.apa.org/books/4200060.html. The purpose of this document is to provide a common core of elements of APA style that all members of a department can adopt as minimal standards for any assignment that specifies APA style. Instructors will specify in writing when any of the following elements do not apply to a specific assignment that specifies APA style (e.g., when an abstract is not required) or when additional APA style elements must be observed.
This Web document is itself not a model of APA style. For an example of a complete article formatted according to APA style, go to http://www.vanguard.edu/psychology/prayer.pdf. For an example of an undergraduate research proposal, go to http://www.vanguard.edu/emplibrary/files/psychproposal.pdf. To view this and other PDF documents referenced on this page, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader. To download the free Acrobat Reader, go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. To download a Microsoft Word template of an APA-style paper, go to http://www.vanguard.edu/emplibrary/files/psychapa.doc.

1. General Document Guidelines 
1. Margins: One inch on all sides (top, bottom, left, right)         
2. Font Size and Type: 12-pt. font (Times Roman or Courier are acceptable typefaces)         
3. Spacing: Double-space throughout the paper, including the title page, abstract, body of the document, and references.         
4. Alignment: Flush left (creating uneven right margin)         
5. Paragraph Indentation: 5-7 spaces         
6. Pagination: The page number appears one inch from the right edge of the paper on the first line of every page, beginning with the title page. The only pages that are not numbered are pages of artwork.         
7. Manuscript Page Header: The first two or three words of the paper title appear five spaces to the left of the page number on every page, beginning with the title page. Manuscript page headers are used to identify manuscript pages during the editorial process. Using most word processors, the manuscript page header and page number can be inserted into a header, which then automatically appears on all pages.
2. Title Page 
1. Pagination: The Title Page is page 1.         
2. Key Elements: Paper title, author(s), and author(s) affiliation(s).         
3. Article Title: Uppercase and lowercase letters, centered on the page.         
4. Author(s): Uppercase and lowercase letters, centered on the line following the title.         
5. Institutional affiliation: Uppercase and lowercase letters, centered on the line following the author(s).         
6. Running head: The running head is typed flush left (all uppercase) following the words "Running head:" on the line below the manuscript page header. It should not exceed 50 characters, including punctuation and spacing. The running head is a short title that appears at the top of pages of published articles.         
7. Example of APA-formatted Title Page:  http://www.vanguard.edu/psychology/titlepage.pdf
3. Abstract: The abstract is a one-paragraph, self-contained summary of the most important elements of the paper.
1. Pagination: The abstract begins on a new page (page 2).         
2. Heading: Abstract (centered on the first line below the manuscript page header)         
3. Format: The abstract (in block format) begins on the line following the Abstract heading. The abstract should not exceed 120 words. All numbers in the abstract (except those beginning a sentence) should be typed as digits rather than words.         
4. Example of APA-formatted Abstract:  http://www.vanguard.edu/psychology/abstract.pdf
4. Body 
1. Pagination: The body of the paper begins on a new page (page 3). Subsections of the body of the paper do not begin on new pages.         
2. Title: The title of the paper (in uppercase and lowercase letters) is centered on the first line below the manuscript page header.         
3. Introduction: The introduction (which is not labeled) begins on the line following the paper title.         
4. Headings: Headings are used to organize the document and reflect the relative importance of sections. For example, many empirical research articles utilize Method, Results, Discussion, and References headings. In turn, the Method section often has subheadings of Participants, Apparatus, and Procedure. For an example of APA-formatted headings, go to http://www.vanguard.edu/psychology/headings.pdf 
1. Main headings (when the paper has either one or two levels of headings) use centered uppercase and lowercase letters (e.g., Method, Results, Discussion, and References).
2. Subheadings (when the paper has two levels of headings) are italicized and use flush left, uppercase and lowercase letters (e.g., Participants, Apparatus, and Procedure as subsections of the Method section).
5. Text citations: Source material must be documented in the body of the paper by citing the author(s) and date(s) of the sources. The underlying principle here is that ideas and words of others must be formally acknowledged. The reader can obtain the full source citation from the list of references that follows the body of the paper.
1. When the names of the authors of a source are part of the formal structure of the sentence, the year of publication appears in parentheses following the identification of the authors. Consider the following example:

Wirth and Mitchell (1994) found that although there was a reduction in insulin dosage over a period of two weeks in the treatment condition compared to the control condition, the difference was not statistically significant.     [Note: and is used when multiple authors are identified as part of the formal structure of the sentence. Compare this to the example in the following section.] 

2. When the authors of a source are not part of the formal structure of the sentence, both the authors and years of publication appear in parentheses, separated by semicolons. Consider the following example:

Reviews of research on religion and health have concluded that at least some types of religious behaviors are related to higher levels of physical and mental health (Gartner, Larson, & Allen, 1991; Koenig, 1990; Levin & Vanderpool, 1991; Maton & Pargament, 1987; Paloma & Pendleton, 1991; Payne, Bergin, Bielema, & Jenkins, 1991).      [Note: & is used when multiple authors are identified in parenthetical material. Note also that when several sources are cited parenthetically, they are ordered alphabetically by first authors' surnames.] 

3. When a source that has two authors is cited, both authors are included every time the source is cited.
            
4. When a source that has three, four, or five authors is cited, all authors are included the first time the source is cited. When that source is cited again, the first author's surname and "et al." are used. Consider the following example:

Reviews of research on religion and health have concluded that at least some types of religious behaviors are related to higher levels of physical and mental health (Payne, Bergin, Bielema, & Jenkins, 1991).

Payne et al. (1991) showed that ... 

5. When a source that has six or more authors is cited, the first author's surname and "et al." are used every time the source is cited (including the first time).
    
6. Every effort should be made to cite only sources that you have actually read. When it is necessary to cite a source that you have not read ("Grayson" in the following example) that is cited in a source that you have read ("Murzynski & Degelman" in the following example), use the following format for the text citation and list only the source you have read in the References list:

Grayson (as cited in Murzynski & Degelman, 1996) identified four components of body language that were related to judgments of vulnerability. 

7. To cite a personal communication (including letters, emails, and telephone interviews), include initials, surname, and as exact a date as possible. Because a personal communication is not "recoverable" information, it is not included in the References section. For the text citation, use the following format:

B. F. Skinner (personal communication, February 12, 1978) claimed ... 

6. Quotations: When a direct quotation is used, always include the author, year, and page number as part of the citation.
1. A quotation of fewer than 40 words should be enclosed in double quotation marks and should be incorporated into the formal structure of the sentence. Example:

Patients receiving prayer had "less congestive heart failure, required less diuretic and antibiotic therapy, had fewer episodes of pneumonia, had fewer cardiac arrests, and were less frequently intubated and ventilated" (Byrd, 1988, p. 829). 

2. A lengthier quotation of 40 or more words should appear (without quotation marks) apart from the surrounding text, in block format, with each line indented five spaces from the left margin.
    
6. References 
1. Pagination: The References section begins on a new page.         
2. Heading: References (centered on the first line below the manuscript page header)         
3. Format: The references (with hanging indent) begin on the line following the References heading. Entries are organized alphabetically by surnames of first authors. Most reference entries have three components:
1. Authors: Authors are listed in the same order as specified in the source, using surnames and initials. Commas separate all authors. When there are seven or more authors, list the first six and then use "et al." for remaining authors. If no author is identified, the title of the document begins the reference.         
2. Year of Publication: In parentheses following authors, with a period following the closing parenthesis. If no publication date is identified, use "n.d."  in parentheses following the authors.         
3. Source Reference: Includes title, journal, volume, pages (for journal article) or title, city of publication, publisher (for book). Italicize titles of books, titles of periodicals, and periodical volume numbers.
4. Example of APA-formatted References: Go to http://www.vanguard.edu/psychology/references.pdf         
5. Official APA "Electronic Reference Formats" document: Go to http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html         
6. Examples of sources
1. Journal article

Murzynski, J., & Degelman, D. (1996). Body language of women and judgments of vulnerability to sexual assault. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 26,  1617-1626.         

2. Book

Paloutzian, R. F. (1996). Invitation to the psychology of religion  (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.         

3. Web document on university program or department Web site

Degelman, D., & Harris, M. L. (2000). APA style essentials. Retrieved May 18, 2000, from Vanguard University, Department of Psychology Web site: http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/index.cfm?doc_id=796         

4. Stand-alone Web document (no date)

Nielsen, M. E. (n.d.). Notable people in psychology of religion. Retrieved August 3, 2001, from  http://www.psywww.com/psyrelig/psyrelpr.htm         

5. Stand-alone Web document (no author, no date)

Gender and society. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2001, from http://www.trinity.edu/~mkearl/gender.html

6. Journal article from database

Hien, D., & Honeyman, T. (2000). A closer look at the drug abuse-maternal aggression link. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15, 503-522. Retrieved May 20, 2000, from ProQuest database.  

7. Abstract from secondary database

Garrity, K., & Degelman, D. (1990). Effect of server introduction on restaurant tipping. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 20, 168-172. Abstract retrieved July 23, 2001, from PsycINFO database.

8. Article or chapter in an edited book

Shea, J. D. (1992). Religion and sexual adjustment. In J. F. Schumaker (Ed.), Religion and Mental Health (pp. 70-84). New York: Oxford University Press. 

9. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text revision). Washington, DC: Author.

8. Tables and Figures: The Publication Manual (2001, pp. 301-302) provides detailed instructions on the formatting of tables and figures. For an example of an APA-formatted table, go to http://www.vanguard.edu/psychology/table.pdf. For an example of an APA-formatted figure, go to http://www.vanguard.edu/emplibrary/files/psychfigure.pdf. Note that pages with figures do not have page numbers or manuscript page headers.

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