Tom Brown, Ph.D. ,  Associate Professor of Science Education

Summary of APA Format

The American Psychological Association (APA) format provides a widely recognized standard and a common design methodology for scientific writing.  Adherence to APA format is often required for research projects, dissertations, term papers, and articles. There are many on-line summaries of APA format that can be used to gain a basic understanding and familiarity with this technical approach to writing. Three useful summaries are provided as links on the table below along with a link to the official APA web site.  For a more detailed discussion, the primary book to consult is the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th edition) which is available through the APA website.

General APA Guidelines

The following overview provides a brief summary of the basic rules from the APA Publication Manual.  As an overview, it is not intended to be a comprehensive discussion of APA methodology and these guidelines are not sufficient to follow APA style to the letter.  More detailed summaries and explanations are provided through the Purdue University and Wooster College websites listed above.

Papers should be double-spaced on standard paper with 1 inch margins on all sides. The pages should be numbered in the upper right hand corner of each page starting with the title page.

APA papers should include each of the following sections:

• Title page

• Abstract

• Text

• References

APA papers may also include any or all of the following:

• Appendixes

• Author notes

• Footnotes/endnotes

• Tables

• Figures

General Recommendations:

• Avoid using biased and judgmental language

• Avoid abbreviations except for long familiar terms

• Explain the abbreviation the first time it is used

• Be sensitive to labels -call people what they want to be called and do not contrast one group of people with another group designated as "normal"

• Avoid the terms "challenged" and "special"- use the phrase "people with _______" instead

Referring to the Works of Others in your Paper

Use the author-date method to cite references within your paper. The authors last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text and a complete reference must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

If you are are paraphrasing or referring to an idea from another paper, but not directly quoting the material, then you only have to make reference to the author and the year of publication in your in-text reference. 

Examples:  Dias (2003) compared student teacher attitudes.......

or

                     In 2003, Dias compared student teacher attitudes......

If you are a using a direct quote from a paper, then you must include the author, year of publication, and the page number of the quote. For quotes of less than 40 words, enclose the quotation within double quotation marks.

Examples:   According to Martin (2003), students "construct their understanding of events based on their prior experiences" (p. 243).

or

He explained, "Students construct their understanding of events based on their prior experiences," (Martin, 2003, p. 243), and he then discussed why this was necessary in order to build their understanding.

Direct quotes longer than 40 words (block quotes) must be placed in a free-standing block of double-spaced lines and quotation marks are omitted. Start the quotation on a new line and indent it five spaces from the left margin.  Include the citation after the closing punctuation mark.

A study by Grant (2001) found the following:

New teachers who were not supported by their mentor teachers were three times more likely to drop out the profession within their first 5 years of teaching. Isolation, exhaustion, and feelings of inferiority were all cited as reasons for leaving. (p. 215)

References

References appear after the text and should begin on a separate page under the label References that is centered at the top of the page. The reference list is designed so that readers can locate any sources that you cited within your paper. Only references that are specifically cited within your text should be included within this section. 

Some Basic Rules forReferences:

• Give the last name first and then the initials for all authors of a particular work.  Alphabetize the list by author's last name

           Example:  Bird, B. A., Jones, T. J., & Marks, B. D. (1999).

• If you have more than one work by the same author, order them by publication date from oldest to newest (a 1995 article would appear before a 2002 article)

• All lines after the first line of each entry should be indented one-half inch from the left margin

• Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title of a work.

• Italicize titles of books and journals

For articles in periodicals such as journals, newspapers or magazines, you should include the following:

Authors (as described above) (Year of publication). Title of the article. Title of the of periodical, volume number, pages.

Example:

Howick, T. H. (1999). The need for environmental education within the high               school science curriculum. The Science Teacher, 43, 56-62. (second line should be indented 1/2 inch)

For books, brochures, reports, or other nonperiodicals, you should include the following:

Authors (as described) (Year of publication). Title of work. Location (city): Publisher.

Example

Brown, T. J., & Dias M. J. (2001). Curiosity Creates Comprehension. New York: Springler. (second line should be indented 1/2 inch)

For Internet periodicals, you should include the following:

Authors (as described above) (Year of publication). Title of the article. Title of the of periodical, volume number (and issue number if available), retrieved month day, year, from http://web address.

Boyles, T. H. (1990). The role of corporations in education today. On-line journal of education, 43 ₍₄₎, Retrieved March 3, 2002 from: http://www.onlinejournal.org. (second line should be indented 1/2 inch)

For other internet documents including reports and web pages, you should include the following:

Authors (as described above) (Year of publication). Title of the article.  Retrieved month day, year, from http://web address.

Van Brackle, A. J. (1997). Statistical analysis of action research. Retrieved June 13, 2002 from: http://www.kennesaw.edu . (second line should be indented 1/2 inch)

Please realize that these only the basic rules for the most common types of referencing. Please refer to the web sites provided for more specific and detailed information.  And above all, have fun with your research.