APA Formatting Guidelines

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Advanced Business Communications
APA Formatting Guidelines
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WHY DO WE HAVE WRITING STANDARDS?
Consistency Research
Publication
Evaluation Discip
lined Writing Skills
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MAJOR SECTIONS OF THE PAPER IN SEQUENCE

• Title Page (Faculty preferencesome items)
• Abstract (Faculty preference)
• Table of Contents (Faculty preference)
• Body of Paper
• References
• Appendix (If applicable)

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Advanced Business Communications Sharon Smith
Winthrop University MGMT 671
Dr. Burgess-Wilkerson
September 9, 2006

Dead Center on Page
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Page 286
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Abstract
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text
Text Text Text Text Text.
Abstracts are only for graduate papers over 2500
words in length. Center title one inch from the
top. Do not bold. Starts flush against the 1
inch margin no indents on the left and is
completed as one block paragraph. A maximum of
120 words.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• The table of contents includes the headings for
  all the sections of your paper, along with the
  page numbers on which the sections begin.
• With short papers (5 pages or less) you typically
  do not need a table of contents page. However,
  for longer papers (over 5 pages) you should have
  a table of contents..
• If you have tables or figures in the text of the
  paper, identify them by title and number, and
  place them in the table of contents in the same
  order as your paper. Do the same with the
  appendix. If you have only one appendix, it is
  not assigned a letter and is referred to only as
  the Appendix.

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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
pg
SITUATION BACKGROUND
pg
Issue Identification

pg
Stakeholder Perspectives

pg
Opportunity Identification

pg
Stakeholder Perspectives

pg
PROBLEM DEFINITION

pg
END STATE GOALS
pg
REFERENCES

pg
APPENDIX

pg
Table 1 Issues and Opportunities

pg
Table 2 Analysis oof Alternatives
pg
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Three Levels of APA Headings
Centered Uppercase and Lowercase Heading With
Bold Typeface
Flush Left Upper and Lower Case With Bold Typeface
Flush Left Upper and Lower Case Italicized
NOTE Levels one, two, and three are the ones
primarily used for student papers not intended
for publication.
Page 115
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When to use which heading

• For a short article, one level of heading may be
  sufficient. Of course, it is Level 1.
• For more complicated articles add Level 2
• If more is needed, add level 3
• Situation Background 1
• Issue Identification 2
• Stakeholder Perspective 3

Page 115
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HEADINGS
Introduction
This paper will examine the problems facing
Company X,Y,Z and the challenges and
opportunities they face as well as identify
stakeholder perspectives as they relate t the
identified problemetcetctexttextetc.etc
Background of The Situation
Advent Investing is a financial services
company. The industry has been chaotic since the
company merged in 2004.
Issue Identification
Company X,Y,Z has several challenges that
is impending its ability to be number one in the
industry. There is a lack of cohesion among the
management team that has led to conflicting
goalsetctexttexttextetc.
Opportunity Identification

Company can achieve the goal of number one in the
industry within one to five years once specific
issues are clearly identified etc...texttextetc
.
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GENERAL FORMATTING

• HEADINGS
• In longer papers (over 5 pages) headings may be
  used to organize your paper. They lead the
  reader to the particular topic that will be
  discussed. The importance of each topic is
  determined by the level of its heading. For
  instance, for all topics of equal importance, use
  the same level of heading.
• MARGINS
• Use a 1-inch margin on all four sides. Ask
  instructor if left margin should be 1.5 inches to
  allow for binding. Use flush-left style leave
  the right margin uneven, or ragged.
• PUNCTUATION
• APA has reduced the number of spaces after a
  period from two to one in both paper text and in
  referencing.

Page 290
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GENERAL FORMATTING

• SPACING
• Double space everything except tables, charts and
  references.
• TYPING
• Use only a conservative 12 point font such as
  Times New Roman, Courier, or Arial
• Use 8 ½ x 11 20-lb, white bond paper. Print on
  only one side.
• Indent first line of every paragraph 5 to 7
  spaces or ½- inch. Default Tab key is
  acceptable.

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CITATIONS

• CITATIONS (When?)
• Any thought, opinion, or statement not the
  writers own (original) requires a citation.
  every paragraph
• Average is two per page.
• THREE REASONS FOR CITATIONS
• 1. Give credit to the author you are drawing
  from
• 2. Guide reader in conducting further
  research
• 3. Give authority and credibility to your
  own statements

Pages 207 - 214
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Documenting Sources

• What is a source?
• What is a reference?
• What is a citation?

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Trail to the Source
Reference List
Citation In the text
Source
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Purpose of Citations

• Points to the reference.
• Signals that the material is borrowed.
• Adds credibility.

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Citation Components

• Author(s) last name.
• Date of the publication.
• Page or paragraph (not both) number if it is a
  direct quote.
• (Day, 2004, p.1) or (Day, 2004, 1)
• Para. is the abbreviation for paragraph (para. 1)
  is fine.

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Citation Example 1

• One sociologist contends that courtship violence
  is a potential mediating link between violence
  in ones family of origin and violence in ones
  later family of procreation (Makepeace, 1989, p.
  103).

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Citation Example 2

• Makepeace (1989) contends that courtship violence
  is a potential mediating link between violence
  in ones family of origin and violence in ones
  later family of procreation (p. 103).

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Citation Example 3

• Sociologist James Makepeace contends that
  courtship violence is a potential mediating
  link between violence in ones family of origin
  and violence in ones later family of procreation
  (1989, p. 103).
• A citation is a part of the sentence in which it
  appears, and is punctuated as such.

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When to Use a Citation

• Cite a direct quotation.
• Cite paraphrased material.
• Cite an original idea.
• Cite an idea whose source can be identified.

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When Not to Use a Citation

• When referring to material that has already been
  cited unless some confusion could arise.
• Multiple quotations from same author in the same
  paragraph, when it is clear you are using the
  same source.
• When summarizing previously cited material.

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Parenthetical Citation

• One critic said the subjects should have been
  fully informed (Baumrind, 1968, p. 82).

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CITATIONS

• SAMPLE LONG QUOTE (40 words) double space,
  indent, page
• The results have a more indirect implication,
  which is reflected in the following
  statement by M. W. Eysenck (1976)
  In spite of the obvious importance of individual
  differences in human learning and
  memory, relatively few investigators incorporate
  any measure of intelligence,
  personality, or motivation into their studies.
  Instead, they prefer to relegate
  individual differences to the error
  term in their analyses of variance. (p. 75)

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CITATIONS

• SAMPLE CITATION WITH SHORT QUOTE
• One prominent writer defined leadership as
  a process whereby individuals influence a group
  of followers to attain goals deemed important to
  the organization (Kirkpatrick, et al., 1996,
  p.224).
• SAMPLE CITATION WITHOUT QUOTE
• Pepinsky and DeStefano (1987) demonstrate that
  a teachers language often reveals hidden biases
  (p. 49).

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CITATIONS

• Sample Paraphrasing
• Most individuals, including teachers, are
  usually not aware of their biases. Those teachers
  who are interested in uncovering biases may
  engage the assistance of a trusted colleague to
  listen and provide feedback about hidden biases
  revealed in their language (Pepinsky DeStefano,
  1987) .

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CITATIONS

• PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS
• Personal Interview E-mail, Letter
• Tricia Doe (personal communication, April 16,
  2001) stated that there were
• found that children are more frequently the
  victims (A. D. Creamer, personal communication,
  January 18, 2000).
• Do not list personal communications on reference
  page.
• Note! You are responsible for the accuracy of
  all citations including personal communications.

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REFERENCES must be hanging indent

• Facione, P. (1990). Critical thinking A
  statement of expert consensus for purposes of
  educational assessment and instruction (The
  Delphi Report). The California Academic Press.
  (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 315423)
• Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R. Mangun, G. (2002).
  Cognitive neuroscience The biology of the mind
  (2nd edition). New York W. W. Norton Co.
• Geertsen, H. (2003, January). Rethinking thinking
  about higher-level thinking. Teaching Sociology
  31(1), 1. Retrieved June 30, 2004, from ProQuest
  database

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REFERENCES

• SAMPLE REFERENCE LISTINGS
• Dacey, J. (1994). Management participation in
  corporate buy-outs. Management Perspectives,
  7(4), 20-31. Vol..- Issue - Page s
• Use italics for the titles of books and
  journals.

Article in a Journal
Italics
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Cardinality Rule

• Every reference has at least one citation in the
  text.
• Every citation has a corresponding reference.
• When using an internet source always locate the
  author of the information/this may entail
  clicking on the contact us icon and requesting
  this citation information as a college student

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Reference Components

• Author.
• Publication date.
• Title.
• City of publication for books.
• Publishers name for books.
• Title of article and journal for articles.
• Page numbers (and volume/issue for articles.)

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ELECTRONIC REFERENCES

• Schneiderman, R. A. (1997). Librarians can make
  sense of the Net. San Antonio Business Journal,
  11 (31), 58 63. Retrieved January27, 1999,
  from http//www.ebsco.com Vol..- Issue -
  Page s
• GVUs 8th WWW user survey. (n.d.) Retrieved
  August 8, 2000, from http//www.cc.gatech.e
  du/gvu/usersurveys/survey1991-10/
• Eicher, D. (2003). Essential executive skills for
  the future Emotional
• intelligence. Futurics 27(3/4), 104. Retrieved
  May 6, 2004, from
• ProQuest database.

InternetPeriodical
InternetNon-periodicalNo dateNo author
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ELECTRONIC REFERENCES
Always provide the most complete reference
possible

• Whenever possible, for electronic sources provide
  the usual four parts of the reference plus the
  retrieval information and electronic source
• Author(s)
• Date
• Title
• Publication Information
• Retrieval Information (Retrieved May 25, 2004,
  from )
• Actual web address (http//www.squaresville.com

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Adding Emphasis

• If you want to emphasize a word or words,
  italicize them. Do not put them in quotations
  marks.
• Wrong He is politically correct.
• Correct He is politically correct.

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Common APA FeloniesFailure to

• Double space EVERYTHING
• Remember ragged right edge
• Quotes need 3 things (authors last name, year of
  publication and pg/para number,
  URL, chapter, etc.)
• References flush left for first line and never
  use authors first name, only initials.