APA WRITING GUIDELINES

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APA WRITING GUIDELINES

• www.vanguard.edu/psychology/
• Click on APA

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General Guidelines

• Margins
• Font size and type
• Spacing
• Alignment
• Paragraph indentation
• Pagination
• Manuscript page header

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General Guidelines

• 1 inch all sides
• 12-pt font
• Times Roman or Courier
• Double space
• Flush left only

• Indent 5-7 spaces
• Page number 1 inch from right edge
• First 2 or 3 words of title 5 spaces to left of
  page number

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Title Page

• Pagination
• Key elements
• Article title
• Author(s)
• Institutional affiliation
• Running head

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Title Page

• Title page is page 1
• Paper title, author and affiliation
• Title - centered uppercase/lowercase
• Author - Centered following title

• Affiliation centered following author
• Running head flush left all uppercase
• Line below page header
• Less than 50 characters

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Abstract

• Pagination
• Heading
• Format

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Abstract

• Begins page 2
• Abstract centered, first line below header
• Block format

• Not exceed 120 words
• All numbers typed as digits

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Body

• Pagination
• Title
• Introduction
• Headings

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Body

• Body begins page 3
• Title is centered on first line
• Introduction is not labeled

• Main headings
• - Centered
• - Upper/lowercase
• Subheadings underlined
• Flush left
• Upper/lowercase
• 2nd subheading indented 5 spaces, underlined,
  Upper/lowercase followed by a period.

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Text Citations

• Sources are part of the formal structure of the
  sentence
• Sources are not part of the formal structure of
  the sentence
• Source has two authors
• Source has three, four or five authors
• Source has six or more authors

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Ideas Words of Others

• Wirth and Mitchel (1994) found that although
• ..higher levels of physical and mental health
  (Gartner, Larson, Allen, 1991 Koenig, 1990
  Levin Vanderpool, 1991 Payne, Bergin, Bielema
  Jenkins, 1991).

• Previous are ordered alphabetically by 1st
  authors surname.
• 3-5 authors all included first time. Second
  time first author and et al. year.
• 6 or more et al. used every time cited.

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Quotations

• Fewer than 40 words
• Greater than 40 words

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Quotations

• 40 words or less
• Enclose in double quotation marks
• Incorporate in sentence
• had less congestive heart failure (Byrd,
  1988, p. 829).

• Greater than 40 words
• in block format
• Each line indented 5 spaces from left margin
• No quotation marks

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References

• Pagination
• Heading
• Format

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References

• Begins on a new page
• References centered
• Hanging indent
• Alphabetical

• Author(s) use surnames and initials
• Separate authors with comma
• No author - title of document begins
• Year (1991). - Period

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Examples

• Journal article
• Guess, K., Pevoto, A. (2001). Management
  communication. Journal of Business, 12, 512-518
• Book
• Guess, A. K. (2001). Business communication (2nd
  ed.), Boston Allyn and Bacon.
• Web Document univ/dept. 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.cf
  m?doc id796

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Examples (Contd.)

• Web document no date
• Nielsen, M. E. (n.d.). Notable people in
  psychology. Retired August 3, 2001, from
  http//www.psywww.com/psyrelig/psyrelpr.htm
• Journal article from database
• Hien,D., Honeyman, T. (2000). A closer look at
  drug abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,
  15, 503-522. Retrieved May 20, 2000 from ProQuest
  database.
• Article/chapter in edited book
• Shen, J. D. (1992). Religion and sexual
  adjustment. In J. F. Schumaker (Ed.), Religion
  and Mental Health (pp. 70-84). New York Oxford
  University Press.

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Tables and Figures

• Example of http//www.vanguard.edu/psychology/tab
  le.pdf

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Footnotes

• Footnotes centered on a separate page.
• Numbered the same as in the text.