General Information about APA Style Writing

Detailed Information
When writing papers for many social science courses, you should
follow the APA guidelines writing a paper and citing your sources. You
can find precise information for writing APA style in the Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association, (6th ed., 2nd
printing). Another credible source for APA style online is Purdue OWL.
Purdue OWL gives you brief descriptions and examples on this style of
writing. Below, you are given some general basic requirements and
guidelines for APA style writing.
APA Format
Documents using APA require the following:
12 point Times New Roman font (preferred)
Title Page
Running head in the upper right hand corner including the page
number and the title of your paper with a maximum of 50
characters in all capital letters (Only on the title page will
RUNNING HEAD be in your actual header)
All margins are one inch with the text left-aligned and double
spaced
All words with more than four letters in titles are to be capitalized
If required, an abstract of 100 to 150 words that summarizes
your essay on a separate page after the title page
Headings (encouraged) are flush left, bold-face, and all
capitalized except for articles and prepositions
Tips
Past tense should be used in the review, procedure, and results
section. Present tense should be used in the implications of the
results and conclusions section.
Past tense or perfect present tense is required for introducing
material cited.
Book titles and other long works are italicized, while short
stories, poems, and other short works are put in quotations.
If long quotations are used, a footnote needs to be placed at the
bottom of the same page. The quotation must me marked with a
superscript number that correlates to the footnote.
To steer clear of repetitiveness, mix your signal phrases up. For
example, find different ways to say that John said something. He
can mention, declare, state, or claim instead.
When citing statistics or facts, no signal phrase is necessary, the
authors last name and the year the work was published, in
parenthesis, will suffice.

Guidelines for Appropriate Sources

Sources often cited are books, journal articles, database articles, and
web documents. Web documents are great sources for todays writings
as more and more information is retrieved via Internet, but be careful
where you get your information. Always make sure your information is
credible before placing it in your paper and moving on. Lastly, the
more recent your source is, the better. Try not to use information that
is too old, as the information will be outdated.
In Text Citations
Both in text citations and your references at the end of your document
are very important. If your references are not done correctly, you could
be at risk for plagiarizing. In text citations are all very similar. The
same general rule applies whether you are citing a book, scholarly
article, online source, or newspaper. They all provide the authors last
name and year of publication. Page numbers are also used if they are
available.
1. Quotation Begin quotation by stating the authors last name
followed by the publication year in parenthesis. Then after
quotation, if pages are available, put page number(s) in
parenthesis. Example:
Coyle (2009) stated, when youre practicing deeply, the worlds
usual rules are suspended (p.19).
2. Summary or Paraphrase Start by stating authors last name
followed by the year in parenthesis. After summary or
paraphrase, include page number(s) in parenthesis. Example:
Coyle (2009) explained that deep practicing leads to a more
positive outcome when it comes to mastering a hobby (p.18).
3. Two authors State both of authors last names using &
between the names followed by the year in parenthesis. Be sure
to note both authors every time you cite them. Example:
Central to the concept of operations and supply strategy is the
notion of operations focus and trade-offs. The underlying logic is
that an operation cannot excel simultaneously on all competitive
dimensions (Jacobs & Chase, 2014, p. 29).
4. Three to five authors State all authors last names followed
by the year the book was first published. The page number
should also be stated in parenthesis. Every time you reference

them afterwards, state the first authors last name followed by

et al. and the year published. Example:
First time referencing:
In 2014, Noe, Hollenback, Gerhart, and Wright found that in
terms of challenges, the HRM function must surgically reduce
the workforce by cutting only the workers who are less valuable
in their performance (p. 43).

Second time referencing:

As Noe et al. (2014) mentions, each job is broken down into
basic elements, and each of these is rated for its potential harm
or injury(p. 89).
5. Personal Communication (letter, interview, or e-mail)
Personal communication citations are only needed in the text. Do
not include them in your references. Follow the format
demonstrated here: (First initial. Last name, personal
communication, date). Example:
As you know, the Gordon Ford College of Business is accredited
by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
(AACSB) (B. Smith, personal communication, June 24, 2015).
References
Your references should always start on a new page with References
centered at the top of the page. If any of your references take up more
than one line, the first line should flush left while every line after
should be indented one-half inch. Your references should be
alphabetized by the last name of author. If there is no author,
alphabetize by the first major word of the title. Lastly, when
referencing, if the URL or DOI is/needs to be divided due to reaching
the end of the line, beak it after a double slash or mark of punctuation
and DO NOT add a period to the end.
1. Books Follow the format demonstrated here: authors last
name, first initial. (Year published). Title. Place of publication:
publisher. Example:
Ehrenreich, B. (2001). Nickel and Dimed. New York, NY: Henry
Holt and
Company, LLC.

2. Article in journal or magazine Follow the format

demonstrated here: authors last name, first initial. (Year
published or complete date). Title. Name of journal or magazine,
volume number (issue number), page number(s). Digital object
identifier (if applicable). Example:
McMillan, G. (2012). I Love Quarters Part II. Running Times, June
2012(397),
16.
3. Article from a database Follow the format demonstrated
here: authors last name, first initial. (Date of publication). Title.
Name of periodical, volume number (issue number), page
number(s), doi: direct object identifier (DOI). URL for journals
home page (if there is no DOI). Example:
Couillard, D., Lapierre, J. (2003). Leadership, Learning and
Resources for the
High-tech firm: an Integrated View of Technology
Management. International Journal of Technology
Management, 26(7), 767-787. doi: 10770315
4. Section of web document Follow the format demonstrated
here: authors last name, first initial. (Date of publication or most
recent update). Title of section. Title of document. Retrieved
from: URL of section or document
Example:
Daviess County Detention Center. (2011). Community Service.
2011
Community Offender Labor Report Jailer David Osborne.
Retrieved from:
http://www.daviesscojail.org/community_service.html
5. Article in a newspaper Follow the format demonstrated
here: authors last name, first initial. (Date published). Title of
article, Title of Newspaper, page number(s). Example:
Sullivan, T. (2015, September 22). Event kicks off Campus Fire
Safety Month.
College Heights Herald, p. A1.