APA Format: A How-To Style Guide With Examples

APA format is regarded as three main citation styles you’re prone to encounter sooner or later throughout your education.

Specifically in psychology, education, together with sciences, APA format could be the citation that is preferred over other popular style guides, like MLA format, which will be widely used within the humanities.

APA format definition

APA format is an academic style guide developed by the American Psychological Association. It is most often useful for scientific papers, especially research-based content.

APA format is advised among many disciplines due to its clarity and emphasis on highlighting newer source material (for example. date-focused citations with a preference for ‘recent’ source content). Here are instructions and examples for formatting general aspects of an APA formatted paper, including how to write a cover page, running head (header), an in-text citation, and a Reference section.

Note: there are numerous the different parts of this style guide that overlap with MLA format. Thus, you may find that part of these records is restated through the MLA guide; however, there are many components unique to APA alone and neither guide can sufficiently substitute one other.

General guidelines that are formatting APA

  • Your document should be typed in double-space, 12 pt. font. The font that is standard Times New Roman, but some scholars prefer Arial.
  • Your document’s margins ought to be one inch on all sides.
  • A cover should be included by you page (aka title page) unless otherwise specified.
  • You must include a running head (i.e. a full page header) that sits towards the top of every page of the document.
  • To produce the running head, make use of the “Insert Header” function on the word processor.
  • Each page ought to be numbered on the right hand side of the page inside the header that is auto-created. Additionally, you will insert the title left that is flush all caps.
  • The title must be in title case; every word shouldn’t be capitalized.
  • Your first and subsequent paragraphs should be indented one half inch from the left associated with the document. The TAB should be used by you button function to indent instead of the room bar.
  • There should simply be one space all things considered marks of punctuation. Because word processing software already makes up the room after a punctuation mark, adding two spaces is inaccurate and antiquated.

Running head formatting is specific to APA and should not be useful for other citation types. To produce the running head and ensure it turns up on every page of one’s document, use the “Insert Header” function on your word processor and then type the title of your paper flush left using all capital letters.

The running head is a shortened version of your full paper title, meaning that the running head should not exceed a lot more than 50 characters including punctuation marks and character spacing.

The above mentioned example is 49 characters long, including spaces and marks of punctuation (when it comes to title).

Your cover page will include the information that is following title associated with the paper, author’s name, and institutional affiliation (in other words. the university, college, or academic/professional institution for which you are writing your paper). You must also include a running head flush left utilizing the pagination flush right towards the top of your document.

Note: On the cover page, your head that is running will unique of it will on all subsequent pages.

That it is the paper’s running head; on all other pages, you need not include these words in addition to your title as you can see, you must include the words “Running head” on your title page to indicate.

APA citations that are in-text not dependent on container (e.g. book, article). Citations must certanly be in parentheses and placed at the end of a sentence before the period, whether paraphrasing or citing a quote that is direct.

APA format follows the style that is author-date (Last Name, Year) and uses a comma amongst the two elements. If referencing a specific spot in the written text, you might be encouraged to utilize exact page numbers using a lowercase p. + the page number in the parentheses after the year.

All citations, regardless of container, are formatted the same for in-text citations in APA. There’s no variance centered on container as it is true for MLA style.

Note: you will find different formatting requirements for short vs. long quotations in APA.

General citation that is in-text:

  • Titles of source material must be capitalized (which can be not the case in the References page); all words four letters or longer must also be capitalized (exceptions for pronouns, adjectives, nouns, verbs, adverbs, etc.)
  • Hyphenated compound words in a title are both capitalized, not only the first word
  • The first word directly after a colon or dash is capitalized
  • All longer container titles (e.g. books, films, TV series, music albums) must be italicized

Short quotations

Direct quotes (non-paraphrasing) require the name that is author’s year of publication, and page number in (p. #) format. You could either use the author’s name that is last the sentence preceding the parenthetical citation or are the author’s last name within the parentheses directly.

Long quotations

Long, direct quotations (40 words or maybe more) must be printed in block format without quotation marks. The quotation must start on a new line indented another half inch inward (where a new paragraph would naturally begin. All lines that are subsequent be indented as such. Long quotes ought to be double-spaced like the rest of the document, and the parenthetical citation begins after the final punctuation mark of the quotation.

General format for very long quotations:

King (1986) noted:

A small boy in a yellow slicker and red galoshes ran cheerfully along next to the newspaper boat. The rain had not stopped, however buy law essay uk it was finally slackening. It tapped regarding the yellow hood of this boy’s slicker, sounding to his ears such as the rain regarding the roof that is shed. (p. 3)

Your APA-formatted Reference page is when the extended, detailed versions of all of the references used through your essay or research paper are.

For each container given below, you will find a general formula for citing the foundation in your Reference page along with a good example.

General Reference page rules:

  • Use hanging indentations for each line that follows the line that is firstsecond and subsequent lines in a single reference should be indented)
  • Author names should be in Last Name First Initial format (for up to six authors of one given work)
  • All reference entries should really be in alphabetical order
  • Any books or materials compiled by exactly the same author(s) should really be listen in chronological order from oldest to most recent
  • Use whatever capitalization and punctuation is used by an original container, just because not ‘standard’