Using APA

                    

Learn and Memorize APA Formatting

While there are more links and handouts available at the Essay Writing Website, the links below will get you started on Understanding How to Use Formatting in your writing.  

It is important to know how to use APA—if that is your required formatting style—so that you are properly formatting the steps of the writing process as your move through them, and so that you are not having to do work twice by incorrectly formatting sources during the research and prewriting phases, only to have to completely revamp these sources in the drafting stage.

The links below are from the Purdue Online Writing Center (OWL) and they will get you started on the basics of MLA formatting.  However, you MUST go through your assigned class textbook to see what the ‘general’ standard is for APA formatting.  While in the end, you instructor’s preferences are what matter for your grade, the textbook and the links below are a good start. 

The reason your instructor’s preferences are the final ‘say’ on the matter is not just because he or she awards you points for the writing format in your paper but due to your instructor being more in-tune with the current conventions of writing at your institution, in the English field, and textbooks are ‘general’ information, while your instructor is full of ‘specific’ instruction.

Bottom of Form

• ·         Research and Citation
• ·         APA Style
• ·         APA Overview and Workshop
• ·         APA Formatting and Style Guide
• ·         General Format
• ·         In-Text Citations: The Basics
• ·         In-Text Citations: Author/Authors
• ·         Footnotes and Endnotes
• ·         Reference List: Basic Rules
• ·         Reference List: Author/Authors
• ·         Reference List: Articles in Periodicals
• ·         Reference List: Books
• ·         Reference List: Other Print Sources
• ·         Reference List: Electronic Sources
• ·         Reference List: Other Non-Print Sources
• ·         Additional Resources
• ·         Types of APA Papers
• ·         APA Stylistics: Avoiding Bias
• ·         APA Stylistics: Basics
• ·         APA Headings and Seriation
• ·         APA PowerPoint Slide Presentation
• ·         APA Sample Paper
• ·         APA Tables and Figures 1
• ·         APA Tables and Figures 2
• ·         APA Abbreviations
• ·         Statistics in APA
• ·         APA Classroom Poster
• ·         APA Changes 6th Edition
• ·         General APA FAQs

·         Giving to the OWL

·         Suggested Resources

o    -MLA Guide

o    -APA Guide

o    -How to Navigate the New OWL

o    -Media File Index

o    -OWL Exercises

General Format

Summary:

APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6^th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (6^th ed., 2^nd printing).

Contributors:Joshua M. Paiz, Elizabeth Angeli, Jodi Wagner, Elena Lawrick, Kristen Moore, Michael Anderson, Lars Soderlund, Allen Brizee, Russell Keck
Last Edited: 2016-05-13 12:06:24

Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in APA.

To see a side-by-side comparison of the three most widely used citation styles, including a chart of all APA citation guidelines, see the Citation Style Chart.

You can also watch our APA vidcast series on the Purdue OWL YouTube Channel.

General APA Guidelines

Your essay should be typed, double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11") with 1" margins on all sides. You should use a clear font that is highly readable. APA recommends using 12 pt. Times New Roman font.

Include a page header  (also known as the "running head") at the top of every page. To create a page header/running head, insert page numbers flush right. Then type "TITLE OF YOUR PAPER" in the header flush left using all capital letters. The running head is a shortened version of your paper's title and cannot exceed 50 characters including spacing and punctuation.

Major Paper Sections

Your essay should include four major sections: the Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, and References.

Please see our Sample APA Paper resource to see an example of an APA paper. You may also visit our Additional Resources page for more examples of APA papers.

How to Cite the Purdue OWL in APA

Individual Resources

Contributors' names and the last edited date can be found in the orange boxes at the top of every page on the OWL.

Contributors' names (Last edited date). Title of resource. Retrieved from http://Web address for OWL resource

Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderlund, L., & Brizee, A.   

     (2010, May 5). General format. Retrieved from 

     http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

  

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