Student Guide to APA 6 th edition

1. Student Guide to APA 6th edition 2012-2013

2. What is APA Format? • APA Style establishes consistent standards of written communication concerning: • the organization of content & writing style • citing references • and how to prepare a manuscript for publication in certain disciplines

3. Why Do I Need to Use APA? • Aside from simplifying the work of editors by having everyone use the same format for a given publication, using APA Style makes it easier for readers to understand a text by providing a familiar structure they can follow. Abiding by APA's standards as a writer will allow you to: • Provide readers with cues they can use to follow your ideas more efficiently and to locate information of interest to them • Allow readers to focus more on your ideas by not distracting them with unfamiliar formatting • Establish your credibility or ethos in the field by demonstrating an awareness of your audience and their needs as fellow researchers Taken from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/664/1/

4. Who Uses APA? • APA is used to document papers in fields such as: • Business • Health • Technology • In other words, all majors and professions at DU!  This includes you!

5. Similarities & Differences Between APA & MLA • APA and MLA use parenthetical citations in the text to refer readers to sources at the end of the paper. • APA and MLA both use numbered notes to add information that would interrupt the flow of the writing. • APA lists of works cited in the paper are called “References”; MLA lists are “Works Cited.” • Unlike MLA, APA includes the publication date in parenthetical citations, and the date appears after the author’s name in the References. • Unlike MLA, which lists an author’s full name on the Works Cited page, APA uses the author’s last name and only initials for the first and middle names. • APA and MLA capitalize, italicize, and use quotes with titles differently. • Taken from Prentice Hall’s Reference Guide, 8th edition, p. 456

6. Components of an APA Paper • Cover page (also called a title page) • Abstract (approximately half a page) • Body/text (with in-text citations) • References page • Optional: Figures, charts, photos

7. General Format of an APA Paper • Double-spaced • 12-point Times New Roman font • One-inch margins on all sides • Two spaces after all end-of-sentence punctuation • Left-hand justification margins (no right-hand justification) • Tab key paragraph indentations • Running header flush to the left margin (if required) • Page numbers in header, flush to the right margin

8. Title/Cover Page in APA Format Each title page should have: • A running head • A page number • Identifying information (title, student name, university name)

9. Title/Cover Page in APA Format (Optional Info.) NOTE:The first three lines are required; the last three lines are optional. Always follow the request of your instructors.

10. Details of an APA Abstract • Note that this is now page 2 of the paper; students should remove the words “Running head:” from their header, leaving only the all-caps portion. • The word “Abstract” is centered on the page, with no font changes. • The abstract begins without indentation on the second line of text.

11. Details of the Body in an APA Paper • The title of the paper is restated at the top of the page, centered with no font changes. • If the paper uses section headings, there are specific formatting guidelines for them. (refer to A Pocket Style Manual, 6th edition)

12. General Format of an APA Paper: Headings Headings: • The first is for a major heading; the others are for subheadings beneath the major heading. • Follow the pattern in the chart:

13. General Format of an APA Paper: In-Text Citations • Avoid plagiarism by correctly citing in APA: • Direct Quotes • Paraphrases • Summaries • Please refer to pages 166-175 in A Pocket Style Manual, 6thedition.

14. In-text Citation Basics • Direct Quote • Enclose the quote in quotation marks • Provide the author • Year of publication • Print sources add a “p.” (page number) • Electronic sources add a “para.” (paragraph number) • Include a signal phrase (p. 171-172 in A Pocket Style Manual, 6th edition) • When using quote marks, all periods and commas go inside the quote, ALWAYS, except when using a citation demonstrated below. • Example: Jenny Jones discovered, "students often had difficulty using APA style" (1998, p. 199).

15. In-Text Citation Basics • Paraphrases & Summaries • If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference, but APA guidelines encourage you to also provide the page number (although it is not required.) • Provide the author • Year of publication • Print sources add a “p.” (page number) • Electronic sources add a “para.” (paragraph number) • Include a signal phrase (p. 171-172 in A Pocket Style Manual, 6th edition) • Helps to show beginning and end of source Example: According to Jones, APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners. The APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

16. The APA Reference Page • The Reference page begins on itsown page (not included at the end of the last page of the essay). (Hit CTRL-ENTER to start a new page.) • The word “References” is listed at the top and centered, with no font change. • Listings are put in alphabetical order by author’s last name (if no author is available, use the title). The date will never begin a reference on this page.

17. Reference Page Basics • Different types of sources have different requirements for what needs to be included, but the basics are: • Author(s) • Date of publication • Title • Title of periodical (if necessary) with volume and issue numbers • Page numbers (if part of a periodical) • Website retrieval information (if a web source) • DOIs (if available)

18. Reference Page Basics • Each reference cited in text must appear on the References page • Each entry on the References page must be cited in text • Two exceptions (in-text citations only): • Classical works • Personal Communications

19. Reference Page Basic Examples Book Author. (Year). Title. City, State: Publisher. Example: Bradshaw, C. (2012). Foreplay and the suburbs: A prequel to Sex and the City. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

20. Reference Page Basic Examples Simple Website Citation Author. (Date published if available; n.d.--no date-- if not). Title of article. Title of Website. “Retrieved” date, “from” URL. Example: Jones, H. (n.d.). Why did it have to be snakes? Raiders of the Lost References. Retrieved May 1, 2011, from http:www.indyrefs.com/snakes.htm (Notice, there is no period after a URL when ending the reference) (A date is only required if there is a belief that the webpage will disappear in the future; otherwise state, “Retrieve from URL”)

21. Reference Page Basic Examples General Journal Citation Author. (Year). Article title. Title of Journal, number of the edition, pages. Example: Summers, B. (2002). Stake your claim: Innovations in vampire slaying. Journal of Modern Demonology, 42(3),149-159. *Include the DOI if it is on the article: doi:10.1007/s10551-007-9351-2

22. Citation Assistance • www.apastyle.org • http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ • www.citationmachine.net • www.bibme.org • A Pocket Style Manual, 6th edition • NoodleTools(DU library resource) • DU’s APA Brief Overview document is available through the library webpage and under “research services” link and “APA help” link.

23. Questions?