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EDUC 502 Elements of APA Style. October 17, 2005 Class session 7. What is APA style and why use it?. The APA (American Psychological Association) publishes a manual that sets forth uniform standards for writing that encompass grammar, punctuation, format, citations, etc.
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EDUC 502Elements of APA Style October 17, 2005 Class session 7
What is APA style and why use it? • The APA (American Psychological Association) publishes a manual that sets forth uniform standards for writing that encompass grammar, punctuation, format, citations, etc. • APA style has been gradually developed and refined since 1928. • APA style provides a way for professionals to communicate with each other in a coherent manner.
Some elements of APA style: A sample manuscript • Title page (see p. 1 of sample manuscript) • Abstract (see p. 2) • In-text citation of a work by a single author (see p. 3, yellow) • Short quote drawn from another paper (p. 3, bright green) • First in-text citation of a paper by several authors (p. 3, pink). Subsequent citations would be abbreviated (Putnam et al., 1992)
Some elements of APA style: A sample manuscript • Lengthy quote from another paper (more than 40 words) (p. 3, red). • Several references that support a single point (p. 3, dark green). • Various levels/types of headings (pp. 4-13 & 17-21, gray). Check with me if you feel the need to go beyond three levels. • Tables and figures (pp. 22, 43, turquoise)
Some elements of APA style: A sample manuscript • End-of-text reference list (pp. 37-42) • Reference to a book by with an organization as an author (p. 37, yellow) • Article by several authors in an edited book (p. 37, bright green) • Book by a single author (p. 37, turquoise) • Book by two authors (p. 37, pink) • Journal article by two authors (p. 37, red) • Journal article by one author (p. 37, teal)
Some elements of APA style: A sample manuscript • A few conventions to note about the end-of-text reference list: • Alphabetical order by lead author’s last name. • Hanging indent. • Journal and book titles italicized. • Each significant word in a journal title is capitalized. • Each significant word in a book title is NOT capitalized.
Some elements of APA style: A sample manuscript • Disclaimer: This has been a very brief, cursory overview of APA style. You may encounter situations not addressed in the sample manuscript. • The entire APA manual is available for purchase online or at bookstores (e.g., Barnes & Noble). • Products, style updates, and refinements are available online at www.apastyle.org.
APA style: Beyond references • Lynn Truss’ book entitled Eats, Shoots and Leaves gives an amusing (although not exhaustive) introduction to some of the punctuation errors APA style was designed to help eliminate. • In your spare time, you can play a “punctuation game” http://www.eatsshootsandleaves.com/ESLquiz.html
Some sample apostrophe errors • Sign: “Giant Kid’s Playground” (p. 41) • Sign: “Good food at it’s best” (p. 44) • “MP’s” and “1980’s” (p. 46). (superfluous). • Sign: “Prudential – were here to help you” (p. 47). • Title: “League of signwriter’s” (p. 47). • Sign: “Lemon’s for sale”
Some sample comma issues • “No dogs please” vs. “No dogs, please” (p. 80). • Fruits are lemon, strawberry, orange and lime (no Oxford comma) (p. 83). • “Jim woke up in an unfamiliar bed, he felt lousy” (p. 88). (splice) • “Jim woke up in his own bed, however, he felt great” (p. 89) (period or semicolon). • “The people in the queue, who managed to get tickets, were very satisfied” (p. 92). (remove commas, change meaning).
A sample of other APA-style issues • “i.e.” vs. “e.g.” (i.e. is an abbreviation for the phrase “that is,” while “e.g.” is an abbreviation for the phrase “for example”) • Placement of period: A period is never placed inside a set of parentheses – even for references. The reference is considered part of the sentence. • Special conventions exist for reporting statistics – tables, abbreviations, etc. Check with me if calculating statistics