Library
APA Style
Following, in outline format, is a summary of information regarding the formatting of a paper in APA style. Information is summarized from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition. This guide is not meant to be definitive. Consult the Publication Manual or the official APA Website (http://www.apastyle.org/) for more specific details and for authoritative answers to questions on APA style.
Errors or inconsistencies between the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition and this document should be reported to: refdesk@stfrancis.edu.
Note: Numbers in text (e.g. 5.01) refer to numbered sections (not page numbers) of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition. These numbers are provided to assist the user of this guide when referring to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition.
Click here for a printable version of this page.
Physical Appearance
I.
Use white, heavy bond 8 ½" x 11"
paper, printed only on one side. (5.01)
a. Make sure all
pieces of paper are the same size.
b. Do not staple
or tape anything to the pages.
c. Do not use onionskin
or erasable paper.
II.
Preferred typefaces. (5.02)
a. Times Roman 12-pt.
(serif)
b. Courier 12-pt.
(sans serif)
c. Use serif font
for text, sans serif for figures.
III. Use italics versus underlining. (5.02)
IV.
Paper should be double-spaced. (5.03)
a. Double-space
after every line in the title, headings, footnotes,
quotations, references, figure captions and
all parts of tables.
V.
Margins. (5.04)
a. Should be at
least 1" at top, bottom, left and right.
VI.
Justification. (5.04)
a. Left justify
with a ragged right margin.
b. Do not break
words with hyphens at the end of lines - let words
wrap to the next line.
VII.
Numbering / Pagination. (5.05 / 5.06)
a. Number all pages
consecutively.
b. Use Arabic numerals,
located in the top right-hand corner to number
pages.
c. Title page is
on a separate page and is numbered page 1.
d. Abstract is on
a separate page and is numbered page 2.
e. Text of paper
should begin on a separate page numbered page
3.
f. Reference list
should start on a separate page and be numbered
consecutively after the end of the text.
g. Appendixes should
each start on a separate page.
h. Author note should
start on a separate page.
i. Footnotes should
be listed together and start on a separate page.
j. Tables should
each start on a separate page.
k. Figure captions
should be listed together and start on a separate
page.
l. Figures should
each start on a separate page.
m. No more than
27 lines of text per page. (5.04)
VIII.
Manuscript page headers. (5.06)
a. Identify each
page with the first 2 or 3 words of the title
of the paper, above or 5 spaces to the left of
the page number.
IX.
Corrections. (5.07)
a. Make all corrections
using the word processing program.
b. Completed papers
may have handwriting on them only to note special
characters or special instructions)
X.
Indentation. (5.08)
a. Indent should
be 5 to 7 spaces. Indent should be consistent
throughout the document.
b. Indent the first
line of every paragraph and the first line of
every footnote.
c. Indent the entire
quotation for long quotes (40 words or longer).
Additionally, indent the first line of subsequent
paragraphs in long quotations containing 2 or
more paragraphs.
XI.
Capitalization. (5.09)
a. Capitalize the
first letter of important words.
i.
Title.
ii.
Byline.
iii.
Do NOT capitalize the running head for publication.
iv.
Page labels (Abstract, Methods, etc.).
v.
Most headings. (5.10)
vi.
Table titles.
vii.
Some elements of the reference list.
XII.
Spacing and Punctuation. (5.11)
a. Use one space
after the following:
i.
Commas, semicolons and colons.
ii.
Punctuation at the end of sentences.
iii.
After periods separating parts of a reference
citation.
iv.
After periods in the initials of names (J. D.
Power).
v.
One exception: Do not use a space after internal
periods in abbreviations or internal colons in
ratios (e.g. 3:5).
vi.
Punctuation with parenthesis depends on context.
XIII. Quotations. (5.13) (see also 3.34 - 3.41)
a. Short quotations.
i.
Fewer than 40 words.
ii.
Incorporated into the text of the document and
enclosed with double quotation marks ("").
iii.
See 3.39 - 3.41 for information on in-text citation.
b. Long quotations.
i.
Longer than 40 words.
ii.
Display in a double-spaced block with no quotation
marks.
iii.
Indent 5 to 7 spaces, without an opening line
indent, except for the opening line of subsequent
paragraphs of multi-paragraph quotations.
iv.
See 3.39 - 3.41 for information on in-text citation.
XIV.
Statistical and mathematical copy.
a. See 5.14 of the
Publication Manual.
Instructions for writing and typing the manuscript
I.
Title page. (5.15)
a. Contains three
elements.
i.
Running head for publication.
1.
An abbreviated title printed at the top of the
title page (and all subsequent pages).
2.
Printed flush left in all UPPERCASE letters.
3.
Should not exceed 50 characters, including spaces
and punctuation.
ii.
Title.
1.
Summarizes the main idea of the paper and is fully
self-explanatory.
2.
Type in uppercase and lowercase letters.
3.
Center between left and right margins.
4.
Position in the upper half of the page.
5.
If more than two lines, double-space between the
lines.
iii.
Byline and institutional affiliation.
1.
Byline is the author's name.
a.
Name is printed first name, middle initial, last
name (John A. Smith), with uppercase and lowercase
letters.
b.
Omit all titles.
c.
For names with suffixes, separate the suffix with
a space rather than a comma.
d.
Center between left and right margins.
e.
Position one double-spaced line below the title.
2.
Institutional affiliation is the place where the
research was conducted.
a.
Centered under the byline.
b.
Placed on the next double-spaced line below the
byline.
3.
For multiple authors and/or affiliations, see
5.15.
II.
Abstract. (5.16 / 1.07)
a. A brief, comprehensive
summary of the contents of the article.
b. Begins on a new
page.
c. Running head
for publication (manuscript page header) and page
number (2) should be in the upper right-hand corner.
d. The label Abstract
should be typed in uppercase and lowercase letters,
at the top, center of the page.
e. Type in a single
paragraph, with no first line indent.
f. Abstracts should
be:
i.
Accurate.
1.
Report nothing that isn't in the body of the paper.
ii.
Self-contained.
1.
Define all acronyms and abbreviations.
2.
Spell out names of tests and drugs (use generic
names for drugs).
3.
Define unique terms.
4.
Include in-text citations for referral to previous
research. Full bibliographic citation should be
included in References.
iii.
Concise and specific.
1.
Be as brief as possible without being uninformative.
2.
Do not exceed 120 words.
3.
Spell out the 4 or 5 most important concepts,
findings or applications of the research.
iv.
Non-evaluative.
1.
Report, do not editorialize.
2.
Avoid biased language.
v.
Coherent and readable.
1.
Use active voice.
2.
Use present tense for results with continuing
applicability or for conclusions drawn.
3.
Use past tense to describe variables manipulated
or tests applied.
4.
Use third person rather than first.
g. Refer to 1.07
for more specific guidelines and for information
about differences in abstracts for different types
of articles (i.e. review paper, methodological
paper, etc.)
III.
Text. (5.17)
a. Begin text on
a new page.
b. Running head
for publication (manuscript page header) and page
number (3) should be in the upper right-hand corner.
Header and page number should be on all subsequent
pages of text.
c. Title of paper
should be printed at the top center of the page,
double-spaced.
d. Text sections
follow without break. Do not start a new page
for each section of text.
e. There are four
sections of text.
i.
Introduction. (1.08)
1.
Opens the body of the paper.
2.
Is not labeled Introduction.
3.
Presents the problem being studied and describes
the research strategy.
a.
Develop the background.
i.
Discuss the literature (lit review).
ii.
Cite only works pertinent to the current study.
iii.
Emphasize pertinent findings, major conclusions,
and relevant methodological
issues.
iv.
Treat controversial issues fairly.
v.
Assume the reader is knowledgeable, but not a
specialist.
b.
State the purpose and rationale.
i.
Explain the approach to solving the problem. This
should be in the closing
paragraphs of the introduction.
ii.
Define the variables.
iii.
Issue a formal statement of the hypotheses and
the rationale behind them.
ii.
Method. (1.09)
1.
Describes in detail how the study was conducted.
2.
The label Method should be typed in uppercase
and lowercase letters, centered on the page.
3.
Consists of separate, labeled sections (labels
are uppercase and lowercase, left justified) (see
3.32 for information about levels of headings),
which include:
a.
Participants (or, Subjects)
i.
Describe the sample.
1.
With human participants:
a.
Report procedures for selection and assignment.
b.
Report any agreements or payments made.
c.
Report demographic characteristics:
i.
Sex, age, race/ethnicity, and where appropriate,
socioeconomic
status, disability status, sexual orientation.
2.
With animal participants:
a.
Report genus, species, strain number, or other
specific identification.
b.
Give number of subjects and their age, sex, weight,
physiological
condition and handling conditions.
3.
Report total number of participants, number assigned
to each experimental
group, and if/why any did not complete the experiment.
b.
Apparatus (or, Materials).
i.
Describe materials used and their function.
ii.
Specialized commercial equipment should be identified
by model number,
supplier name and supplier location. Describe
the function in detail.
iii.
Complex equipment may require a diagram and description,
which can be located in an appendix.
c.
Procedure.
i.
Summarize each step of the research.
ii.
Summarize instructions given (if any) to participants.
iii.
Summarize controls.
iii.
Results. (1.10)
1.
Summarizes data collected and any statistical
or analytical treatment applied to the data.
2.
Include ALL results, even those that do not support
the hypothesis.
3.
Do not include individual scores or raw data.
4.
Tables and figures.
a.
Use tables and figures only when they will more
succinctly show the data.
b.
Do not use tables or figures if the information
can easily be represented textually.
c.
Refer to tables as tables and any graphs, drawings
or pictures as figures.
d.
Always refer to tables and graphs in the text,
telling the reader what to look for.
5.
For information on statistical representation,
see 1.10
iv.
Discussion. (1.11)
1.
Evaluates and interprets the results, especially
in regard to the stated hypothesis(es).
2.
Opens with a clear statement of support or non-support
of the hypothesis(es).
3.
Section can be brief or extensive, depending on
the project.
4.
If brief, may be combined with the Results section.
5.
Acknowledges limitations and/or alternative explanations
of results.
6.
When appropriate, ends with significance or importance
of findings.
a.
Choice of the problem. Why is this important?
b.
Levels of analysis. How are these findings linked
to other analyses?
c.
Application and synthesis. What can be explained
by the results?
IV.
References. (5.18)
a. Start the reference
list on a separate page.
b. Type the label
References in uppercase and lowercase letters
at the top, center of the page.
c. Double-space
all entries.
d. The first line
of each entry should be indented 5 to 7 spaces.
e. All citations
in the paper must be in the reference list, and
all references in the list must be cited in the
paper.
f. For
more information about references click here.
V.
Appendixes. (5.19 / 1.14)
a. Include appendixes
only if it helps the reader to understand, evaluate
or replicate the study.
b. Double-space
appendixes.
c. Begin each appendix
on a separate page.
d. Type the label
Appendix in uppercase and lowercase letters at
the top, center of the page.
e. If there is more
than one appendix, follow the label with identifying
capital letters (A, B, etc., in the order in which
they are mentioned in the text.)
VI.
Footnotes and notes.
a. Author note.
i.
Start the author note on a separate page after
the references (or appendixes, if any).
ii.
Type the label Author Note in uppercase and lowercase
letters at the top, center of the page.
iii.
Start each paragraph of the note with an indent
of 5 to 7 spaces.
iv.
Type separate paragraphs for:
1.
Authors and affiliations.
2.
Sources of financial support.
3.
Acknowledgement of colleague's contributions.
4.
Author's address for correspondence.
a.
Begin the sentence with "Correspondence concerning
this article should be addressed to…".
Prepared by the University of St. Francis Library
Oct. 2003