APA Guidelines Made Easy

There are many fine points to the APA guidelines, which you can get help with from the APA Publication Manual or a knowledgeable editor. Understanding some basics can help you start off on the right foot.

Formatting

1. Use a serif font (with all the little defining lines, like Times New Roman) rather than a sans serif font (like Arial). You may make an exception for legends and captions on figures where the print needs to be smaller or cleaner-looking. Use 12 pt. size.
2. APA format for articles is to double space everything. For theses, however, it is permissible to single space long block quotations or references/bibliography.
3. Margins should be at least 1 inch on all sides; 1.5 inches on left if binding. Do not justify the right margin. Indents are 5 spaces.
4. Use headings to show the organizing structure of the manuscript. These are distinguished primarily by placement. Do not use boldface or larger type to distinguish between levels. See APA Manual.
5. Place page numbers in upper right corner beginning on the title page. APA suggests an abbreviated running head (title) before the page number, although in bound papers there is not really a need for this. Check with your department.

A Few Fine Points for Writing

1. The APA does not prohibit the use of the first person (I or we) when talking about yourself as the researcher or therapist. Don't make it more awkward than necessary.
   
2. The first time you introduce a technical term, italicize it. Otherwise, do not use italics for emphasis.
   
3. If you want to use an abbreviation, introduce it first with the abbreviation placed in parenthesis after the spelled-out version.
   
4. Generally, use the past tense for lit review (or anything written, discovered, or done at a particular time in the past); use present tense for results and discussion.
   
5. If introducing a quotation or instructions and your introduction is not a complete sentence, do not use a colon.

Citations & Quotations

1. A paper will read more smoothly the more it has one coherent voice. Using many quotations is like having many different voices and feels choppy. Therefore, use quotations sparingly. If the words the author has used are not particularly elegant, unique, or might be challenged, paraphrase.
   
2. If a concept is common knowledge, it does not need to be cited. Otherwise, the ideas or findings of others should be credited to them. Although specific page numbers are required only for exact quotes, the APA encourages citing page numbers when it might be useful to the reader. Use p. (one page) or pp.(multiple pages) before numbers.
   
3. Quotations longer than 40 words are indented 5 spaces from the left (only). Quotation marks are not needed as the indent shows it is quoted material.
   
4. In the body of the paper, provide the author's last name & the date of publication. This can be done one of several ways:
   a) by placing them after the information cited, inside parentheses, e.g.. Statement (without ending punctuation)(Davis, 1989, pp. 224-226). (period after citation)
   b) by using a "signal phrase" to introduce the author, e.g. As Davis (1989) reported, (past tense) or "As Davis has reported (present perfect tense) followed by quoted information with only page number in parenthesis at end.
   
5. When ending a sentence with quoted material, put the ending punctuation after the citation in parenthesis. When ending a block quote, put the ending punctuation at the end of last sentence and then add the citation in parenthesis with no punctuation after it.
   
6. With a quotation, it is permissible to change the first letter (capitalize or take off cap) and ending punctuation to fit your syntax without noting the changes.
   
7. Place any clarifications or explanations that are inserted into quoted material in brackets (not parentheses). The bracket indicates the comment is by someone other than the original author.
   
8. When deleting material within a quotation, use three ellipsis points (...). Four points indicates a new sentence. Do not use ellipsis points at the beginning or end of a quotation.
   
9. When referring to unrecoverable data in a citation (a conversation or e-mail for example), use (Name of Person, personal communication, date).
   
10. If reporting research cited by another author, name the source you got the information from and then add (as cited in Author's Name, date).

Reference List or Bibliography

(Technically a reference list includes only words cited; a bibliography is broader and may include other books used or relevant that are not cited.)

1. Alphabetize by author (or editor) last name. Use initials for first names. If you have only a title, alphabetize by first word (other than a, an, the)
   
2. Use a hanging indent, with first line at left margin and indenting subsequent lines by 5 spaces.
   
3. The 5th edition of the style manual (2001) instructs you to italicize rather than underline titles in the references. Italicize book titles and journal titles (along with volume number). Do not italicize or put quotations around article titles.
   
4. Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle and any proper nouns.
   
5. Do not include unrecoverable communications (e-mails, phone calls, etc.) in reference list.
   
6. When there are multiple works by the same author, list chronologically.
   
7. See APA or other handouts for multiple authors and various forms, including Web-based.
   
8. A shortened name of publisher is fine as long as it is easily recognizable. Omit Inc., & Company, Publisher, etc. Use state abbreviations; omit state when the city is well-known.

© Jasmin Lee Cori M.S., L.P.C., 2002

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