APA STYLE 6TH EDITION
writingcenter.txstate.edu
What is APA Style? APA Style establishes standards of written communication concerning: the organization of content writing style citing references
Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
APA Formatting basics Separate title page Should contain title, author’s name, and institutional affiliation
Abstract Contains a running header On the title page the header should read Running head: SHORTENED TITLE The following pages should read SHORTENED TITLE Each page is numbered in the upper right corner
1” margins Double space everything Two spaces after periods (except in published work) 12 pt. Times New Roman Indent paragraphs .5”
Do not indent the first line of an abstract
Center the full title of the paper
Do not label introduction. Simply begin body paragraph.
APA Headings Level 1 Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Headings Level 2
Left-aligned, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
Level 3 Indented, boldface, lowercase heading with a period. Begin
body text after the period. Level 4 Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase heading with a period.
Begin body text after the period. Level 5 Indented, italicized, lowercase heading with a period. Begin body text
after the period.
In-Text STYLE basics Clear and Concise Active Voice Word Choice Names of large works are italicized books, periodicals, album titles, etc.
Names of works within larger works are placed in quotation marks articles, chapters, essays, poems, songs, etc.
In titles, the first word, proper nouns, and the first word after a colon
are capitalized.
Citing Sources in the Text Author’s name in text The author’s first and last name should be used the first time he or she is referenced
in the text; after the first time, only the last name should be used to identify the author. Caroline Robbins (2003) suggested that the “therapists in dropout cases may have
inadvertently validated parental negativity about the adolescent without adequately responding to the adolescent’s needs or concerns” (p. 541), contributing to an overall climate of negativity. According to Robbins (2003), students in these cases are unlikely to return to school.
Author’s name in reference Confusing this issues is the overlapping nature of roles in palliative care, whereby
“medical needs are met by those in the medical disciplines; nonmedical needs may be addressed by anyone on the team” (Csikai & Chaitin, 2006, p.112).
Citing Sources in the Text Paraphrasing Paraphrasing is the APA-preferred method of conveying information from outside
sources rather than directly quoting the text. To paraphrase is to restate someone else’s idea in your own words without repeating
the original text. Paraphrasing should result in a condensed, reworded version of the author’s original idea. When paraphrasing or referring to an idea that is not your own, you must provide a
page or paragraph number so that your reader may locate the material within the text. In his aquatic research, John Robertson (2010) explained that sleeping fish do not
close their eyes (p. 136).
Basics of References Book Basic Form Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location:
Publisher. Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal
publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Article or chapter in edited book O'Neil, J. M., & Egan, J. (1992). Men's and women's gender role journeys: A metaphor
for healing, transition, and transformation. In B. R. Wainrib (Ed.), Gender issues across the life cycle (pp. 107-123). New York, NY: Springer.
Basics of References Journal Basic Form
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages.
Web database
Smyth, A. M., Parker, A. L., & Pease, D. L. (2002). A study of enjoyment of peas. Journal of Abnormal Eating, 8(3), 120-125. Retrieved from http://www.articlehomepage.com/full/url/
In print
Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15(30), 5-13.
Online journal
Kenneth, I. A. (2000). A Buddhist response to the nature of human rights. Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 8. Retrieved from http://www.cac.psu.edu/jbe/twocont.html
Online source with no author
What causes Alzheimer’s disease. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.memorystudy.org/alzheimers_causes.htm
Online Resources The Bedford Handbook Writing Center website writingcenter.txstate.edu
Owl Purdue: owl.english.purdue.edu www.worldcat.org Texas State library databases APA style guide