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APA Format

NOTE:  Here's a printable version of this reference page. Also check out how it should look when you include citations on a powerpoint. 

A.P.A. stands for American Psychological Association.  In all sciences, hard and soft, you must use APA formatting in formal papers.  For this class you will need to know how to reference sources for the weekly article assignment, and you'll need to know how to write an APA-style paper for the Experiment ISU.

Here are some useful links to make sure you're doing it right, but I have also highlighted the most important bits briefly below with some of my OWN stipulations (always follow your specific teacher/professor's rules on submissions):

For the Reference page (citation of sources)
For in-text citations (sourcing within the paper)
For the full document (how it should all look - also see the very last pages of The Experiment ISU assignment - pages 12-18)
Here's an excellent example and resource for powerpoints and slideshows.

WATCH FOR PLAGIARISM:  Remember if you copy more than five words in a row from a source, the words should be in quotation marks. All facts, even paraphrased, must be source IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING the information with an in-text citation. Images should be cited the same as all other information, with an in-text citation immediately below it, then a full citation at the end - NOT just the URL. 

BASIC RULES for REFERENCING – scroll down for examples

* Your references should begin on a new page separate from the text of the essay; label this page "References" centered at the top of the page (do NOT bold, underline, or use quotation marks for the title). Each source you cite in the paper must appear in your reference list; likewise, each entry in the reference list must be cited in your text.

* All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented about a centimetre from the left margin. This is called hanging indentation.

* For MY papers only, single space within entries, and double space between entries (old APA style). Current APA calls for everything to be double-spaced – but if you’re sending electronically, I find it much easier to read if it’s all single-spaced.

* What to include (depending on the type of publication) - differences from MLA are bolded:
- Authors' names inverted (last name first); give the last name and initials for all authors of a particular work up to seven authors,
- followed by the date in brackets (year, month day) or (n.d.) 
- the article (no quotation marks and only capitalize the first word)
- the book (in italics – like MLA, but only capitalize the first word), 
- the journal (in italics and capitalize all major words - just like MLA),
- the place and publisher (Place: Publisher) or N.p. 
- the page number or website link (Retrieved from http://www……).

LIKE THIS:  Notice the punctuation in the following if you want full marks.

Book:
Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for 
       journal publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Magazine Article:
Henry, W. A., III. (1990, April 9). Making the grade in today's schools. Time, 135, 
       28-31.

Online Journal:
Bernstein, M. (2002). 10 tips on writing the living Web. A list apart: For people who 
       make websites, 149. Retrieved from http://www.alistapart.com/articles
       /writeliving

Website:
Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E. (2010, May 5).  How to source documents. Great 
        ideas in the social sciences. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu

Website without an author:  (start with the article title)
How to source documents. (2010, May 5).  Great ideas in the social sciences. Retrieved           from http://owl.english.purdue.edu

• Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work.  IN-TEXT citations should use the first word in the reference, the year, and the page number  if there is one -  like this (notice where all the punctuation goes – period AFTER the citation - the citation is part of the sentence):

…which revealed the same results” (Calfee 23). 

- For two authors:  ...the same results" (Calfee & Jones 23).
- For more than two authors:  ...the same results (Calfee et al 23). 


BASIC RULES FOR FORMATTING THE PAPER

* Include a title page with "Running head: Brief Title" at the top left with the page number directly across from it at the top right - see the assignment for further formatting instructions and an example.