AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

APA

Revised for 7th Edition

King Graduate School, Fall 2020

Last updated September 2020 (adapted from Purdue University, 2020)

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Table of Contents Utilizing Level Headers 1

In-Text Citations: The Basics 2

APA Citation Basics 2

In-Text Citation Capitalization, Quotes, and Italics/Underlining 3

Short Quotations 3

Long Quotations 4

Summary or Paraphrase 5

In-Text Citations: Author/Authors 5

Citing an Author or Authors 5

A Work by Two Authors 5

A Work by Three or More Authors 5

Unknown Author 6

Organization as an Author 6

Two or More Works in the Same Parentheses 7

Authors with the Same Last Name 7

Two or More Works by the Same Author in the Same Year 7

Introductions, Prefaces, Forewords, and Afterwords 7

Personal Communication 7

Citing Indirect Sources 8

Electronic Sources 8

Unknown Author and Unknown Date 8

Sources Without Page Numbers 8

Reference List 9

Basic Rules for Most Sources 9

Basic Rules for Articles in Academic Journals 9

References by Number of Authors 10

Single Author 10

Two Authors 10

Three to Twenty Authors 11

More Than Twenty Authors 11

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Group Author 11

Unknown Author 12

Two or More Works by the Same Authors 13

Two or More Works by the Same Author in the Same Year 14

Introductions, Prefaces, Forewords, and Afterwords 15

Reference List: Print 15

Books by One Author 15

Edited Book, No Author 15

Edited Book with an Author or Authors 16

Edition Other Than the First 16

Article or Chapter in an Edited Book 16

Entry in a Dictionary, Thesaurus, or Encyclopedia with a Group Author 16

Reference List: Electronic Sources 17

Online Scholarly Journal Article: Citing DOIs 17

Article from an Online Periodical with DOI Assigned 17

Article from an Online Periodical with no DOI Assigned 18

Newspaper/Magazine Article 18

Electronic or Kindle Books 18

Entry in an Online Dictionary, Thesaurus, or Encyclopedia with a Group Author 18

Online Lecture Notes and Presentation Slides 19

Blog Post 19

Webpage or Piece of Online Content with Author 19

Webpage or Piece of Online Content with an Organization but No Author 19

Webpage or Piece of Online Content without an Author/Organization 20

Webpage or Piece of Online Content without a Date 20

Example of Article with a DOI 21

Help with Formatting 21

Creating the Optional Running Head 21

Creating a Hanging Indentation 22

Sample Paper 23

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Utilizing Level Headers

When writing a paper, sometimes it is necessary to divide major components of your research to clearly present your findings to your reader (see example below). For example, the basic components of a research paper that usually requires division using level headers are: Literature Review, Discussion, and Conclusion. While the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition (2019, p. 48), offers up to five levels of headings, it is unlikely you will go beyond a Level Three in KG 601 or KG 602.

APA Headings

Level Format

1 Centered, Boldface, Title Case Heading

Text starts a new paragraph.

2 Flush left, Boldface, Title Case Heading

Text starts a new paragraph.

3 Flush Left, Boldface Italic, Title Case Heading

Text starts a new paragraph.

4 Indented, Boldface Title Case Heading Ending with a Period. Paragraph

text continues on the same line as the same paragraph.

5 Indented, Boldface Italic, Title Case Heading Ending with a

Period. Paragraph text continues on the same line as the same paragraph.

(Purdue University, 2020a)

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Discussion

Begin writing about what you will discuss and introduce the various elements to be

discussed and analyzed.

Limitations

Under such a heading, you would introduce and discuss your limitations. You will be the

one to decide how many paragraphs will be written here, as every paper and every study will

vary in length.

Technological Limitations

Then here, you will begin your paragraph that will discuss the particular type of

limitation. Once you are finished with your discussion section, the next overall component of

your paper will come after this section. It is a useful tip to establish your headers prior to writing

your paper, so you can better organize your work.

Conclusion

In-Text Citations: The Basics (Purdue University, 2020c)

What follows are some general guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay.

Note: APA style requires authors to use the past tense or present perfect tense when using signal phrases to describe earlier research, for example, Jones (1998) found or Jones (1998) has found…

APA Citation Basics

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, for example, (Jones, 1998), and a complete reference should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

If you are referring to an idea from another work but NOT directly quoting the material, or

SAMPLE HEADINGS

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making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in your in-text reference.

On the other hand, if you are directly quoting or borrowing from another work, you should include the page number at the end of the parenthetical citation. Use the abbreviation “p.” (for one page) or “pp.” (for multiple pages) before listing the page number(s). Use an en dash for page ranges. For example, you might write (Jones, 1998, p. 199) or (Jones, 1998, pp. 199–201). This information is reiterated below.

All sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

In-Text Citation Capitalization, Quotes, and Italics/Underlining

• Always capitalize proper nouns, including author names and initials: D. Jones.

• If you refer to the title of a source within your paper, capitalize all words that are four letters long or greater within the title of a source: Permanence and Change. Exceptions apply to short words that are verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs: Writing New Media, There Is Nothing Left to Lose.

(Note: in your References list, only the first word of a title will be capitalized: Writing new media.)

• When capitalizing titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound word: Natural- Born Cyborgs.

• Capitalize the first word after a dash or colon: "Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock's Vertigo."

• Italicize or underline the titles of longer works such as books, edited collections, movies, television series, documentaries, or albums: The Closing of the American Mind; The Wizard of Oz; Friends.

• Put quotation marks around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles, articles from edited collections, television series episodes, and song titles: "Multimedia Narration: Constructing Possible Worlds"; "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry."

Short Quotations

If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication,

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and the page number for the reference (preceded by "p." for a single page and “pp.” for multiple pages, with the page numbers separated by the en dash).

You can introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).

Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?

If the author is not named in a signal phrase, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.

She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.

Long Quotations

Place direct quotations that are 40 words, or longer, in a free-standing block of typewritten lines, and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

See below for examples (University of Southern California, 2020):

Example 1

Accord to Siegel and Hartzell (2004)

Trauma and loss requires an understanding of the low road and its connection to patterns of experiences from the past. The passing of unresolved issues from generation to generation produces and perpetuates unnecessary emotional suffering. If our own issues remain unresolved, there is a strong possibility that the disorganization within our minds can create disorganization in our children’s minds. (p. 183)

Your paragraph would then continue to be written here, flushed to the left margin to align with “According to Siegel and Hartzell (2004).” Notice how it creates an indentation pattern

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similar to a hanging indentation. Your spacing, of course, will be APA compliant.

Example 2

Your paragraph will be written here, but since you may not choose to include a signal phrase such as “according to,” you would get right into the long quotation like below.

During gestation, the numerous genes in the nucleus of each cell become expressed and the genes determine what proteins become produced and when and how to shape the body’s structure. In utero brain development enables neurons to grow and move to their proper locations in the skull and begin to set up the interconnections that create the circuitry of this complex organ of the nervous system. (Siegel & Hartzell, 2004)

Your paragraph would then continue to be written here. Notice that the authors’ last names are included within parentheses because no signal phrase was used to introduce the long quotation, and notice the end period goes before the parenthetical citation. This is unusual and an exception to the rule, as it normally follows the parenthetical citation.

Summary or Paraphrase

If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference and may omit the page numbers. APA guidelines, however, do encourage including a page range for a summary or paraphrase when it will help the reader find the information in a longer work.

According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners.

APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

In-Text Citations: Author/Authors (Purdue University, 2020b)

APA style has a series of important rules on using author names as part of the author-date system. There are additional rules for citing indirect sources, electronic sources, and sources without page numbers.

Citing an Author or Authors

A Work by Two Authors: Name bot

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