How To Format Your Essay Using The APA Reference

The purpose of referencing/documenting is to:

• To identify (cite) other people’s ideas and information used within your essay or term paper
• To indicate the sources of these citations in the reference list at the end of your paper

APA Citation Format

APA is an acronym of "The American Psychological Association.” APA style guidelines are the standardized writing format commonly used among those who write a research paper in social sciences.

General Rules Of APA Style:

• APA requires that the entire paper be doubled-spaced, including all the lines in the reference list.
• Number all pages consecutively, starting with the title page, in Arabic numerals (Eg., 4, not IV) in the upper right-hand corner (Rule 8.03, p.230).
• You need to cite and document any sources that you have consulted, even if you presented the ideas from the sources using your own words. You need to cite:

1. To identify other people’s ideas and information used within your essay
2. To inform the reader where they can look if they need the same sources

• A citation must appear in two place in your essay:

1. In the body of your text ("in-text citations”)
2. In the reference list (at the end of your paper)

• To introduce other people’s ideas in text, use the following examples:

1. Richardson argues, refers to, explain, hypothesizes, compares, conclude;
2. As Littlewood and Sherwin demonstrated or proved.

• Spelling: Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is the standard spelling reference for APA journals and books (Rule 4.12, p. 96).

In-Text Citations

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of citation. This means that the author’s last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, and a complete reference to appear in the reference list.

Examples:

• John (1970) compared reaction times
• In a recent study of reaction times (John, 1970)
• In 1970, John compared reaction times

Short Quotations:

To include short quotations (less than 40 words) in your text, enclose the quotation within double quotation marks. Note down the author, year, and specific page citation in the text, and include a complete reference in the reference list. Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and semicolons should appear after the parenthetical citation.

Question marks and exclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if they are a part of the quotation but after the parenthetical citation if they are a part of your text. When paraphrasing, the citation (author and page number) must still be included. Paraphrasing is preferred over direct quoting.

Examples:

• She stated, "The placebo effect disappeared when behaviors were studied in this manner" (Miele, 1993, p. 276), but she did not clarify which behaviors were studied.
• According to Miele (1993), "The placebo effect disappeared when behaviors were studied in this manner" (p.276)
• Miele (1993) found that "the placebo effect disappeared" in this case (p. 276), but what will the next step in researching this issue be?

Long Quotations:

Place quotations longer than 40 words in a freestanding block of typewritten lines, and omit quotation marks. Begin the quotation on a new line, indented five spaces from the left margin. Type the entire quotation on the new margin and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation five spaces from the new margin. Remember to maintain double-spacing throughout. Place the parenthetical citation should come after closing punctuation mark.

Example:

Miele's 1993 study found the following: The placebo effect disappeared when behaviors were studied in this manner. Furthermore, the behaviors were never exhibited again, even when real drugs were administered. Earlier studies conducted by the same group of researchers at the hospital were clearly premature in attributing the results to a placebo effect. (p. 276)

Reference List:

You should place your reference list at the end of your essay. The list provides the information necessary for readers to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the essay. Each source cited in the essay must appear in your reference list; likewise, each entry in the reference list must be cited in your text.