APA 101

7th Edition

Differences between MLA, APA, and Chicago Manual Styles

MLA:

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit: There and Back Again. Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012, 3-277.

APA:

Tolkien, J.R.R. (2012). The hobbit: There and back again, p. 3-277. Boston, MA: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Chicago Manual Style:

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit: There and Back Again (Boston: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012), 3-277.

Paper Formatting

Basic Formatting

• Spacing:
• Double spacing
• Indent first line of each paragraph ½ inch
• No spaces between paragraphs
• Margins:
• 1 inch on all four sides
• Font and Point Size:
• 12 point font
• Times New Roman
• Header:
• Right Justified: Page number (numeral only)
• CHANGE: Student papers do not require a running header (paper title)

Major Section: Title Page

Major Section: Abstract (optional, use at teacher discretion)

Major Section: Main Body

• Number the first text page as:
• 3, if using an abstract
• 2, if not using an abstract
• Center and bold the (full) title of the paper at the top of the page
• Type the text double-spaced with all sections following each other without a break
• Identify the sources you use in the paper with either narrative citations or parenthetical, in-text citations
• Format tables and figures (if required by instructor)

Major Section: Reference Page

• Center the title (References) at the top of the page. Bold this title.
• Double-space reference entries
• Flush left the first line of the entry and indent subsequent lines
• Order entries alphabetically by the surname of the first author of each work

References

Reference Page: Basics

• Invert authors’ names (last name first followed by initials)
• EX:“Smith, J.Q.”
• Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns. Do not capitalize the first letter of the second word in a hyphenated compound word.
• EX: The perfectly formatted paper: How the Purdue OWL saved my essay.
• Capitalize all major words in journal titles
• Italicize titles of longer works such as books and journals
• Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles or essays in edited collections

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References

Book with One Author

• Author, A. (Year). Title of book: Subtitle of book. Publisher.
• Stoneman, R. (2008). Alexander the Great: A life in legend. Yale University Press.

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Book with More than One Author

• Author, A., & Author, B. (Year). Title of book: Subtitle of book. Publisher.
• Eggins, S., & Slade, D. (1997). Analyzing casual conversation. Cassell.

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Book with No or Unknown Author

• Title of book: Subtitle of book. (Year). Publisher
• Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (11th ed.). (2003). Merriam-Webster.

References

Electronic Book (Change: you do not need to indicate book format - Kindle, ebook, etc.)

• Author, A. (Year). Title of work: Subtitle of work. Retrieved from URL.
• Green, C. (2019). Incivility among nursing professionals in clinical and academic environments: Emerging research and opportunities. IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-7341-8

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Website

• Author, A.A. (Year, Month Date). Title of Page. Site Name. URL
• Price, D. (2018, March 23). Laziness does not exist. Medium. https://humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01

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Print and Electronic Journal Article

• Author(s), A. A. (Year of Publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number(issue number), pages if known. DOI if available, or URL for journal’s homepage
• Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15(3), 5–13.
• Purnell, M., Walsh, S., & Milone, M. (2004). Oncology nursing education: Teaching  strategies that work. Nursing Education Perspectives, 25(6), 304-308. http://www.nlnjournal.org/

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Citations

In-text Citation: Basics

• In-text citations help readers locate the cited source in the References section of the paper. In-text citations follow either a parenthetical format or a narrative format.
• A parenthetical citation includes both the author’s last name and year of publication, separated by a comma, in parentheses at the end of the sentence.
• EX: Research suggests that the Purdue OWL is a good resource for students (Atkins, 2018).
• A narrative citation includes the author’s name directly in the sentence, with the year of publication directly following the author’s last name.
• EX: Atkins (2018) suggests that the Purdue OWL is a good resource for students.

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In-text Citation: Page Numbers

• If the source you’re citing includes page numbers, add that information to your citation.
• For a parenthetical citation, the page number follows the year of publication, separated by a comma, and with a lowercase p and a period before the number (p.)
• EX: Research suggests that the Purdue OWL is a good resource for students (Atkins, 2018, p. 12).
• For a narrative citation, the page number comes at the end of the sentence, once again preceded by a lowercase p and a period (p.)
• EX: Atkins (2018) suggests that the Purdue OWL is a good resource for students (p. 12).

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In-Text Citation: Quotations

• When quoting:
• Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase
• If using the parenthetical citation, include the author, date of publication, and page number at the end of the quotation.
• EX: As scientific knowledge advances, “the application of CRISPR technology to improve human health is being explored across public and private sectors”(Hong, 2018, p. 503).
• If using the narrative-style citation, include the author’s last name in the signal phrase, with the page number at the end of the quote.
• EX: Hong (2018) stated that “the application of CRISPR technology to improve human health is being explored across public and private sectors” (p. 503).

In-Text Citation: Summary or Paraphrase

• Follow the same guidelines for parenthetical and narrative citations when summarizing or paraphrasing a longer chunk of text.
• Parenthetical citation:
• EX: In one study that consisted of 467 young adults, it was found that social media use may not directly affect mental health; rather, it depends on how young adults use social media (Berryman, Ferguson, & Negy, 2018).
• Narrative citation:
• EX: Berryman, Ferguson, and Negy (2018) sampled 467 young adults about their social media use and mental health and found that social media use may not directly affect mental health; rather, it depends on how young adults use social media.

In-Text Citation: Two or More Works

When the parenthetical citation includes two or more works:

• Order them in the same way they appear in the reference list—the author’s name, the year of publication—separated by a semi-colon.
• EX: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet (Adams, 2018; Collins, 2017).

In-Text Citation: Works with Two Authors

When citing a work with two authors:

• In the narrative citation, use “and” in between the authors’ names
• EX: According to scientists Depietri and McPhearson (2018), “Understanding the occurrence and impacts of historical climatic hazards is critical to better interpret current hazard trends” (p. 96).

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• In the parenthetical citation, use “&” between names
• EX: When examining potential climate threats, “Understanding the occurrence and impacts of historical climatic hazards is critical to better interpret current hazard trends” (Depietri & McPhearson, 2018, p. 96).

In-Text Citation: Works with 3+ Authors

When citing a work with three or more authors:

• list the name of the first author plus “et al.” in every citation.
• EX: Lin et al. (2019) examined how weather conditions affect the popularity of the bikesharing program in Beijing.
• EX: One study looked at how weather conditions affected the popularity of bikesharing programs, specifically the Beijing Public Bikesharing Program (Lin et al., 2019).

In-Text Citation: Unknown Author

When citing a work with an unknown author:

• Use the source’s full title in the narrative citation.
• Cite the first word of the title followed by the year of publication in the parenthetical citation.
• EX: According to “Here’s How Gardening Benefits Your Health” (2018)
• EX: (“Here’s,” 2018)

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Titles:

• Articles and Chapters = “ ”
• Books and Reports = italicize

In-Text Citation: No Page Numbers

When citing a text with no page numbers: parenthetical citation → use any of the following four methods

• List the heading or section name
• EX: One scientist noted that “A cup full of kale can help your body out in a number of ways” (London, 2019, Health benefits of kale section).
• List an abbreviated heading or section name in quotation marks (if the heading is too long)
• EX: One scientist noted that “A cup full of kale can help your body out in a number of ways” (London, 2019, “Health benefits” section).
• List the paragraph number
• EX: One scientist noted that “A cup full of kale can help your body out in a number of ways” (London, 2019, para. 2).
• List the heading or section name and the paragraph number
• EX: One scientist noted that “A cup full of kale can help your body out in a number of ways” (London, 2019, Health benefits of kale section, para. 2).

In-Text Citation: No Page Numbers

When citing a text with no page numbers: narrative citation → use any of the following four methods

• List the heading or section name
• EX: Scientist Jaclyn London (2019, Health benefits of kale section) noted that “A cup full of kale can help your body out in a number of ways.”
• List an abbreviated heading or section name in quotation marks (if the heading is too long)
• EX: Scientist Jaclyn London (2019, “Health benefits” section) noted that “A cup full of kale can help your body out in a number of ways.”
• List the paragraph number
• EX: Scientist Jaclyn London (2019, para. 2) noted that “A cup full of kale can help your body out in a number of ways.”
• List the heading or section name and the paragraph number
• EX: Scientist Jaclyn London (2019, Health benefits of kale section, para. 2) noted that “A cup full of kale can help your body out in a number of ways.”