APA Writing Style
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Running head: APA WRITING STYLE AND MECHANICS
APA Writing Style and Mechanics
Student Name
University of Phoenix
UOP REQUIRED TITLE PAGE Centered on the page (as shown above), include in this order:
• Title of Paper (Mixed upper and lower case letters; centered, see APA p. 296) • Your Name (first and last, do not include academic or license information, i.e., BSN, RN) • University of Phoenix
**All lines are double-spaced (no single or triple-spacing) throughout the entire document.
The APA Sample Paper provided by the Center for Writing Excellence represents the consensus of several deans and other key academic officials at the University. The sample paper attempts to match APA style to the University’s curriculum and academic services. Nevertheless, in advanced matters of style and formatting, there are sometimes differing interpretations of APA guidelines. While this sample paper is offered as a tool to help students with APA style, it is not a definitive or binding representation of format accepted by individual faculty members. As a result, for all unresolved style and format issues, it is essential that you consult with your faculty member before submitting your paper for a grade. Your instructor is the final authority regarding acceptable format and style for all papers associated with his or her course, and the instructor’s recommendations will prevail over this sample paper in the event that there is a difference between the two. Revised: September, 2007
Pagination and Page Header: See APA p. 288. Use the “header and footer feature” in Microsoft Word. See Appendix A for directions.
The title is in upper and lowercase letters, centered between the left and right margins and positioned in the upper half of the page (See APA, p. 296). An example is available on p. 306.
APA requires a Running Head for publication. See APA, p. 296, section 5.15.
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Abstract
According to section 1.07 of the APA Publication Manual (2001), “An abstract is a brief,
comprehensive summary of the contents of the article; it allows readers to survey the
contents of an article quickly, and like a title, it enables abstracting and information
services to index and retrieve articles” (p. 12). Note that the abstract paragraph is not
indented. An abstract should be no longer than 120 words and should be concise and
specific (APA, 2001, p. 13). Because an abstract is not always required for student
papers, please adhere to your instructor’s requirements.
An abstract is not always required for student papers. When in doubt, contact your instructor. For additional information regarding the use of abstracts refer to the APA Publication Manual, p. 12-15.
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Quotations: All short quotes require a page number or paragraph symbol if no page number is available. See APA p. 292.
Indent the first line of each paragraph. Use the tab key, which should be set at five to seven spaces, or ½ inch. See APA, p. 289.
APA Writing Style and Mechanics
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (Publication
Manual) began as an article published in Psychological Bulletin in 1929. That article
reported results of a 1928 meeting of scholars “to discuss the form of journal manuscripts
and to write instructions for their preparation” (American Psychiatric Association [APA],
2001, p. xix). Today the manual is in its fifth edition, and the APA format described in it
is a widely recognized standard for scientific writing (i.e., scholarly or professional
writing) in the social sciences. Although the stylebook is designed to prepare manuscripts
for publication, many school and health care journals have adopted its use as a guide to
achieve uniformity and consistency (Cuddy, 2002). Writing in the style prescribed by the
Publication Manual can be a daunting experience for students; however, as with all new
skills, “practice makes perfect” (P. Proofreader, personal communication, June 28, 2004).
In this paper, a review of APA information and writing tips most often used by the
University of Phoenix undergraduate and graduate students is presented. However, this
document is no substitute for the Publication Manual itself. While APA formatting
software is available from a number of vendors, students are discouraged from
purchasing it due to the inconsistency of formatting specific to University of Phoenix
papers.
Format Considerations
Some of the more commonly used rules and formats from the Publication Manual
are presented and discussed in this section. Please note, however, that some assignments
may require unique formatting, and students should consult with faculty for clarification.
TIP: Conclude your introduction by including a sentence that provides a brief summary of the salient points to be addressed in the paper.
Level One Heading (See APA, p. 113)
Personal communication is explained on p. 214 (APA) and is not included on the reference page.
APA does not permit use of the word “Introduction” as a level heading. Instead, begin the text of the paper by including the same title as the title on the title page (centered, upper, and lower case). See APA, p. 298, 5.17
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Correct Margins
Margins are required to be one inch on all sides or set at the word processor
default. The rule is broken to avoid placing a lone heading on the last line of the page or a
single line of text on the top of the next page.
Page Header
The header contains the first two or three words of the title and appears in the
header/footer feature of Microsoft Word (See Appendix A for format directions for the
header/footer feature). The page number is set at five spaces to the right of the text. The
automatic function of a word-processing program should be used to print the headers and
page numbers consecutively in the paper. Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, and so on) are used to
number each page, and begin on the title page.
Reference Page
The hanging indentation (See Appendix B for format directions for hanging
indents) is used for the reference page; that is, the first line of the reference, usually the
author’s name, rests against the left margin, and the lines that follow are indented 5 or 7
spaces or ½ inch. The Publication Manual (2001) recommends setting the tab key to ½
inch (word processor default). The reference page is alphabetized by author and contains
the date of publication in parentheses, directly after the author’s name. Next, the title, the
place of publication, and the name of the publisher are listed. The proliferation of
electronic materials has prompted the APA to create formats designed specifically for
Internet and Web-based written material. Students should bookmark and frequently visit
the APA Web site at www.apastyle.org for current formatting of electronic references.
Level Three Heading (See APA, p. 113)
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Level Four Heading. (See APA, p. 113)
Only those references that have been cited in the paper are listed on the reference
page. Personal communications are cited in the text, but not on the reference page.
Additional reference examples are available in Appendix C.
In Text Citations
Direct quotations. Direct quotations need to mirror exactly the original source,
even if errors are contained in the original. To alert the reader that any errors are part of
the original material, the word sic, enclosed in brackets and italicized, should follow the
erroneous material. The source of information must be cited. The format of direct
quotations may vary with the placement of the quoted material in the sentence. The
following is an example of how one might use a direct quote from a Web site with an
author: “Diversity is emerging as one of the most serious issues in the workplace today,
yet most employers are not prepared to deal with it” (Copeland, 2003, Erroneous
Assumptions, ¶ 1). The author’s last name, the year of publication, the Web site title, and
the paragraph number are included in the in-text citation when no page number is
available. In addition, the following is an example of how one might use a direct quote
from a book with one author: Venes (2001) stated, “The types of influenza doctors must
prepare for fall into three categories” (p. 106). If the author’s name is given prior to the
quote, include the date of publication (in parentheses) after the author’s name, and follow
the quote with the page or paragraph number. See page 121 in the Publication Manual for
more information. Appendix C has additional examples of in-text citations when using
direct quotes.
Quotations of less than 40 words are enclosed in double quotation marks. “Use
single quotation marks within double quotation marks to set off material that in the
Erroneous Assumptions is the heading of a section within the Web-based article, Managing the Multicultural Workforce. Use of headings within the citation is explained on p. 120 (APA).
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original source was enclosed in double quotation marks” (APA, 2001, p. 119). Quotations
of 40 words or more are set in a block format without quotation marks. The block quote
is started on a new line, indented five spaces or 1/2 inch. A sample block quote is
contained in this paper.
Paraphrased material. Paraphrasing allows the writer to use the ideas of another,
to represent another’s argument, and to give proper credit to the original author or authors
(Lawton, Cousineau, & Hillard, 2001). Each time an author is paraphrased, the source
must be cited in the text. Page or paragraph numbers are not required for paraphrased
material, but the Publication Manual encourages writers to do so (APA, 2001, p. 121).
For example, if one were to paraphrase information from an article located in an online
database, one would format it in this way: Daniels (2004) included Garden Restaurants
on his list of the 50 best companies for minorities. Or, for another example using the
same article consider the following: A list of companies has been singled out as best for
minority employees (Daniels, 2004). Both examples include the author’s last name and
the date of publication. If the author’s name is not provided with the paraphrased text, it
must be included in the in-text citation. An additional illustration for paraphrasing
information comes from the University of Phoenix rEsource page: Values and ethics are
closely related but different (University of Phoenix, 2004). Appendix C has additional
examples of in-text citations when paraphrasing.
Plagiarism. Plagiarism constitutes a serious academic concern. According to
Lawton, Cousineau, and Hillard (2001), “academic communities demand that writers
credit others for their work and that the source of their material clearly be acknowledged”
(¶ 6). Internet access has resulted in an increase in plagiarism. As noted by McCabe (as Secondary Sources: See P. 247 in the APA manual for citation of secondary sources. Use of primary sources is preferred.
Electronic source, direct quote citation: If the electronic source does not have page numbers; use the paragraph symbol.
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cited in Sterngold, 2004), 41% of students said they engaged in “cut-and-paste”
plagiarism from online sources. The sentences and phrases we use must be original, or
cited and referenced accordingly. While it may be easier to use someone else’s words,
doing so only discredits the writer. When in doubt, cite.
Other Format Issues
Although the Publication Manual (2001) suggests that an abstract of an article
precede the text, an abstract is not used in most papers submitted by University of
Phoenix students. Faculty members may require an abstract if students are submitting
very lengthy papers or project proposals. In those cases, the direction to submit an
abstract will be in the assignment guidelines.
Preferred typefaces in APA style are 12-pt Times New Roman or 12-pt
Courier New. Students should avoid using any software settings that reduce spacing
between words or letters.
Writing Mechanics
Besides formatting, correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure
are essential components of scholarly writing. Strunk (1999) emphasized the importance
of being succinct:
Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a
paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should
have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not
that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his
subjects only in outline, but that every word tell. (¶ 1)
Block quote – see pages 117 and 118 in the APA manual for an example and discussion.
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Grammar
Besides the provision of a standardized format for scientific writing, the
Publication Manual emphasizes the importance of proper grammar. In addition to the
Publication Manual, students will have another resource with the The Gregg Reference
Manual. For a thorough review, Chapter 2 in the Publication Manual is particularly
helpful for learning good writing mechanics. A few of the rules of grammar will be
addressed here.
Subject and verb agreement. A singular noun requires a singular verb, and a
plural noun requires a plural verb (APA, 2001). Words that intervene between the noun
and verb do not change that basic rule.
Noun and pronoun agreement. When writers use a subject which is singular, they
need to use pronouns which are singular. To avoid having to use he/she and him/her,
writers may reword the sentence and use a plural subject, thereby eliminating the
problem. For example, the sentence “A student applying for a job must carefully
proofread his or her application” can be reworded to read, “Students applying for jobs
must carefully proofread their applications.” Use of plurals also can help writers reduce
sexist bias and avoid stereotypes, as well as keep them from using both singular and
plural in the same sentence or paragraph.
Punctuation. Correct punctuation establishes the rhythm and readability of
sentences. In APA style, only one space is used after periods, commas, colons, and
semicolons. When a hyphen is used, no space appears before or after the hyphen (APA,
