APA STYLE NOTES

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Carols APA Style Notes

Most common punctuation errors

1. Comma (APA, 2010, pp. 88-89)
a. Between elements of a series of three or more elements, including
before the words and or or
i. Ex: dog, cat, and mouse
ii. Not: dog, cat and mouse
b. To separate clauses:
i. Ex: From the beginning, it was clear
ii. Not: From the beginning it was clear.
2. Periods and end-citations (APA, 2010, Chapter 6)
a. For citations that are at the end of a sentence, do not put the period
before the citation, rather, place it after the citation.
i. EX: The Icebreaker helped to know one another in the class
(Allen, 2014).
ii. Not: The Icebreaker helped to know one another in the class.
(Allen, 2014)
3. Quotation Marks and end-citations: (APA, 2010, pp. 170 171)
a. Do not include end-citations within the quotation marks
i. EX: Do not include end-citations within the quotation marks
(Allen, 2014, p.1).
ii. Not: Do not include end-citations within the quotation marks
(Allen, 2014, p.1).
b. As a rule, any 4 consecutive words used from a source must be in
quotations (to avoid plagiarism)
c. Another rule: Even if you are not directly quoting (paraphrasing) you
must have a citation
d. Another rule: If you provide a quotation, you MUST also list the page,
paragraph, (Or slide if a lecture) number in parentheses after the
quote.

Citations
The format for a citation is Author(s) by last name and Date (with page/para if
quoted) (See basic styles in APA, 2010, p. 177).
In-text citations
1. Format: Author (date)
a. EX: According to Allen (2014), the elements of citations include the
author(s), the date, and, as needed, the page or paragraph number.
b. Not: According to Allen, the elements of citations include the
author(s), the date, and, as needed, the page or paragraph number
(2014).
2. With two or more authors, use the word and before the last authors name
(First time in document):

APA STYLE NOTES

a. EX: Pender, Murdaugh, and Parsons (2011) wrote about nursing from a
health promotion perspective.
b. Not: Pender, Murdaugh, & Parsons (2011) wrote about nursing from a
health promotion perspective.
c. Not: Pender, N., Murdaugh, C., and Parsons, M. A. (2011) wrote about
nursing from a health promotion perspective.
3. After citing three or more authors, repeat citations include the elements of
the first authors last name, and the phrase et al. Note that the period
follows al. and not et.
a. EX: Pender et al. (2011) wrote about nursing from a health promotion
perspective.
b. Not: Pender et. al (2011) wrote about nursing from a health promotion
perspective.

End-Citations
1. Format: (Author(s) last name, date) Note the spacing between the comma
and date. When a page number is given, use p. and space before the
number. When a paragraph number is given, use para. And space before
the number.
a. EX: Use citations when paraphrasing from a source (Allen, 2014, p. 1).
b. Not: Use citations when paraphrasing from a source (Allen,2014, p1).
2. With more than two authors: Use the & instead of and before the name of
the last author.
a. EX: There are many views of what is health (Pender, Murdaugh, &
Parsons, 2011, p. 15).
b. Not: There are many view of what is health (Pender, N., Murdaugh, C.,
and Parsons, M.A., 2011, p15).
3. After citing three or more authors, repeat citations use et al. Note the
punctuation and spacing.
a. EX: There are many views of what is health (Pender et al., 2011, p. 15).

References
Because of the many different types of sources of reference, there are varied details
of how to reference them. APA (2010) discusses these in detail. However, there is a
basic format on how to organize the elements in a reference. Please refer to the text
or to http://www.apastyle.org (a blog) that has or will answer specific formatting
questions about APA. I will list the basic format and examples of references from a
text, a journal, and a lecture.
Basic Format
Author(s) Last name, Initials. (Date). Title of work. Source of work.
Each element of a reference is separated by a period. Note the use of italics,
spacing, punctuation, and upper- and lower-case letters.

APA STYLE NOTES

1. Book: Author. (Date). Title of the book. (Ed. If indicated). City of publication:
Publisher
a. Ex: Jensen, S. (2011). Nursing health assessment: A best practice
approach. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.
2. Journal: Author. (Date). Title of article. Name of Journal, volume (issue),
pages. Retrieval information.
a. Retrieval information:
i. DOI: if the doi number is available, that becomes your retrieval
information. The doi is a string of numbers and/or letters with
backslashes. Do not insert spaces in the string.
ii. Without a doi: any sources obtained from the Shapiro Library
should indicate the search engine used and the Ascension
Number, or publication number. It should not include the URL
(the web link) because only those who have access to the
Shapiro Library can use that link.
1. CINAHL (AN#######)
2. ProQuest (#########)
iii. With sources from the Internet, that do not have a doi, insert the
URL (web link) preceded by Retrieved from http:// .. The
http:// is an important component.
1. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/ With web
links, Word defaults to making URLs a hyperlink
(underlines and changes the color). Right click on the link
and select remove hyperlink to remove the color change
and the underline.
b. Journal Information: The name of the journal (in italics), comma, the
volume number (in italics) no space the issue number (in parenthesis,
and not in italics), comma, page numbers, without adding p.
i. American Journal of Nursing, 45(2), 456-478.
c. Title of the article; use upper case for the first letter of the first work,
and lower case (unless there is a proper noun) for the other words of
the title. No italics, no bold font.
i. Key findings from research studies on safe RN staffing.
d. Date: The date should be only the year of publication. Exceptions are
when there are no issue numbers. Then, the month is added. (For
newspapers, the entire date would be listed)
i. (2014)
e. Authors: Last name, initials. If more than one initial, place a period
after each and a space between them. If more than one author, use
& instead of and.
i. Pender, N., Murdaugh, C. & Parsons, M. A.
3. Lecture: Author (usually the speaker. There may be a combination). (Date).
Title of Lecture, [special notation]. Course. Department. University. City.
a. Allen, C. (2012). Patient-Centered Care, [Lecture]. NUR-320 PatientCentered Assessment. Department of Nursing and Health Professions.
Southern New Hampshire University: Manchester, NH.

APA STYLE NOTES

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Reference

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American

Psychological Association, (6th ed.). Washington, DC: APA.
Pender, N., Murdaugh, C., & Parsons, M. A. (2011). Health promotion in nursing
practice, (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.