Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ima Nursingstudent
Linfield College
APA Writing Style 2
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA 5th), can be a daunting
experience for both students and faculty members (Polly Proofreader, personal communication,
January 4, 1999). (Personal communications are explained on p. 214 and should not be included on the reference page) Green and
Gold (1996) suggest that an additional guide can be helpful, minimizing the need for searching
through the sometimes confusing and highly detailed text of APA 5th. (In text paraphrased citation: If the
name of the author appears as part of the narrative then you need to include the year of the publication in parenthesis; p. 207) In this paper,
The most common errors students make are in the margins, running head, header, and
reference page format (Green & Gold, 1996). (In-text paraphrased citation: Citations that are paraphrased should have the
author, year and the punctuation should follow the citation; when a work has no author, cite in text the first words of the reference list entry; p.
207-208) Additional errors noted by faculty include in-text citations of direct quotes or paraphrased
Margins are required to be one inch equally. That is, if the top and side margins are one
inch, the bottom margin must also be one inch on each page of the text. This is NOT the default
setting for Microsoft Word so you will have to use Format/Document to change it. This rule does
not apply to the last page of the text, which may end at any point above the one-inch margin. The
rule is broken to avoid placing a lone heading on the last line of the page or a single line of text
Page Header
The header contains the first two or three words of the title and appears on the third line
from the top edge of each page, above the margin, in the right-hand corner, five spaces to the left
of the page number. The automatic function of a word-processing program should be used to
print the headers and page numbers consecutively in the paper, with 1 appearing on the title
page. However, this is NOT the default setting for Microsoft Word so you will have to
Running Head
An abbreviated title is used as a running head for the published article. Type it flush left
at the top of the title page (below the page header), in ALL UPPERCASE LETTERS (note that
Reference Page
The hanging indentation 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 following lines are
indented. APA (2001) recommends setting the tab key to ½ inch; this is the default indent in
Microsoft Word. 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 frequently visit the APA website at www.apastyle.org for current
formatting of references. Only those references that have been cited in the paper are listed on the
reference page. For purposes of demonstration, however, a variety of references are listed on the
reference page of this paper, some of which are not cited in the text.
APA Writing Style 4
In-Text Citations
Direct quotations. (Level 4 Heading) Direct quotations must 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 reader is referred to page 121 in the
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 original source was
enclosed in double quotation marks” (APA, 2001, p. 119). (In text direct quote citation: These direct quote citations
should include the page number – see example on p. 118.) 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 5 spaces or 1/2 inch.
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 APA 5th edition
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). (Electronic source, direct
quote, in-text citation: If the electronic source does not have page numbers then the paragraph symbol should be used to indicate location on the
electronic page - p. 213.) They further state, “a mark of strong academic writing is the practice of
situating one’s claims and findings within a tradition of inquiry into the subject.” (¶ 4). No
APA Writing Style 5
distinction is made between intentional and unintentional plagiarism. This ethical topic must be
taken seriously by all students. As stated by Kant (as cited in Ruggiero, 1997), there is a duty,
by all, for moral action. (Citation of work discussed in a secondary source is explained on page 247)
Although APA (2001) suggests that an abstract of an article precede the text, an abstract
is usually not used in the papers submitted by our nursing students. Preferred typefaces in APA
style are 12-pt Times New Roman or 12-pt Courier. Writers should avoid using any software
settings that reduce spacing between words or letters. Use a single space after periods.
Writing Mechanics
Correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure are essential components
of professional writing (Smyth, 1996). Strunk and White (1979) emphasized the importance of
being succinct:
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 of his sentences short…but that every word tell. (p. 23) (block quote - see page 117 and 118
Grammar
“Grammar is a sine qua non of language . . .” (Gordon, 1993, p. xv). Rules of correct
grammar seem to be virtually unknown to the present generation of college students (Harvey
Harried, personal communication, October 20, 1999). For a thorough review, Chapter 2 in the
APA manual is particularly helpful in helping students identify proper writing mechanics. A few
A singular noun requires a singular verb, and a plural noun requires a plural verb (Strunk
& White, 1979). Words that intervene between the noun and verb do not change that basic rule.
If a writer uses a subject that is singular, he or she must use pronouns that are singular.
In order to avoid having to use he/she and his/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 can help writers
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, 2001). Correct use of commas and
semicolons can be problematic for students. Writers are encouraged to proofread their papers to
ensure proper use of commas (Purdue University Online Writing Lab, 2001). (Do not cite web addresses
Capitalization
Capitalization is used to designate a proper noun or trade name, as well as major words in
titles and headings. Instances where capitalization is not used include: laws, theories, models, or
experiment, such as experimental or control group; or nouns that designate parts of a book, such
as chapter 8 (APA, 2001). A common error in capitalization is its use with the name of a specific
educational degree versus the general focus of a degree program. An example is Master of Arts
APA Writing Style 7
References
APA Writing Style 8
Gordon, K. E. (1993). The deluxe transitive vampire: The ultimate handbook of grammar for the
innocent, the eager, and the doomed. New York: Pantheon Books.
(Book – Single Author – see page 248)
Green, Q., & Gold, R. (1996). Student writers: Faculty headaches. Phoenix, AZ: Peculiar Press.
(Book – Two Authors – see page 248)
from databases. Because the URL will change depending on your search parameters; it is not static. Including it, therefore, would not enable the
reader to directly locate the article. Therefore, the current recommendation is to cite only by the name of the database, and not include a URL.
You can find specific information about this on pages 278-279 (Aggregated databases; example 88).
Lawton. K. A., Cousineau, L., & Hillard, V.E. (2001). Plagiarism: Its nature and consequences.
Retrieved September 27, 2001, from Duke University Guide to Library Research web
site: http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/plagarism.htm
(Document available on a university program or department web site – p. 274, #78)
Madigan, R., Johnson, S., & Linton, P. (1995). The language of psychology: APA style as
OWL: Online Writing Lab. (2001, November 14). Retrieved December 5, 2001, from Purdue
year. The site is then referenced on the reference page as shown above. See p. 269 for further explanation
Ruggiero, V.R. (1997). Thinking critically about ethical issues (Rev. ed.). Mountain View, CA:
APA Writing Style 9
Mayfield.
(Book, revised edition – see page 249, #27)
Smyth, R. T. (1996). Writing in psychology: A student guide (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley &
Sons.
(Book – Single Author – see page 248)
Strunk, W., & White, E. B. (1979). The elements of style (3rd ed.). New York: Macmillan.
(Book – Two Authors – see page 248)
(Notes: Use a separate reference page and double space. Note that throughout the paper and reference list, titles of non-periodicals and the names
of journals are set in italics rather than being underlined. See APA Manual, pages 239-281 for examples of various references. Please read pages