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APA Guide: APA 7th Edition

Your guide to everything APA

Why APA?

APA 7th Edition Guide

The American Psychological Association (APA) style is commonly used for citing references in student papers in science and social science courses, such as psychology, nursing, and social work.

APA (American Psychological Association) is a way of citing references and organizing your academic writing. There are other different citation styles; however, APA is used mostly in the sciences and social sciences such as psychology, nursing, and social work. You will use APA in a variety of ways throughout your academic career: term papers, research reports, literature reviews, articles, etc.

Formatting Your Paper

Here are the basic rules of formatting when it comes to APA papers; however, be sure to double check with your professor for the specifics of how your paper should be presented.

  • Double space everything
  • Calibri 11, Arial 11, Lucida Sans Unicode 10, Times New Roman 12, or Georgia 11
  • 1-inch margins
  • Running Head no longer required for student papers
  • Flush text left
  • Do not divide or hyphenate words at the ends of lines
  • Use abbreviations sparingly
  • Title should be very concise

Heading formats in APA papers - 7th Edition

Level

Format

1

Centered, Bold, Title Case Heading  

         Text begins as a new paragraph.

2

Flush Left, Bold, Title Case Heading

         Text begins as a new paragraph.

 

3

Flush Left, Bold Italic, Title Case Heading

         Text begins as a new paragraph.

4

         Indented, Bold, Title Case Heading, Ending With a Period. Text begins on the same line and continues as a regular paragraph.

5

         Indented, Bold Italic, Title Case Heading, Ending With a Period. Text begins on the same line and continues as a regular paragraph.

Basic In-Text Citations

In-Text Citation Formats
 

Author type Parenthetical citation Narrative citation

One author

(Luna, 2020)

Luna (2020)

Two authors

(Salas & D’Agostino, 2020)

Salas and D’Agostino (2020)

Three or more authors

(Martin et al., 2020)

Martin et al. (2020)

Group author with abbreviation

First citation a

Subsequent citations



(National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2020)

(NIMH, 2020)



National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2020)

NIMH (2020)

Group author without abbreviation

(Stanford University, 2020)

Stanford University (2020)

When quoting directly from a source you must include the page number. For example:

  • Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?
  • She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.

If the quote is 40 words or longer use a block quote. Start the block quote on a new line, indent the entire quote a half-inch (as you would a normal paragraph), and omit the quotes:

Jones's (1998) study found the following:
    Students often had difficulty using APA style,
    especially when it was their first time citing sources.
    This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many
    students failed to  purchase a style manual or to ask   
    their teacher for help. (p. 199)

D'Youville Academic Integrity Policy

Students are expected to conduct themselves with integrity and honesty while completing course requirements and complying with college academic regulations. Violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to the following:

(A) Plagiarism: The presentation of another’s writing or another’s ideas as one’s own without citation;

(B) Cheating: The use of provision of any unauthorized assistance when completing an exam or individual assignment;

(C) Falsification: The  fabrication of signatures, notes, reports, data, or other academic information; the submission of reports, papers or exams prepared by a person other than the student; this includes purchasing or selling term papers or other academic materials.

(D) Procurement: the distribution or acceptance of prior or current lab assignments, exams or other academic matter without the permission of the instructor.

(E) Co-submission: the submission, without permission of the instructor, of academically required materials previously or contemporaneously submitted in whole or in substantial part in another course.


For more information, please refer to the D'Youville's Academic Policies and Procedures found here: https://catalog.dyouville.edu/policies-disclosures/

Citation Management Tools

Websites

7th Edition Resources