NCC Library: APA Style Citations 7th Edition: Formatting

Examples

NoodleTools

NoodleTools will assist creating APA citations and in-text citations.

Additional Resources

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by American Psychological Association
"The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition is the official source for APA Style. With millions of copies sold worldwide in multiple languages, it is the style manual of choice for writers, researchers, editors, students, and educators in the social and behavioral sciences, natural sciences, nursing, communications, education, business, engineering, and other fields. Known for its authoritative, easy-to-use reference and citation system, the Publication Manual also offers guidance on choosing the headings, tables, figures, language, and tone that will result in powerful, concise, and elegant scholarly communication. It guides users through the scholarly writing process-from the ethics of authorship to reporting research through publication. The seventh edition is an indispensable resource for students and professionals to achieve excellence in writing and make a impact with their work." -- Page 4 of cover.

Basic Guidelines

Margins: 1-inch on all sides.
Font: Recommended fonts include Times New Roman-12-point font, Calibri-11-point font, Arial-11 point font, and Computer Modern-10 point font.
Spacing: Double-spaced and printed on standard size paper (8.5 by 11 inches).
Indentation: Indent paragraphs 5 to 7 spaces (use the tab key). Exceptions are the abstract and block quotes.
Alignment: Left align all text. Exceptions: headings (see section about headings).

Title Page

Page Header: Place the page header in the Header section of your paper.
- For a professional paper, this includes your paper title and page number. For a student paper, only include the page number. The page number should be on the right and the title of your paper should be on the left using all capital numbers.
- Tip: Use the “Header” function in the “Insert” ribbon in Microsoft Word.
Title of Paper: Centered on the page, bold, and positioned in the upper half of the title page.
Author: Centered on the page, underneath the title
Institutional Affiliation: The author’s institution centered underneath the author’s name. A student paper should also include the course number and name, instructor name, and due date.

Abstract

The Abstract is a brief summary of your paper, which allows your reader to understand the main points and purpose of the paper. Usually around 150 to 250 words.

Starts on a new page after the Title Page.
The word “Abstract” should be centered and bold on the page.
Do not indent the first line of the abstract paragraph.

Body

The Body of the paper consists of the "Introduction", "Results", and "Discussion" sections of your paper.

Introduction
- Starts on a new page after the Abstract.
- Center and bold the title of the paper on the page.
Headings: APA style uses five "levels" or types of headings, though you may not use all of them in your paper.
- For instance, the "Methods" and "Results" section are equal, therefore they will both be written as Level 1 headings.
- If you discuss "Participants" and "Measures" in your "Methods" section, then you will format each of those as Level 2 headings, and so on.

Centered, Bold, Upper & Lower Case Heading	Level 1
Left Justified, Bold, Upper & Lower Case Heading	Level 2
Left Justified, Bold, Italics, Upper & Lower Case Heading	Level 3
Indented, Bold, Upper & Lower Case Heading, Ending with a Period.	Level 4
Indented, Bold, Italics, Upper & Lower Case Heading, Ending with a Period.	Level 5

References

Starts on a new page
The word "References" should be bold and centered on the page
Use a hanging indent - the first line of each refence entry should be flush to the left side, all lines after the first line should be indented ½ inch from the left margin
Double space all reference entries
Alphabetize entries by the authors' first name
Two or more works by the same author should be ordered by publication date, with the oldest entry listed first
Include refences for all sources cited in the text of the paper
Format refence entries according to type

If you listed a source on your "References" page, you MUST have cited that source in your paper.