APA Style Formatting Learn. Explore. Write.

APA Style Formatting
Learn. Explore. Write.
Plagiarism can be intentional. Buying a paper, submitting a friend’s, paying someone to write a paper for
you, piecing together text from websites are only some examples. Most of the time, though, plagiarism is
unintentional, resulting from a failure to cite sources or to cite them properly according to a style guide. Use
this handout as a general guide to APA formatting and refer to the official APA Style Guide for full details:
http://www.apastyle.org/
APA Style General Formatting
 Standard letter paper size 8.5” x 11”
 Typed at 12 pt. Time New Roman font and double-spaced
 1” margins on all sides
 Page header and number on all pages
 Page number in top right corner of EVERY page. Title page starts as “1.”
 Title in top left of EVERY page
 Title page: “Running head: TITLE OF PAPER”
 All other pages: “TITLE OF PAPER”
 Use the “Page Header” tool in Microsoft Word
Title Page
 Double-spaced and in the upper half of the page. Include the full title (may take two lines), the writer’s name,
the institution name. Do not bold or italicize anything.
 Some professors may require additional information. Be sure to follow what your professor wants (date,
professor’s name, course name/code/section, etc).
Running Head: TITLE OF PAPER
TITLE OF PAPER
Your Name
Ryerson University
Your Professor’s Required Information
Abstract
 Not always required, but advised
 Located on page 2: First line, centered: “Abstract” (plain text)
 Do not indent first line
 In 150-250 words, detail the important points of the paper
 Should include a concise summary of the key information (research topic, questions, participants, methods,
results, and conclusions)
Writing Centre at Ryerson
LIB 272B, 350 Victoria
Street
416.979.5000 ext. 2892
[email protected]
Text Citations- NOTE PUNCTUATION AND SPACING
(Author, Date) or (Author, Date, Page/Paragraph)
Not mentioning author’s name in sentence:
One study found that 54% of men preferred apples to oranges (Singh, 2002).
Emphasize the author by mentioning author’s name in sentence:
Singh (2002) found that 54% of men studied preferred apples to oranges.
Emphasize the year/author by using publication information in the sentence:
In 2002, Singh found that 54% of men studied preferred apples to oranges.
Citing a quotation must include a page reference:
As Singh (2002) notes, “these results have critical importance to understanding cardiovascular health issues in men”
(p. 45).
Citing indirect sources (quoting a quote): use double quotation marks to signify all material taken from the source
being quoted and single quotations to signify material quoted in that source.
Miele (1993) found that “the ‘placebo effect’ which had been verified in previous studies, disappeared when [only the first
group’s] behaviours were studied in the manner” (p. 276).
To include a mid-sentence quote: following the closing of the quote (…”), cite the source in parentheses and
continue your sentence. Only use other punctuation (eg.: ,) if your written sentence requires it.
Applying Blaine’s (2002) idea that “the act of understanding another language through physical communication is
exemplary of the universality of human action” (p. 32) essentially renders the original theory as false.
Crediting a citation from another source
Swanson’s study (as cited in Sonière, Liu, & Schmidt, 2005) suggests that…
For block quotations (40 words or more), begin a new paragraph (for quote, and again afterwards), indent 5 spaces
for each line, and do not use quotation marks (6th Manual p. 171)
To cite two sources on a single point, separate them within the parentheses using a semi-colon. Organize
alphabetically.
(Crandell, 1997; El-Kassem, 2004).
To cite different sources from the same author and same year distinguish each using letters
(Liu, 1999a) (Liu, 1999b)
Citing a work with two authors: use both names for all citations.
(Jolly & Ellemere, 2003).
When citing a work with 3, 4, or 5 authors include all names in the first citation, but only the first author and et al.
for subsequent citations. First: (Grant, Dewey, Fern & Miller, 2008) Subsequent: (Grant et al., 2008)
When citing a work with 6 or more authors use only the name of the first author and et al. for all citations:
(Zamboni et al., 2005)
Writing Centre at Ryerson
LIB 272B, 350 Victoria
Street
416.979.5000 ext. 2892
[email protected]
Interviews and personal communication are cited in text but not on the reference list!
(G. Berenstein, personal communication, February 10, 2007).
Be sure to include the page/paragraph number(s) for direct quotes. It is strongly encouraged that a page/
paragraph number also be given for paraphrasing or other material drawn from a specific section of a source. p.
refers to a single page; pp. refers to more than one. para. refers to a paragraph from a website or document that does
not have page numbers – you must count down to the paragraph number.
If a work has no date, use n.d. in place of the year.
Reference List

At the top of a new page, centre the title “References.” No other formatting: no bold, no underline, no
numbering or bullets

Entries should be double-spaced and have a hanging indent (second and subsequent lines indented by one
tab). In Microsoft Word, highlight text then: Format > Paragraph > Indentation > Special > Hanging
Order entries alphabetically by the authors’ last names; works with no author should be organized by the
beginning letter of the first major word of the title or group/organization author.
Only use the last name and the initials of first and middle names.


Mills, S. (1997). Discourse. New York: Routledge. Said, E. (1979). Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books.

If an author/group of authors has more than one work, order them chronologically:
Foucault, M. (1969). The Archaeology of Knowledge. New York: Routledge.
Foucault, M. (1978). The History of Sexuality Volume I: An Introduction. New York: Vintage Books.
1. Non-Electronic sources (notice when titles should be capitalized or italicized or not; note the reversed
indentation of each new entry; remember that the whole reference list must be double-spaced):
Book, one author:
Morrison, D. R. (1998). Aid and ebb tide: A history of CIDA and Canadian development assistance. Waterloo, ON:
Wilfrid Laurier University Press.
Two or more authors:
Stolorow, R., Brandshaft, B., & Atwood, G. (1987). Psychoanalytic treatment: An intersubjective approach.
Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press.
Note the capitalization of words within the book titles.
Unidentified author (use title or group name):
Southern Ontario recreational atlas. (1998). Victoria: Phototype Composing.
Note: In-text citations will have the appropriate title instead of an author.
Article in a journal that has volume and issue numbers (note that there is no space between them):
Shutte, H. (1972). Transcultural child psychiatry. Acta Paedopsychiatrica, 38(9), 229-231.
Writing Centre at Ryerson
LIB 272B, 350 Victoria
Street
416.979.5000 ext. 2892
[email protected]
Article in a daily newspaper:
Vardy, J. (2001, January 17). Technology creating “IT rage” in workplace. National Post, p. C6.
Article in a journal paginated by volume or in a magazine:
London, K., & Nunez, N. (2000). The effect of jury deliberations on jurors’ propensity to disregard inadmissible
evidence. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 932-937.
Editor:
Caruth, C. (Ed.). (1995). Trauma: Explorations in memory. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Entry in an encyclopedia or dictionary:
Jary, D., & Jary, J. (1991). Ethnomethodology. In The Harper Collins dictionary of sociology (pp. 153-154). New
York: Harper Collins.
Government publication:
Canadian Centre for Justice Statistcs. (1992). The future of crime statistics from the UCR survey. Ottawa:
Statistics Canada.
Unpublished manuscript:
Stinson, C., Milbrath, C., Reidbord, S., & Bucci, W. (1992). Thematic segmentation of psychotherapy transcripts for
convergent analyses. Unpublished manuscript.
2. Other sources (break URLs after a slash or a period so that it goes naturally to the next line; ensure that
URLs are not blue or underlined; note that there is no period after the URLs; sometimes, you will find a print
version of online articles. Always cite the print version if possible):
Website (note that there is no period after the URL):
United State Sentencing Commission. (n.d.). 1997 sourcebook of federal sentencing statistics. Retrieved January 29,
2013 from http://www.ussc.gov/annrpt/1997/sbtoc97.html
Electronic article in a journal or magazine with no print version:
Spillman, B. C., & Pezzin, L. E. (2000). Potential and active family caregivers: Changing networks and the “sandwich
generation.” The Milbank Quarterly, 78. Retrieved January 29, 2013 from
http:/www.milbank.org/quarterly/7803fear.html
Since URLs often change, APA recommends identifying the article by a DOI (digital object identifier) Rather
than “Retrieved from…” simply use: “doi: 2426272.”
Electronic article in a journal (or magazine) with print version available:
Shitmeyer, J. M. (2000). Power through appointment[Electronic version]. Social Science Research, 29, 535-555.
Electronic article in a newspaper:
Goode, E. (2001, January 16). Patient suicide brings therapists lasting pain. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/16/health/16SUIC.html?pagewanted=all
To book an appointment at the Writing Centre, visit:
http://writingcentre.blog.ryerson.ca, and click on “Appointments”
Writing Centre at Ryerson
LIB 272B, 350 Victoria
Street
416.979.5000 ext. 2892
[email protected]