David Brown

dobrown@daltonstate.edu

APA and Preventing Plagiarism

APA
APA Style consists of guidelines published
within the 6th edition of The Publication Manual
of the American Psychological
Association.

Sections of an APA
Paper
1.Title Page
2.Abstract
3.Body
4.References
5.Appendices and Supplemental
materials

Formatting an APA
Paper
Recommended typeface is Times New Roman 12 point
font size
Double-space your paper, including the reference list.
Leave margins of at least one inch (1) at the top,
bottom and sides of the paper. (APA Manual, p. 41)
Hint: Microsoft Windows automatically places the
margins at 1.
Indent the first line of every paragraph five to seven
spaces or inch. (APA Manual, p. 229)
ecommended typeface is Times New Roman 12 point font size
Double-space your paper, including the reference list.

Title Page
A Running head or short title
is provided in ALL CAPS for
each page of the paper.
1

Running head: TITLE OF PAPER

Title of Research Paper

John C. Doe and Jane A. Doe
Institutional
Affiliation

Dalton State College

Author
s
Name(
s)

1.
2.
3.
4.

Open Microsoft Word

Select Insert from menu bar
Click on Header
Scroll down to Edit Header

Different Running Head

5. Select Design from the menu.

6. Under Header & Footer Tools, check
Different First Page.
7 . Type in the header for the first
page, then
when you move to the next page,
doubleclick in the Header area to edit the
header.
Remove the words Running head:
and close
the Header and Footer box.

Abstract
2
TITLE OF PAPER
Abstract
Most abstracts will include the problem under investigation,
participants of the study, along with characteristics, study methods,
criteria of study eligibility, basic findings, and implications of the
study for theory and practice.
Keywords: subject terms or words

Body of the Paper

3
TITLE OF PAPER
Title of Paper
Introduction of the paper describes problem under study.

Level
1

Level
Participants
2
Group 1.
Level
Group 2.
3
Table 1

Method

Headings are always in

bold type.

Start text two spaces after the period.

Start text two spaces after the period.

Citing in the Text

Regions of the brain thought to be important for emotional detection remain
relatively intact with aging (Chow and Cummings, 2000).

Mather and Knight (2006) examined young and older adults ability to detect
happy, sad, angry, or neutral faces presented in complex visual array (p.276).
Or
The study examined young and older adults ability to detect happy, sad, angry,
or neutral faces presented in complex visual array (Mather and Knight, 2006 ,
p.276).
Hahn et al. (2006) also found no age differences in efficiency.

Formatting References Page

25

APA References
Use

authors last name and initial(s).

MLA: Wilson, Leslie

APA : Wilson, L.

Date of publication is placed at the beginning of the

citation
Include the state of publication
Format of publication is not included

MLA:

Nielson, Troy. Career Trek. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice

Hall, 2008. Print.

APA:

Nielson, T. (2008). Career Trek. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson

Prentice Hall.

Reference Page

Arrange reference list entries in alphabetical order by the last name of the first
author. Use only the initial(s) of the authors name, with a space and a period
between the initials (APA Manual, p.181).
Spellman, F. & Whiting, N. (2005). Environmental engineers mathematics
handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

If no author is listed, then move the title to the author position, before the date
of publication (APA Manual, p. 183).
APA Style Guide (2011). Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association.

If a title has more than eight authors, include the first six authors names, then
insert three ellipses, and add the last author's name. (APA Manual, p. 184,198).

Glueckrafu, R.L., Whitton, J., Baxter, J. , Kain, J., Vogelgesang, S.,

Hudson, M.,...Botros, N. (2009).

Capitalize
Capitalize any proper nouns and the first word of the
title and subtitle of:
articles
chapters
books
reports
Example:
Lyons, J.D. (2006). Winston Churchill and the rhetorical challenges of
democratic statesmanship. Perspectives on Political Science, 35(1),
4-13. Retrieved from http://www.perspectivesonpoliticalscience.org.

Italicize.
Italicize and use uppercase and lowercase letters for the
following:
Magazine Title
Newspaper Title
Journal Title
Newsletter Title
Examples:
Early Childhood Education Journal
Journal of Research in Childhood Education

Italicize the volume number of a periodical

Example:
Wilson, L.D. (2004). On tests, small changes make a big difference. Teaching Children
Mathematics, 11(3), 134-137.

Citing Books
Book [APA Manual, p.202-203]
Author, A., Author, B., & Author, C. (Year of publication). Title of book: Capitalize first letter in subtitle. Place of
publication: Publisher.
Example:
Spellman, F. & Whiting, N. (2005). Environmental engineers mathematics handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC
Press.
Book Article or Chapter [APA Manual, p. 204]
Author, A. (Year of publication). Article or chapter title: Capitalize first letter in subtitle. In A. Editor,
B. Editor (Eds.), Book title: Capitalize first letter in subtitle (# ed., pp.#). Place of publication: Publisher.

Example:
Donnerstein, E. (2005). Is popular culture too violent? Media violence promotes violent behavior. In J. Woodward (Ed.),
Popular culture: Opposing viewpoint (pp. 114-119). Detroit, MI: Thompson Gale.

Books
Edited Book [APA Manual, p.202-203]
Editor, A. (Ed.). (Year of publication). Title of book: Capitalize first letter in subtitle. Place of
Publication: Publisher.
Example:
Zubrow, E. (Ed.). (1976). Demographic anthropology: Quantitative approaches. Albuquerque:
University of New Mexico Press.
Electronic version of print book [APA Manual,p.203]
Author, A., & Author, B. (Year of publication). Title of book: Capitalize the first letter in
subtitle [version]. Retrieved from http:/www.address
Example:
Hogstel, M. & Curry, L. (2005). Health assessment through the life span [NetLibrary
version]. Retrieved from http://www.galileo.usg.edu

Print Articles
Journal Article [APA Manual, p. 198-199]
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Article title. Title of journal, Volume(issue), page(s).
Example:
Wilson, L. D. (2004). On tests, small changes make a big difference. Teaching Children Mathematics, 11(3),
134-137.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Magazine Article [APA Manual, p.200]
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day of publication). Article title. Title of magazine, Volume(issue), page(s).
Example:
Ramirez, J. (2007, April 16). How to live a greener life. Newsweek, 149(16), 82.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newspaper Article [APA Manual, p.200]
Author, A. B. (Year, Month Day of publication). Article title. Title of newspaper, p. SectionPage.
Example:
Brown, R. (2009, December 16). Long faces ethics complaint. Dalton Daily Citizen, p. A1.

Online Sources
If available, use a DOI rather
than
the URL.

Digital Object Identifier

(unique number assigned to
documents
available online)
What does a DOI look like?

10.311057/2511450135253

Where should the DOI be

included in the citation?

Harris, L. & Rae, A. (2009). Social networks: The future of marketing for small business.
Journal of Business Strategy, 30(5), 24-31. doi:10.1108/02756660910987581

What if there is no DOI?

If there is not a DOI number.
APA says it is not necessary to
include database information, so
cite as if article came from a print
copy.
Always follow professors
guidelines for your assignment!
Example:
Wilson, L.D. (2004). On tests, small changes make a big difference. Teaching
Children Mathematics, 11(3), 134-137.

APA Guides
1. Go to Library web page
www.daltonstate.edu/library
2. Select Research
Resources link.
3. Select Cite Resources for
a
Research Paper link.
4. Choose the APA link under
Citation Styles.

Links on the Librarys

page

EasyBib

If you have any

questions
David Brown email:
dobrown@daltonstate.edu
My phone number is (706) 272-4459.
Text me at (706) 225-8927
Thanks for coming!