APAERRORS!PurposeTheseslidesshowthemostcommo.docx

APA ERRORS!
Purpose
These slides showthe most common APA
style errors students make in their papers. We
ask that you alert your students to the
patterns of their errors. You need not correct
every instance—just enough to showthem
the kinds of APA errors they are making.
Topics
• Documentation
• Formatting and Variations
• Numbers, Spelling, and Punctuation
• Quirks and Oddsand Ends
In-Text Citations: Bottom Line
– Writers must supply page numbers for
direct quotes from print sources or ¶
number for electronic ones.
– You must use quotation marks if
quoting a source directly (unless block quote).

– Per APA 3.39,you are not required to
provide page numbers for paraphrases,
but “authors are encouraged to do so.
How to Cite Sources
• Follow the conventions of the style
manual.
–In-text citations on pp. 117-122 &
207-214
–Reference lists chapter 5 (5th ed.)
–www.apastyle.org
–See the APA StyleAsylum in the writing
center for more examples.
APA style uses author-date citations only.
The authors (or in their absence, the title of the work) appear
first, followed by the year
of publication, and often a page number at the end of a
sentence.
After first reference in a paragraph, you need not cite the year
in the same paragraph. You
must cite the year on first reference in subsequent paragraphs.
When citing multiple authors in parentheses, use
an ampersand.

Nuance was determined to be irrelevant (Gerstein,
Morrison, & Glazer, 2000, p. 211).
When not in parentheses, use the word and.
Gerstein, Morrison, and Glazer (2000) found
that “nuance is far overrated” (p. 211).
Note where the punctuation belongs.
The plural of p. is pp. {space}
(pp. 211-212).
Space after a p. or pp.
WAIT I MISSED THOSE.
(In parentheses, use &)
Not in parentheses, use and
“Place the final punctuation after
the parentheses” (Tom, Dick, &
Harry, 2001).
On Formatting Block Quotes
• Block form for direct quotes 40 words or
more.
• Use only rarely; instead, paraphrase.

• Indent the same as a paragraph tab; same
margin on the right.
• The final punctuation comes before the
parenthetical element.
. . . and unpatriotic. (p. 285)
➫
➫ No
punctuation
Steinbrink and Cook (2003) wrote that
the post-September 11 discussion in the U.S. media,
based on fear of additional terror, showed an
overwhelming preoccupation with nationalistic images
and icons. The media’s “us versus them” discourse is
based on patriotic motifs (U.S. flags everywhere);
human-interest stories about the 9/11 victims that
reinforce nationalism; and narratives that demonize
“them,” such as reports about Taliban brutality and
Palestinian suicide bombers. (p. 285)
➫ ➫ No
punctuation
In-text citation of Web page
Show retrieval date for nonpermanent
Web sources. Electronicsources:

para. or ¶ or
p. 2 of 6.
Bestà Method section, ¶ 3.
WAIT! I ALMOST FORGOT!
If you’re listing groups of authors, they
go in alphabetical order:
Ya di ya di ya di da (Bonds, Van Slyke,
Bonilla, & Bell, 1990; Mazeroski & Groat,
1960; Stargell, Alou, & Clemente, 1970)
Reference Lists
– As discussed on page 326 in the APA manual,
single-spaced reference lists are easier to read
than double-spaced ones.
– Use a hanging indent.
– Alphabetize the references.
– If there’s no author, the article title in the
author
slot.
– Use (n.d.) if no date is indicated.
STANDARD FORMAT FOR A
JOURNAL REFERENCE

Steinbrink, J. E., & Cook, J. W. (2003).
Media literacy skills and the war on
terrorism. Clearing House, 76(6),
284-288.
space comma
+ &
lower case
italics
STANDARD FORMAT FOR AN
ONLINE JOURNAL REFERENCE
Steinbrink, J. E., & Cook, J. W. (2003).
Media literacy skills and the war on
terrorism. Clearing House, 76(6),
284-288. Retrieved October 21, 2006,
from Academic Search Premier
database.
The manual is ambiguous about when
you can
use [Electronic version]. If a database was
used, per the manual, students should cite the
database.

STANDARD FORMAT FOR A BOOK
REFERENCE
Pesto, R. I., & Lutefisk, N. J. (2003).
Lemonade, lemonade:You know you
like it. New York: Longman.
Space Comma
+ &
Lower
case italics
Review: Key Points on Citations
1. You must use quotation marks if you are
quoting directly.
2. You must indicate the page number or
paragraph number of a direct quote.
Secondary Sources
3. Students cannot pretend to have read
somethingfirsthand they did not read. Some
programs prohibit secondary sources. If you
allow students to use a secondary source, then
they showit as follows:

Sometimes a cigaris just a
cigar(Freud, as
cited in Cohen, 1999).
The year Freud wrote his piece doesn’t
appear
here, nor is Freud in the reference list.
Another Common Error
It is not spelled et.al,et. al, etal, et.al,la.te,or
ּ‫עתּא‬
It’s et al., followed by a comma.
Yadi yada overrated
(Culpepper et al., 2005)
2. Check the manual for when you can use et
al.
Formatting and Variations
Because the APA manual was written for
submissions to journal articles, theremay not be
one standard “right way”to format a course
paper.
Here are somehelpful guidelines.

Margins: Course Papers
My Wonderful Research
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
1 in. from
the edge of
paper for
top, bottom,
right side
margins
Left
margin is
1” from
the left
edge of
paper
Margins: Page Numbers
2
___________________
___________________

___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
The page
number goes
1” down.
FIRST
LINE OF
TEXT IS
1.5” down
You must change Word’s default: Go to File, Page
Setup, Margins.
Formatting Lists
• Vertical lists, go
1.
2.
3.
4.
• In the paragraph, use (a), (b), (c). . . .
tab 1.tabIn a vertical list like this

one, tab the 1. over, and tab again.
2. Double space. As in the last
sentence, go back to the left margin.
3. Use a #., not a #) or (#).
but O’Reilly and Hannity (2000) blamed the
following for disruptive behavior among
adolescents:
1. Not saying the Pledge of Allegiance at
school in the morning.
2. Irresponsible parents.
3. The elimination of paddling.
Blah blah Clinton (2006), who said it was
(a) the right thingto do, (b) a mistake, and

(c) the right thingto do but a mistake.
But: Blah blah Robertson (2005), who
encouraged prohibiting (a) atheism; (b)
pinkos, especially pinko demagogues; and (c)
coed dancing.
Headings (APA 3.31)
• Keep your reader from getting lost.
• A series of road signs.
• Some choices dependingon how many
levels you have.
• All levels belong in the table of contents,
which on most word processing programs
can be generated automatically.
Here’s how you’d do threelevels:
Highest Level [L1]
Next Level [L3]
Next level. [L4]
Here’s how you’d do three levels:

Twentieth-Century Theorists {L1}
Abraham Maslow {L3}
Harmony, beauty, and justice. {L4} This
concept arose during the theorist’s days at a deli
counter on Murray Avenue in the Squirrel Hill
area of Pittsburgh.
Table of Contents
Twentieth-Century Theorists [L1]……………….14
Abraham Maslow [L3]…………………… …14
Harmony, beauty, and justice…...…….16
Justin Timberlake [L3]………………………18
Justin on quantum physics..……………25
Twentieth-Century Theorists [L1]
Blah blah blah these are really swell guys that I’ll be
discussing.
Abraham Maslow (1954) [L3]

Blah blah svelt Maslow (1954) blah blah ya da da da da da self-
actualization blah blah hungry but blah blah think sex is more
important.
Harmony, beauty, and justice . [L4] Self-actualization blah
blah papers
written by graduate students blah blah but did he ever play ice
hockey?
Justin Timberlake [L3]
Blah blah blah Timberlake (2004) blah blah ya da da da da da
talented and
intelligent blah blah famous performance at the Super Bowl
blah blah.
Justin on quantum physics. The erudite performer (2004) blah
blah whose
secret work at the NSF was only recently revealed blah blah. . .
.
Tables and Figures
The APA manual has excellent guidelineson tables
and figures. In APA style, anything that is not a
table is a figure—not a chartor graph or
illustration.

Note that the table title goes flushleft, above the
table.
The figure caption goes flushleft, under the figure.
Table 4
Comparison of Boys and Girls by Height and Weight
Note. From “Analysis of Seventh Graders’
Hormones,” by W. Steeves, 2001, Journal of
Despair, 98, p. 11. Reprinted with permission.
Figure 13. Causes of stress and its effects
among
graduate students. But is this really necessary?
According to whom?
By the way, number tables and figures
consecutively,
that is, Table 1, Table 2, Table 3; Figure
1, Figure 2. . . .
Pressure from
School
Pressure from
Work
Dangerous Levels of Medications
Spacing

• Normally, double space.(See p. 326 in the
APA manual.)
• Insert only one space after a period or
colon.
Numbers, Spelling, and Punctuation
On Numbers (APA 3.42-3.45)
• Normally, numbers 10 and higher are written as
numerals. Nine and lower are written out.
• But thereare exceptions where numbers 9
and
lower appear as numerals, too—mainly (a)
elements of time,(b) participants in a study,
and
(c) greatbig numbers, like 4 million.
• All eightboys threw rocks at a carp.
Meanwhile,
14 catfish nipped at Mrs. Thatcher’s arm.
• Every 2 or 3 years my lovely bride
and I spend a
weekend in Crawford, TX, discussing the positive
effects of oil profits on luxury boat sales.

• There were like 4 million people at the
DMB
concert last night.
• Exactly 60 boys and 8 girls participated.
Percentages (APA 3.42d) are straightforward.
Use a numeral and percentage sign unless at
the start of a sentence or if you’re quoting
directly from a source that used a different
style manual.
• Sixteen percent favor death by lethal
injection.
• Another 12% favor Cheez-Whiz, and 2%
marked “Hemlock.”
Insert a serial comma in a series of
three or more nouns or noun phrases
before the words and or or:
Moe, Larry, and Curly
Commas
Commaì

Wait. I missed that one.
What was that again?
USE A SERIAL COMMA.
Cheese, mushrooms, green
peppers, and onions.
ß-Serial comma per APA
Spelling
Check the tables in chapter 3 for rules on
hyphenation. In general, words with prefixes such
as non, semi, pre, post, anti, multi, and inter are
not
hyphenated: pretest, posttest, antibiotic,antisocial,
nonprofit, semipro, multiphased, subsample. But
self-esteem, self-concept.
Possessives of proper nouns ending in s
get ’s
added:
Rogers’s, Wilks’s lambda, Jones’s bottle of rum.
comma
On Abbreviations
• Italicize statistical abbreviations
• Uppercase N means population;

lowercase n means subsample
• Use etc., e.g., and i.e. only inside
parentheses
(e.g., means for example)
(i.e., means that is)
• My sister has three/3 children
• The plane was two/2 hours late.
• I plan to eat lunch, take a nap and spend
the
whole evening writing a course paper.
• I plan to eat lunch, take a nap, and spend
the
• I may have turned 52/fifty-two, but I do not
feel a day olderthan 50/fifty.
• I’m/I am not old; I’m/Iam a non-traditional/
nontraditional student.
POP QUIZ
• My sister has three/3 children
• The plane was two/2 hours late.
• I plan to eat lunch, take a nap and spend
the
• I plan to eat lunch, take a nap, and spend

the whole evening writing a course paper.
• I may have turned 52/fifty-two, but I do not
feel a day olderthan 50/fifty.
• I’m/I am not old; I’m/Iam a non-traditional/
nontraditional student.
POP QUIZ
Quirks and Oddsand Ends
VERB TENSES
First rule: The verb tensemust make sense.
Corporations lack the trust many Americans had in
them a decade ago.
The U.S. manned space program has experienced
setbacks / experienced a major setback. . .
.
There are growing concerns about the shortage of
water in the American West.
The crime rate fell during the 1990s.
VERB TENSES

Second rule: Report the literature in past tense.
Freud (1917/1980) explained [not explains] that
sometimes a cigaris just a cigar.
Deming (1982) argued that blah blah.
Bennis (1980) believed [not believes]
Linus (2000) found that
Calvin and Hobbes (2001) wrote that
Dagwood (2004) demonstrated/indicated/opined
VERB TENSES
Third rule: Report the literature in past tense,
but it
has to make sense.
Parker (1935) claimed that boys seldom make
passes at girls who wear glasses.
Bausch and Lomb (2002) studied male heterosexual
college students (N=100) at Princeton and found
that
75% of the students made passes at girls who
wore
glasses.
Miscellaneous
• Data and media are plural nouns and take
plural adjectives, pronouns, and verbs.

• Use respectful and inclusive language.
• Avoid contractions.
APA Formatting and Style Guide
Purdue OWL staff
Brought to you in cooperation with the Purdue Online Writing
Lab
The American Psychological Association (APA) citation style is
the most commonly used format for manuscripts in the social
sciences.
APA regulates:
• Stylistics
• In-text citations
• References
What is APA Style?
Personal pronouns where appropriate
•✓: “We conducted an experiment…”
•✗: “The authors conducted an experiment….”
Active voice rather than passive voice

•✓: “We asked participants questions.”
•✗: “The participants have been asked questions by the
researchers.”
Point of View &Voice
Language in an APA paper should be:
• Clear: be specific in descriptions and explanations
• Concise: condense information when you can
• Plain: use simple, descriptive adjectives and minimize
figurative language
Language
The Literature Review:
• Summarizes scientific literature on a particular research
topic
• Includes:
• a title page,
• introduction, and
• a list of references
Types of APA Papers

The Experimental Report:
• Describes your experimental research
• Includes:
• a title page,
• abstract,
• introduction,
• methods, results, and discussion sections,
• a list of references,
• appendices,
• tables, and
• figures
Types of APA Papers
If your paper fits neither category:
•Follow the general format
•Consult the instructor
•Consult the APA Publication Manual
Types of APA Papers
Your essay should:
•be typed,
•double-spaced,
•have 1” margins,

•use 10-12pt. Standard font (ex. Times New Roman), and
•be printed on standard-sized paper (8.5”x 11”)
[Note: If you are writing a manuscript draft, APA suggests
using two spaces between
sentences to aid readability (see pp.87-88 in the APA manual).]
General APA Format
Every page of your essay should:
•Include a page header (Title, all caps) in the upper left-
hand corner and
•the page number in the upper right
General APA Format
Your essay should
include four major
sections:
References
Main Body
Abstract
Title page

General APA Format
Title:
(in the upper half of the
page, centered)
name (no title or degree)
+ affiliation (university,
etc.)
Page header:
(use Insert Page Header)
title flush left + page
number flush right.
Title Page
Page header: do NOT
include “Running
head:”
Abstract: centered, at
the top of the page
Write a 150- to 250-
word summary of your
paper in an accurate,
concise, and specific

manner.
Abstract Page
• Number the first text page as page number 3
• Type and center the title of the paper at the top of the
page
• Type the text double-spaced with all sections following
each other without a break
• Identify the sources you use in the paper in
parenthetical, in-text citations
• Format tables and figures
Main Body (Text)
• Center the title (References) at
the top of the page. Do not
bold it.
• Double-space reference entries
• Flush left the first line of the
entry and indent subsequent
lines
• Order entries alphabetically by
the surname of the first author
of each work

Reference Page
• Invert authors’ names (last name first followed by initials)
• EX:“Smith, J.Q.”
• Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and
subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title,
and proper nouns. Do not capitalize the first letter of the
second word in a hyphenated compound word.
• EX: The perfectly formatted paper: How the Purdue
OWL saved my essay.
References: Basics
• Capitalize all major words in journal titles
• Italicize titles of longer works such as books and
journals
• Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the
titles of shorter works such as journal articles or essays in
edited collections
References: Basics
APA is a complex system of citation. When compiling the
reference list,

the strategy below might be useful:
1. Identify the type of source:
Is it a book? A journal article? A webpage?
2. Find a sample citation for this type of source
Check a textbook or the OWL APA Guide: http://
owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
3. “Mirror” the sample
4. Make sure that the entries are listed in alphabetical order and
that
the subsequent lines are indented (Recall References: Basics)
Making the Reference List
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
In-text citations help readers locate the cited source in the
References section of the paper.
Whenever you use a source, provide in parenthesis:
• the author’s name and the date of publication
• for quotations and close paraphrases, provide the
author’s name, date of publication, and a page number
In-text Citation: Basics

When quoting:
•Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase
•Include the author’s name, year of publication, and page
number
•Keep the citation brief—do not repeat the information
In-Text Citation:
Quotations
Provide the author’s last name and the year of
publication in parenthesis after a summary or a paraphrase.
In-Text Citation:
Summary or Paraphrase
Include the author’s name in the signal phrase, followed by the
year of publication in parenthesis.
In-Text Citation:
When including the quotation in a summary/paraphrase, also
provide a page number in parenthesis after the quotation:
In-Text Citation:

Introduce quotations with signal phrases, e.g.:
According to Xavier (2008), “….” (p. 3).
Xavier (2008) argued that “……” (p. 3).
Use such signal verbs such as:
acknowledged, contended, maintained,
responded, reported, argued, concluded, etc.
Use the past tense or the present perfect tense of verbs in signal
phrases
when they discuss past events.
In-Text Citation:
Signal Words
When the parenthetical citation includes two or
more works, order them in the same way they appear in the
reference list—
the author’s name, the year of publication—separated by a semi-
colon.
In-Text Citation:
Two or More Works
When citing a work with two authors, use
In the signal phrase, use “and” in between the authors’
names

In parenthesis, use “&” between names
In-Text Citation:
Works with Two Authors
When citing a work with three to five authors, identify all
authors in the
signal phrase or in parenthesis.
(Harklau, Siegal, & Losey, 1999)
In subsequent citations, only use the first author's last name
followed by "et
al." in the signal phrase or in parentheses.
(Harklau et al., 1993)
In-Text Citation:
Works with 3-5 Authors
When citing a work with six and more authors, identify the first
author’s
name followed by “et al.”
Smith et al. (2006) maintained that….
(Smith et al., 2006)
In-Text Citation:
Works with 6+ Authors

When citing a work of unknown author:
•use the source’s full title in the signal phrase
•cite the first word of the title followed by the year of
publication in
parenthesis.
According to “Indiana Joins Federal Accountability System”
(2008)
OR
(“Indiana,” 2008)
Titles:
Articles and Chapters = “ ”
Books and Reports = italicize
In-Text Citation:
Unknown Author
When citing an organization:
•mention the organization the first time you cite the source in
the signal
phrase or the parenthetical citation.
•If the organization has a well-known abbreviation, include the
abbreviation
in brackets the first time the source is cited and then use only
the
abbreviation in later citations.
In-Text Citation:

Organization
When citing authors with the same last names, use first initials
with
the last names.
(B. Kachru, 2005; Y. Kachru, 2008)
When citing two or more works by the same author and
published in
the same year, use lower-case letters (a, b, c) after the year of
publication to order the references.
Smith’s (1998a) study of adolescent immigrants…
In-Text Citation:
Same Last Name/Author
When citing interviews, letters, e-mails, etc., include the
communicator’s
name, the fact that it was personal communication, and the date
of the
communication.
Do not include personal communication in the reference list.
In-Text Citation:
Personal Communication

When citing an electronic document, whenever possible, cite it
in the
author-date style. If electronic source lacks page numbers,
locate and identify
paragraph number/paragraph heading.
In-Text Citation:
Electronic Sources
APA uses a system of five heading levels
APA Headings
Level Format
1 Centered, Boldfaced, Upper & Lowercase Headings
2 Left-aligned, Boldface, Upper & Lowercase Headings
3 Indented, boldface, lowercase heading with a period.
4 Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase heading with
period.
5 Indented, italicized, lowercase heading with a period.
Headings
Here is an example of the five-level heading system:
Headings

Label tables with an Arabic numeral and provide a title. The
label and title
appear on separate lines above the table, flush-left and single-
spaced.
Cite a source in a note below the table.
Table 1
Internet users in Europe
Country Regular Users
France 9 ml
Note: The data are adapted from “The European Union and
Russia”
(2007). Retrieved from http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu
Tables
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/
Label figures with an Arabic numeral and provide a title. The
label and the
title appear on the same line below the figure, flush-left .
You might provide an additional title centered above the figure.
Cite the source below the label and the title.
Figure 1. Internet users in Europe. Adapted from The European
Union and

Russia: Statistical comparison by Eurostat Statistical Books,
2007, Retrieved
from http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu
Figures
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/
The Purdue OWL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu
The Purdue Writing Lab @ HEAV 226
Composition textbooks
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association,
6th ed.
APA’s website: http://www.apastyle.org
Additional Resources
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
http://www.apastyle.org/
The End
APA Formatting and Style Guide
Brought to you in cooperation with the Purdue Online Writing
Lab

APAERRORS!PurposeTheseslidesshowthemostcommo.docx

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