This document provides an overview of the American Psychological Association (APA) style guide. It discusses the main sections of an APA paper including the title page, abstract, main body, and references page. It provides guidelines for formatting, citations, references, language style, and direct quotations. The document is intended to teach writers how to properly structure and cite sources in APA format.

1. APA GUIDE
BY SAPNA SHARMA
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2. Different Writing Styles
APA
MLA CMS

3.  APA- American Psychological Association (The
APA manual (published by the American
Psychological Association) is mostly used in social
science and education fields..
 MLA- Modern Language Association (The MLA
handbook (published by the Modern Language
Association) is mostly used in humanities fields)
 CMS- The Chicago Manual of Style is the
preferred formatting and style guidelines used by
the disciplines of history, philosophy, religion, and
the arts. The CMS was first developed by the
University of Chicago Press in 1906 as guidelines
for consistent writing and publishing formatting.

5. APA mainly used
for :
Style
Citations
References

6. (1)
APA Paper Settings
1” margins on all sides
set for printing on
standard 8.5”x11”
paper.
Include header (title) in
the upper left-hand of
every page and a
page number in the
upper right-hand side
of every page.
Cover page only
includes “Running
head:”
Use 12 pt. Times New
Roman.
Lines are double-
spaced with no extra
spacing after
paragraphs.
Two spaces between
sentences.

7. (2)
APA Paper Sections
Each Essay/Paper should include
 four major sections
References
Main Body
Abstract
Title page

8. Title Page
Page header:
•Use “Insert Page Header” to set this up.
•Title must be flush left + page number flush
right.
•Verbiage “Running head:” will only be
found on the title page.
Title:
• Centered
• Include your name (no title or degree) and
affiliation (university, etc.).
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9. Abstract
An Abstract is a summary of the whole technical report or any
paper. It’s sometimes called the ‘Summary’ or the ‘Executive
Summary’. It comes right after the Title page. It is always written at
the end. It includes Key information about the following:-
*Background *Aim(s) *Procedure *Results
* Recommendations *Limitations

10. Main Body
• Header: Title + page
number.
• Title: Centered at the top
of the first page in the
body of the paper.
• Don’t use creative effects
(i.e. graphic art, extra
lines, or WordArt.

11. Main Body Cont…….
• Paragraphs indented a
full one-half inch.
• Only Left justified
• Two spaces after every
sentence.
• Numbers must be
spelled out in your text.

12. • Clear: be specific in descriptions and explanations.
• Concise: Describe in brief.
• Plain: use simple, descriptive adjectives and avoid
figurative language (i.e. Idioms).
Avoid writing Christianese, legalese, or any other
jargons
(3)
Language in an APA paper

13. Use mostly Active voice – less use of passive voice).
• Very limited use of personal pronoun.
(never use “you should/must/will . . .”)
Language Cont.………….

14. (4)
APA Citation Basics
Introduce quotations with signal phrases.
According to Adam Smith (1776), “. . .” (p. 3).
Keynes (1936) has argued that “ . . .” (p. 3).
* APA requires the use of the past tense or the present
perfect tense of verbs (i.e. has/have + past participle) in
signal phrases.

15. Citation Cont.………..
Provide in parenthesis, whenever you use a source:
• Author’s name and the date of publication
Example: (Smith, 1811)
• Add a page number to quotation
Example: (Smith, 2011, p. 110)

16. Direct Quotation
Single Author
Smith (2011) wrote in his book, Courage and Calling,
Embracing Your God-Given Potential, “we first need
to know that what we are doing comes from God” (p.
110).
In the book, Courage and Calling, Embracing Your
God-Given Potential, we are reminded “we first need
to know that what we are doing comes from God”
(Smith, 2011, p. 110).
When quoting, introduce the quotation with a signal
phrase. This can include the author’s name, the year of
publication, the page number, but keep the citation
brief—do not repeat the information.

17. Direct Quotation
Two Authors
When citing a work with two authors, use “and”
in between authors’ name in the signal phrase yet
“&” between their names in parenthesis.
According to feminist researchers Raitt and Tate
(1997), “It is no longer true to claim that women's
responses to the war have been ignored” (p. 2).

18. Direct Quotation
Unknown Author
For works with an unknown author, use the source’s
full title in the signal phrase and cite the first word of
the title followed by the year of publication in
parenthesis.
•Article and chapter titles are set in quotation marks.
•Books and reports are italicized.
According to Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (2010), “…” (Publication,
2010).

19. Direct Quotation
Organization
When citing an organization, mention the organization
the first time when you cite the source in the signal
phrase or the parenthetical citation.
The data collected by the Food and Drug
Administration (2008) confirmed that…
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.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
confirmed … FDA’s experts tested…

20. Direct Quotation
Personal Communication
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.
Elizabeth Harger also claimed that many of her
students had challenges with APA style
(personal communication, November 3, 2011).
Or,
(Harger, personal communication, January 4,
2012).

21. (5)
References Page
• Center title “References”
at the top of the page.
* Do not bold.
• Double-space lines
• Use a hanging indent.
* Flush left the first line of the entry and indent
subsequent lines one-half inch.
• Alphabetize entries by the
author’s surnames.

22. References: Examples
American Psychological Association. (2009). Concise rules of
APA style (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
The Holy Bible: Today’s new international version. (2005).
Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Kennedy, X. J., Kennedy, D. M., Muth, M. F., (2011). The Bedford
guide for college writers (9th ed.). Boston MA: Bedford/ St.
Martin’s.
Lunsford, A. A. (2010). The everyday writer (4th ed.). Boston, MA:
Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Smith, G. T. (2011). Courage & calling: Embracing your God-
given potential (Rev. ed.). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity
Press.