This document discusses key elements of APA style that should be prioritized for academic essays. It lists 10 important aspects of APA style: indentations, margins, citations and references, headings, active voice, text formatting, serial commas, and formatting references for different source types like books and websites. It also discusses departmental plagiarism policies and ways to ensure consistent expectations for applying APA style and addressing plagiarism across degree programs.

1. What are reasonable
expectations to have of
students who use APA to
complete an academic text?
Make a list of key aspects of APA (no more than
10) that should be a priority in any class where an
academic essay is required.

2. Agenda
Reach a consensus of key elements of APA
(6th edition) to be applied to all academic
writing essays regardless of the course in
the BA.
Discuss departmental plagiarism policy.
Suggest ways of equalizing expectations
with regards to assessing APA and
plagiarism.

3. IMCHATS - APA
Indentations
Margins
Citations and references
Headings
Active voice preferred
Text
Serial (Oxford) comma

4. Indentations
0.5 inch indentations
for all paragraphs
except for an abstract
Step 1: Change unit
of measure from
centimeters to inches.
Step 2: Make ruler
visible.
Step 3: Select entire
text.
Step 4: Use the ruler
to move top slider
bar over 0.5 inches.

5. Margins
One-inch margins: top,
bottom, left, & right.
Left gutter might be
required depending
on printed version.

6. Citations and
References
Book
Book chapter
Article
Website (use sparingly and check for
validity, reliability, and unbiased
opinion)
Most common

7. Citations
1. Blah, blah, blah (Bruner, 1999).
2. Bruner (1999) suggests that blah, blah, blah.
3. "Blah, blah, blah (Bruner, 1999, p. 2).
4. Bruner (1999) suggests that "blah, blah,
blah" (p. 2).
#1
option
Use
sparingly
Page numbers are technically only
required for direct quotations, but may be
included when paraphrasing as well.
<15%
when
quoting

8. Book
Bruner, J. (1999). The process of education: A landmark in
Use reverse paragraph indentations for all references.
educational theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
Notice what is
italicized.

9. Book Chapter
Use reverse paragraph indentations for all references.
Grant, J., Nelson, G., & Mitchell, T. (2008). Negotiating
the challenges of participatory action research:
Relationships, power, participation, change, and
credibility. In P. Reason & H. Bradbury (Eds.), The
SAGE handbook of action research: Participative
inquiry and practice (pp. 589-601). Los Angeles,
CA: SAGE Publications.
Notice what is
italicized.

10. Articles
Use reverse paragraph indentations for all references.
Yi, Y. (2013). Questions arising from the assessment of EFL
narrative writing. ELT Journal, 67(1), 70-79.
Zúniga, A. & Cooper, T. (2016). Project-based learning:
7 ways to make it work. Educational Leadership, 73,
72-76. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/
publications/educational_leadership/jun16/vol73/
num09/Project-
Based_Learning@_7_Ways_to_Make_It_Work.aspx
Notice what is
italicized.

11. Website
Moore, S. (2016). Guided groups. Retrieved
from https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/guided-groups-
formative-assessment
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/guided-groups-
formative-assessment
Use reverse paragraph indentations for all references.
TED. (2007, January 6). 2016). Do schools kill creativity? | Sir
Ken Robinson | TED Talks [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://youtu.be/iG9CE55wbtY
Robinson, K. (2016, July 13). Re: Now playing on Netflix:
Finding your element [Web log message]. Retrieved from
http://sirkenrobinson.com/now-playing-on-netflix-finding-
your-element/
Notice
what is
italicized.
Valid,
reliable, &
unbiased

12. Headings
Only level I headings are
needed for shorter texts.
Titles

13. Active voice preferred
https://static.pexels.com/photos/40815/youth-active-jump-
happy-40815.jpeg
It has been found that teachers...Teachers...

14. Text
Times New Roman,
font size 12, no bold
(except headings),
left- justified,
double spaced
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-time_text#/media/File%3AFast_text.png

15. Serial (Oxford) comma
I like apples, oranges, and bananas.
https://www.google.com.mx/search?
site=imghp&tbm=isch&q=Fruit&tbs=sur:fmc&gws_rd=cr&ei=10KSV4PCEcS4jwSgkLKwCA#gws_rd=cr&i
mgrc=h5DKIYSmirtCrM%3A

16. Formatting Word
- Word Formatting, Citations, and References
- Moving Wiki Text to a Word Document
According to APA Formatting Style
- Thesis Seminar: APA Formatting
- Formatting an Essay in Word According to
APA Style
Tutorials

17. Plagiarism Policy
- Clone: Submitting another's work, word-for-word as
one's own.
- CTRL-C: Contains significant portions of text from a
single source without alterations.
- REMIX: Paraphrases from multiple sources, made to fit
together.
- RECYCLE: Borrows generously from the writer's previous
work without citation.
- 404 ERROR: Includes citations to non-existent or
inaccurate information about sources.
- AGGREGATOR: Includes proper citation to sources but
the paper contains almost no original work.
http://www.plagiarism.org/plagiarism-101/what-is-plagiarism
Partial List

18. How do we assure consistent
expectations of APA and plagiarism
throughout the BA program?

19. Student e-portfolios
Wiz (example)
Google Sites
Wikispaces
Etc.
Public, private, all-
rights reserved, Creative
Commons, public
domain?
Ongoing
https://bismarckstate.edu/uploads/resources/389/PortfolioDevelopment.pdf
Policy
example
Not more work, but different work!