What does an example APA paper look like?
APA Style offers sample student and professional papers, including a free annotated student sample paper.
How do I make a hanging indent in Word?
1. Highlight the citaiton with your cursor.
2. Right click.
3. Select Paragraph.
4. Under Indentation, select Special and Hanging.
How can I save time formatting my paper?
Microsoft Word and Google Docs have a Format Painter tool that will copy and apply basic formatting to any text!
1. Highlight the formatting you want to apply.
2. Select Format Painter.
3. Highlight the text you want to change.
Note: If using the Format Painter on the Reference List, you'll need to go back and add italics.
Helpful Tips:
DOI: If a journal article has a Digital Object Identifier [DOI] listed, you will always include this identifier in your reference as a URL.
Online Database: For works from databases that publish works of limited circulation [such as the ERIC database] or original, proprietary material available only in that database [such as UpToDate], include the name of the database or archive and the URL of the work. If the URL requires a login or is session specific, meaning it will not resolve for readers, provide the URL of the database or specific archive home page or login page instead of the URL for the work.
Print: If you viewed a journal article in its print format, be sure to check if it has a DOI listed. If it does not, your reference to the article would end after you provide the page range of the article.
Date: When possible, include the year, month, and date in references. If the month and date are not available, use the year of publication.
General Format
In-Text Citation [Paraphrase]:
[Author Surname et al., Year]
In-Text Citation [Quotation]:
[Author Surname et al., Year, page number]
References:
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., & Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. [Year]. Article title: Subtitle. Journal Title, Volume[issue], page range. //doi.org/xx.xxxxxxxxxx
Example
Surnames and initials for up to twenty authors should be provided in the reference list. For more than 20 authors, list the first 19, followed by an ellipses, then list the final author.
In-Text Citation [Quotation]:
[Yonkers et al., 2001, p. 1859]
References:
Yonkers, K. A., Ramin, S. M., Rush, A. J., Navarrete, C. A., Carmody, T., March, D., Heartwell, S., Leveno, K. J. [2001]. Onset and persistence of postpartum depression in an inner-city maternal health clinic system. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158[11], 1856-1863. //doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.158.11.1856
Multiple Authors - 20 Authors or Less?
List all authors up to and including 20 authors.
Example
Clarke, N., D'Amato, A., Higgs, M., & Ramesh, V. [2018]. Responsible leadership in projects: Insights into ethical decision making. Project Management Institute.
Explanation
List each author's last name first followed by a comma. Then, add the initials for the first and middle names [if there is one]. Add a period after each initial. Separate each author with a comma. Insert an ampersand [&] before the last author.
Parenthetical & Narrative Citations
For one or two authors, list all authors in the reference. For three or more authors, list the first author followed by et al. This includes the first time the source is used in the paper.
Parenthetical Citation Example
[Clarke et al., 2018]
Narrative Citation Example
Clarke et al. [2018] found ......
Multiple Authors - 21 or More Authors?
List the first 19 authors' names, then insert an ellipse, and then add the last author's name.
Example
Gilbert, J. R., Smith, J. D., Johnson, R. S., Anderson, A., Plath, S., Martin, G., Sorenson, K., Jones, R., Adams, T., Rothbaum, Z., Esty, K., Gibbs, M., Taultson, B., Christner, G, Paulson, L., Tolo, K., Jacobson, W. L., Robinson, R. A., Maurer, O., . . . White, N. [2014]. Choosing a title [2nd ed.]. Unnamed Publishing.
Parenthetical Citation Example
[Gilbert et al., 2014]
Narrative Citation Example
Gilbert et al. [2014] ...
More Information
For more information about author format, see Section 9.8 on page 286 of the APA Manual, 7th edition.