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Summary
Based on the new APA Style and Grammar Guidelines
Paper Format
Your essay should be typed and double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11"),
with 1" margins on all sides.
Paper Format Essentials
You should use a clear font that is highly readable. APA recommends using 12 pt.
Font. Recommended fonts include 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, and 12-point
Times New Roman.
Header. For student papers, the page header consists of the page number only. No
running head required.
Title Page. Include the title, author names, author affiliation, course
number and name, instructor name, assignment due date, and page number
In-Text Citations
In-Text Citation Essentials
Number of authors to include: For a work with one or two authors, include the author
name(s) in every citation.
For a work with three or more authors, include the name of only the first author plus “et al.”
in every citation (even the first citation).
References
Referencing is about acknowledging the ownership of resources used in your
academic writing, and provides information necessary to identify and retrieve the work cited
in the text. APA style is a citation (or referencing) method developed by the American
Psychological Association and is a version of the commonly used Author-Date system.
Example
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American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
References Page
All in-text references should be listed in the reference list at the end of your
document. The purpose of the reference list entry is to contain all the information that a
reader of your work needs to follow-up on your sources. An important principle in
referencing is to be consistent.
References Page Essentials. When compiling your APA Reference List, you should:
List references on a new page with a centered heading titled: References.
Include all your references, regardless of format, e.g. books, journal articles, online
sources, in one alphabetical listing from A - Z.
Order entries alphabetically by surname of author(s).
List works with no author under the first significant word of the title.
Indent second and subsequent lines of each entry (5-7 spaces).
Use double spacing.
Note that all references in APA end with a full stop except when the reference ends
with a URL or a DOI.
Journal article. A basic reference list entry for a journal article in APA must include:
Author or authors. The surname is followed by first initials.
Year of publication of the article (in round brackets).
Article title.
Journal title (in italics).
Volume of journal (in italics).
Issue of journal (no italics).
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Page range of article.
DOI (presented as a hyperlink, for example https://doi.org/xxxxx).
The first line of each citation is left adjusted. Every subsequent line is indented 5-7
spaces.
Book. A basic reference list entry for a book from a library database in APA must
include:
Author or authors. The surname is followed by first initials.
Year of publication of the book (in round brackets).
Book title (in italics).
Edition (in round brackets), if other than first edition.
Publisher.
DOI (where a book has a DOI this must be included, even if you are referring to a
print book).
The first line of each citation is left adjusted. Every subsequent line is indented 5-7
spaces.
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