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APA 6th Edition Quick Reference

APA is a standard citation format for papers. This is a quick-reference sheet. Each time you
have a source cited in the text, there must be a corresponding in-text citation on the Reference
page at the end of the paper. If you have a source listed on the Reference page, there must be at
least one in-text citation in the paper.

APA Basics

Typing and format:

 12 pt. font in Times New Roman or Courier
 Double spaced
 Indent each paragraph 5-7 spaces (1/2 inch or use the Tab key)
 One inch margins all around
 Number every page starting with the first page (title page) in the top right hand
corner
Quotations (See p. 8 for complete examples.)
 Less than 40 words – put in regular text and enclose in quotation marks.
 More than 40 words – indent one inch from margin and double space and NO
quotation marks. Use block format.
Numbers:
 Spell out numbers “zero” through “nine.”
 Use actual numbers for all numbers 10 and higher.
 Do not start a sentence with a number; spell it out.
Reference page:
 Create a separate page at end of document.
 Use the title “References” at the top center of the page.
 Double space all references.
 Use a hanging indent for each reference.

DO NOT UNDERLINE ANYTHING IN APA FORMAT.

Titles of books, plays, articles, etc. are not underlined. All titles should be in italics.

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In-Text Citations
At least 70% of your WGU work must be your original writing – not
paraphrased or quoted from another source. Since only 30% or less of your
work can be paraphrased or quoted from other sources, be careful how much
of another’s words you use.

When you do decide to use another’s words, thoughts, and ideas, you must use in-text
citations to give credit to the author. You need to give credit when you use a direct
quotation. You must also use in-text citations when you paraphrase the author’s words
and ideas since these are not your own. Otherwise, it is plagiarism.

You must cite:

 Direct quotations
 Paraphrased information
 Statistics, facts, and information that are not “common knowledge”
o Common knowledge are facts that most people know-- smoking is unhealthy;
Washington was the first president; milk comes from cows
 Diagrams, photographs, illustrations that are not your own
 Two or more words verbatim from any source, especially new concepts or ideas that are
not your own – example: environmental variability hypothesis

TIP: Any ideas or words that are not your own need in-text citations.

Two Methods of In-text Citations

1. Use the author or organization name in the sentence. Follow that with the year of
publication in parentheses (and a page number if it is a direct quotation).

Example: According to the U. S. Census Bureau (2009)…

Example: Goldstein (2008, p. 227) indicated…

2. Put the information in parentheses at the end of the sentence with the period after the last
parentheses.

Example: In keeping with the Census Bureau's commitment to confidentiality, the Census
Bureau information collected in the Decennial Census of Population and Housing on
individuals does not become available to the public until after 72 years (U. S. Census,
2009).

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Example: “It is estimated between 10% and 30% of children and teenagers are involved in
bullying although prevalence rates vary significantly as a function of how bullying is
evaluated” (Goldstein, 2008, p. 227).

Commonly Used In-text Citations

One author Use the last name only and the year of publication and page number if
applicable.

(Goldstein, 2008, p. 227)

Two authors Use both names every time the work is cited. Use an “&” to connect the
author names.

(Wolenski & Griner, 2010)

More than two Use all the names the first time the citation occurs; thereafter use the
authors first author’s last name followed by “et al.”

(Jordan, Sikes, and Miller, 1996)

(Jordan et al, 1996)

No author Use the first few words of the article, etc.

(“ADHD facts,” 2010)

Web site List the author or the organization and the year (if available).

(Attention Deficit Disorder Association, 2010).

No date of Use “n.d.”
publication
(Bullen, n.d.)

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Reference Page
 Create a separate page at the end of your document.
 Title this page References, not Works Cited.
 List entries in alphabetical order by the author’s last name or the first name of the
organization or association.
 Double-space all entries.
 Use a hanging indent for the first line. To set a hanging indent, go to the top of your
screen. Choose “Format” and then select “Paragraph.” Under the “Special” area, choose
“Hanging.” Then click “OK” and return to your page.

NOTE: It is not necessary to create an entry on the Reference page for personal
communication, e-mails, interviews, letters, etc. since these cannot be verified. Use an
appropriate in-text citation however to give proper credit.

Specific Examples for the Reference Page

Books

 Author: last name, first initial – Goldstein, R.

 Publication year in parentheses: (2008)
 Title: italics; capitalize the first letter and proper nouns only – Attention-deficit
disorder in adults
 City where book was published followed by a colon: New York:
 Publisher name: Houghton-Mifflin

Example:

Goldstein, R. (2008). Attention-deficit disorder in adults. New York: Houghton-Mifflin.

Book with two authors Heumann, M., & Church, T. W. (1997). Hate speech on
campus: Case studies and commentary. Boston:
Northeastern University.
Edited book Kiesler, S. (Ed.). (1997). Culture of the internet. Mahwah
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Dictionary Shorter Oxford English dictionary (5th ed.).(2002). New
York: Oxford University Press.

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Journals, Magazines, and Newspapers

 Author: last name, first initial – Walker, R. (If no author, start reference with title of
article.)
 Publication year and date: (2010, July 23)
 Title of article: no italics or quotation marks; capitalize the first letter and proper
nouns only – Saving our environment the hard way
 Journal, magazine, or newspaper title: italics using upper and lowercase - Journal of
Applied Science, Scientific American, The New York Times
 Volume and issue (for journals only): 23(2) – volume number is italized and issue is
in parentheses with no space
 Volume for magazines: 23 – volume number is italized
 Page numbers for journals and magazines: page numbers only, not p. or pp.
 Page numbers for newspapers: p. or pp. before page numbers

Example:

Walker, R. (2010, July 23). Saving our environment the hard way. Journal of Applied
Science, 23(2), 42-56.

Journal article, two authors Walther, J. B., & Burgoon, J. K. (1992).

Relational communication in computer-
mediated interaction. Human
Communication Research, 19, 50-88.
Magazine article Hafner, K. (1994, November 7). Get in the
MOOd. Newsweek, 58-62
Newspaper article Herszenhorn, D. M. (1995, March 29). Students
turn to Internet for nationwide protest
planning. The New York Times, p. B8,
B12.

Electronic Sources (Web sites, online journals, documents, magazines)

 It is important to give the complete reference for Internet sources so the reader
can find the original web site. Include as much information as is available: author,
name of web site, title of article, date, page number, digital number indicator (doi)
and the URL. Copy the URL exactly as it appears; copy and paste for accuracy.

Example:

Beale, P. (2009, September 28). Natural cholesterol-lowering methods. Retrieved from

http://www.sonatural.com/cholesterol.html

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NOTE: If a web site does not have an author listed, it may not be a credible site. Often
these web sites can be unreliable since they can represent a person’s or organization’s
opinion and not supported research.

No author: Use title Why vote by mail is risky. (2010, October 14). Political
and URL. Times. Retrieved from http://www.political.org
No date: Use (n.d.) Natural cholesterol-lowering method. (n.d.) Retrieved from
http://www.sonatural.com/cholesterol.html
Web site with a American Civil Liberties Union (1996). Hate speech on
particular web page campus. Retrieved July 7, 2006 from,
being cited http://www.aclu.org/library/pbp16.html
Online journals Parks, M. I., & Floyd, K. (1996). Making friends in
cyberspace. Journal of Communication, 46 (1).
Retrieved June 26, 2005 from,
http://www.ascusc.org/jcmc/vol1/issue4/parks.html

Media (Videos, motion pictures, TV, art, photography, music)

Video/Motion Picture Lehman, E. (Producer), & Nichols, M. (Director).

(1966). Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?
[Motion picture]. Burbank, CA: Warner
Brothers.
Television Crystal, L. (Executive Producer). (1993, October 11).
The MacNeil/Lehrer news hour. [Television
broadcast]. New York and Washington, DC:
Public Broadcasting Service.
Work of From a book:
art/illustration/photograph
Escher, M. C. (2004) Sky and water. In D.
Note: An in-text citation is Schattschneider (Ed.), M.C. Escher, visions of
necessary for a reprinted symmetry (p. 263). New York: Harry N. Abrams.
piece of art, illustration,
table, etc. to give credit to From a website:
the original artist.
Duveneck, Frank (Artist). (1872). Whistling boy
[Image of painting]. Cincinnati, Ohio;
Cincinnati Art Museum. Retrieved February
13, 1999, from http://www.artstor.org
CD/Record/Cassette Wilson, B. (1966). Wouldn’t it be nice? [Recorded by
The Beach Boys]. On Pet Sounds [CD].
Hollywood: Capitol Records.

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Miscellaneous

Court case John Doe v. University of Michigan, 721 F. Supp.

852 (1989).
The Constitution or other United States Constitution (1787).
historical documents

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Direct Quotations
 Less than 40 words: Include it in the paragraph and set it off using quotation marks.
Cite the source after the second quotation mark but before the final punctuation mark.

Example:

“By the setting of a story, we mean its time and place” (Kennedy & Gioia, 2005, p.
124). The setting can be in the present, past or future.

 More than 40 words: Use a block format (indent the quotation five spaces from the
left margin). Type following lines flush with the indent. Double space the quotation. Do
NOT use quotation marks. Cite the source in parentheses after the final punctuation
mark.

Example:

The high grey-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from

all the rest of the world. On every side it sat like a lid on the mountains and made of the

great valley a closed pot. On the broad, level land floor the gang plows bit deep and left

the black earth shining like metal where the shares had cut. (Steinbeck, 1938, p. 255).

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APA Websites
Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism from Duke University
http://library.duke.edu/research/plagiarism/index.html

Documenting Sources using APA Format: PowerPoint Presentation

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/pp/APA.PPT

How to Recognize Plagiarism with Flowchart

http://www.indiana.edu/~istd/overview.html

Avoiding Plagiarism: 4 sections including “Safe Practices: An Exercise”

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/03/

Free plagiarism checker

http://www.dustball.com/cs/plagiarism.checker/

APA Book (Recommended)

Houghton, P. and Houghton, T. (2009). APA: The easy way! Second edition. Baker College:
Flint, MI

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