6th Edition APA Format for the Essay/Report

This handout is to be used with the APA Manual Sixth Edition. Numbers in parenthesis stand for where to find more information within the Manual.
(Example: 5.03 = section .03 in Chapter 5). Note: Changes from the 5th edition are written in italics.
See Sample Paper p. 41 (2.1)

Set Up Paper Format pp. 228-230 (8.03) Abstract pp. 25-27 (2.04)

Times New Roman 12 point font Should be page 2 of the manuscript

1” margins Center the word Abstract (do not bold)
Double space everything Type as a single paragraph, double spaced,
Note: in Word XP make sure “Page Layout” “Spacing” “Before” and Do not indent abstract paragraph
“After” are 0 pt or it will automatically triple space after every paragraph Should be a brief and comprehensive summary of the paper
and heading! Should be accurate, self-contained, concise (150 – 250 words), and
Normal paragraph indentions (1/2 inch) specific
Align left margin, leave right margin uneven Use digits (Arabic numerals) for all numbers except when beginning a
Space twice after punctuation marks at end of a sentence (p. 88) sentence
Avoid citing references in abstract
Avoid quoting
Title Page p. 23 (2.01. & 2.02) See p. 41 for example Use 3rd person (no I/we/us/you)
Write this portion of the paper last (so you can summarize what you said in
In Header: the paper)

Flush left margin IN HEADER, type Running head: and then type
abbreviated title with no more than 50 characters in ALL CAPS on Title Essay itself
Page only
All other pages: IN HEADER type the abbreviated title with no more than Begins on page 3 of the manuscript after Abstract (unless you have an
50 characters in ALL CAPS (Do not type the words “Running head” outline)
except on title page ) Begin by retyping and centering the complete title of your paper at top
Page number only goes in header on the right hand side margin. Capitalize important words (Do not bold)
Begin with introduction – Do not label introduction
Centered in top half of page: Use paragraphs for introduction, body and conclusion (see Essay Format:
A General Guide on How to Write an Essay)
Title in less than 12 words centered over 2 lines (double spaced) Do not use one sentence paragraphs
Capitalize first letter of important words in title
Center your name under title (double spaced under title)
Center the name of institution (Baptist College of Health Sciences) (double
spaced under your name)
*****See Note Below***** *****See Note Below*****

Reference Page Chapter 6 & 7 Citations in Text (Chapter 6)

To find how to cite different works in the reference page, use the table of For specific ways to cite different materials within the essay, (more than 1
contents for Chapter 7 (pp. 193-198). author, no authors, etc) See pp. 174-179

See p. 49 for example of what Reference page should look like Cite in text every time you use an author’s words (see quoting pp. 170-
173)
New page at end of paper Cite in text every time you use an author’s ideas and place them in your
Center the word References(do not bold) at top 1” margin own words
Double space only throughout reference page Place last name of author(s), then a comma, then the year of publication in
Alphabetize by the first word of each reference citation (usually the last parenthesis following the materials used (Smith, 1999). If no date, use n.d.
name of the author) (6.25) (Smith, n.d.) (6.11)
If no author use title If the author’s name is used within the sentence, place the date of
Hanging Indent: begin flush left, then indent remaining lines ½ inch publication in parenthesis following the name (Example: According to
Check APA Manual for specific method of citing books, journals, Smith (1999)…) (6.11)
electronic references, etc. (Chapter 7) Use page numbers for quotations and close paraphrases (Smith, 1999, p.
If no author, or more than 1 author, or more than 1 work by the same 26).
author (see 6.25) If no page numbers, use paragraph numbers (6.04, 6.05)
For each author, give the last name first, then the initials of the first and When using paragraph numbers, use the abbreviation para. not the symbol
middle names (NO first names) (6.27) (Smith, 1999, para. 5)
Separate multiple authors with commas and last author with ampersand When using someone’s ideas in your own words, cite each sentence (see p.
(&) (6.27) 15 “Plagiarism” for example)
Follow author’s name with the year of publication (in parentheses and Use ampersand (&) for and in parenthetical references (Perkins & Smith,
followed by a period) (6.28) 1998)
If no date, use (n.d.) (6.28) Clearly cite secondary sources (“as cited in …”) (6.17)
Every reference cited in the Reference page must also be cited in the essay Every reference cited in the essay (in text) must also be cited in the
(in text) Reference page

*****NOTE: *****NOTE:
It helps to do the Reference Page BEFORE the citations in the essay so you Every reference in the Reference page must be cited in the essay (in text)
will know what/how to cite in the essay and every citation in the essay must also be cited on the Reference page
Quotations in Text pp. 170-173 (Chapter 6) Appendixes pp. 38-39 (2.13)

When using a direct quotation, place quotation marks around exact words The Appendix is placed after the Reference page
of author If more than one appendix, label each with a capital letter (Appendix A,
Cite every time you quote someone’s exact words Appendix B) in order they are mentioned in the essay (2.13)
2 ways to cite (see p. 171 for examples) Refer to Appendix in essay by Label and reason for Appendix (see
After quote place the author’s last name, date, and page number following Appendix A for…)
the date in parenthesis (Smith, 1999, p. 349). Put any additional information in the Appendix that would be distracting to
Or read in the essay (list of words, copy of questionnaire or survey, large
If use author’s name as part of your sentence, place year after the author table, etc)
and page number after the quote in parenthesis. Use an Appendix to add information to help readers better understand or
Example: Smith (1999) states, “Quote author” (p. 349). evaluate
If no page numbers, use paragraph number (6.05) (see p. 172 for Each item has its own Appendix
examples) (Smith, 1999, para. 5) Label each Appendix
Direct quotations must be exact (6.06) If only one Appendix, label it Appendix (no quotes)
Use . . . when deleting words from the quotation,
Use . . . . when deleting sentences (6.08)
Use [ ] when adding your own words inside quotations (see p. 173 6.08 Abbreviations pp. 106-111 (4.22-4.30)
& p. 92 4.08 for examples)
For long quotations 40 words or more, use block quotation. Indent When abbreviating, spell out the abbreviation the first time. Example:
quotation ½” from left margin. Do not use quotation marks (see p. 171 & American Heart Association (AHA)
p. 92 for examples) Do not use too many abbreviations
Common abbreviations do not use periods

Headings pp. 62-63 (3.03) Numbers pp. 111-114 (4.30-4.48)

Headings work like an outline with main points and subordinate points Use metric measurements
Use headings for main points and supporting points Spell out numbers below 10; use numerals for the rest (With some
All headings for main points must be centered, with upper case and lower exceptions – see APA Manual)
case letters in bold (see p. 62) Capitalize nouns followed by numerals
The headings for the supporting points under the main points are left Use digits for all numbers in the abstract
justified, bold, upper case and lower case (see p. 62) Spell out any number if it is the first word in a sentence
See p. 44 for example of using headings in paper