Running head: GUIDELINES FOR USING APA 1

Guidelines for Using APA (6th ed.)

Carla I. B. Christensen RN, MSN

Pasadena City College

Guidelines for Writers Using American Psychological Formation Format (6th ed.)

(The title of the paper is centered and not bolded)

Pasadena City College nursing students are required to use the Publication

Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) when writing term papers

and some class assignments. Selected information from the Publication Manual of the

American Psychological Association (6th ed.) is being provided to nursing students in

order to aid their ability to write an assignment or term paper using 6th edition APA

format. Instructions on how to write a title page, introduction, in-text citations, and

reference page are included. Students will find the answers to many of their questions

about the use of APA format in this handout. However, it is not intended to replace the

manual. The publication manual should be purchased from the Pasadena City College

Book Store and relied upon as a more complete writing guide.

Students are also encouraged to use the Purdue OWL website as resource for

writing academic papers using 6th edition APA format. Assistance with English Second

Language, general writing, and specific subject writing is included on the site. (Purdue

University, 2010)

Title Page

(Level 1 heading is centered, boldface, uppercase and lower case headings)

The title page should include the title of the manuscript, running head, author’s

name and institutional affiliation. A title should fully explain the topic in 12 words or

less. It “should be typed in uppercase and lowercase letters, centered between the left

and right margins, and positioned in the upper half of the page” (American Psychological

Association, 2010, p. 23). Manuscript page numbering begins with the title page.
GUIDELINES FOR USING APA 3

The running head is an abbreviated title that is printed at the top of the pages of a

manuscript or published article to identify the article for readers. The running

head should be a maximum of 50 characters, counting letters, punctuation, and

spaces between words. It should appear flush left in all uppercase letters at the

top of the title page and all subsequent pages (APA, 2010, p. 229).

Basic Format

Times New Roman with 12-point font is the preferred typeface. Line spacing

should be double-spaced between text lines. Margins should be at least 1 inch at the top,

bottom, left, and right of every page. The first line of a paragraph is indented. The

remaining lines should be typed to a uniform left-hand margin. Titles, headings, and

block quotations are exceptions to the left-hand margin requirement (APA, 2010).

Introduction

(Level 2 heading is left-aligned, boldface, uppercase and lowercase heading)

If an abstract is not required, the introduction begins on the second page.

“Because the introduction is clearly identified by its position in the manuscript, it does

not carry a heading labeling it the introduction” (APA, 2010, p. 27). The introduction

explains why the topic is important, describes implications of research findings, and

summarizes arguments and past evidence.

Headings

The level of heading needed will depend on the length of the student’s paper. The

APA (2010) states that headings are not to be labeled with numbers or letters. Pasadena

City College nursing students may wish to use headings to help organize a paper. Five

levels of heading are described by the APA (2010). Two or three levels of headings
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should meet the needs of most students. The first level of heading should be centered,

boldface, uppercase and lowercase. The second level of heading should be flush left,

boldface, uppercase and lowercase. The third level of heading should be indented,

boldface, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period (APA, 2010, p. 62). Purdue

OWL (2010) states, “Regardless of the number of levels, always use the headings in

order, beginning with level 1” (APA headings and seriation section, para.1).

Citing References in Text

References are cited within the body of the text whenever the author directly

quotes or paraphrases another individual’s work. The term plagiarism is used to describe

the claiming of credit for work that is not the author’s own work. This includes taking

credit for words, ideas, or concepts of other individuals. According to APA (2010),

“Whether paraphrasing, quoting an author directly, or describing an idea that influenced

your work, you must credit the source” (p. 170).

Direct quotation of sources 40 words or more.

(Level 3 headings are indented, boldface, lowercase heading with a period)

If the quotation comprises 40 or more words, display it in a freestanding block of

text and omit the quotation marks. Start such a block quotation on a new line and

indent the block about a half inch from the left margin (in the same position as a

new paragraph). If there are additional paragraphs within the quotation, indent the

first line of each an additional half inch. Double space the entire quotation. At

the end of a block quotation, cite the quoted source and the page or paragraph

number in parentheses after the final punctuation mark. (APA, 2010, p. 171)
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Direct quotation of sources less than 40 words.

“If the quotation comprises fewer than 40 words, incorporate it into the text and

enclose the quotation with double quotation marks” (APA, 2010, p. 170). A midsentence

quotation should end with quotation marks with the source being cited in parentheses

after the quotation marks and before the completion of the sentence. “If the quotation

appears at the end of a sentence, close the quoted passage with quotation marks, cite the

source in quotation marks, and end with a period or other punctuation outside the final

parenthesis” (APA, 2010, p. 171).

References

The purpose of a reference list is to enable readers to access sources used for the

preparation of a paper. The reference list is double-spaced and each entry has a hanging

indent. All sources used for in-text citations are included in the reference list.

References are listed in alphabetical order by the author’s surname. “In general, a

reference should contain the author name, date of publication, title of the work, and

publication data” (APA, 2010, p. 183).

Publication date.

After listing the author’s last name and initials, state in parentheses the year the

work was published.

Title of article or chapter.

“Capitalize only the first word of the title and of the subtitle, if any, and any

proper nouns; do not italicize the title or place quotation marks around it. Finish the

element with a period” (APA, 2010, p. 185).

Periodical title.

“Give the periodical title in full, in uppercase and lowercase letters. Italicize the

name of the periodical” (APA, 2010, p. 185).

Book title.

Capitalize only the first word of the title…and any proper nouns; italicize the title.

Enclose additional information given on the publication for its identification and

retrieval (eg., edition, …volume number) in parentheses immediately after the

title…. Finish the element with a period. (APA, 2010, pp. 185-186)

Publication information.

Provide the italicized volume number of a periodical after the periodical title. If

the journal issue number is available, state the issue number in parentheses immediately

after the volume number and do not italicize the issue number. For example: 4(12)

Periodical publisher names and locations are not included. Book publisher names and

locations should be included and the entry is ended with a period.

Electronic sources for published data are included in the reference list. The

digital object identifier (DOI) is given after the page numbers. The general reference

form using the DOI is as follows:

Author, A. A., Author, B.B., & Author, C.C. (year). Title of article. Title of

Periodical, xx, pp-pp. doi:xx.xxxxxxxxxx

If a DOI alphanumberic string is not assigned and the journal was retrieved

online, the home page URL is given. This format should be used when the URL is used:

Retrieved from http://www.xxxxxxxx

References

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication Manual of the American

Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological

Association.

Purdue University. (2010)). Purdue owl. Retrieved from

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/16/