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General Advice: Formatting, Punctuation,
Numbers, Unbiased Language |
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| This document covers the “elements of APA style” most commonly
misunderstood or omitted by students. |
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Formatting Basics |
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Use standard-size (8-1/2 x 11 inches) white paper. |
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Always make and retain a copy of your paper. Keep graded papers
in case you have to prove you were given a certain score. |
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Do not hyphenate words at the end of lines. |
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Do not use contractions (e.g., don’t, won’t, can’t, etc.)
unless the contraction appears in a quotation. |
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If you are using a word processing program (e.g., Wordperfect,
Microsoft Word, ClarisWorks, etc.), make sure that your margins are not “right
justified.” Otherwise, you will have trouble with your spacing.
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Avoid starting sentences with “Also,” “Again,” “But,” and
“And.” |
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Type size should be no smaller than 12 characters per inch or 10 points.
Preferred type size is 10 characters per inch or 12 points. |
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Margins
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| Leave uniform margins of at least 1-1/4 inch (1.25") at the
top, bottom, right, and left margins. |
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Paragraph Indentations |
| Indent the first line of every new paragraph by one-half
inch (about 5 spaces). The only exceptions to this are in the cases of block
quotations, titles and headings, abstract, table titles, and figure
captions. |
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Order of Manuscript Pages |
| Number all pages except the figures consecutively. Arrange
the pages of the manuscript as follows: |
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Title page (separate page, numbered 1) |
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Abstract (separate page, numbered 2) |
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Body of paper (start on new page, numbered 3) |
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References (start on new page) |
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Appendices (start on new page) |
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Tables (start on new page, each on a separate page) |
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Figure captions (start on a new page) |
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Figures (place each on a separate
page) |
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Manuscript Page Header and Running Head |
| Pages occasionally get separated, so identify each manuscript
page (except the figures) by typing the first two or three words from the title
in the upper right-hand corner above or five spaces to the left of the page
number. This is the page header. It should not be confused with the running
head, which goes only on the title page (one double space below the page header)
and appears in the printed article. The running head is limited to 50
spaces. |
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Headings |
| Headings indicate the organization of a paper and establish the
importance of each topic. Topics of equal importance are positioned consistently
in the paper. A centered main heading is used to separate and identify the
primary topic areas of the paper. Flush side headings and indented paragraph
headings are only used when you wish to break the previous heading into two or
more distinct topic areas. See the following example for positioning and
punctuation of headings: |
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Centered upper case
heading (Level 5)
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Centered Uppercase and Lowercase Heading (Level 1) |
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Centered, italicized,
Uppercase and Lowercase Heading (Level 2) |
| A Flush
Left, Italicized, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading (Level 3) |
| Indented,
italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.
(Level 4). This heading is not above a paragraph, it is at the
beginning of a paragraph. |
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| Note that centered headings are typically required to start a
new page in the paper. |
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Listing within a Paragraph |
| When you want to list items within a paragraph or sentence use
lower case letters in parentheses as follows: |
| This is an example of making three enumerated points using (a)
sample text, (b) sample text, and (c) sample text. |
| (Note that there is a comma before the words “and” or “or” in
any series of three or more items or points.) |
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Listing of Paragraphs |
| When you want to list paragraphs, such as itemized conclusions
or successive steps in a procedure, number each paragraph or sentence with an
arabic numeral followed by a period as follows: |
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1. Begin
with paragraph indented. Type second and succeeding lines flush with
the left margin
2. Etc. |
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Punctuation |
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Spacing with Punctuation
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| Space once after punctuation as follows: |
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after commas, colons, and semicolons |
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after periods ending sentences |
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after periods separating parts of a reference citation |
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after periods used in initials of personal
names |
| Exception: no space after internal periods in abbreviations
(e.g., i.e., a.m., U.S.) |
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Hyphens, Dashes, and Minus Signs |
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hyphens: no space before or after (e.g., trial-by-trial,
day-by-day) |
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minus: type as a hyphen with space on both sides (e.g., c = a
- b) |
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dashes: type as two hyphens with no space before or after
(e.g., Studies--published and unpublished--are….) |
| See 3.11, pp. 89-94 in the Publication manual of the
American Psychological Association (5th ed.) for rules
about the hyphenation of words in APA style. |
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Numbers |
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Numbers Used in Body of Paper |
| Generally, numbers one through nine in sentences should be
spelled out. Numbers 10 and greater should be typed as numerals, except
where they begin a sentence. Exceptions are described on pages 122-130 of
the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. |
| Percent |
| Use the symbol for percent only when it is preceded by a
numeral (e.g., 23%). Use the word “percent” or “percentage” when a number is not
given. (An exception is in table headings and figure legends, where the symbol %
is used to conserve space.) |
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Nonsexist and Ethnically Unbiased
Language |
| Guidelines have been developed by the APA (See Publication
Manual, pp. 46-60) to avoid sexism and ethnic bias in research writing.
Generally, one should choose nouns, pronouns, and adjectives to eliminate the
possibility of ambiguity in sex identity. Moreover, scientific writing should be
free of implied or irrelevant evaluation of the sexes. Examples of sexist
writing include: |
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The student is usually the best judge of the quality of the
course he has taken. |
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The mission of the Starship Enterprise is to boldly go where no
man has gone before. |
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Ambitious men are more likely to achieve success in life;
likewise, aggressive women are more likely to reach the top. |
| Examples of the same statements written in a nonsexist
style: |
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Students are usually the best judges of the quality of the
courses they have taken. |
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The mission of the Starship Enterprise is to boldly go where no
one has gone before.
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Ambitious individuals are more likely to achieve success in
life. |
| You should also avoid using awkward and ungainly terms like
“he/she,” “him/her,” “himself/herself,” “s/he.” Either rewrite the paragraph and
use plurals or use the full expression, i.e., “he or she,” “him or her,”
“himself or herself.” |
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