APA Format for Research Writing

General Format

Summary: APA (American Psychological Association) is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition, second printing.

Contributors:Joshua M. Paiz, Elizabeth Angeli, Jodi Wagner, Elena Lawrick, Kristen Moore, Michael Anderson, Lars Soderlund, Allen Brizee, Russell Keck
Last Edited: 2012-05-30 12:19:58

Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in APA.

To see a side-by-side comparison of the three most widely used citation styles, including a chart of all APA citation guidelines, see the Citation Style Chart.

You can also watch our APA vidcast series on the Purdue OWL YouTube Channel.

General APA Guidelines

Your essay should be typed, double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11") with 1" margins on all sides. You should use a clear font that is highly readable. APA recommends using 12 pt. Times New Roman font.

Include a page header  (also known as the "running head") at the top of every page. To create a page header/running head, insert page numbers flush right. Then type "TITLE OF YOUR PAPER" in the header flush left using all capital letters. The running head is a shortened version of your paper's title and cannot exceed 50 characters including spacing and punctuation.

Major Paper Sections

Your essay should include four major sections: the Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, andReferences.

Title Page

The title page should contain the title of the paper, the author's name, and theinstitutional affiliation. Include the page header (described above) flush left with the page number flush right at the top of the page. Please note that on the title page, your page header/running head should look like this:

Running head: TITLE OF YOUR PAPER

Pages after the title page should have a running head that looks like this:

TITLE OF YOUR PAPER

After consulting with publication specialists at the APA, OWL staff learned that the APA 6th edition, first printing sample papers have incorrect examples of Running heads on pages after the title page. This link will take you to the APA site where you can find a complete list of all the errors in the APA's 6th edition style guide.

Type your title in upper and lowercase letters centered in the upper half of the page. APA recommends that your title be no more than 12 words in length and that it should not contain abbreviations or words that serve no purpose. Your title may take up one or two lines. All text on the title page, and throughout your paper, should be double-spaced.

Beneath the title, type the author's name: first name, middle initial(s), and last name. Do not use titles (Dr.) or degrees (Ph.D.).

Beneath the author's name, type the institutional affiliation, which should indicate the location where the author(s) conducted the research.

Footnotes and Endnotes

APA does not recommend the use of footnotes and endnotes because they are often expensive for publishers to reproduce. However, if explanatory notes still prove necessary to your document, APA details the use of two types of footnotes: content and copyright.

When using either type of footnote, insert a number formatted in superscript following almost any punctuation mark. Footnote numbers should not follow dashes ( — ), and if they appear in a sentence in parentheses, the footnote number should be inserted within the parentheses.

Scientists examined—over several years¹—the fossilized remains of the wooly-wooly yak.² (These have now been transferred to the Chauan Museum.³)

When using the footnote function in a word-processing program like Microsoft Word, place all footnotes at the bottom of the page on which they appear. Footnotes may also appear on the final page of your document (usually this is after the References page). Center the word “Footnotes” at the top of the page. Indent five spaces on the first line of each footnote. Then, follow normal paragraph spacing rules. Double-space throughout.

¹ While the method of examination for the wooly-wooly yak provides important insights to this research, this document does not focus on this particular species.

Content Notes

Content Notes provide supplemental information to your readers. When providing Content Notes, be brief and focus on only one subject. Try to limit your comments to one small paragraph.

Content Notes can also point readers to information that is available in more detail elsewhere.

¹ See Blackmur (1995), especially chapters three and four, for an insightful analysis of this extraordinary animal.

Copyright Permission Notes

If you quote more than 500 words of published material or think you may be in violation of “Fair Use” copyright laws, you must get the formal permission of the author(s). All other sources simply appear in the reference list.

Follow the same formatting rules as with Content Notes for noting copyright permissions. Then attach a copy of the permission letter to the document.

If you are reproducing a graphic, chart, or table, from some other source, you must provide a special note at the bottom of the item that includes copyright information. You should also submit written permission along with your work. Begin the citation with “Note.”

Note. From “Title of the article,” by W. Jones and R. Smith, 2007, Journal Title, 21, p. 122. Copyright 2007 by Copyright Holder. Reprinted with permission.

Citing an Author or Authors

A Work by Two Authors: Name both authors in the signal phrase or in the parentheses each time you cite the work. Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use the ampersand in the parentheses.

Research by Wegener and Petty (1994) supports...

(Wegener & Petty, 1994)

A Work by Three to Five Authors: List all the authors in the signal phrase or in parentheses the first time you cite the source.

(Kernis, Cornell, Sun, Berry, & Harlow, 1993)

In subsequent citations, only use the first author's last name followed by "et al." in the signal phrase or in parentheses.

(Kernis et al., 1993)

In et al., et should not be followed by a period.

Six or More Authors: Use the first author's name followed by et al. in the signal phrase or in parentheses.

Harris et al. (2001) argued...

(Harris et al., 2001)

Unknown Author: If the work does not have an author, cite the source by its title in the signal phrase or use the first word or two in the parentheses. Titles of books and reports are italicized or underlined; titles of articles, chapters, and web pages are in quotation marks.

A similar study was done of students learning to format research papers ("Using APA," 2001).

Note: In the rare case the "Anonymous" is used for the author, treat it as the author's name (Anonymous, 2001). In the reference list, use the name Anonymous as the author.

Organization as an Author: If the author is an organization or a government agency, mention the organization in the signal phrase or in the parenthetical citation the first time you cite the source.

According to the American Psychological Association (2000),...

If the organization has a well-known abbreviation, include the abbreviation in brackets the first time the source is cited and then use only the abbreviation in later citations.

First citation: (Mothers Against Drunk Driving [MADD], 2000)

Second citation: (MADD, 2000)

Two or More Works in the Same Parentheses: When your parenthetical citation includes two or more works, order them the same way they appear in the reference list, separated by a semi-colon.

(Berndt, 2002; Harlow, 1983)

Authors With the Same Last Name: To prevent confusion, use first initials with the last names.

(E. Johnson, 2001; L. Johnson, 1998)

Two or More Works by the Same Author in the Same Year: If you have two sources by the same author in the same year, use lower-case letters (a, b, c) with the year to order the entries in the reference list. Use the lower-case letters with the year in the in-text citation.

Research by Berndt (1981a) illustrated that...

Introductions, Prefaces, Forewords, and Afterwords: When citing an Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterwords in-text, cite the appropriate author and year as usual.

(Funk & Kolln, 1992)

Personal Communication: For interviews, letters, e-mails, and other person-to-person communication, cite the communicator's name, the fact that it was personal communication, and the date of the communication. Do not include personal communication in the reference list.

(E. Robbins, personal communication, January 4, 2001).

A. P. Smith also claimed that many of her students had difficulties with APA style (personal communication, November 3, 2002).

Citing Indirect Sources

If you use a source that was cited in another source, name the original source in your signal phrase. List the secondary source in your reference list and include the secondary source in the parentheses.

Johnson argued that...(as cited in Smith, 2003, p. 102).

Note: When citing material in parentheses, set off the citation with a comma, as above. Also, try to locate the original material and cite the original source.

Electronic Sources

If possible, cite an electronic document the same as any other document by using the author-date style.

Kenneth (2000) explained...

Unknown Author and Unknown Date: If no author or date is given, use the title in your signal phrase or the first word or two of the title in the parentheses and use the abbreviation "n.d." (for "no date").

Another study of students and research decisions discovered that students succeeded with tutoring ("Tutoring and APA," n.d.).

Sources Without Page Numbers

When an electronic source lacks page numbers, you should try to include information that will help readers find the passage being cited. When an electronic document has numbered paragraphs, use the abbreviation "para." followed by the paragraph number (Hall, 2001, para. 5). If the paragraphs are not numbered and the document includes headings, provide the appropriate heading and specify the paragraph under that heading. Note that in some electronic sources, like Web pages, people can use the Find function in their browser to locate any passages you cite.

According to Smith (1997), ... (Mind over Matter section, para. 6).

 Reference:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Citing Sources in Research Papers

APA Style

This guide is intended as a general introduction to citing sources using the bibliographic style established by the American Psychological Association (APA). For more complete details, see the most recent edition of thePublication Manual of the American Psychological Association (REF KNIGHT BF 76.7 .P83). Note that the manual includes essential information on manuscript preparation (e.g., margins, use of the passive voice), creating figures and tables, and ethics.

Citing References

The custom of citing references – that is, providing a record of the sources you have used for your research – is a form of professional honesty and courtesy that is based on a regard for the responsibilities that writers have to readers and to other writers to indicate when they have used someone else's ideas or words.

Citing sources also strengthens the authority of your work, by demonstrating that you have considered others' opinions and ideas in forming your own. In addition, it gives the the reader valuable information, indicating where he or she may go to get further information on that subject; for many researchers, the list of cited references at the end of a relevant article or book is the single most valuable item they can come across in their research.

Accuracy in citing references is highly regarded, and essential in helping others locate the materials you used in your research. Consider the following, from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association,5th ed.:

Because one purpose of listing references is to enable readers to retrieve and use the sources, reference data must be correct and complete.... Authors are responsible for all information in their reference lists. Accurately prepared references help establish your credibility as a careful researcher.

Because of the importance of citing references, the scholarly community has agreed on several standards – found in style manuals – to use when citing a reference or compiling a bibliography. Many different styles exist; the following list represents the most commonly used or prominent styles.

References: General Guidelines

·         Items are presented in alphabetical order by the first author's last name, or, if no author is listed, by the first element of the citation (generally the title).

·         During your research, develop a consistent system for noting bibliographic information (author, title, date, publisher, source, page numbers) and keep it with your notes or copies of the source material you used.

·         Always consult your professor/department/publisher for specific requirements.

Sample List of References

Citation Example	Type of Citation
Ramírez, C. Z., & Verkuyten, M. (2011). Values, media framing, and political tolerance for extremist groups. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 41, 1583-1602. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2011.00775.x	Journal article, 7 or fewer authors, continuous pagination
Chafee, Z., Jr. (1962). Freedom of speech and press. In W. S. Dowden & T. N. Marsh (Eds.), The heritage of freedom: Essays on the rights of free men (pp. 140-156). New York, NY: Harper.	Chapter in an edited book
Dennis, E. E., & Vanden Heuvel, J. (1991). Emerging voices: East European media in transition: A report of the Gannett Foundation Task Force on Press Freedom in Eastern Europe (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Gannett Foundation Media Center.	Book
FCC ruling to stifle debate, critics say. (2003, June 13). The Buffalo News,p. C1.	Newspaper article, unsigned
Foerstel, H. N. (Ed.). (1997). Free expression and censorship in America: An encyclopedia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.	Encyclopedia or dictionary
Freedom of the press: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights of the Committee on the Judiciary, Senate, 92d Cong., 1 (1972).	Government hearing, whole hearing
Cameron, J., Hooks, I., Kaysing, N., Hoffman, M., Hackett, S., Butler, L. L., & ... Crawford, S. M. (2011). Should P-16 physical education programs focus more on wellness and obesity prevention objectives and goals?JOPERD: The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 82(9), 12-18.	Journal article, more than 7 authors, pagination restarts with each issue, no doi available
Terregino, C. A., & Saks, N. S. (2010). Creative group performances to assess core competencies in a first-year patient-centered medicine course. Medical Education Online, 15, Article ID 4879. doi:10.3402/meo.v15i0.4879	Article retrieved from web site
Jeffords, S., & Rabinovitz, L. (Eds.). (1994). Seeing through the media: The Persian Gulf war. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.	Edited book
Paretsky, S. (2003, June 2). The new censorship. New Statesman, 759,18-20.	Magazine article
Fuss-Reineck, M. (1993). Sibling communication in Star Trek: The Next Generation: Conflicts between brothers. Miami, FL: Annual Meeting of the Speech Communication Association. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 364932)	ERIC Document
-- -- Note: according to the latest APA style guide (6th edition), it is now sufficient to cite the web address (url) in parentheses at the end of sentence in your text in which mention of the website appears -- --	Entire web site, no date of publication
Sanders, B. (Producer/Director). (1987). Making the news fit [Motion picture]. United States: Cinema Guild.	Film or video

Reference:

http://library.uoregon.edu/guides/citing/apa.html

Summary of English Morphology for Morpho-Syntax Progress Test #1

Progress Test #1_Morpho-Syntax

MORPHO-SYNTAX

INTRODUCTION

§  Morphology is the analysis of word structure.

§  Morphology è Greek word ‘morphe’ (form, shape), is the area of grammar concerned with the structure of words and with relationships between words involving the morphemes that compose them.

§  Morpheme is the smallest unit of language that carries information about meaning or function.

Example: build (construct) and –er (one who builds).

§  Morpheme is the smallest parts of words.

§  Mono-morphemic is consisting of just one morpheme.

§  Poly-morphemic is consisting of more than one morpheme.

WORDS AND WORD STRUCTURE

§  Free morpheme is a morpheme that can be a word by itself.

§  Free morpheme is a morpheme that can stand alone.

Example: read, hear, listen, and write.

§  Bound morpheme is a morpheme that must be attached to another element.

§  Bound morpheme is a morpheme that cannot stand alone.

Example: -ing, -able/-ible, re-, and un-.

§  Allomorphs are the variant forms of a morpheme.

§  Allomorphs are many morphemes have two or more different pronunciations.

Example:

[s] as in cats and lamps.

àwhen the preceding sound is voiceless (produced with no vibration of the vocal folds in the larynx), the [s] allomorph occurs.

[z] as in dogs and days.

àafter a vowel or a voiced consonant, the [z] allomorph occurs.

[ɪz] or [əz] as in horses or judges.

àwhen the preceding sound is a sibilant, the [ɪz] or [əz] allomorphs occur.

§  Root carries the major component of the word’s meaning and belongs to a lexical category – Noun (N), Verb (V), Adjective (A), or Preposition (P).

Example: Nouns (tree, treatment), verbs (treat, teach), adjectives (kind, red), and prepositions (in, near).

§  Root [a core of a word] is to denote the morpheme that makes the most precise and concrete contributions to the word’s meaning.

§  Affix is an extremely common morphological process in language.

§  Affix is an umbrella term for prefixes and suffixes (broadly speaking, for all morphemes that are not roots).

§  Prefixes: en- (enlarge), de- (deactivate), re-(replay), inter- (intermarry), in- (inaccurate).

§  Suffixes: -ly (vividly), -ment (government), -er (hunter, seeker), -ness (kindness, whiteness), -ance (performance), -able (readable), -ant (applicant), -ate (obfuscate), -ity (clarity), -ition (rendition), -ify (magnify), -ence (audience), -ible (legible), -en (darken), -ing (listening).

§  Infixes are type of affix that occurs within a base.

Example: -um-, -in-

§  Bases are the form to which an affix is added. In many cases, the base is also the root.

Example: books = book (base) + s (affix)

§  A morphological process is a linguistic process that creates word forms by applying the morphological rules within a morphological system.

Example(s):

§  A Word Formation Process.

§  A Compounded Word Generation Process.

§  A Lexeme Derivation Rule (with Derivational Morphemes).

§  An Agglutination Process.

§  An Inflected Word Generation Process, e.g. Plural ‘wolf’ = wolves and Past Tense ‘go’ = went.

§  A Word Contraction Process, e.g. ‘let us’ = let’s and ‘Common Era’ = CE.

DERIVATION

§  English derivational affixes

AFFIX	CHANGE	EXAMPLES
Suffixes
-able	V à A	Fix-able, do-able, understand-able
-(at)ion	V à N	Realiz-ation, assert-ion, protect-ion
-er	V à N	Teach-er, work-er
-ing1	V à N	The shoot-ing, the danc-ing
-ing2	V à A	The sleep-ing giant, a blaz-ing fire
-ive	V à A	Assert-ive, impress-ive, restrict-ive
-al	V à N	Refus-al, dispos-al
-ment	V à N	Adjourn-ment, treat-ment, amaze-ment
-ful	N à A	Faith-ful, hope-ful, dread-ful
-(i)al	N à A	President-ial, nation-al, medic-al
-(i)an1	N à A	Arab-ian, Singapore-an, Mali-an
-(i)an2	N à A	Einstein-ian, Newton-ian, Chomsky-an
-ic	N à A	Cub-ic, optimist-ic, moron-ic
-ize1	N à V	Hospital-ize, crystal-ize
-less	N à A	Penni-less, brain-less
-ous	N à A	Poison-ous, lecher-ous
-ate	A à V	Active-ate, captive-ate
-en	A à V	Dead-en, black-en, hard-en
-ity	A à N	Stupid-ity, prior-ity
-ize2	A à V	Modern-ize, familiar-ize
-ly	A à Adv	Quiet-ly, slow-ly, careful-ly
-ness	A àN	Happi-ness, sad-ness
Prefixes
anti-	N à N	Anti-abortion, anti-pollution
de-	V à V	De-activate, de-mystify
dis-	V à V	Dis-continue, dis-obey
ex-	N à N	Ex-president, ex-wife, ex-friend
in-	A à A	In-competent, in-complete
mis-	V à V	Mis-identify, mis-place
un1-	A à A	Un-happy, un-fair, un-intelligent
un2-	V à V	Un-tie, un-lock,un-do
re-	V à V	Re-think, re-do, re-state

§  Complex derivation is derivation which can apply more than once, it is possible to create multiple levels of word structure.

Example: act (V)-ive(Af)-ate(Af)-ion(Af); un(Af)-happy(A)-ness(Af); un(Af)-health(N)-y(Af).

§  Constraints on derivation are derivation which does not apply freely to the members of a given category.

Example:

1.       Suffix -ant can combine only with Latinate bases as is defendant, assailant, contestant, and servant.

2.       Suffix -en can only combine with a monosyllabic base that ends in an obstruent.

ACCEPTABLE	UNACCEPTABLE
Whiten	Abstracten
Soften	Bluen
Madden	Angryen
Quicken	Slowen
Liven	Greenen

Abstract has two syllables and blue does not end in an obstruent.

INFLECTION

§  Inflectional morphology (inflection) deals with inflected forms of words that are the kind of variation that words exhibit on the basis of their grammatical context.

§  Regular inflection: suffixing -s is the regular method of forming plurals. Example: performs.

§  Irregular inflection is a kind of idiosyncrasy that dictionaries need to acknowledge by indications.

Example:

1.       Tooth à teeth

2.       Child à children

3.       Man à men

4.       Ox à oxen  

§  Inflection vs. Derivation

è Because inflection and derivation are both marked by affixation, the distinction between the two can be a subtle one and it is sometimes unclear which function a particular affix has. There are 3 criteria are commonly used to help distinguish inflectional and derivational affixes:

1.       Category change

Inflection does not change either the grammatical category or the type of meaning found in the word to which it applies.

Example of the inflection output (there is no change in either the category of the base or the type of meaning it denotes):

·         Book(N) + s(Af) = books(N)

·         Work(V) + ed(Af) = worked(V)

Example of the derivation output (there is a change in the category of the base and/or the type of meaning it denotes):

·         Modern(A) + ize(Af) = modernize(V)

·         Govern(V) + ment(Af) = government(N)

·         Season(N) + al(Af) = seasonal(A)

·         King(N) + dom(Af) = kingdom(N)

2.       Order

Inflectional affixes have to do with the order in which they are combined with a base relative to derivational affixes.

Example of the relative positioning of derivational and inflectional affixes (the derivational affix must be closer to the root):

·         Neighbor(N, Root) + hood(Af, DA) + s(Af, IA) = neighborhoods(N)

·         Neighbor(N, Root) + s(Af, IA) + hood(Af, DA) = neighborshood(N)

3.       Productivity

The relative freedom with which they can combine with bases of the appropriate category.

Example: -ize can combine with only certain adjectives to form a verb

·         Modern-ize

·         Legal-ize

·         Regular-ize

·         Priorit-ize

VERB	WITH -ed	WITH -ment
Confine	Confined	Confinement
Align	Aligned	Alignment
Treat	Treated	Treatment
Arrest	Arrested	Arrestment
Straight	Straightened	Straightenment
Cure	Cured	Curement

§  English inflectional affixes: English is not a highly inflected language.

Nouns
1.   Plural -s	The books
Verbs
2.   3rd person sg non-past –s	John reads well.
3.   Progressive –ing	He is working.
4.   Past tense –ed	He worked.
5.   Past participle -en/-ed	He has eaten/studied.
Adjectives
6.   Comparative –er	The smaller one.
7.   Superlative -est	The smallest one.
8.   -en	Eat, ate, eaten

§  Examples of inflection

1.       Number is the morphological category that expresses contrasts involving countable quantities.

Example: singular (one) and plural (more than one).

2.       Noun class is some languages divide nouns into two or more inflectional classes.

3.       Case is a category that encodes information about an element’s grammatical role (subject, direct object).

COMPOUNDING

§  Compounds are words which consist of free root.

Example: bookcase, motorbike, penknife, truck-driver, greenhouse, blackboard, and wet suit.

§  Types of compounds:

1.       Endocentric

Example: N – N compounds (steamboat, airplane, air hose, air field, fire truck, fire drill, bath tub, bath towel).

2.       Exocentric

Example: maple leafs, sabre tooths, bigfoots, walkmans.

§  Other types of word formation:

1.       Conversion is a process that assigns an already existing word to a new syntactic category. OR the processes available in derivational morphology whereby a lexeme belonging to one class can simply be ‘converted’ to another, without any overt change in shape.

Examples:

V derived from N	N derived from V	V derived from A
Finger (a suspect)	(a building) permit	Dirty (a shirt)
Butter (the bread)	(an exciting) contest	Empty (the box)
Ship (the package)	(a new) survey	Open (a door)
Nail (the door shut)	(a brief) report	Right (a wrong)
Button (the shirt)	( a long) walk	Dry (the clothes)

2.       Clipping is a process that shortens a polysyllabic word by deleting one or more syllables.

Example:

·         Prof for professor.

·         Phys-ed for physical education.

·         Poli-sci for political science.

·         Burger for hamburger.

·         Doc for document.

·         Lab for laboratory.

·         Zoo for zoological garden.

3.       Blends are words that are created from non-morpheme parts of two already existing items.

Example:

·         Brunch from breakfast and lunch.

·         Smog from smoke and fog.

·         Spam from spiced and ham.

·         Telethon from telephone and marathon.

·         Aerobicise from aerobics and exercise.

·         Chunnel from channel and tunnel.

·         Infomercial from information and commercial.

4.       Backformation is a process that creates a new word by removing a real or supposed affix from another word in the language.

Example:

·         Resurrect from resurrection.

·         Housekeep from housekeeper.

·         Enthuse from enthusiasm.

·         Donate from donation.

·         Orient or orientate from orientation.

5.       Acronyms are formed by taking the initial letters of some or all of the words in a phrase or title and reading them as a word.

Example:

·         UNICEF for United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.

·         NATO for North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

·         AIDS for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

·         EFL for English as a Foreign Language.

·         ESL for English as a Second Language.

6.       Onomatopoeia is words whose sound seems to reflect their meaning fairly directly.

Example of words for animal cries: bow-wow, miaow, cheep, cock-a-doodle-doo.

7.       Other sources à word manufactured (coinage) is a word may be created from scratch, sometimes with the help of a computer.

Example: Kodak, Dacron, Orlon, Teflon, Xerox, Tissue.

           References:

Carstairs-McCarthy, Andrew. (2002). An Introduction to English Morphology Words and Their Structure. Edinburgh University Press.

O’Grady. W., M. Dobrovolsky and F. Katamba. (1997). Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction. London: Addison Wesley Longman Limited.