APA Basics

Background
Style guides are used to establish standards of written communication. 1 These
standards include:

Organization of content
Writing style
Grammar and usage
Citation
Publication preparation (in some cases)

Style guides can vary quite a bit, so its important to know which one youll use in
your chosen field. Graduate schools usually require a lot of writing in their
programs, so knowing which style guide to use will help a lot.
The APA style guide was developed by the American Psychology Association. APA
style is primarily used for the social sciences (psychology, sociology, economics,
criminology, linguistics), business, and nursing. Because APA is so commonly used,
it is the style guide you will learn for this class.
This study guide will help you get the basics of APA. Be on the lookout for notes in
red, which will indicate specifics of what is expected for this class. Unlike previous
papers, the accuracy of your APA use will be factored into your research paper
grade.

General Formatting
APA requires 1-inch margins, 12-point font, double-spacing, and a very readable font
(they recommend Times New Roman).
Papers should include four sections: title page, abstract, main body, and
references. (Title pages and abstracts are not required for this class. Save the
trees!)
Although title pages are not required for this class, titles are. Although your title
does not need to be fancy, it should be more thoughtful than Research Paper. Do
not exceed 12 words. Title should also be 12-point font and double spaced. Do not
bold or underline your title.
Because this assignment does not require a title page, be sure to remember to
include the title page information at the top of your first page. This information
should be your name (first and last), the class name, Brother Olsens name, and the
date the paper is due. This should be double spaced just like the body of your paper.
1 Purdue OWL: APA Style Workshop

APA Stylistics
It is perfectly acceptable to use the first person in a research paper (I, me, my)
when discussing how you researched something.
Example: After reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I have concluded that
the Ministrys Muggleborn eradication is comparable to genocide.
Its a common misconception that writing in the first person is bad. Although you
may use the first person point of view, focus your writing on your research, not
yourself. In a research paper, the reader will be interested in your topic, not you.
Bad example: I really like Mrs. Weasley because shes just like my Aunt Phyllis.
Good example: Mrs. Weasley is a wonderful character because she is such a realistic
mother figure.
Use the active voice rather than the passive voice. The passive voice often makes
for dull reading, and it can sometimes be confusing and wishy-washy. The active
voice is clearer, stronger, and more concise. For more information on active/passive,
go to http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/active-voice-versuspassive-voice for a straightforward explanation. (Just read pages 1 and 2.)
Passive example: It has been made clear that dementors are meant to represent
clinical depression.
Active example: JK Rowling created dementors as a figurative representation of
clinical depression.

Word Choice
Writing done in APA style is largely research based. Because of this, APA strongly
recommends avoiding any type of poetic or figurative language. The only exception
to this is using analogies to explain difficult concepts, but only do that if theres no
other reasonable way to explain the concept.
Similarly, avoid flowery language of any kind. The purpose of a research paper is to
convey information, and excessive words can hinder this. Its better to state things
clearly and straightforwardly than to beat around the bush in an attempt to sound
more impressive.
Avoid bias as much as you can, particularly in terms of race, gender, sexuality,
disability, etc. Make sure you arent even implicating bias toward one group or
another. For instance, other style guides instruct writers to say he or she instead
of they or one for an unspecified person. APA, however, discourages the use of
gendered pronouns.
Example: If a Ravenclaw wants to enter their dormitory, they must correctly answer
a riddle.

In-text Citations
Always cite your sources within your paper. There are several ways to do this,
depending on what information is available and how you choose to arrange the
sentence. If you primarily use online resources, page numbers will be rare. Credible
sources (which are what you should stick to) usually have publication and/or
updated on dates somewhere on the page. Keep this in mind as you format your
in-text citations. Citations should always include the authors last name and the
date when possible. Include page numbers if there are any.
Examples:
According to Newt Scamander (1838), the centaur is given an XXXX classification
not because it is unduly aggressive, but because it should be treated with great
respect (p. 6).
The Chudley Cannons last win was in 1892 (Whisp, 1991, p. 33).
The magical parasite called Chizpurfles are attracted to magic, but in its absence,
they will attack electrical objects, which may explain the puzzling failure of many
relatively new Muggle electrical artifacts (Scamander, 1838, p. 7).
Kenniworthy Whisp (1991) states that refereeing Quidditch games was once a task
for only the bravest witches and wizards (p. 30) because so many referees went
missing or were killed on the Quidditch pitch.

Reference List
A reference list should be a separate page at the end of your paper. The entries
should be alphabetized and each entry should have a hanging indent.
Here is a template for a few reference list entries that you are likely to use. Pay
careful attention to punctuation and italics.
Book: Author last name, first initial. Middle initial. (Year of publication). Title of work.
Location: Publisher.
Website: Author last name, first initial. Middle initial. (Year, Month date published).
Article title. Retrieved from URL (include only the basic URL, not the whole thing)
Article: Author last name, first initial. Middle initial. (Year published). Article title.
Journal Name, Volume(Issue). pp. page number(s).
Examples:
Book: Bagshot, B. (1953). A History of Magic. London: Little Red Books.
Website: Rowling, J. K. (2011). Peeves. Retrieved from pottermore.com
Article: Skeeter, R. (1994). The Daily Prophet, 183(248). pp. 16.

Obviously, we cant cover every what-if scenario for every type of reference, and
many brilliant people have put together reference generators that are updated
regularly as style guides change. Citationmachine.net is the best generator for APA
style. Its free and is easy to usemuch easier than trying to figure out the snarls of
what period goes where and what gets italicized.