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APA Style
APA style is commonly used in the sciences, especially their bibliographic formats. The APA website states:
The American Psychological Association has established a style that it uses in all of the books and journals that it publishes. Many others working in the social and behavioral sciences have adopted this style as their standard as well.
APA’s style rules and guidelines are set out in a reference book called The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
Please note that when researchers talk about APA style, they may be referring to APA’s system of citations in text and reference format. If you are unsure, you should clarify with your instructor or editor how they define “APA style.”
— http://www.apastyle.org/ (May 2004)
The complete APA style guide can be located online at http://www.apastyle.org/, though there is a charge for some services. The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of the APA website offers basic tips for students: http://www.apastyle.org/faqs.html
General Grammar
Verb Tense
Use the past or present perfect when citing a source or referring to research.
Formatting
Typefaces
A readable 12-point Times or Courier. No strong preference is indicated.
Spaces and Punctuation
The Publications Manual calls for one space following all punctuation, though some editors prefer two spaces after terminal punctuation when a monospaced font is used, such as Courier.
Underlining, Italics, and Quotes
Use italics in place of underlining for the titles of works. The following types of works are underlined in MLA, italicized in APA: books, newspapers, magazines, plays, films, television shows, paintings, sculptures, and complete music albums.
As part of works, the following items are placed within quotation marks in MLA and APA: chapters, articles, essays, short stories, poems, television episodes, and song titles.
Citations within Text
Brief Paraphrasing or Quote from a Work
Place the year of a publication in parentheses, following the author’s name.
Long Paraphrase or Quote of a Book
Quoted within Another Work
Follow paraphrasing or quotation marks with: (qtd. in Lastname, YEAR, p. PG).
Interviews
(C. S. Wyatt, personal communication, May 15, 2004).
Complete Web Site
The usage was verified at the Tameri Guide for Writers site (http://www.tameri.com).
Bibliographies
Bibliographic entries should be as complete as possible to locate an external source. In most cases, publisher names and common journals can be abbreviated for space.
Citations
Citation Information Order
(1) Author, (2) Year, (3) Title, (4) Editor, (5) Collection, (6) Pages, (7) City, (8) Publisher.
Book, Simple Entry
Lastname, I. (YEAR). The Book’s Title. City: Publisher.
Book, Two Authors
Lastname, I., & Lastname, I. (YEAR). Title. City: Publisher.
Publishers are not abbreviated in APA style. Also, only initials are used for first names.
Edited Works (multiple contributors)
Lastname, I. (Ed.) (YEAR). Collection Title. City: Publisher.
Work from Collection
Lastname, I. (YEAR). Article Title. In I. Lastname (Ed.), Collection Title (pp. XXX-XXX). City: Publisher.
Do not abbreviate page ranges.
Reference Books (Encyclopedia)
Lastname, I. (YEAR). Article Title. In Reference Name. (Vol #, pp. ##-##). City: Publisher.
The Bible or Holy Texts
Generally not applicable to sciences.
Do not underline or itallicize the phrase “The Bible” or books of the Bible. Do italicize or underline the names of special editions and indicate publication information.
Magazine Article
Lastname, I. (YEAR, Month day). Article Title. Magazine Name, pp. XX-XX
Journal Article
Lastname, I. (YEAR). Title: Subtitles are lowercase. Journal Name, VOL, PG
The volume and page numbers are in Arabic numerals, separated by a comma. Do not use “Vol.” or “pp.” before the values.
Newspaper Article
Lastname, I. (YEAR, Month day). Article headline. Newsspaper Name, p. SN
The date format is: 2004, May 15. Use lowercase for the headline. Page numbers are in the format: A1, I-1, B2-4.
Organization Papers
Organization Name. (YEAR). Title of work (Xth ed.). City, ST: Author.
In this case, “Author” is a reference to the organization. Do not use a name, unless it is important.
Web Site
Author or Organization. (YEAR, Month day). In Online Publication. Retrieved Month day, YEAR, from http://www.site.com/page.html
Web Article from a Printed Professional Journal
Lastname, I. (YEAR). Title of Work [Abstract]. Title of Publication, Issue, XXX-XX. Retrieved Month day, YEAR, from http://www.site.com/page.html
Online Newspaper Article
Lastname, I. (YEAR, Month day). Article headline. Newspaper Name, Retrieved Month day, YEAR, from http://www.site.com/page.html
EMail to Author