APA Style Guide

6th edition

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 Part 1:
What is APA In-Text Citations

• Use of a parenthetical reference system in

the text of the paper.

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 REMEMBER

APA requires double-spacing between

ALL text lines – that includes
references.

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 APA In-Text Citations

One Work by One Author (p.174-175)

Example: Reference in the text:

According to Taylor (2000), the personalities of …

OR, you may write like this:

In a study of personalities and character (Taylor,

2000) …

Example: References (at the end of your paper)

Taylor, M. M. (2000). Study of personalities and

character. Journal of Psychology, 93 (1), 257-267.
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 APA In-Text Citations
One Work by One Author (Cont.)
Cite by author and year only even when
reference includes month or date:

Example: Reference in the text:

Mak (2006) found workers are happier …

Example: References (at the end of your paper)

Mak, J. (2006, October 4). More public holidays for

workers. The Star, p. N6.
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 APA In-Text Citations
One Work by Two authors
(p. 175-176)
• Always cite both names every time the reference occurs in
text.
• Use the word "and" between the authors' names within
the text, Use "&" in the parentheses.

Example: Reference in the text:

Serlin and Lapsley (1985) discovered the problems …
OR, you may write like this:

A survey on the problems in … (Serlin & Lapsley, 1985)

Example: References (at the end of your paper)

Serlin, R. C., & Lapsley, D. K. (1985). Rationality in

psychological research: The good-enough principle.
American Psychologist, 40, 73-83. 6
 APA In-Text Citations
One Work by Multiple authors (3-7 authors)
(p.175-176)
Example: Reference in the text:
Skinner, Cornell, Sun, and Harlow, 1993 found…
(Use as 1st citation in text)

Skinner et al. (1993) found … (Use as subsequent 1st

citation per paragraph thereafter)
Skinner et al. also found … (Omit year from subsequent
citations after 1st citation within a paragraph)

Example: References (at the end of your paper - List all

authors)

Skinner, M. E., Cornell, R. C., Sun, K. F., & Harlow, R. P.

(1993). Small group learning, Psychological Bulletin, 26,
57-63. 7
 APA In-Text Citations
8 or More Authors (p. 175-176)
• For works with 8 or more authors, the 1st
citation & subsequent citations use first
author et al. and year.
• et al means “and others”
Example: Reference in the text:
Wolchik et al. (2000) studied the use of …

Example: References (at the end of your paper) - [List the

first six authors, … and the last author]

Wolchik, S. A., West, S. G., Sandler, I. N., Tein, J.,

Coatsworth, D., Lengua, L., … Rubin, L. H. (2000). An
experimental evaluation of theory-based mother and
mother-child programs for children of divorce. Journal of
Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 843-856.
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 APA In-Text Citations
Groups as Authors (p. 176)

Write down corporate author in full every time if

the abbreviation is NOT common.
Example: (University of Pittsburg, 1998)

If group author is easily identified by its abbreviation, you

may abbreviate the name in the second and subsequent
citations:

Examples:
1st citation:
Ministry of Education [MOE], 2001)

Subsequent text citation:

(MOE, 2001) 9
 APA In-Text Citations
Works With No Author (p. 176-177)

• Cite the first few words of the reference list entry

• Usually the title of the article or newspaper
• And the year
• Use “ ” and italics

Example: Reference in the text:

Many mentally ill drinkers seek the help from… (“Alcohol

and the risk,” 2006).

Example: References (at the end of your paper)

Alcohol and the risk of cancer. (2006, October 10). The

Straits Times, p. 32.
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 APA In-Text Citations
Authors With the Same Surname (p. 176-177)

• Use initials with the last names if your reference

list includes two or more authors with the same
last name.

Example: Reference in the text:

Research by J. Young (1989) revealed that . . .

Survey by E. Young (1990) proved that …

Example: References (at the end of your paper)

Young, J. (1989). The Purification Plan. New York: Rodale Books.

Young, E. (1990). Caring for the Vulnerable. London: Jones and

Bartlett.
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 APA In-Text Citations
Secondary Sources (p. 178-179)

• Give the secondary source in the reference list.

• In text, name the original work, and give a citation for

the secondary source.

Example: Reference in the text:

Irene and John’s study (as cited in Tornhill, Curtis, Atkins, &
Haller, 1993)

Example: References (at the end of your paper)

Tornhill, M., Curtis, B. Atkins, P., & Haller, M. (1993). Models

of reading aloud: Dual-route and parallel-distributed-
processing approaches. Psychological Review, 100, 589-608.
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 APA In-Text Citations
Quotations - Short Quotes
(< 40 words) (p.170-171)

Directly quote - include the author, year of

publication, and the page number.

Example: Reference in the text:

According to Jones (2004), "Students often had difficulty

using APA style, especially when it was their first time"
(p. 199).

Example: References (at the end of your paper)

Jones, L. (2004). How to research. London: Open University

Press.
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 APA In-Text Citations
Quotations - Long Quotes
(> 40 words) (p.170-171)
• Use block form, indent 5 spaces for entire quote
• Use double space and Do not use “ ”

• Use … to indicate omitted words

Example: Reference in the text:

We agree with Obrue (2002), who concluded:

Neurofeedback is perhaps best viewed not as an alternative

to conventional psychopharmacological agents but rather… (p. 8).

Example: References (at the end of your paper)

Obrue, K. (2002). Neurofeedback practice. New York: McGraw-
Hill.
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 Part 2:
Formatting Your Reference List

The Basics

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Pay Specific Attention to:

● Consistency in how you apply APA.

● Punctuation (period, comma, semi-colon).

● Location and publisher for books.

● Volume, issue and page numbers for

articles.
● Complete and correct information.
● Spelling.

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 Reference List Order
● Alphabetical by author’s name
● Chronological by same author
● Alphabetical by title
● Same author, same year, different title:
Alleyne, R. L. (2004a). Managing information …
Alleyne, R. L. (2004b). Multimedia management …
● Same author, different year:

Hewlett, L. S. (2005). Critical thinking about …

Hewlett, L. S. (2006). Doing quantitative research …

● MacArthur, B. A. (2000). Problems and promises…

McAllister, G. J. (2000). Choice and the relative …

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 Reference List
Personal Names (p. 184)

• English Names: Invert (reverse)all author’s names.

Example: Patrick, Kiger  Kiger, P.

• Chinese Names: Enter under surname.

Examples: Lim Swee Hong  Lim, S. H.

Wendy Wang Pei Lyn  Wang, W. P. L.

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 More Than One Publisher
Location (p. 186-187)

• Use the first one, if the book lists more

than one publisher location.

Example:

New York, London: MacMillan

 Cite as New York: MacMillan

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 Book Reference

Single Author (p. 202-205)

General Format

Author, A. (Year). Title of book. Location: Publisher.

Example:

Zautra, A. (2006). Emotions, stress, and health. New York:

Oxford University Press.
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 Book Reference

Single Author (Cont.)

When the author and publisher are the same, use the word
"Author" as the name of the publisher.

Example:

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and

statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington,
DC: Author.

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 Book Reference

Multiple Authors (p. 202-205)

When a work has 2 or more authors:

Example:

3 Authors

Playfair, J. H., Gardner, M., & Bancroft, G. J. (2004). Infection

and immunity. (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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 Book Reference

Corporate Author (p. 202-205)

General Format

Corporate Author. (Year). Title of book. Location: Publisher.

Example:

Institute of Banking & Finance. (2006). Managing personal

fund. Toronto: Midwestern.

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 Book Reference

Unknown or No Author (p. 202-205)

Begin with title. Titles of books are italicized.

General Format

Title of book. (Year). Place of publication: Publisher.

Example:

Education Handbook. (2005). London: Longman.

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 Edited Book Reference
(p. 202-205)

General Format
Editor, A. (Ed.). (Year). Title of book. Location:
Publisher.

Examples:
One editor:

Michael, G. (Ed.). (1988). Psycholinguistics. Beijing: Peking

University Press.

More than one editor:

Grice, H., & Gregory, R. (Eds.). (1968). Early language

development. New York: McGraw-Hill.
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 Later Edition Book Reference
(p. 202-205)

General Format

Author, A. (Year). Title of book (2nd ed.). Location:

Publisher.

Example:

Skinner, E. (2003). Women and the national experience

(2nd ed.). New York: Longman.

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 Non-English Book Reference
(p. 202-205)

General Format

Author, A. (Year). Original Title. [Translated Title],

Location: Publisher.

Example:
Piaget, J., Inhelder, B. (1951). La genese de I’idee de
hasard chez I’enfant. [The origin of the idea of chance in
the child], Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.

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 English Translation of A Book
(p. 202-205)

General Format

Author, A. (Year). Book title (Name translators). Location:

Publisher. (Original work published 1814)

Example:

Laplace, P.S. (1951). A philosophical essay on

probabilities (F.W. Truscott & F. L. Emory, Trans.). New
York: Dover. (Original work published 1814)
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 Book Chapter Reference
(p. 202-205)

General Format

Article Author. (Year). Article Title. In Book Editor(s), Book

Title (page numbers). Location: Publisher.

Example:

Blaxter, L. (1996). Thinking about research. In R. A. Lillian

& J. F. Rebecca (Eds.), How to research (pp. 19-25).
Buckingham: Open University Press.

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 Journal Article Reference

One Author (p. 198-200)

General Format
Author, A. (Year). Title of article. Journal Title, Vol(no),
pages.

Example:

McGill, K. (2006). Reading the valley: performance as a

rhetoric of dimension, Text and Performance Quarterly,
26(4), 389-404.

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 Journal Article Reference

Two Authors (p. 198-200)

List all authors with & preceding last author.

Example:

Racette, A., & Bard, C. (2006). Making non-fluent aphasics

speak. Journal of Logic and Computation, 18, 27-45.

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 Journal Article Reference

More Than Seven Authors

(p. 198-200)

Example:

Bjokr, R. N. Auerbach, J. S., Piaget, J., Tein, J. Y., Kwok,

O. M., Haine, R. A., … Botros, N. (2003). Classroom
Interaction in Science: Teacherquestioning and feedback
to students' responses. International Journal of Science
Education, 63, 57-60.

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 Magazine Article Reference
(p. 200)

General Format

Author, A. (Year, Month day). Title of article. Title of

Magazine, volume if given, page-numbers.

Example:
Reppel, F. G. (2003, February 13). Conflict and cognitive
control. Natural Science, 33, 969-970.

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 Newspaper Article Reference
(p. 200)

General Format

Author, A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of

Newspaper, pages.

Example:

Lee, S. (2006, October 3). Malaysia off the priority

watch list for pirated movies, music. New Straits
Times, p. 6.
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Unpublished Thesis Reference
(p. 207-208)

General Format

Author, A. (Year). Title of thesis. Unpublished level

thesis. University, Place.

Example:

Kondo, T. (1991). The making of a corporate elite

adult targeted comic magazines of Japan. Unpublished
master’s thesis. McGill University, Canada.

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36
 Web Page Reference
Electronic Copy of a Journal
Article Retrieved from Database with DOI
(p. 279)

General Format
Author, A. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Vol
(no), pages. Retrieved Month Day, Year, Issue, Page
Numbers.

Example:

Borman, W. C., Hanson, M. A., Oppler, S. H., Pulakos, E.

D., & White, L. A. (1993). Role of early supervisory
experience in supervisor performance. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 78, 443-449. doi:10:1002//piq.20033
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 Web Page Reference
Article in an Internet-only Journal (p. 272)
Article does not appear in print journal
or magazine
General Format
Author, A. (Year). Title of article. Journal Title, vol (no),
pages. Retrieved from source.

Example:

Pelling, N. (2002, May 5). The use of technology in career

counseling. Journal of Technology in Counselin (2).
Retrieved from http://jtc.colstate.edu/pelling.htm

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 Web Page Reference
Stand-alone Document, No Author
Identified, No Date (p. 274)

General Format

Title. (n.d.). Retrieved Month Day, Year, from source.

Example:

What I did today. (n.d.). Retrieved August 21, 2010, from

http://www.cc.mystory.life/blog/didtoday.html

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 General Instructions for
Preparing the Paper Manuscript

1. Paper – One side of standard-sized (A4)

2. Typeface – Preferred 12-pt (point) Times Roman
3. Double-spacing – leave one full-size line blank between each line
4. Margins – margins of at least 1 in. (2.54 cm) at the top, bottom,
left and right of every page.

5. Line length and alignment –

- maximum line length 6.5 in. (16.51 cm).

- Do not justify lines, use the flush-left style

- Do not divide words at the end of a line, and do not use the

hyphenation function to break words at the ends of lines.

6. Number of lines – Not more than 27 lines of text. 40

The End

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