Apa Style Reference

Any time you write a formal paper, such as a thesis or dissertation, it's important that you properly cite any sources that you use. Any time you use an idea that was introduced in another place -- whether it's a book, a Web site, or another scholarly paper -- you must give credit to the original author, by citing the source. If you use a quotation from another source, you also must list the source in your paper. It's important to list the sources you use so whoever reads your paper can find more information, should they need it. A comprehensive source list also shows your instructor and other readers that you've performed the necessary research to develop the position you've taken in the paper.

Citing sources in Chicago (Turabian) Style requires two processes. One citation is required at the position in the main text where the cited material appears, where you have three options: 1) In-text citations, 2) footnotes, or 3) endnotes. The other citation occurs at the end of the paper, in a list of all cited works, called a reference list or a bibliography. If you use endnotes, the bibliography is not required, although most formal pages include one.

In this article, we'll focus on in-text citations, which Chicago (Turabian) Style sometimes calls parenthetical references, within the main text of the paper. Other articles in this series will handle the other types of references.

I) AUTHOR-DATE

You can use a couple of different types of parenthetical references within the text, depending on the structure of the sentence, as shown in these examples.

AUTHOR-DATE (EXAMPLE A).

Include the name of the author within the sentence, followed by the year of publication inside parentheses.

*The Jones study (2003) indicates that technological advancements spur economic growth.

AUTHOR-DATE (EXAMPLE B).

You can place the name of the authors inside the parentheses with the year of publication, depending on your sentence structure. Use no punctuation within the parentheses.

*Some economic studies indicate that technological advancements spur economic growth (Jones 2003).

AUTHOR-DATE (EXAMPLE C).

If you don't have a date of publication, use "n.d." in place of the date.

*Some economic studies indicate that technological advancements spur economic growth (Jones n.d.).

AUTHOR-DATE (EXAMPLE D).

With multiple authors, use commas and the word "and" inside the parentheses. If the cited work has more than three authors, use "et al." after the primary author.

*Some economic studies indicate that technological advancements spur economic growth (Jones, Johnson, and Smith 2003).

*Some economic studies indicate that technological advancements spur economic growth (Jones et al. 2003).

AUTHOR-DATE (EXAMPLE E).

If you have multiple sources from the same author or sources from multiple authors with the same last name, you'll have to list part of the title of the work or the organization of the author along with the author. You also can add "a" and "b" to the year of publication, should you have two sources from the same author published in the same year.

*Some economic studies indicate that technological advancements spur economic growth (Jones Economic Growth Study, 2003).

*Other economic studies show that investing in technological research will benefit the economy, too (Jones Technology and the Economy, 2003).

AUTHOR-DATE (EXAMPLE F).

If you need to cite a source with no author, list a shortened version of the title or the organization that created the source. Use the same formatting as with the author.

*Some economic studies indicate that technological advancements spur economic growth (State University 2003).

II. FOOTNOTES OR ENDNOTES

If you decide to use footnotes or endnotes instead of the author-date style, you'll need to use numbers within the main text to link the material you want to source with the footnote or endnote. Use an Arabic number with each source, either in superscript, in parentheses, or in brackets. Use the Arabic numbers in sequential order.

*Some economic studies indicate that technological advancements spur economic growth. [1]

*Some economic studies indicate that technological advancements spur economic growth. (1)

*Some economic studies indicate that technological advancements spur economic growth.1 (* this number is superscript)

List each footnote at the bottom of the page where the source is cited. Separate the main text from the footnote(s) with a vertical line, called a separator. Endnotes go at the end of all of the pages of the main text. Indent each footnote or endnote and use single-spacing, with a blank space between each footnote or endnote. After listing the source once in an endnote or footnote, you can use an abbreviated version of the author's name and title of the work upon subsequent listings. Use a superscript number or a number with a period to introduce the footnote.

*1. Jones, Xavier. ...
*1 Jones, Xavier. ... (* this number is superscript)

Although several formatting styles exist for college students who are creating a thesis or dissertation, there's one style that works in almost every circumstance: Chicago (Turabian) Style. For a general-assignment paper, Chicago (Turabian) Style works extremely well. Although Chicago (Turabian) Style will work for a thesis or dissertation as well, your instructor might want you to use another, more formal style that's designed specifically for a thesis in a certain area of study. MLA Style, for example, works well with areas of study in liberal arts, and APA Style works well with psychological areas of study. Think of Chicago (Turabian) Style as a flexible option for creating a thesis or dissertation that doesn't quite fit some of the other style options.

Chicago (Turabian) Style requires following several rules for formatting the paper and for listing the sources you used to create the paper. As you look the rules and the large books devoted to Chicago (Turabian) Style, you might be intimidated. After all, if the book describing how to follow Chicago (Turabian) Style is 900 or more pages, how difficult is it for you to learn enough rules to formulate a decent paper? It's not as difficult as it seems. Following Chicago (Turabian) Style requires learning a few basic, common sense rules, and then applying slight variations of those rules throughout your paper.

I. The Origination of Chicago (Turabian) Style

The University of Chicago Press oversees the guidelines and rules for Chicago (Turabian) Style. The main publication devoted to Chicago (Turabian) Style is "The Chicago Manual of Style," which sometimes is abbreviated to CMS or CMOS. The University of Chicago Press created the first Chicago Style Manual in 1906, and the 15th edition appeared in 2003.

The Chicago Style Manual provides advice and guidelines for all aspects of writing; it is not limited to creating formal papers. You'll find tips and rules on grammar, correct usage of abbreviations, and proper punctuation in the Chicago Style Manual. Beyond the printed edition of the Chicago Style Manual, you can visit chicagomanualofstyle(dot)org on the Internet for more information, including a "Quick Guide" to Chicago (Turabian) Style. The Chicago Style Manual is available at the Web site for $55 in a print version and $60 in an electronic version. You also can access the entire Chicago Style Manual through the Web site with an annual $30 subscription fee.

As part of the Chicago (Turabian) Style is "A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations," written by Kate L. Turabian. Turabian served as the dissertation secretary at the University of Chicago for almost 30 years, and she created the Turabian Manual as a complement to the Chicago Style Manual. The Turabian Manual was designed to give students a list of rules and guidelines to follow for various writing projects. The first Turabian Manual was a pamphlet Turabian created in the 1930s describing the correct style for formatting a dissertation. The Turabian manual is now in its sixth edition, which was printed in 1996. Turabian died in 1987.

Turabian Style and Chicago Style are almost identical, which is why they're often referred to in combination. Turabian Style allows for use of footnotes for citing sources, which separates it from many styles of writing formal papers. Papers that use Chicago (Turabian) Style typically are less formal papers not designed for publication. However, Chicago (Turabian) Style is flexible enough to work with almost any type of paper, including a thesis or dissertation.

II. How To Start Your Chicago (Turabian) Style Paper

With any formal paper, including a Chicago (Turabian) Style paper, research is the key to create a strong paper. While performing research, track your sources. With every quotation or idea that you use from a source, you must tell your readers about the source. The type of information you'll need from a source varies, depending on the publication, but most citations of sources require at least the author's name, article title, publication name, publication date, and pages that generated the idea or quotation.

When it's time to write your paper, using a computer with word processing software (such as Microsoft Word or Wordperfect) works well for following the formatting requirements for Chicago (Turabian) Style.

For more in-depth items that are not covered here, you may want to access one of the many books or Internet sites devoted to Chicago (Turabian) Style.

Citing your paper in Modern Language Association (MLA) or American Psychological Association (APA) formats depend mostly on the subject you are writing on. Mainly, APA style citations are used to cite writings that have a social science focus: Psychology, Business, the Social Sciences, Economics, Medicine, and Criminal Justice and Law. On the other hand, MLA style citations are used to cite writings that have humanities focus: Literature, Mass Communications, Media Studies, etc.

Basic APA/MLA Differences

1. A paper written in MLA format has the author's name and page number displayed in the top right corner of each page. In APA format, the first few words, usually the first three, of the title with the page number runs on the top, right corner of each page.

2. In a MLA formatted paper, the author's name, both first and last name, is spelled out on the bibliography page. In APA, only the last name of the author is spelled out while the first name is an initial.

3. The in-text citation is slightly different. In MLA, the last name of the author and the page number from which the reference was taken is displayed. In APA, the last name and the year of publication are displayed (separated by a comma).

4. The title in MLA and APA style formats has differences in its capitalization. In APA, only the first word of the title is capitalized and in italics. In MLA, all the major words of the title are capitalized.

5. In an MLA formatted paper, there is no abstract required. APA formatted papers does require an abstract.

6. The source page that list the bibliography information is called "Works Cited" in MLA and "References" in APA format. The source page should be the last page of the paper. "Works Cited" and "References" must be centered in both formats.

The differences between MLA and APA citation formats are minor. But writing in either format will ensure that papers are properly cited and the author's chances of plagiarizing are reduced. There are several websites available, via the popular search engines, which give detailed requirements for both APA and MLA style formats.

Over the years, many changes have been made to both formats. When searching for format samples, you must be aware of outdated versions. I have found that by looking for the "Last Updated" dates on web pages, you can reduce your chances of following a version that has been outdated for several years.

The "APA" abbreviation stands for American Psychological Association style the most frequent use of which is found within social science.
According to the most common APA guidelines a work should be printed on a computer on a standard sheet of paper. The text of your paper should be double-spaced and margins set to 1inch on all sides of the document. All pages should be numbered in the upper right-hand corner of the sheet of paper and a 1-2 word version of your title should be stated before it. An abstract might be put in the very beginning of the paper on its own page with the main idea and points of your work. Headings are not necessary to be put at all, but if you do put them, then you should know that the only level of headings for undergraduate papers is major heading. It should be centered and every word but for articles, short prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions must be capitalized. Any visuals put in your work must be labeled with the help of an Arabic numeral and the name of the visual. A source for the visuals, might it be tables or a graphs, charts or drawings, must be put below it. List of references should be put on its own page, to be precise - at the last page of your work. It must be double spaced and alphabetized by an author's last name. In case no author of the work can be found, use the first letter of the title, excluding articles, to alphabetize it. It is important to point out the fact that the conjunction "and" should not be used when providing a number of authors for one and the same source of the material cited. The ampersand "&" should be used instead. Alongside this another peculiar feature of the reference list formatting is distinguished: to indicate the page numbers the abbreviations "p. or pp." are used.

APA is an acronym for the American Psychological Association. The American Psychological Association, located in Washington D.C., is the largest association of psychologists worldwide; it consists of 148,000 members. APA is a professional and scientific organization; representing psychology in the U.S. APA format was invented by the American Psychological Association to cite sources within the subject of social sciences.

When using APA format, there are some general guidelines you must follow. For instance, your essay must be typed, double-spaced, on standard sized paper (8.5" x 11") and must have 1" margins on every side. Additionally, you must have a page header on every page at the upper right-hand side. Furthermore, your font must be between 10-12 point and you must use either Times New Roman or font similar to Times New Roman.

When using APA format, your essay must consist of four major sections: Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, and References. Also, reference citations in text are done using Harvard referencing. Harvard referencing consists of the author's last name and the date of publication within parentheses, separated by a comma. Reference citations in text are placed immediately after the reference. At the end of the essay or article, full bibliographic information is placed in the reference section.

APA is a professional and scientific organization; representing psychology in the U.S. APA format was invented by the American Psychological Association to cite sources within the subject of social sciences.To learn just how to use APA formatting visit workscited4u.com, the online site that can easily cite for you!

A formal paper, such as a dissertation or a thesis, requires you to follow several formatting rules. The rules provide a structure for the paper, giving instructors the ability to work through the paper's ideas and to judge the validity of your arguments. Such rules also give you a standard, acceptable method for citing the sources that you've used to create your paper, and thereby avoiding inadvertently plagiarizing some material. Determining which set of formatting rules, or styles, to follow is a decision you and your instructor will need to make. A few different popular formats exist, including MLA Style, chiefly used for the humanities and liberal arts, along with APA Style and Chicago (Turabian) Style.

Generally, you select the style to follow based on the subject matter of the paper you're writing. Each style treats the formatting of the paper a little differently to meet the citation needs for the subject matter. In this article, we'll compare APA Style and Chicago (Turabian) Style.

I. CHOOSING YOUR STYLE

If your instructor doesn't select the style that you'll use for your paper, pick a style based on these suggestions.

CHICAGO (TURABIAN) STYLE. For the most part, Chicago (Turabian) Style works well as an all-encompassing style for all types of subject matter. The University of Chicago Press has created The Chicago Manual of Style, which provides the guidelines for citing sources and formatting papers. The 15th edition is the latest edition. Visit chicagomanualofstyle.org on the Web for more information. Kate Turabian, the dissertation secretary at the University of Chicago for 30 years, created A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, giving students and researchers additional guidelines. The sixth edition is the latest edition. The two styles are nearly identical, with only a few differences, and they're often combined to represent one style, as we've done here. Non-scholarly publications also will make use of Chicago (Turabian) Style in magazines and newspapers.

APA STYLE. Subjects related to the social sciences, such as business, criminal justice, economics, law, and medical subjects, including nursing and psychology, work best with APA Style. The American Psychological Association created the APA Style, and you can visit apastyle.org on the Internet to find more information on APA Style. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is the full listing of APA Style guidelines and formatting rules.

II. THE DIFFERENCES

Quite a few formatting differences exist between Chicago (Turabian) Style and APA Style, including those listed here. Choose the style that will allow you to format your paper and deliver the information to your readers in the most efficient manner.

IN-TEXT CITATIONS. Most of the differences between Chicago (Turabian) and APA Styles involve in-text citations. Both styles include the last name of the author and a page number in parentheses for the in-text citation. APA Style also includes the year of publication of the source, but Chicago (Turabian) Style does not.

Chicago (Turabian) Style also allows the use of footnotes, rather than in-text citations, to cite your sources. With a footnote, you link the material that needs to be sourced with the source information, usually through superscript Arabic numerals. A footnote lists far more information about each source than does an in-text citation. Footnotes appear only on the page that contains the information that you need to cite. When using footnotes, you don't necessarily have to include a bibliography, although most people use both.

An in-text citation, meanwhile, provides only a little basic information about the source. Readers use the in-text citation to find the full source information in the bibliography or reference list.

With Chicago (Turabian) Style, you may use either footnotes or in-text citations. APA Style only allows in-text citations.

PAGE NUMBERS. With both styles, the page number appears in the upper right corner of each page. With APA Style, you must include a running title to the left of the page number on each page. A running title is a two- or three-word summary of the title of your paper. With Chicago (Turabian) Style, you only list the page number. If a chapter heading appears on the page in Chicago (Turabian) Style, you should list the page number along the bottom of the page, instead of in the upper right corner.

REFERENCE LIST FORMATTING. With both styles, when listing each of your sources on the reference list page or in a bibliography, use the full last name of the author(s) in each entry. In APA Style, you also list only the initials of the first and middle name of each author. In Chicago (Turabian) Style, you spell out the entire first and middle name of each author. (The middle name information is optional.)

APA style research paper writing is a professional style of writing. It may also be referred to as a particular standard format that is followed for writing academic and research papers. This is already suggested in its name, along with 'APA', which stands for American Psychological Association. An APA style research paper is one that follows strict guidelines. The different rules in this particular format allow you to trace information back to their sources easily. This is why it is mainly used for research purposes.

APA style research paper writing refers to two basic aspects. One is the paper layout, and the other is the referencing. Both these points are followed closely in order to prevent confusion. Researchers, professors, students, etc. tend to recommend a particular format for their papers to be written in. The APA style research paper format is one particular style that they ask for. This is because it is quite simple to follow, and is a widely recognized format.

An APA style research paper has a particular format for each page. In general, you will have 1-inch margins on each side of a page. Each page is usually 8.5 by 11 inches, and the text is double-spaced. With a 12 point Times New Roman font, each page should contain around 250 words. An APA style research paper format will also have a running head on each page, with the page number mentioned in the top right corner.

Your APA style research paper will have different headings for each section of your paper. You will have an 'Abstract', an 'Introduction', 'Objectives', 'Hypothesis', 'Methodology', 'Literature Review', 'Analysis', 'Conclusion', and 'Recommendations'. In addition these headings, there can be others. In an APA style research paper, you may also have a 'Table of Contents' too. This can be an automatically generated one if you produce your research essay on computer. A table of contents produced in Microsoft Word will help you to reach the desired section of your paper by just clicking the section name in the table of contents.

Besides the layout of an APA style research paper with its relevant sections, referencing is important too. The 'References' section of the paper follows the 'Conclusion' and 'Recommendations'. It provides bibliographic detail of the sources used for writing the paper. While bibliographic entries are made in the 'References' section, corresponding in-text citations are placed within the text. These citations link the sources of information to the places in the text where you have used them. In an APA style research paper, in-text citations will carry typically the surname of an author, the year of publication, and the page numbers of the source used.

Writing an APA style research paper takes some practice. The sooner you learn how to use this standard research paper-writing format, the more professional your work will look. To improve your APA style research paper writing skills, you can use any online source that provides relevant information. However, try to use a source that provides as much detail as possible.

When writing a dissertation or thesis, your instructor probably will require you to follow one of two popular style formats for your paper, APA Style or MLA Style. Although both formats are similar, they do have subtle differences that you'll need to know.

Generally, you select the style to follow based on the subject matter of the paper you're writing. Each style treats the formatting of the paper a little differently to meet the citation needs for the subject matter.

I. CHOOSING YOUR STYLE

For the most part, your instructor will select the style of formatting that you'll use for your paper. If you have a choice, however, you can follow these suggestions for deciding which style to use.

APA STYLE.

Use APA Style for subjects related to the social sciences, such as business, criminal justice, economics, law, and medical subjects, including nursing and psychology. The American Psychological Association created the APA Style, and you can visit apastyle (dot) org on the Internet to find more information on APA Style. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is the full listing of APA Style guidelines and APA formatting rules.

MLA STYLE.

Use MLA Style for subjects related to the humanities and liberal arts, such as literature, mass communications, and media studies. The Modern Language Association oversees the development of MLA Style, and you can visit mla(dot)org on the Internet for more information. For undergraduate students, use the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (sometimes shortened to MLA Handbook) as the guide to following MLA Style. For graduate students and professionals, use the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (sometimes shortened to MLA Style Manual) to find official rules and guidelines for MLA Style.

II. THE DIFFERENCES

If you still are not sure which style you should use with your paper, here are some formatting differences between APA Style and MLA Style. Choose the style that will allow you to format your paper and deliver the information to your readers in the most efficient manner.

ABSTRACT.

This difference in this category is pretty obvious: APA Style requires an abstract page, while MLA Style does not. An abstract is a short summary of your paper.

IN-TEXT CITATIONS.

With both styles, use the last name of the author(s) in any in-text citation. With APA Style, you also include the year of publication. With MLA Style, you include the page number of the information you cited along with the name of the author(s), but you do not include the year of publication. By including the year of publication, APA Style gives the readers a chance to decide how much relevancy to place on a particular source, based on its age. With the subject matter used with MLA Style, however, the age of the sourced material usually isn't as vital to its relevancy, so MLA Style doesn't list the year of publication.

With both styles, remember that the in-text citation is simply a method of ensuring that your readers can easily find the full citation in the reference list or works cited page at the end of the paper. You don't need extensive information about the source for an in-text citation.

PAGE NUMBERS.

With both styles, the page number appears in the upper right corner of each page, but each style has different additional information. With APA Style, you must include a running title to the left of the page number on each page. A running title is a two- or three-word summary of the title of your paper. With MLA Style, include the author's name to the left of the page number on each page.

REFERENCE LIST FORMATTING.

With both APA Style and MLA Style, when listing each of your sources on the reference list page (APA Style) or works cited page (MLA Style), use the full last name of the author(s) in each entry. In APA Style, you also list only the initials of the first and middle name of each author. In MLA Style, you spell out the entire first and middle name of each author. (Middle name information is optional.)

TITLE PAGE.

APA Style requires a title page, but MLA Style does not. If you choose to skip the title page with MLA Style, simply include your name, your instructor's name, your course, and the full date in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. Then center the title on the page, followed by your main text.

You'll also find several subtle differences between APA Style and MLA Style in capitalization and punctuation rules. However, those differences are too numerous to list here, and they probably won't affect your decision on which style to use with your paper.

The APA Style rules for formatting a thesis or dissertation are specific, ranging from the proper font size to the proper margins to the type of paper you should use. Here are 14 formatting tips you should follow when creating your paper.

Tip 1: ABBREVIATIONS. Try to avoid using abbreviations in your paper. However, if you have an abbreviation that's commonly accepted in language and appears in the dictionary, such as AIDS, you may use it.

Tip 2: ALIGNMENT. Always align the text flush left. Do not use the "full justify" setting on your word processor, which spreads the text and aligns it both left and right.

Tip 3: FONT. If using a word processor, stick with a serif font, such as Times New Roman. Use text in a 10- or 12-point size.

Tip 4: HYPHENATION. Do not break and hyphenate words at the end of a line. Instead, leave one line a little short and place the entire word on the next line, or go a couple of characters beyond the right margin to fit the entire word on the line.

Tip 5: INDENTIONS. Indent paragraphs within the main text of the paper one-half inch, if using a computer word processor, or five to seven spaces, if using a typewriter. However, do not indent in the following special circumstances: The abstract, block quotations, figure captions, notes, reference list entries, table titles, and titles or headings.

Tip 6: MARGINS. Use 1-inch margins on all four sides of the paper: Top, bottom, right, and left. Old rules called for some 1.5-inch margins, but those rules no longer are valid.

Tip 7: PAGE NUMBERING. Number almost every page in the paper, including the title page. Place the number in the upper-right corner of the page, and use only Arabic numerals. Place the number "1" on the title page and the number "2" on the abstract page. The main text should start on page number "3". Do not number pages that contain only figures or artwork.

Tip 8: PAPER TYPE. Use standard white, 20-pound bond paper that measures 8.5-by-11 inches. If using a computer, use an inkjet or laser printer to print the paper; if you must use a tractor-feed printer, be sure to remove the pinhole borders from the edges of the paper.

Tip 9: PARENTHESES. Try to limit parentheses to set apart elements that are structurally independent, such as when listing a figure or illustration related to a sentence. If you're enclosing a complete sentence in parentheses, place the punctuation inside the parentheses. If you're enclosing only part of a sentence inside parentheses, leave the punctuation outside the parentheses.

Tip 10: PUNCTUATION. In most instances, use one space after all typical punctuation marks, such as periods, commas, colons, and semicolons. Three exceptions exist to this rule. First, do not use a space after periods inside an abbreviation, such as when using U.S. for United States. Second, do not use a space after a colon in a ratio, such as 3:2. Third, some instructors prefer the old rule of using two spaces after periods that end sentences. If you're using Courier or another mono-space font, APA Style does allow two spaces between sentences, although one is preferred.

Tip 11: SHORT TITLE. A Short Title, which is a two- or three-word summary of the main title, should appear on every page in the top right corner, other than pages that contain only figures or artwork. The Short Title should appear just to the left of the page number.

Tip 12: SLASH MARK. Avoid using slash marks in your paper. For example, instead of writing "red and/or green," write "red, green, or both."

Tip 13: SPACING. Use double spacing throughout the entire paper, unless your instructor specifically requests single spacing in certain circumstances, such as with block quotations.

Tip 14: TITLE. Center the title on the title page, using a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters. If the title is long enough to require a second line, double space between the lines. After the title, the student's name should appear, followed by the institution for which the paper is being written. If you don't have an institution to include, you may substitute the city and state of the author of the paper. Double space between every line on the title page. The title page should contain the number "1" in the upper right corner.

Within the main text of your thesis or dissertation, you may need to organize the text and information beyond the standard blocks of text. You have a couple of options under APA Style. Footnotes give you the option of adding information about an idea in your text without detracting from the text. Headings allow you to organize the text into sections, similar to an outline.

1. APA STYLE FOOTNOTES

APA Style recommends against using footnotes within the paper, because it is difficult for a publishing company to reproduce the superscript numbers used with footnotes. Footnotes are explanatory notes referenced from the main text. If you need to use footnotes, place them at the end of the paper, after the references list. (Some people call these types of citations "endnotes.") Footnotes should appear on a separate page with the word "Footnotes" centered at the top of the page.

It's worth noting that because APA Style allows for in-text citations, you'll rarely need footnotes, unless you need an in-depth explanation of an item within the text. However, keep the footnote to a maximum of a few sentences and do not discuss more than one idea per footnote. If you need a more complex footnote, you'll want to include the information as an appendix page entry or incorporate it into the main text instead.

APA Style allows for two types of footnotes: Content and copyright permission. A content footnote should include information that would be distracting to include within the main text. It's a good way to point the reader toward additional information. A copyright permission footnote shows the reader that you have obtained permission to use a previously published long quote (more than 500 words), table, or figure.

Both types of footnotes require the same type of formatting, as shown in the following example.

Technological advancements tend to spark economic growth worldwide.1

On the footnote page, indent each footnote as a new paragraph and double space throughout.

1 Johnson defines technological advancements in a variety of ways ...

2. APA STYLE HEADINGS

APA Style allows for you to use headings to better organize your paper. You can think of using headings like creating an outline. You can use up to five levels with headings, although the formatting becomes tricky if you go deeper than three levels.

The headings formatting requirements include:

FIRST LEVEL. The first level headings should be centered above their associated text blocks. Use both uppercase and lowercase words within the heading.

SECOND LEVEL. Type the second level heading in all italics, flush left, and with both uppercase and lowercase words.

THIRD LEVEL. The third level heading should look like a sentence at the start of a paragraph, as it's indented, all lowercase words (other than the first word or proper nouns), and ends with a period. It is italicized, however, to set it apart from the main text.

An example of the formatting for the first three levels of headings looks this way.

First Level of Heading (centered)

Main text continues as normal (indented).

Second Level of Heading (flush left)

Main text continues as normal (indented).

Third level of heading (indented). Main text should immediately follow the third heading.

FOURTH LEVEL. If you need a fourth level heading, you have to rework your previous headings. The second level becomes italicized and centered, while the old second level and old third level become the new third and fourth levels, respectively.

First Level of Heading (centered)

Main text continues as normal (indented).

Second Level of Heading (centered)

Main text continues as normal (indented).

Third Level of Heading (flush left)

Main text continues as normal (indented).

Fourth level of heading (indented). Main text should immediately follow the fourth heading.

FIFTH LEVEL. Again, adding a fifth level requires reworking of the other levels, beginning with the first level, which now becomes a centered and all uppercase heading. Every other heading moves down one spot. The old first level heading becomes the new second level, and the others follow suit.

FIRST LEVEL OF HEADING (centered)

Main text continues as normal (indented).

Second Level of Heading (centered)

Main text continues as normal (indented).

Third Level of Heading (centered)

Main text continues as normal (indented).

Fourth Level of Heading (flush left)

Main text continues as normal (indented).

Fifth level of heading (indented). Main text should immediately follow the fifth heading.

Finally, keep in mind that very few APA Style papers will require more than two or three levels of headings. Typically, the only types of papers that need four or five levels of headings are those detailing complex scientific experiments.

When compiling your thesis or dissertation, the APA Style guidelines specify certain types of pages, as well as formatting guidelines for those pages. I have included the primary pages you'll need in your manuscript. Always start each of these sections on a new page. Most of them will only require one page.

* ABSTRACT. The second page in your APA style thesis should be the abstract page, which contains a 100- to 150-word summary of your paper. Do not include any of the main text on the abstract page. It will contain the page header, which is a two- or three-word summary of the title, in the upper right corner, just left of page number "2," as the abstract page is always the second page. Do not indent the abstract and limit it to one paragraph. If you use numbers in the abstract, type them as digits, rather than words, unless the number starts a sentence.

* APPENDIX. Use the appendix, which is optional, to describe complex equipment or to present unpublished tests. Each appendix in your APA paper should appear on its own page, and use letters to differentiate each appendix, such as "Appendix A" and "Appendix B." Some papers will not use an appendix page. Any appendix pages belong at the end of the paper.

* AUTHOR NOTE. In the author note page, which is optional, identify the departmental affiliation for the author. You also can include disclaimers, acknowledgements, and, if desired, contact information for the author. If you received funding for this research, identify it on the author note page. Place the author note page after the dedication page. With some instructors and institutions, this page is called the acknowledgments page.

* COPYRIGHT NOTICE. A copyright notice is an optional page in your APA paper; it signifies the paper is copyrighted material. Place a copyright page immediately after the title page. It should include the copyright symbol, the year of publication, the author's name, and "all rights reserved." Center all of the copyright text on the page.

* DEDICATION. A dedication page is an optional page similar to the author note page, and it allows you to dedicate your paper to someone. Place the dedication page after the copyright page. The dedication page does not need to include the word "Dedication" at the top; simply list your dedication in italics. Center it on the page.

* LIST OF TABLES AND LIST OF FIGURES. Only use a list of tables or a list of figures page if you have at least five tables or five figures in your APA paper. Both list pages should appear after the table of contents, with the list of tables page ahead of the list of figures page. List each table or figure with the appropriate title and page number, connected by a leader. Right-align the page number and left-align the title of each table or figure.

* MAIN TEXT. The main text always begins on page 3. Center the complete title above the beginning of the main text.

* REFERENCE LIST. Include your reference list after the main text page and ahead of the appendix page. The reference list page should include all works that you've cited in your paper, listed alphabetically. Rules for listing references under APA Style are specific, depending on the type of work, and you need to follow them closely. (We'll discuss them in another article.)

* TABLE OF CONTENTS. The table of contents page should appear after the abstract page. It is an organized listing of the contents of the paper, providing page numbers to the various sections and headings in the paper. The reader can use the table of contents to jump to a particular section of the paper. When listing chapter headings in the table of contents, make sure they exactly match the chapter headings in the text. Use a leader to connect the chapter heading or section name (aligned on the left) with the page number (aligned on the right). Type "Table of Contents" centered at the top of the page.

* TITLE. The title page includes more than just the title. In the upper right corner, include the page header and page number "1," as the title page is always the first page. Then center the title on the page. If the title requires more than one line, use double spacing. Include the author's name and the author's educational institution or the author's home city and state.

When writing an APA Style paper, it's required that you properly cite any sources you've used. Citing sources is important for a few reasons. First, it allows instructors to check the accuracy of your research. Second, it gives your readers the opportunity to find additional related information. Most importantly, citing sources gives credit for the research and theories that you're citing to the people who've created them.

Citing sources in APA Style requires two processes. One citation is required at the position in the main text where the cited material appears, called an in-text citation. The other citation occurs at the end of the paper, in a list of all cited works, called a reference list.

In this article, we'll focus on materials you'll need to cite within the main text of the APA style paper.

I. CITING A PRINTED WORK IN APA STYLE

Often times, the type of APA formatting used for an in-text citation of printed material will depend on the structure of the sentence, as shown in these examples.

Citation example A:

Include the names of the author within the sentence, followed by the year of publication inside parentheses.

The study created by Johnson, Smith, & Jones (2003) indicates that technological advancements spur economic growth.

Citation example B:

You can place the names of the authors inside the parentheses with the year of publication, depending on your sentence structure.

Some economists have indicated that technological advancements spur economic growth (Johnson, Smith, & Jones, 2003).

II. SUBSEQUENT LISTINGS

Once you have listed a printed source and its author(s) in your paper, you sometimes can abbreviate with subsequent in-text citations of the same work. As shown in these examples, the number of authors determines whether an abbreviation is appropriate.

One or two authors:

On subsequent references, list it as you did the first time, with one or both authors' names and the year of publication.

Additionally, the Johnson & Jones (2003) study indicates ...

Three or more authors:

On subsequent references, you only need to list the first author, followed by "et al." before the year of publication.

Additionally, the Johnson et al. (2003) study indicates ...

III. SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

With published works, figuring out the authors' names and the year of publication is a fairly easy process. With some sources, creating the proper in-text APA citation can be a little more difficult.

For example, a Web page might not readily include an author's name. If one isn't available, you can use an editor's name, simply listing it as you listed the author's name in the examples shown earlier.

If no author's name or editor's name is available, just list the name of the organization or institution that's associated with the Web site, as shown in the following example.

An economic organization's study has indicated that technological advancements spur economic growth (Worldwide Economists Group, 2006).

You also can use the title of a Web page or publication with the in-text citation, if no author is listed. Remember, with an in-text citation, you're simply trying to ensure that those who read your paper can easily find the full listing of the source in the reference list at the end of the paper.

IV. Quotations

When quoting source material directly within your text, use the same in-text citation formatting we've already described, along with a little additional information.

Short quotations:

For any quotation less than 40 words in length, use quotation marks around the quotation, followed by the page number of the reference.

According to Johnson (2003), "Spending tax dollars on technological advancements spurs growth in the local economy" (p. 43).

Long quotations:

Follow the same APA format for in-text citations, including the page number(s), for a long quotation of more than 40 words. However, you'll want to create a special block of text for the long quotation by indenting about one-half inch from the left margin for all lines of the quotation. Return to the normal left margin after reaching the end of the quotation block. Do not use quotation marks with this long quotation block, and double space throughout the block.

V. MORE INFORMATION

Keep in mind that APA Style says that you should always use past tense or present perfect tense when describing research that requires an in-text citation.

Finally, if you have a particularly tricky source to cite within your text that isn't covered here, you can find the answer in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, which is the ultimate resource for APA Style.

Writing that first thesis or dissertation can be a daunting task on its own. Throw in a need for APA Style guidelines in the paper, and it can be downright intimidating for the student who has never used APA Style in the past.

However, following APA Style doesn't have to be a chore that takes all of the enjoyment out of your writing. A large portion of following APA Style involves common sense writing rules. Dozens of other APA resources can help you with the rest. This set of articles will spell out many aspects of using APA Style.

I. APA STYLE'S ORIGINATION

APA is short for the American Psychological Association. The APA came up with APA Style as a format for its members to follow as they wrote books and journals for the APA to publish. The initial APA Style guidelines appeared in a magazine article in 1929. The first formal APA Style book appeared in 1952.

The format quickly grew in popularity, expanding well beyond APA members. Many educational institutions use APA Style as a guideline for students writing a formal paper, such as a thesis or dissertation.

II. WHAT APA STYLE COVERS

By using APA Style, the student has a comprehensive guideline for formatting all aspects of the paper. For example, APA Style provides rules for the type and size of font to be used, the margins on the paper, and use of punctuation. APA Style also provides rules for citing references, presenting figures or illustrations, and creating tables. Essentially, APA Style rules cover every aspect of the paper that you will be writing.

The APA Style rules have evolved over the years, making subtle changes. Sometimes, you may have an instructor who prefers an old rule and will ask you to break away from the APA Style on that particular rule. Other instructors allow for a few exceptions to APA Style, especially those that make the paper easier to read, such as combining the abstract and title pages.

However, if you plan to submit your thesis or dissertation for publication, you'll want to follow the APA Style precisely.

III. HOW TO START AN APA STYLE PAPER

Using a word processor and a computer makes applying APA Style far easier than it used to be with a typewriter. If you need to add a footnote or insert a quotation at the last minute, it's easy to do with a word processing program, such as MS-WORD.

When writing your paper using APA Style, you start with a title page that contains the title, your name, and your school. The second page is the abstract page, which contains a short description of your paper. The main text begins on the third page. At the end, you'll list all of the sources you used with your paper in the references section.

During your research, as you find sources to use in your paper, you will want to make sure you have the APA Style guidelines handy, ensuring that you collect all of the necessary information about each source. Different types of sources (such as books, reports, and papers) require different types of documentation in APA Style, but the information you'll typically need includes:

* Title of book or article or report
* Author name or names
* Date of publication or creation or retrieval
* Name of publication
* Publishing house or company
* Pages or chapters used as a source
* Short description of source's origination, if necessary, such as a Web site or a conference

Obviously, some citations will not have every piece of information listed above. When collecting information on your sources, a good rule of thumb to follow is: Collect at least as much information as you'd need to tell someone else how to find the exact piece of information you used as a resource in your paper. Take your time to ensure you have all of the information to properly cite the source.

IV. FINDING MORE ANSWERS

If you have specific questions regarding APA Style, the ultimate resource is The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, which is available for about $40. The fifth edition is the current edition. You also can visit the APAStyle (dot) org Web site for some tips and additional information for using APA Style with your paper.

For additional help, your instructor might have some tips or guidelines. Your university library likely has dozens of books devoted to APA Style guidelines. If all else fails, Google can provide dozens of Web sites that provide tips for correctly applying APA Style rules in your paper.

With so many APA Style resources available, you can stop worrying about APA Style and place all of your focus where it belongs: On the substance of your thesis or dissertation.

Writing in APA Style can be an intimidating task, especially if you've never written a formal research paper previously. APA Style has many rules, guidelines, and formatting requirements for your paper that it can be overwhelming to think about all of the opportunities for mistakes.

However, following APA Style is not as difficult as it sounds. As with almost any educational endeavor, hurrying unnecessarily will lead to mistakes, so take your time to ensure correct formatting. Following the APA Style tips listed here will help, too.

ACTIVE VOICE.

Try to avoid writing in passive voice. APA Style requires active voice, and some instructors will downgrade your paper if you use a lot of passive voice. With active voice, the subject of the sentence does something. With passive voice, the subject of the sentence has something done to it. Passive voice often uses the word "by."

FOCUS ON THE WRITING.

There's no question that following APA Style closely is an important part of creating a successful paper. However, the tight rules and guidelines that govern APA Style should not be your primary focus. Instead, focus on the content of your paper and focus on the writing. If the content of your paper is lacking, it won't matter to your instructor how closely your paper follows APA Style.

LANGUAGE TIPS.

When writing your APA Style paper, avoid using contractions: "Can't" should be "cannot," and "it's" should be "it is." Do not use slang language. Clear, concise language is best. Never write in the first person, either.

PLAGIARISM PROBLEMS.

Obviously, you don't want to plagiarize any part of your paper. To make sure you don't inadvertently commit plagiarism, cite all of your sources. If you're unsure whether to use an in-text citation for a source, you probably should use it. It's better to be safe than sorry when citing sources.

PROOFREAD A FEW TIMES.

You'd be surprised how often a simple mistake sneaks into formal papers because the author didn't take the time to proofread more than once. Proofreading should not be done as a last-minute item; it should be done a few times before the paper is completed. In fact, it's best to set the paper aside for a couple of days between proofreading sessions. If you can take a break from the paper for a couple of days, you'll be surprised how much better your proofreading sessions go with a fresh look at the paper, rather than a harried, last-minute look.

PROOFREAD SOME MORE.

Depending on the importance of the paper, you may want to hire someone to do some additional proofreading for you. Again, having a fresh look at the paper, this time from a different pair of eyes, will only help improve your paper.

REFERENCE LIST.

As you perform the research for your paper, it's important to keep the reference list in the back of your mind. When you pull information from sources, make sure that you collect extensive information about each source. Having a comprehensive list is good for two reasons. First, you must have the information for the reference list, so collecting it as you use each source will save you time when compiling the reference list later. Second, if you need to revisit a particular source to find more information for your paper, you'll have very few problems finding it again with a comprehensive source list.

REPEATABLE RULES.

Once you've mastered a few of the APA Style guidelines, you'll repeat them throughout your paper, making your job easier. This is especially true with citing sources, either inside the main text or on the references list page. Even though there are subtle, slight differences in formatting the citations, depending on the type of source, most the formatting is similar.

YOUR INSTRUCTOR KNOWS BEST.

Finally, if you encounter a dilemma where the instructions for your paper that your instructor provided contradict APA Style guidelines and rules, go with your instructor's preferences. Some APA Style rules are modifiable, giving your instructor some latitude. In addition, because APA Style rules have evolved over the years, you might have an instructor who prefers an old rule to a new rule.

If you encounter a contradiction, just remember this: The last time I checked, the latest edition of the APA Style Manual had never graded a paper. Follow the desires of the person who will be grading the paper.