L AM E R I A L J AC O B S O N M C R AE , P H D , L M H C

WRITING APA-STYLE

APA

• American Psychological

Association (APA, 2013)

• Most commonly used

style formatting for

publications, papers,

articles, manuscripts in

social sciences

APA: THREE MAJOR CONSIDERATIONS

1. Style

2. Format

3. Citations and References

APA STYLE: VIEW AND VOICE

• Use third person point of view rather than first person point

of view, when possible.

• What not to do: I (we) found that…

• What to do: The study showed that…

• Use active voice rather than passive voice, when possible.

• Hint: Use the basic subject-verb-object (SVO) structure

• What not to do: The participants have been asked….

• What to do: The researchers inquired… The participants responded…

APA STYLE: VIEW AND VOICE

1. Be crisp: use simple, descriptive adjectives and minimize

metaphorical or figurative language, which makes stronger

statements to the reader.

1. Be clear: use specific descriptions and statements to provide

clarity for the reader.

2. Be concise: condense information into succinct statements

to reduce confusion for the reader.

• Typed, double-spaced.

• Two spaces after punctuation

between sentences.

• Standard-sized paper (8.5”x11”).

• 1” margins on sides, top, and

bottom.

• 12 point, Times New Roman font.

• Page header (title) in the upper

left-hand of every page and a page

number in the upper right-hand

side of every page.

Consistent and does not

change!

APA FORMAT

APA FORMAT: FOUR MAJOR SECTIONS

1. Tile page

2. Abstract

3. Main Body

4. References

APA FORMAT: TITLE PAGE

• Page header: (View >

Header and Footer)• Running head: title flush

left + page number flush

right. Lower case h and

colon. Title in ALL CAPS.

• Title (centered, upper

half of page), name (no

title or degree), and

affiliation (institution).

APA FORMAT: ABSTRACT

• Page header: do not include

Running head:

• Abstract (centered, top of the

page).• Brief (150 and 250 words) summary of

your paper in an accurate, concise,

and specific manner.

• Include research topic, research

questions, participants, methods,

results, data analysis, and conclusions.

• Include implications of your research

and clinical practice.

• Keywords: key points, use two

APA FORMAT: MAIN BODY

• First main body begins

on page number 3.

• Title (centered, top of

page, level 1 header)

• Identify sources and use

parenthetical in-text

citations (e.g.,

Jacobson, 2016).

• Format tables and

figures

APA FORMAT: IN-TEXT CITATIONS

Paraphrases and Direct Quotes

• Author’s last name and the year of publication

in parenthesis after a summary or a paraphrase• APA graduate level papers need to show rigor for

readability purposes (Jacobson, 2016).

• Authors last name outside of parenthesis and

year of publication in parenthesis after direct

quotes. Also, provide a page number in

parenthesis and quotations around any use of

direct quotes from source.

• Introduce quotations with key phrases such as

acknowledged, maintained, responded, reported,

argued, concluded..

• Jacobson (2016) argued that graduate level papers

include “…the most rigorous APA style in order to

increase readability” (p.11).

Two or More Sources

• With two or more sources, order them as they

appear in the References, the author(s) name,

the year of publication, separated by a semi-

colon.• In parenthesis: (Jacobson, 2016; Roach, 2016)

• As signal Phrase: Jacobson (2016) and Roach (2016)

argued…

APA FORMAT: IN-TEXT CITATIONS

• With two authors, use and in between authors’ name in the signal phrase yet ampersand (i.e., &) between their

names in parenthesis.• According to Jacobson and Roach (2015), “the Stetson counseling programs appear among the best…” (p. 2).

• Researchers report “the Stetson counseling programs appear among the best…” (Jacobson & Roach, 2015, p. 2).

• With three to five authors, identify all authors in the signal phrase or in parenthesis. In subsequent citations, only

use the first author's last name followed by et al. in the signal phrase or in parenthesis. • First use: Jacobson, Roach, and Thanasiu (2015) OR (Jacobson, Roach, & Thanasiu, 2015)

• Subsequent uses: Jacobson et al. (2015) OR (Jacobson et al., 2015)

• When citing a work with six and more authors, identify the first author’s name followed by et al. • Jacobson et al. (2014) stated that…

• (Jacobson et al., 2014).

APA FORMAT: REFERENCES

• Identify a type of source (e.g., book, journal).

• Find an example of citing this type of source in the APA Manual and mirror.

• References (centered, top of page).

• List in the alphabetical order, author’s last name first followed by initials.

• Flush left and hanging indent subsequent lines, per reference.

• Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns.

• Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles or essays in edited collections.

• Capitalize each letter of each word and italicize titles of books.

• Example:

Jacobson, L. (2016). The use of APA style writing in counselor education graduate programs. Journal of

Graduate School Papers, 10, 1(3).

RESOURCES

• Purdue Owl:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/

• APA 6th edition manual

STETSON COUNSELOR EDUCATION RESEARCH

CLUB (CERC)

• At least one meeting per semester.

• Research topics include:

• creating conference proposals and presentations

• writing journal articles

• submitting proposals to an institutional review board (IRB)

• implementing research studies, and (d) applying for external funding.

• Benefits include

• CERC is free with no membership dues.

• A great way to meet others interested and involved in research.

• Receive tips on how to approach faculty and administrators about

research projects.

• Find out more information on stipends and scholarships for graduate

research.