APA Style Guide | Part 1 | Title Page, In text References, Headings, and Quotations

Summary

This session offers a comprehensive guide to formatting research studies using the APA 7th edition style. It covers general formatting, including double-spacing, margins, and font size, as well as specific instructions for title pages, headings, and citations. The video script details how to format titles, running heads, and page numbers, and provides examples of parenthetical and narrative citations. It also explains the correct use of headings, quotations, and block quotations, ensuring that viewers can apply APA guidelines accurately in their academic writing.

Takeaways

• 📄 APA style is widely used in social sciences and requires a clear and consistent format for research papers.
• 🖨️ Manuscripts should be typed in Times New Roman or similar font, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins on all sides.
• 📝 Indent paragraphs using a tab, and ensure there's only one space between sentences.
• 🔢 The running head, which is a short title of the paper, should not exceed 50 characters and is placed at the top left of every page.
• 📑 The title page should include the title, author's name, and institutional affiliation, all centered and in 12-point font.
• 📝 For in-text citations, use parenthetical citations with the author's last name and the publication year, separated by a comma.
• 📑 Headings in APA style are not indicated by numbers or letters; they use different levels of bold and italics to denote hierarchy.
• 📖 Short quotations (less than 40 words) are enclosed in double quotation marks and integrated into the text.
• 📘 Long quotations (more than 40 words) are formatted as block quotations, indented, and without quotation marks.
• 🔑 Each citation must include the author's name, year, and page number for direct quotations, formatted correctly in the text.

Q & A

What is the APA style guide used for?

The APA style guide is used in various disciplines including nursing, business, social work, education, and other behavioral and social sciences to format research studies and academic papers.

What are the key elements of the general format according to the APA 7th edition?

The key elements include using Times New Roman or Georgia font in 12-point size, double-spacing throughout the paper, 1-inch margins on all sides, and indenting all paragraphs with a half-inch tab.

How should the running head be formatted in an APA style paper?

The running head should be a short title of the paper with no more than 50 characters, placed at the top left of every page, and in all caps.

What is the correct way to format the title page in APA style?

The title page should have a running head in all caps, the title centered and in 12-point font, the author's name and institutional affiliation centered below the title, and an author note with correspondence details at the bottom.

How are parenthetical citations formatted in APA style?

Parenthetical citations include the author's last name and the publication year, separated by a comma, and enclosed in parentheses. For works with two authors, use '&; for three or more, use 'et al.'

What is the difference between narrative and parenthetical citations in APA style?

Narrative citations emphasize the author's name in the text, with the date in parentheses. Parenthetical citations, on the other hand, place both the author and the date within the parentheses.

How should headings be formatted in an APA style paper?

Level one headings are centered and bold, level two are flush left and bold, level three are flush left, bold, and italic, and level four are indented, bold, and italic. Level five headings are indented, bold, and italic as well, but without the period at the end.

What is the correct format for quotations in APA style?

Short quotations (less than 40 words) are enclosed in double quotation marks. Long quotations (40 words or more) are formatted as block quotations, indented 0.5 inches from the left margin, without quotation marks, and double-spaced.

How should page numbers be included in an APA style paper?

Page numbers should be placed at the top right of each page, starting with the title page.

What are the guidelines for including quotations in the text in APA style?

Quotations should be incorporated into the sentence using a signal phrase to introduce the quote. For short quotations, use double quotation marks and include the page number. For block quotations, indent and remove quotation marks.