Formatting a College Essay — APA Style
| Learning Objectives: - Employ correct citation format for APA style.
- Identify proper APA formatting for college essays, including a references page.
|
LESSON
You will likely be asked to write numerous essaysA short piece of writing that focuses on at least one main idea. Some essays are also focused on the author's unique point of view, making them personal or autobiographical, while others are focused on a particular literary, scientific, or political subject. over the course of your academic career. While the contentThe text in a writing that includes facts, thoughts, and ideas. The information that forms the body of the work. of your work is significant, it is also essential that you develop strong and accurate formattingThe way in which content is arranged, usually following a set of rules. In writing, outlines and essays often follow a format specified by their purpose or where they are published. skills. Formatting an essay correctly is not only good authorship but is also important to instructors who often have to read hundreds of essays over the course of a semester. Your instructors will likely provide you with essay guidelines indicating whether you should use MLAA grammar and reference guide used mainly by students and scholars writing about the humanities (languages and literature). or APAA set of guidelines for citing sources used in literary and academic writing. APA style is most commonly used in the social sciences. style to format your paper. If you are uncertain as to your instructor's expectations, be sure to ask. Instructors appreciate students taking extra measures needed to correctly format essays. In this lesson, you will learn how to correctly format a college essay using APA style. Note: This foundation lesson is not meant to include or cover all of the rules and guidelines for properly formatting an essay. Be sure to refer to the APA style guide to ensure that you follow all of the formatting rules.
Part of formatting an essay is properly formatting in-text citationsInformation about a source, such as the author, date, and page number, in an essay or research paper that helps readers find the source in the works cited or references page. There are different rules for how to use in-text citations depending on the context of the citation and the style of formatting you are using. and your list of sourcesA person, book, article, or other thing that supplies information.. APA refers to the list of sources as a reference listAn alphabetized list of publication information about the sources used in an APA-formatted essay or research paper.. Keep in mind that in-text citations and the reference list work together. Without one, you cannot have the other. The in-text citations lead readers to the listing of complete source information in the reference list.
Formatting an Essay in APA Style
Headers and page numbers
In APA style, the headerInformation that appears at the very top of a page and may appear on subsequent pages of a work. appears on each page. In student papers, it includes only a page number, placed flush with the right-hand margin. (Examples will follow in the next section.)
APA Headers
| Content | |
| Location | - 1/2" from top
- Flush with right margin
|
Cover pages
APA style requires the use of a cover pageA page that comes before an essay or article and contains basic information about the work, including its title and author. The format of a cover page (also called the title page) will vary depending on the style guide in use.. The cover page should include the title of your essay, your full name, the course name and number, the name of the instructor, and the the date, all double-spaced and centered on the page. It should also include your header, as described above. (Some colleges and/or classes require additional or different information on the cover page; again, if you are unsure, be sure to visit your writing center or ask your instructor.)
APA Cover Page
| Cover page | Separate cover page preceding the essay |
| Content | On Cover Page: - Your name, four lines below the title
- College or university name
- Course number and name
- Instructor's name
- Date: Month, Day, Year
|
| Location | Double-spaced and centered on the page |
Below is an example of an APA cover page:
| 1 College to Career Jane Smith State College Introduction to Business 101 Dr. Jones October 21, 2023 |
Below is an example of the first page of content in an APA paper:
| 2 College to Career How many times have you heard children talking about what they want to be when they grow up? They often answer with silly or outrageous ideas like "a purple spaceman." As we get older, |
Note the title, "College to Career," is in bold font.
Margins, font, and spacing
APA has specific requirements with respect to margins, fontA set of letters, numbers, and punctuation marks that are the same style. Examples: Times New Roman and Arial are fonts., and line spacingThe vertical distance between lines of text on a page. The most common types of spacing are single and double.. Set one-inch margins on all sides. Use a consistent and accessible font that is legible and includes commonly used special characters. If you are ever in doubt as to which font to use, ask your instructor. Whichever font you choose, remain consistent throughout your essay. Your essay should always be double-spaced throughout. Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch from the margin. Use only one space after all end punctuationThe punctuation at the end of a sentence, which can be a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point. The end punctuation helps define the tone and meaning of a sentence. Notice the difference in tone in these examples: Someone ate my last cookie! (I'm really mad about that.) Someone ate my last cookie. (Oh well, I wasn't hungry anyway.) Someone ate my last cookie? (I'm not sure I even had another cookie.).
APA Margins, Font, and Spacing
| Margins | 1" on all sides |
| Font | Consistent 10- to 12-point font |
| Spacing | Double-spaced throughout |
| Indent | First line of paragraphs 1/2" from left margin |
| End punctuation | One space following |
Look online to see samples of a properly formatted APA essay.
Punctuating and Formatting In-text Citations
Here are the guidelines for using in-text citations when using APA style.
- For every in-text reference, provide the author's name (or the work's title if there is no author) and the date of publication.
- In cases where a particular part of a source is cited, include the author's last name, the date of publication, and the location (page number, chapter number or name, time stamp, etc.).
Example:
Evan's work has been characterized as "masterful, but distinctly odd" (Thomas, 2011, p. 45).
"(Thomas, 2011, p. 45)" is the in-text citation with the author, year of publication, and page number.
- If the author's name is mentioned in the attributive phraseA short introduction to source material that identifies the author and often the title of a work that will be quoted or discussed in an essay or research paper. , the year of publication should follow the author's name in parentheses. In this case, only the page number appears in the parenthetical in-text citation.
Example:
Thomas (2011) characterizes Evan's work as "masterful, but distinctly odd" (p. 45).
"Thomas...characterizes" is the attributive phrase with the author's name. "(2011)" is the year of publication. "(p. 45)" is the page number.
- There are occasions when all pertinent information is included in the attributive phrase. In these cases, a parenthetical citation is not used.
Example:
On page 45, Thomas (2011) describes Evan's work as "masterful, but distinctly odd."
"On page 45, Thomas (2011) describes" is the attributive phrase with the author's name, page number, and year of publication. An in-text citation is not needed in this case.
There will be times when all the information for a citation is not available--for example, websites do not always list dates and usually do not include page numbers, sources are sometimes published without authors, and so on. If you cannot obtain all the required information on a source, provide as much information as you can in order to allow readers to find your source.
Here is an example of how to cite a web source without page numbers. In this example, the time stamp from a news video is used to locate the quotation:
According to a recent study, "more than seventy-five percent of payday loans are to people taking out new loans to cover the original one" (CNN, 2014, 2:15-2:20).
"According to a recent study" is the attributive phrase with the year of publication. "(CNN, 2014, 2:15-2:20)" is the source with the time stamp from the news video when the quote occurs.
Here are some more specific requirements with respect to the punctuationMarks such as such as a comma (,), period (.), question mark (?), and exclamation mark (!), among others, that help break a writing into phrases, clauses, and sentences. Different types of punctuation marks give the reader different impressions of the writer’s purpose in that sentence. and format of APA in-text citations:
- The in-text citation goes inside the end punctuation. Remember that the in-text citation is part of the sentence in which the source materialInformation that is quoted or paraphrased from outside works, such as journal articles, online documents, and books. is used, so it must be included in the sentence by placing the period after the parentheses.
- When citing a quotationAn exact copy of the words from a speech or text. These words are placed inside quotation marks to show that they are a perfect repeat of the original. , both the in-text citation and end punctuation go outside the closing quotation marksA set of single or double inverted commas (' ' or " ") that are placed around a word or passage to mark the beginning and end of a direct quotation or a title.. If the quoted material includes an ending period, place it after the in-text citation. This is one of the few instances in which end punctuation goes outside the quotation marks.
- Indent, by 0.5 inches, entire quotations that exceed forty words (however, do not indent the attributive phrase).
- In block quotationsA copy of a long section of a text or speech, set off from the rest of a text. Block quotations, like direct quotations, are exact repeats of wording, but because of their length they are indented or printed in a different font rather than placed inside quotation marks., the in-text citation goes outside the end punctuation.
Reference List
APA style requires a list of sources at the end of the work. Here are the guidelines for formatting a reference list.
- The reference list should be double-spaced, and in the same font as the rest of the essay. Do not use bold font, do not underline any words, and do not resize the font in any way.
- The reference list should always begin a new page. The title—"References"—should be centered and bold, but not underlined or enclosed in quotes. (Note: if there is only one source, the list should be titled "Reference.")
- Individual citations must be arranged alphabetically by author's last name. If you have more than one article or work from the same author, list the entries chronologically, from the oldest to the most recent.
- Each full citation should have a hanging indent, which means that the first line should be on the left margin and all following lines indented by .5 inches.
- The full citation must include all the information that a reader needs to find the original text. Generally, that includes:
- Author(s) (listed by last name then initials)
- Year of publication
- Title of work (chapter, article, web page, etc.)
- Title of larger work, if applicable (book, newspaper, journal, magazine, website, etc.) in italics
- Page numbers, when applicable
- Publisher's name, when applicable
- For online sources, include either the "doi" (direct object identifier), if included in the source's bibliographic information, or the URL.
Reference List
| References Francis, J. (2007). Gender politics in the novels of Eli Fraser. Journal of Gender Studies, 12(3), 22-30. Howard, N. (2005). Eli Frasier and the sequestered woman. English Studies, 23(3), 89-95. Marvin, S. (2011). Eli Frasier's Women. Journal of Contemporary Women's Studies, 6(1), 13-22. |
Note the title is "References" and is in bold face font. The citations are listed in alphabetical order, and each citation has a hanging indent.
+ PRACTICAL APPLICATIONYou will encounter various situations over the course of your academic career in which you will be required to provide work with properly cited references. For example, imagine that your psychology instructor assigns an essay requiring evidentiary sourcesSpecific media, such as journal articles, newspapers, and research studies that provide the support for claims or viewpoints expressed in an essay and help convince readers that an argument has merit. Evidentiary sources may provide facts and statistics, expert opinions, or anecdotal evidence.. This will require you to research and compile a list of citations for your sources. As you are writing, you will incorporate in-text citations into your essay. Another scenario in which you will need to provide in-text citations and a reference list is when you are asked to write an essay to support your findings in a science lab. While this essay should be based upon your own experiential evidence in the lab, you will need to do research to provide additional support for your findings.
Any time you use the ideasA thought, opinion, or impression., argumentsA set of statements or reasons making a case for or against something., theoriesIn science, a well tested and widely accepted explanation for a phenomenon. Theories incorporate facts, observations, experiments, laws, and careful reasoning. In more general usage, theory may merely mean an unproven idea, speculation, or guesswork., or words of another writer, you must provide correct and properly formatted citations. Be sure to check with your instructors regarding what style they prefer for formatting any essay you are assigned.
Exercise 1: APA In-text Citations
This section provides five examples demonstrating incorrect punctuation and format for in-text citations in APA style. As you read, notice the errors and how they should be corrected.
- Marciano (2007) challenges fellow educators to present to students "the other side of history" that "rarely makes it into schools, textbooks, and mass media" (Marciano, 2007).
This sentence contains one error. Since the author's name and the year of publication are given in the attributive phrase, and a particular passage is quoted, the in-text citation should include the page number rather than the author's name and year.
Correction: Marciano (2007) challenges fellow educators to present to students "the other side of history" that "rarely makes it into schools, textbooks, and mass media" (p. 598).
- In The Future Is Up to Us, Peery claims that the U.S. is "by far the most ideological nation on earth" (2002, pg. 235).
This sentence contains three errors. First, the name of the book should appear in italics. Second, the year of publication should appear in parentheses after the author's name when the author's name appears in the attributive phrase. Third, the correct APA page number abbreviation is "p." not "pg."
Correction: In The Future Is Up to Us, Peery (2002) claims that the U.S. is "by far the most ideological nation on earth" (p. 235).
- Arguably, fascist propaganda became more prevalent in U.S. society during the Cold War: "As we know, fascist agitation has by now come to be a profession, as it were, a livelihood. It had plenty of time to test the effectiveness of its various appeals and, through what might be called natural selection, only the most catchy ones have survived" (Adorno, 1951, p. 148).
This sentence contains two errors. Quotations over forty words should be formatted as block quotations, with the entire quotation being indented by one-half inch and without using quotation marks. Second, if the quotation is formatted as a block quotation, the period is placed before the parenthetical citation.
Correction: Arguably, fascist propaganda became more prevalent in U.S. society during the Cold War:
| | As we know, fascist agitation has by now come to be a profession, as it were, a livelihood. It had plenty of time to test the effectiveness of its various appeals and, through what might be called natural selection, only the most catchy ones have survived. (Adorno, 1951, p. 148) |
- During the early years of ecology as a field of study, scientists looked to communities of organisms to help them explain human behavior (Mitman; The State of Nature 2003; 352).
This sentence contains three errors. An APA in-text citation does not require the title of the source. Also, commas are used in in-text citations rather than semicolons, and "p." should precede the page number.
Correction: During the early years of ecology as a field of study, scientists looked to communities of organisms to help them explain human behavior (Mitman, 2003, p. 352).
- In the 1950s, anti-union campaigns developed as a reaction to strong union participation in the 1930s and 1940s (Phillips & Fein).
This in-text citation is missing at least one key piece of information: the year of publication. If the citation refers to a complete work, as opposed to a particular page in the work, it would be correct to include only the author(s) and year of publication. If it refers to a particular page, it should include the page number (if available, and preceded by "p."), as well.
Correction: In the 1950s, anti-union campaigns developed as a reaction to strong union participation in the 1930s and 1940s (Phillips & Fein, 2013, p. 503).
Exercise 1: APA In-text Citations
This section provides five examples of in-text citations in APA style. Now it's your turn to determine if the examples have been properly punctuated and formatted. Identify the errors, if any, and correct the in-text citation accordingly.
- The Sabhnanis, Hindu Sindhi immigrants from India, own a perfumery that they run out of their home. They have been incarcerated for their abuses of Samirah and Enung (Konigsberg; page 320; 2008).
What errors (if any) does this in-text citation contain?
This in-text citation contains three errors. The punctuation mark used after "Konigsberg" should be a comma, not a semicolon; the page number should appear after the year of publication, not before it, and be preceded by "p." not "page."
Write the corrected in-text citation (if necessary).
Correction: The Sabhnanis, Hindu Sindhi immigrants from India, own a perfumery that they run out of their home. They have been incarcerated for their abuses of Samirah and Enung (Konigsberg, 2008, p. 320).
- While slaves in the early Americas generally were limited to those from Africa, today the overwhelming majority of the 12.3 million ("U.N. and Partners") migrant domestic workers forced into labor are women and girls from a variety of second- and third-world countries.
What errors (if any) does this in-text citation contain?
This citation includes three errors. The citation is in the wrong place. The United Nations is the author, not the title of the work and should not be in quotation marks. Also, the writer left out the year of publication. (Because the citation refers to a complete study, rather than a quote or paraphrase, no specific page number is required.)
Write the corrected in-text citation (if necessary).
Correction: While slaves in the early Americas generally were limited to those from Africa, today the overwhelming majority of the 12.3 million migrant domestic workers forced into labor are women and girls from a variety of second- and third-world countries (United Nations, 2007).
- According to two online sources, the Involuntary Domestic Servitude Report from the U.S. Department of State (2010), as well as the U.S. Department of State's 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report, domestic workers typically work without contracts or legal protection.
What errors (if any) does this in-text citation contain?
The year of publication is included in the attributive phrase introducing the first work, and is part of the title of the second source. Page numbers aren't required when summarizing a source.
Write the corrected in-text citation (if necessary).
- With difficulty, she found help to leave this terrible situation and start her life over (Montouvalou 35).
What errors (if any) does this in-text citation contain?
This citation is not complete. Assuming it refers to a particular page in the source, it must contain the author's name, the year of publication, and the page number, all separated by commas. The page number should be indicated by the abbreviation "p."
Write the corrected in-text citation (if necessary).
Correction: With difficulty, she found help to leave this terrible situation and start her life over (Montouvalou, 2013, p. 35).
- Smith and Donnerstein argue that "young children are less able to distinguish fantasy from reality, or to draw appropriate inferences from a violent story line, than are older children and adults." ("Harmful effects of exposure to media violence").
What errors (if any) does this in-text citation contain?
This citation contains four errors. The year of publication should follow the authors' names in the sentence. The name of the article in parentheses is not necessary because the reader will learn what article by Smith and Donnerstein is referenced by consulting the reference list. Since the reference is a quotation, the page number should be included. Finally, the period should not appear at the end of the quote, but only after the closing parenthesis.
Write the corrected in-text citation (if necessary).
Correction: Smith and Donnerstein (2008) argue that "young children are less able to distinguish fantasy from reality, or to draw appropriate inferences from a violent story line, than are older children and adults" (p. 286).
Why is it important to correctly format your essays in college?
It is important to correctly format my essays because instructors expect this of their students. Plus, if I turn in properly formatted essays, my instructors will know that I have made an effort to follow their guidelines, so it will probably positively impact my grade and reflect well on the quality of my work.
Why do you need to include both an in-text citation and a reference list?
Neither the in-text citation information nor the reference list provide enough information regarding your sources by themselves. In-text citations and the reference list work together to allow you to write a smooth and cohesive essay (rather than one that is broken up by full citations), provide the details required by APA style, and enable your readers to locate any of your sources.
This lesson follows the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual, published in 2019. Check the APA Publication Manual for updates.
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