INTRODUCTION TO APA STYLE

1. INTRODUCTION TO APA STYLE APA 6thEdition Trae Stewart, Ph.D., Associate Professor & EDCL Program Coordinator Zane Wubbena, M.A., Ph.D. Student – School Improvement (Updated July 2014)

2. Overview • APA 6thEdition • APA Style • What is APA Style? • Purpose of APA Style • General APA Style Guidelines • Helpful Resources

3. What is APA Style? • American Psychological Association(APA) • Originated in 1929 by psychologists, anthropologists, and business managers • Academic disciplines: social sciences, psychology, education, etc. • Official procedures, or style rules, of the APA • Rules for writing research papers • Document and credit sources (citations and references) • Writing style, organization, and formatting of: • selection headings, tone, length; • punctuation, abbreviation; • presentation of numbers and statistics; and, • construction of tables and figures. • Other elements for manuscriptproduction (letters, etc.)

4. Purpose of APA Style • Uniformity for scanning key elements: purpose, questions, methods, results/findings • Individuals described with accuracy and respect • Express quantitative data—analyses and results: • Report details of research protocol • Display graphics of conceptual frameworks • Display data with tables, figures, or statistical equations • Increases reading and writing of scientific manuscripts • Avoid inconsistencies among journal articles or book chapters • Variations in format/style cause writing difficulties and, as a result, distract or confuse the reader

5. General Guidelines • Double space • Times New Roman font • Don’t add space between paragraphs • 12 point font • 1” margins all around • 2 spaces after each sentence period

6. Helpful Resources • Purdue OWL • APA 6th edition Manual Visit Other APA Style (6th ed.) Modules In This Series