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APA Style for Research Papers APA Style is documented in the 467 pages of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association(5th ed; 2001)). Where do you start? APA101 examines the basics, the central rules of the style. The focus is on final manuscripts, research papers prepared for college classes or seminars. |
The Challenge is to know what the style covers. Then it is a simple matter to look up a rule or practice in the APA Manual (or a crib sheet) and apply it. For example, when writing numbers in the text do you spell them out or use numerals? Do you write "8" or "eight?" Unfortunately, the APA Manual has hundreds of pages of instructions, and to know when these may apply requires an intimate knowledge of the style. The Solution is to focus on the deep features of the style, its central paradigms. These fall within three groups: (a) documentation, (b) page formatting, and (c) text rules. By understanding these basic rules, the style is simplified. You need not memorize these rules, only be aware that they exist. Then you can look up the details. 1. Documentation, using references to cite material used in your work, is an essential part of research paper. All other oversights can be forgiven, but not sloppy documentation. You must get this right! 2. Page formatting, how text appears on the page, follows specific rules. However, the APA Manual is dedicated to preparing manuscripts for publication, for copy editors and typesetters. Papers for class use follow different instructions. Tables and figures have their own special requirements. 3. Text rules, editorial style, govern how you present your text. There are rules for acronyms, adding emphasis, and formatting quotes. The presentation of numbers and statistics can be confusing, like walking in on the middle of a lecture. These merit special attention. |
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| The course is organized into seven lessons, and a review. Each lesson should require about a half-hour of study, some more, some less. Most lessons require no prerequisites, but the lesson on numbers and statistics may leave you faltering if you are not versed in these subjects. On the other hand, if you are unfamiliar with basic statistics you are not likely to use them in your paper. Lessons begin by defining special terms. Then the focus shifts to describing core APA rules. The lessons are concise, but they do require thought and study. If you are looking quick reference to APA style, try the APA Crib Sheet. |
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Lesson 1: Introduction to Final Manuscripts. Journal editors (or instructors) may reject papers that do not follow APA style. The most common mistakes are discussed. The APA Manual draws a distinction between final manuscripts and copy manuscripts. Explore the differences and why they matter to you. |
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Lesson 2: Documentation A - Reference Elements & Citations. The parts of a reference are its elements. These are not arbitrary, they have a reasoned structure that flows through all APA references. Text citations to references also follow a common form. Exposed! APA style has a passion for parentheses! |
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Lesson 3: Documentation B - Reference Sources. The APA Manual recognizes 95 different reference sources, providing examples of each. However, these are all built around basic references to periodicals, books, edited volumes, and documents. The APA passion for parentheses is further revealed. |
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Lesson 4: Manuscript Format A - Pages & Headings. The differences between copy manuscripts and final manuscripts are most apparent in formatting pages. Chapter 6 of the APA Manual was discussed in Lesson 1. Here it is applied. Headings follow a complex set of rules in APA style. These can be simplified. |
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Lesson 5: Manuscript Format B - Tables & Figures. The presentation of tables and figures is one of the most common problems in using APA style. Yet, these offer few difficulties if you understand the basic rules. It is always prudent to check the APA Manual when formatting complex tables. |
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Lesson 6: Text Rules A - General Rules. There are specific rules when using acronyms, formatting quotations, and adding emphasis to words. The boundaries between conventional usage and APA style blur as the manual refreshes the rules on punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. |
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Lesson 7: Text Rules B - Numbers and Statistics. When to write numbers as words, when to use numerals? APA style uses the metric system. Some common statistics are represented by uncommon APA symbols, and subject to unique rules for their presentation. This can trip you up! |
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Review: Identify APA Style Features. Now that you have grasped the essence of APA style, and mastered many of its details, it is time to test your knowledge. The challenge is to identify all the unique style elements in an article published in an APA journal. Can you find the scare quotes? How often is the under 10 rule applied? |
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 Amazon.com |
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. New prices:
$33.95 spiral bound, and
$26.95 paperback (free shipping, no taxes).Fifth Edition! The APA Publication Manual is the commanding guide in psychology, and found in other fields ranging from education to literature. The new edition shows how to format papers (40 pp., 15 with diagrams), expands coverage of tables and figures (50 pp.), adds Web sources to the 95 references sources covered (75 pp.), and refines the best section on avoiding bias found anywhere (15 pp.). The spiral bound edition lies open to the page you select, not a trivial convenience! |
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Taylor, Barry N. 1995. Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI).Gaithersburg, MD: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Special Publication811. 80 pp. http://physics.nist.gov/Document/sp811.pdf Free Style Guide for Numbers. The NIST is the official representative of the United States before the Convention du Metre which in turn is the body that defines the International System of Units (SI) for the world scientific community. A free 80 page style guide is available from their website. This link (click on the title above) is directly to the document which is in Adobe PDF format. To download rather than display the document click the right mouse button on the link and select "Save Target As." |
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APA101 Fall 2007. APA101 is an introductory course to using the style of the American Psychological Association for research papers. It is a serious course requiring study and application. It may serve as a lesson plan to introduce the style to college students, or as a guide to self-study. The course is provided free without entanglements, and may be used without express permission. Figures, tables, lessons, and parts of lessons may be used for instructional purposes without express permission provided the source is cited. The copyright to all materials presented on the website is held by Doc Scribe. The course is subject to change and further development. Therefore, it is recommended that you link directly to this page rather than mirror the course on you own server. Updates occur as time allows, typically in the late summer with the start of the school year, and after the Christmas break. This is the first edition of APA101 and revisions can be expected. The APA Publication Manual (2001) provides a chapter on preparing papers for other than publication, what it terms final manuscripts (chap. 6). APA101 follows the instructions in this chapter and interprets the intent of the chapter as it affects page formatting. This differs slightly from the copy manuscripts that are the wider subject of the Publication Manual. Instructors wishing to use APA101 in their course should alert other faculty of the changes to avoid unfairly penalizing students who apply them. A document has been prepared to help communicate these changes. |
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