Introduction APA format is the official style of the American Psychological Association[N1]. APA is commonly used to cite sources in psychology, education, and the social sciences. The APA style originated in a 1929 article published in Psychological Bulletin that established basic guidelines. These guidelines were eventually expanded into the APA Publication Manual. So why is the APA format so important in psychology and other social sciences? By using APA style, researchers and students writing about psychology are able to communicate information about their ideas and experiments in a consistent format. Sticking to a consistent style lets readers know what to look for as they read newspaper articles and other forms of psychological writing. If you've never taken a psychology or social sciences course before, you're probably used to using a different style guide like MLA or Chicago style. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay New college students are often surprised to find that, after spending years having another formatting style drilled into their heads, many college-level courses require APA Style instead. It can be a difficult transition, especially if you have to bounce back and forth between different styles for different content classes. There are 4 main sections of your article: 1. Title Page The title page should contain a heading, title, author name, and school affiliation. The purpose of the title page is to quickly let the reader know what your article is about and who it was written by. Learn more about writing a title page in APA format 2. Abstract An abstract is a short summary of your paper that immediately follows the title page. According to APA format, your abstract should be no more than 150-250 words, although this may vary depending on the specific publication or instructor requirements. Learn more about writing an abstract in APA format. 3. The main body. In the case of something like an essay, the main body of your article will include the actual essay. If you are writing a lab report, the main body will be broken down into additional sections. The four main components of a lab report include an introduction, method, results, and discussion sections. 4 References The reference section of your article will include a list of all the sources you have used in your article. If you have cited any information anywhere in your article, you need to do so correctly in this section. A handy rule of thumb to remember is that any source cited in your article must be included in the reference section, and any source listed in the reference section must also be mentioned somewhere in your article. How to Manage In-Text Citations in APA Format As you write your paper, it is important to include in-text citations that identify where you found the information you use. Such notations are called in-text citations, and APA format dictates that when citing in APA format in the text of the article, you use the author's name followed by the publication date. For example, if you were to cite Sigmund Freud's book The Interpretation of Dreams, you would use the following format: (Freud, 1900). Extended source information should then appear in the reference section. Important Tips for APA Style Reference Pages Your references should start on a new page. Title the new page "References" and center the title text at the topof the page. All entries must be in alphabetical order. The first line of a reference should be flush with the left margin. Each additional line should be indented (usually using the TAB key). While previous versions of the APA format required only one space after each sentence, the new sixth edition of the style manual now recommends two spaces. The reference section should be double spaced. All cited sources should appear both in the text and on the reference page. Any references that appear in the text of your report or article must be cited on the reference page, and anything that appears on your reference page must also be included somewhere in the body of the text. The titles of books, magazines, magazines and newspapers should appear in italics. The exact format of each individual reference may vary slightly depending on whether you are referring to one or more authors, a book or journal article, or an electronic source. It's worth taking some time to review the specific requirements for each type of reference before formatting your source list. Some more helpful resources If you're struggling with APA format or are looking for a good way to collect and organize your references As you work on your research, consider using a free APA citation system. These online tools can help generate a referenced APA style, but always remember to double-check their accuracy. Purchasing your own copy of the American Psychological Association's Official Publication Manual is a great way to learn more about the APA format and have a helpful resource to compare your work against. Looking at APA format examples can also be very helpful. Although the APA format may seem complex, it will become easier once you familiarize yourself with the rules and format. The overall format may be similar for many papers, but your instructor may have specific requirements that vary depending on whether you are writing an essay or a research paper. In addition to the reference page, your instructor may also ask you to maintain and turn in a bibliography in APA format. Basics The article's works cited list on a new page with the title centered. References Sort your list items alphabetically by author's last name, using the letter-by-letter system (ignore spaces and other punctuation marks). Only the first and middle initials are provided. If the author's name is unknown, sort it alphabetically by title, ignoring any A, An, or The. For dates, write the names of the months in the text of your article, but abbreviate them in the works cited list, except May, June, and July. Use the day-month-year (July 22, 1999) or month-day-year (July 22, 1999) style and be consistent. With the month-day-year style, be sure to add a comma after the year unless there is another punctuation mark. it should start from the end. Underlining or Italics When reports were written on typewriters, the names of publications were underlined because most typewriters had no way of printing italics. If you write a bibliography by hand, you should still underline the names of the publications. But, if you are using a computer, the publication names should be italicized as they are below. Always check with your teacher if they prefer to use italics or underlining. Our examples use italics. Hanging Indent All APA citations should use hanging indents, that is, the first line of an entry should be left-aligned, and the second and subsequent lines should be indented. Capital letters,.