RULES FOR APA WRITING

1
RULES FOR APA WRITING

• John R. Slate
• Educational Leadership

2

• GUIDELINES FOR WRITING IN
• AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
• 4TH EDITION STYLE

3
(No Transcript)
4
TYPING INSTRUCTIONS

• All margins are 1 inch, no more-no less. Your
  page header is printed at the 1 inch margin line,
  not above it p. 240.
• If using WORD, you will need to set FIVE margins
  left margin, right margin, top margin, bottom
  margin, and header margin
• If using WordPerfect, only need to set FOUR
  margins left, right, top, bottom

5
(No Transcript)
6

• All writing is DOUBLE-SPACED, NOT single, or
  triple, simply DOUBLE-SPACED p. 239. You will
  have NO exceptions to this rule.

7
(No Transcript)
8

• Number all pages BEGINNING with title page. p.
  240

9

• Information about what is included on the title
  page can be found on pages 248-250.

10

• Manuscript is LEFT-justified (results in right
  side being uneven). p. 240
• No hyphenation unless word is written as such
  (e.g., at-risk, t-test).pp. 70-74

11

• Space ONCE, and only once, after ALL punctuation.
  After internal periods in abbreviations, no space
  occurs (e.g., a.m., U.S.). p. 244

12

• Avoid leaving a single line at the bottom of a
  page (i.e., first line of a paragraph begins at
  the bottom of a page and then carries over to the
  next page--called a widow).
• Avoid leaving a single line at the top of a page
  (i.e., last line of a paragraph is carried over
  to the next page--called an orphan).
• In WORD or in WordPerfect, go into format page
  keep text together and set the widow/orphan
  protection.

13
(No Transcript)
14

• 11. Headings are Level One (centered, first
  letters capitalized) Level Three (flush left
  margin, underlined, first letters capitalized)
  Level Four (indented five spaces, underlined, and
  followed by a period). Information regarding
  headings and their levels can be found on pages
  242-243.

15
(No Transcript)
16

• 12. Words/phrases are not artificially emphasized
  using bold, single or double quote marks,
  underlining, or by any other means. The only
  words that have quote marks around them are
  quotations and you must cite the specific pages
  from which the quote was taken.

17

• 13. Use an Arial or New Times Roman 10 or 12
  point font size. Use the same font size and font
  type throughout your paper.
• Be careful when typing your page header that it
  is the same font and same font size as your text.
  You must set it with most word processing
  programs.

18
CITATIONS

• Do NOT have studies cited in your reference
  section UNLESS they are cited in the text of your
  paper. Just because you read an article does NOT
  mean it belongs in your reference section. Every
  study cited in the text of your paper MUST be
  referenced on your reference page.

19

• ALWAYS provide a citation for anyone else's work
  you use in paraphrased or quoted form to write
  paper. p. 168

20

• ALWAYS provide a page number(s) for any
  quotations you use, as well as the authors.
• is used within parentheses. And is used in
  text of paper.

21

• When citing a study with more than two authors,
  after the first citation in which all names
  listed, cite the first author's last name and
  then et al., year (e.g., Slate et al., 1995) pp.
  169-170

22
REFERENCES

• See pages 174-188 in APA 4th edition manual.
• The references are begun on a new page.

23
Referencing Electronic Materials

• See handout
• website at
• http//www.beadsland.com/weapas/AV

24
GENERAL INFORMATION

• Writing of the literature review is in PAST
  TENSE. PAST TENSE writing does not have to be
  passive or boring, but should be ACTIVE. pp.
  32-33

25

• Writing of the research proposal, with the
  exception of the literature review, is in FUTURE
  TENSE.
• Writing is FORMAL and TECHNICAL. FEELING words
  are not used. Do NOT write the way in which you
  carry on a conversation.

26

• Paragraphs must be more than two sentences.
  Therefore, NO one or two sentence paragraphs.
  Avoid overly long paragraphs, greater than seven
  sentences. Thus, your paragraphs should range in
  size from three to seven sentences.
• Count 3 to 7 sentences per paragraph. Only
  exceptions are Definitions of Term section and
  Hypotheses section.

27

• Contractions are NOT used. Dont have any in
  your paper.
• The word data is a plural term data ARE, the
  word datum is singular.

28

• Make sure that your noun and verb are in
  agreement if one is singular, so should be the
  other if one is plural, so should be the other.
  pp. 34-35 Make sure your nouns and pronouns are
  in agreement as well. That is, if you use
  student in the beginning of your paper, then the
  pronoun used later should NOT be their ...

29

• Avoid using, There is or There are, as this
  writing is very passive. When you find a sentence
  that begins this way, delete the there is/are and
  add a verb after the first noun present in the
  sentence.
• Do NOT write, This is, as This always refers to
  something. Along the same lines, do not write,
  those are, because those always refers to those
  what.

30

• It's means it is and is NOT a possessive pronoun.
  As contractions are NOT used in APA style, you
  may NOT use it's.
• 11.Its is a possessive pronoun and may be used,
  when and where appropriate.
• 12.Avoid using IT as it, many times, is unclear
  to what the IT refers. Always be clear to the
  reader about what you are discussing.

31

• 13.Do NOT use the word DONE unless you are or
  have cooked something. Done does NOT mean
  completed or finished in technical writing.
• 14.Connect your sentences together with
  integrating phrases or words. Avoid jumpy
  writing pp. 24-28. One way to integrate
  sentences together is to use a few of the key
  words from the previous sentence in writing a new
  sentence.

32

• 15.Alternate sentence beginnings so that your
  sentences do NOT begin the same way all the time.
  Avoid using THE to begin your sentences.

33

• 16. Connect your paragraphs together with
  integrating phrases or words. Avoid jumps
  between paragraphs pp. 24-28. One way to
  integrate paragraphs together is to use some of
  the words from the previous paragraph in
  beginning the next paragraph or through use of
  such phrases as In contrast to the findings
  above...Similar to Smiths findings...

34

• 17.Alternate paragraph beginnings so that your
  paragraphs do NOT begin the same way all the
  time. Avoid using The to begin paragraphs.
• 18.While and since can be used ONLY in terms of
  time. Since does NOT mean because in technical
  writing. Words such as though, although, and
  whereas are acceptable alternatives to while.
  pp. 42-43

35

• 19.Do NOT begin a sentence with an abbreviation.
  p. 89 If you have to spell the term out again,
  then do so.
• 20.Avoid using colloquial expressions (e.g.,
  write up for report or set up for develop) p.
  28.
• 21.Avoid using pronouns as pronouns confuse
  readers unless the referent is obvious. pp.
  36-38

36

• 22.Avoid bias in your writing. See pages 46-60.
• 23.When referring to gender of participants, use
  boy and girl when referring to people of high
  school age and younger men and women for persons
  18 years of age and older. p. 53

37

• 24.Avoid using superlatives such as very or
  great.
• 25.Please use the spell check function of your
  word processing program prior to submitting your
  paper. NO excuse for having misspelled words.
  p. 255 Please proof or have a colleague proof
  your paper for errors that a spell check cannot
  catch (e.g., you when you mean your).

38

• 26. Avoid having inanimate objects engaging in
  animate activities. That is, do not write
  "Research shows" or "Techniques indicated" or
  "Results proved." When you have an inanimate
  object engaging in an animate activity (e.g.,
  techniques which improved), you need to rearrange
  the wording as follows techniques in which
  students' vocal responses were improved. Only
  people can do things in your paper.

39

• 27. Do not use words such as "proven" or
  "proved." Instead use demonstrated.