Basic APA Format
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For use with Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 5th ed.

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Sample Paper in APA Format

Helpful Information

-Double space entries. If an entry runs more than one line, indent the next line(s) (APA  p. 216)
-Acceptable abbreviations can be found on APA p. 217; Table of contents of examples, APA pp. 232-239
-If no author given, move the title to author position; alphabetize entry by title (APA pp. 222, 242)
-If no date is given, use (n.d.)  (APA pp. 225, 275)
-If source has more than 6 authors, after the 6th author’s name put “et al.” to represent authors 7+ (APA pp. 224, 240, #4).  See also example in database section of this handout
-If what you are citing is not listed in APA manual, choose example in manual most like your source (APA p. 232)

 

Books Periodical Articles Articles & Books from Library's Online Databases (Aggregated Databases) Web Pages, Interviews and Videos
Books With Author
Books with Group/Corporate Author
Books with Two Authors
Books with Three to Six Authors
Books with an Editor Instead of an Author
Chapter or Article from an Edited Collection of Essays
Article or Entry from a Reference Book
 
Journal Article (paper)
Magazine Article (paper)
Newspaper Article (paper)
 
Journal Article Retrieved from a Database
Journal Article Retrieved from a Database with 7+ Authors
Journal Article Paginated by Issue Retrieved from a Database
Magazine Article Retrieved from a Database
Newspaper Article Retrieved from a Database
Book Retrieved from Database
Article or Entry from a Reference Book, Retrieved from a Database
Chapter or Article from an Edited Collection of Essays
Nonperiodical Documents on the Internet
Personal Communications such as Personal Interviews, Email, etc.
VHS or DVD Recording with Limited Circulation

Books

Helpful Information- Books
-Include city and state; don’t put state if city is Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia or San Francisco or if it is part of publisher’s name. For cities outside the US, include the city, state or province, if applicable, and country unless city is well known for publishing (APA p. 217)
-Capitalize proper nouns and first words of title and subtitle (APA p. 226)
-Publishers: omit unessential words such as Publishers, Co., or Inc. Keep the words Books and Press (APA p. 230)
-If group/corporate author and publisher the same, put “Author” in publisher location (APA p. 250)
- If more than one editor, put all names and put (Eds.) in parenthesis (APA pp. 225; 249)

Books with Author (APA pp. 224; 248-255)

Author's last name, 1st initial. 2nd Initial. (year).  Title of book. City of publication, State: Publisher.

Duclos-Miller, P. A. (2006). Stressed out about your first year of nursing. Marblehead, MA: HCPro.

Books with Group/Corporate Author; edition other than 1st (APA pp. 224; 248-250)

Group or Corporate Author. (year).  Title of book (Edition ed.). City of publication, State: Publisher.

American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV-TR (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Books with Two Authors (APA pp. 224; 248)

First author's last name, 1st initial. 2nd initial., & second author's last name, first initial. 2nd initial. (year). Title of book. City of publication, State: Publisher.

Jones, C., & Hudson, R. A. (2003). Eating for pregnancy: An essential guide to nutrition with recipes for the whole family. New York: Marlow and Company.  

Books with Three to Six Authors, (APA pp. 224; 240)

First author's last name, 1st initial. 2nd initial., Second author’s last name, 1st initial, 2nd initial., Third author’s last name, 1st initial, 2nd initial, & Fourth author's last name, 1st initial. 2nd initial. (year). Title of book (Edition ed.). City of publication, State: Publisher.

Thompson, J. M., McFarland, G. K., Hirsch, J.E., & Tucker, S. M. (2002). Mosby’s clinical nursing (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.

Books with an Editor Instead of an Author (APA pp. 225; 249)

Editor's last name, 1st initial, 2nd initial. (Ed.). (year). Title of book (Edition ed). City of publication, State: Publisher. 

Slife, B. (Ed.). (2002). Clashing views on controversial psychological issues (12th ed.). Guilford, CT: MacGraw-Hill. 

Chapter or Article from an Edited Collection of Essays (APA pp. 229; 252-254)

Essay author's last name, 1st initial. 2nd Initial. (year).  Title of essay, chapter or article. In 1st initial. 2nd initial. Last name (Ed.), Title of book (Edition ed., pp. of essay, chapter or article). City, State: Publisher.

Hagerman, R. J. (2000). Medical concerns and treatment for children with fragile X syndrome. In J. D. Weber (Ed.),  Children with fragile X syndrome: A parents’ guide (pp. 93-120). Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.

Article or Entry from a Reference Book (APA pp. 252-254 )

Entry author's last name, first initial. 2nd initial. (year). Title of entry. In 1st initial. 2nd initial. Last name (Ed.), Title of book  (Edition ed., Vol. #, pp. #’s ).  City of publication, state: Publisher.

Turner, J. (2006). Diaper rash. In J. L. Longe (Ed.), The Gale encyclopedia of medicine (3rd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 1169-1171). Detroit, MI: Thomson Gale.

Labored breathing. (2006). In Mosby’s dictionary of medicine, nursing and health professions (7th ed., p. 1055).  Philadelphia: Mosby.

Periodical Articles (Paper)

Helpful Information- Articles
-Capitalize first word of article title and subtitle as well as proper nouns (APA p. 226)
-Capitalize significant words in periodical titles as they are considered proper nouns (APA p. 227)
-Precede page numbers for newspaper articles with p. or pp. (APA p. 243)
-If article has discontinuous pages, give all page numbers, and separate the numbers with a comma, (APA p. 243)
-If journal or newsletter does not use volume numbers, include the month or season with the year (APA p. 227)

Journal Article (paper) (APA pp. 227; 240-241)

Author's last name, 1st initial. 2nd Initial. (year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number, page number(s).

Bassett, S. D. (2007). Exploring the issue of confidentiality. Nurse Educator, 32, 147-153.

Magazine Article (paper) (APA  pp. 227; 241-242)

Author's last name, 1st initial. 2nd Initial. (year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Magazine, vol. #, page number(s).

Voiland, A. (2007, July 23). The fine print. U.S. News and World Report, 143, 68.

Newspaper Article (paper) (APA  pp. 242-243)

Author's last name, 1st initial. 2nd Initial. (year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of  Newspaper, pp. page number(s).

Hellmich, N. (2007, July 26). Obesity can run in social circles. USA Today, p. 1A.

Articles & Books from Library’s Online Databases (Aggregated Databases)

Journal Article Retrieved from a Database (APA pp. 231; 278-279; 240-241) 

Author's last name, 1st initial. 2nd Initial. (year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number, page number(s). Retrieved Month, day, year, from the NAME of DATABASE database.

Sims, J. M., & Miracle, V. A. (2007). An overview of mitral valve prolapse. Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, 26, 145-149. Retrieved July 30, 2007, from the Health Source: Nursing/Academic database. 

Journal Article Retrieved from a Database with 7+ authors (APA pp. 231; 278-279; 240, # 4)

First author's last name, 1st initial. 2nd initial., Second author’s last name, 1st initial, 2nd initial., Third author’s last name, 1st initial, 2nd initial, fourth author's last name, 1st initial. 2nd initial, Fifth  author's last name, 1st initial. 2nd Initial, Sixth’s author’s last name, 1st Initial, 2nd initial, et al. (year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number, page number(s). Retrieved Month, day, year, from the NAME of DATABASE database. 

Ketterer, M. W., Brawner, C. A., Van Zant, M., Ketevian, S. J., Ehrman, J. K., Knysz, W., et al. (2007).  Empirically derived psychometric screening for emotional distress in coronary artery disease patients: Efficiency, efficacy, and source. Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 22, 320-325. Retrieved July 31, 2007, from the Health Reference Center Academic database.

Journal Article Paginated by Issue Retrieved from a Database (APA pp. 231; 278-279; 240, #2) 

Author's last name, 1st initial. 2nd Initial. (year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number(issue #), page number(s). Retrieved Month, day, year, from the NAME of DATABASE database. 

Bozkurt, O. (2007). Wired for work. Society, 44(2), 42-52. Retrieved July 30, 2007, from the Academic Search Premier database.   

Magazine Article Retrieved from Database (APA pp. 231; 278-279; 241-242)

Author's last name, 1st initial. 2nd Initial. (year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Magazine or Newspaper, vol. #, page number(s).  Retrieved month day, year, from the NAME of DATABASE database.

Harrar, S. (2007, July). Better heart health. Prevention, 59, 28. Retrieved July 31, 2007, from the Health Source: Consumer Edition database.

Newspaper Article Retrieved from Database (APA pp. 231; 278-279; 242-243)

Author's last name, 1st initial. 2nd Initial. (year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Magazine or Newspaper, pp. page number(s).  Retrieved month day, year, from the NAME OF DATABASE database.

Henry, R. (2007, July 27). The grim reapurr: Nursing home cat can predict patients’ deaths. Daily Record, p. 1060. Retrieved July 31, 2007, from the Health Reference Center Academic database.

Book Retrieved from Database (APA pp. 231; 278-279; 248-249; see also Books section of this handout for variations)

Author's last name, 1st initial. 2nd Initial. (year).  Title of book. City of publication, State: Publisher. Retrieved month day, year, from the NAME OF DATABASE database.

Bruni, L., & Porta, P. L. (2007). Handbook on the economics of happiness. Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar. Retrieved 31 July, 2007, from the NetLibrary database.

 Article or Entry from a Reference Book , Retrieved from Database (APA pp. 231; 278-279; 252-254)

Entry author's last name, first initial. 2nd initial. (year). Title of entry. In  Editor’s First initial. Second initial. Last name (Ed.), Title of book (Edition ed., Vol. #, pp. #’s).  City of publication, state: Publisher. Retrieved month day, year, from the NAME OF DATABASE database.

Rowland, B. R. (2005). "Prickly heat." In J. L. Longe (Ed.), The Gale encyclopedia of alternative medicine (2nd ed.) Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. Retrieved August 31, 2007, from the Health and Wellness Resource Center database.

Chapter or Article from an Edited Collection of Essays, (APA pg. 231; 278-279; 252-254)

Essay author's last name, 1st initial. 2nd Initial. (year).  Title of essay, chapter or article. In First initial. 2nd initial. Last name (Ed.), Title of book (Edition ed., pp. of essay, chapter or article). City, State: Publisher. Retrieved month day, year, from the NAME OF DATABASE database.

O’Rourke, R. (1995). Can’t, won’t or don’t: Readers and writers in adult education. In J. Mace (Ed.), Literacy, language, and community publishing: Essays in adult education (pp. 23-40). Clevedon, United Kingdom: Philadelphia Multilingual Matters. Retrieved August 1, 2007, from the NetLibrary database.

Web Pages, Interviews and Videos

Helpful Information for Web Pages
-Do not put a period at the end of entries with a URL (APA p. 231)
- For the URL, put an exact link to the content or page (such as an index or search page) from which the reader can easily find the cited material (APA pp. 269; 273)
- Identify organization responsible for website if it is different than the author of the content. (APA p. 274)
-Capitalize proper nouns and first words of Web page title and subtitle (APA pp. 226; 231)

-Use n.d. (no date) when a publication date is not given (APA p. 273)

-If author of document is not given, begin reference with title of document (APA p. 274)

Nonperiodical documents on the Internet (APA pp. 273-274)

Author. (year, month day). Title of web document or project. Retrieved Month Day, Year, from Name of Organization Web site: URL

Fiber: Start roughing it! (2007). Retrieved July 31, 2007, from Harvard University, School of Public Health Web site: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fiber.html

Childhood asthma overview. (2006, August). Retrieved August 1, 2007, from American Lung Association Web site: http://www.lungusa.org

If organization same as author, only list in author position:

Organization or Corporate Author. (year, month day). Title of web document or project. Retrieved Month Day, Year, from URL

National Institute of Mental Health. (2007, May 8). Bipolar disorder. Retrieved July 31, 2007, from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/healthinformation/bipolarmenu.cfm

Personal Communications such as Personal Interviews, Email, etc. (APA p. 214, 3.102)

Do not include personal communications such as personal interviews in the reference list. However, do cite the them in the paper.  Example of in-text citation of personal communication:
J. A. Ratzinger (personal communication, February 21, 2007)
(J.A. Ratzinger, personal communication, February 21, 2007)

VHS or DVD Recording with Limited Circulation (APA p. 266)

Name (Producer), & Name (Director). (year). Title of video recording [Motion picture]. (Available from Name of Distributor, complete address)

Rodriguez, R. (Producer), & Irwin, B. R. (Director). (2005). The basics of oxygen administration [Motion picture]. (Available from Medcom Trainex, 6060 Phyllis Drive, Cypress, CA 90630)

 

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Last update 09/17/2008