The Writing Center

at
Empire State College
Genesee Valley Center
Rochester, N.Y.

GUIDE TO WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS

IN THE APA STYLE
This style sheet is intended only as an overview and does not cover all aspects of the APA
style. For more information, see the Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association or a style guide to writing research papers. The Writing Center has these
and other resources on hand, and Writing Center tutors can help you to use them.
Always ask your mentor which style to use before you begin to write your paper.
The APA style refers to the method of writing research papers recommended by the
American Psychological Association. The APA style is used in the social sciences and is
governed by two basic ideas. The first is that a scientific paper attempts to show something
that has already been proven true, so it calls for the past or present perfect tense when you
cite the work of others. Second, the year of publication is important, so you need to feature
it immediately after any named source in the text.
Smyth (1972) found that children often studied while watching
television.
Williams and Maier (1994) have defined a new theory of cognition.

Use the present tense for generalizations and personal comments. Use the past or present
perfect tenses only to introduce the work of cited sources.
Evidence of the rise of the heroin use exists for every age group,
even children.

Burroughs and Bruce (1996) reported on five incidents of

heroin overdose in the under 10 age group.

Basic APA Facts

Always double space, including the text of your paper, quotations, notes, and the
reference page.

Leave margins of at least one-inch at the top, bottom, right, and left of every page.

Use parenthetical citations to acknowledge direct quotations, indirect quotations, and/or

any ideas you have borrowed from another person.

Use a Reference page for reference to parenthetical citations.

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Within the text of your paper, underline titles of books, plays, pamphlets, periodicals,
films, television programs, and recordings; place in quotation marks titles of articles,
essays in anthologies, book chapters, and lectures.

Number pages in the upper right hand corner. Include a running head.

Avoiding Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the use of the words and/or ideas of another person without acknowledging
the source. Plagiarism is generally grounds for failure of a course and can lead to dismissal
from college. To avoid plagiarism, acknowledge your sources with in-text citations and a
reference page. Enclose direct quotations in quotation marks or otherwise indent them
from the body of your text. If you use another persons idea or paraphrase another
persons words, be sure to use your own language and style of writingdont simply
rearrange the words. Use an in-text citation to acknowledge the source, then list on a
reference page the publications or sources from which you obtained your citations. For
more detailed information on plagiarism and how to avoid it, see the handout available at
the GVC Writing Center.

In-text Citations
Cite the first appearance of another persons words and/or ideas by introducing the
quotation or paraphrase with the authors name. After the first appearance, cite the
authors name either within the text of your writing or within the parenthetical citation
immediately following the cited passage. Always use the last name of the author/authors and
the year of publication. The year of publication always follows the name of the cited/quoted
authority. Note that commas separate items within parentheses. Following are some
examples of in-text citation methods in the APA style.
In his study of the effects of alcohol on the ability to drive,
Smith (1991) showed that the reaction times of participating drivers
were adversely affected by as little as a twelve ounce can of beer.

If you dont use the authors name in the text, place it within the parenthetical citation with
the date.
A recent study of the effects of alcohol on the ability to drive
showed that as little as twelve ounces of beer adversely affected the
reaction time of participating drivers (Smith, 1991).

Provide a page number when you use an exact quotation. Use quotation marks. Use the
singular p. or the plural pp. to indicate page number(s).
In his study on the effects of alcohol on drivers, Smith (1991, p.
104) stated that participants who drank twelve ounces of beer with a
3.5% alcohol content reacted, on average, 1.2 seconds more slowly to an
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emergency braking situation than they did when they had not ingested
alcohol.

As an alternative, place the page number within parentheses at the end of the quotation. If
you do so, remember to place the date immediately after the authors name.
In his study on the effects of alcohol on drivers, Smith (1991)
stated that participants who drank twelve ounces of beer with a 3.5%
alcohol content reacted, on average, 1.2 seconds more slowly to an
emergency braking situation than they did when they had not ingested
alcohol (p. 104).

Indent a direct quotation of 40 or more words five spaces from the left margin. If the
quotation includes more than one paragraph, indent the first line of succeeding paragraphs
five more spaces (ten spaces total). Dont use quotation marks, and be sure to double space
the quotation as well as your own writing.
In her study of adult patterns of television watching, Roberts
(1996) reported the following behaviors:
Response behaviors exhibited by participants who watched
television without any other persons present in the viewing room
included imitating the facial expressions and hand movements of
television characters as well as talking to individual characters.
Affective behaviors included exhibitions of anger such as shouting
and throwing magazines at the television.
Such behaviors were less evident behaviors in participants
who watched television in groups of three.

Instead, participants

in group watching were more likely to interject critical or

humorous comments regarding the content of particular television
programs.

If youre citing an author whos been quoted in another book or article, use the original
authors name in the text, and cite in parentheses the source in which you found the
quotation.
Behavior is affected by situation.

As Wallace (1972) postulated

in Individual and Group Behavior, a person who acts a certain way

independently may act in an entirely different manner while the member
of a group (cited in Barkin, 1992, p. 478).
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When citing a work with two, three, four, or five authors within the text of the paper, name
them all in the first entry, e.g., (Smith, Andrews, and Lawrence 1995). After the first entry,
cite only the first authors name followed by et. al., e.g., (Smith, et. al. 1995).
When citing a work with six or more authors, name only the first author followed by et. al.,
e.g., (Fredericks, et. al., 1995). If the author is not given, use the first word or two of the
title in the parenthetical citation.
Massachusetts state and municipal governments have initiated
several programs to improve public safety, including community policing
and after school activities ("Innovations," 1997).

If "Anonymous" is specified as the author, treat it as if it were a real name: (Anonymous,

1996). In the bibliographic references, also use the name Anonymous as author.

The Reference Page

You must always have a reference page as well as in-text citations to avoid plagiarism. The
reference page immediately follows the text of the paper. Items on the reference page are
listed alphabetically. Begin the first line of a reference at the left margin (i.e., do not indent
the first line as you did in the body text). All subsequent lines for a reference should be
indented one-half inch (this is sometimes known as an outdent or hanging indent). APA
has a second format that uses normal (one-half inch) indents on the first line of a reference,
and then left justifies subsequent lines to the left margin. This format is only for documents
being submitted for publishing. Student papers should always use the first (hanging indent)
format. For the reference page, use the running head and page number, then center the
title References two lines below.

Books
List the authors last name first with initial of the first name; year of publication in
parentheses; title of book underlined (capitalize only the first word of the title and of any
subtitle, and all proper nouns); the edition (if any) in parentheses; place of publication; and
publisher. Omit the words Publishing, Company and Inc. from the publishers name. Use
one space after periods and other punctuation.
Book by one author
Zimbardo, P. (1992). Psychology and life (13 ed.). New York: Harper
Collins.

List more than one book by the same author chronologically, earliest edition or work first.

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Book by two or more authorsList authors as they are listed in the book; use an
ampersand to indicate and.
Brasco, D. & Corleone, M. (1992). Child development: A behavioral
approach. New York: Calavita.
Tork, P., Jones, D., & Nesmith, M. (1968). Adolescent development:
Behavioral mimicry. Los Angeles: Pasquin.

Textbook or anthologyList cited author, date of the cited authors work, the chapter or
section title, the editors name preceded by In and followed by (Ed.), the title of the
textbook/anthology, edition number (if appropriate), page numbers on which the cited
authors work is found, place of publication, and publisher.
Bailey, B. (1992). Jobs in the nineties. In V. Westerhaus (Ed.). Issues
for the 21st century (pp. 55-63). New York: Holt.

Book with a corporate authorList alphabetically with authors; if published by the author
of the book, list the publisher as the author.
American Psychiatric Association. (1992). Publication manual of the
American Psychological Association (3d ed.). Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association.

Book with no author or editorAlphabetize by book title:

Student planning guide for degree programs and portfolios. (1996).
Saratoga Springs, NY: Empire State College.

Periodicals
Journal ArticleList the author(s), year of publication in parentheses, title of article
without quotation marks and with only the first word, proper nouns, and words after colons
capitalized, name of the journal underlined and with all major words capitalized, volume
number underlined, and inclusive page numbers not preceded by p. or pp.
Smith, A. (1975). Driver age and crash involvement. American Journal of
Public Health. 9. 326-327.
Brown, W. & Williamson, L. J. (1983). The myth of carcinogenic elements
in tobacco smoke. American Journal of Public Health. 14. 419-431.

MagazineList the author(s), year and month of publication (without abbreviations), title
of the article without quotation marks and with only the first word and proper nouns
capitalized, name of the magazine underlined and with all major words capitalized, volume
number, and inclusive page numbers preceded by p. or pp.

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Jackson, L. M. (1997, April). Taking back the streets. School Planning
and Management. pp. 30-31.

NewspaperList the author(s), year, month, and day of publication (without

abbreviations), title of the article with only the first word and proper nouns capitalized,
complete name of the newspaper underlined with all major words capitalized, and the
section with discontinuous page numbers preceded by p. or pp.
Raymond, C. (1990, September 12). Global migration will have widespread
impact on society, scholars say. The Chronicle of Higher
Education. pp. A1, A6.

Computer Sources
The following information is provided in Harnack, A., & Kleppinger, E. (2000). Online! A
Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources. New York: Bedford/St. Martins.

World Wide Web sites

To document a specific file, provide as much as possible of the following information:

Authors name

Date of publication or last revision (if known), in parentheses

Title of document

Title of complete work (if relevant), in italics or underlined

Online in square brackets

Availability (indicated by the word Available)

URL

Retrieval Date (indicated in square brackets at end of citation)

Patterson, O. (2001). Cultural continuity and collective memory. In The

Emory center for myth and ritual in American life [Online].
Available: http://www.emory.edu/college/MARIAL/ [2001,
October 29].

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Online document
Authors name (last name, first and any middle initials). (Date of Internet publication).
Document title. Where available: URL (or other retrieval information). Retrieval date.
Shapiro, H. (1999). Professional communications. Available:
http://www1.esc.edu/personalfac/hshapiro/
professional_communications/default.htm [November 6, 2001].

Book
An online book may be the electronic text of part or all of a printed book, or a book-length
document available only on the Internet (e.g. a work of hyperfiction).
Bryant, P. (1999). Biodiversity and Conservation. [Online]. Available:
http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/Titlpage.htm [October 4,
1999].

Article in an electronic journal (ejournal)

Fine, M., and Kurdek, L.A. (1993, March 9). Reflections on determining
authorship credit and authorship order on faculty-student
collaborations. Available: American Psychologist. 48. 1141-1147
http://www.apa.org/journals/amp/kurdek.html [June 7, 1999].

Article in an electronic magazine (ezine)

Adler, J. (1999, May 17). Ghost of Everest. Available: Newsweek:
htpp://newsweek.com/nwsrv/issue/20_99a/printed/us/so/so0120_1.htm
[May 19, 1999].

Newspaper article
Azar, B., & Martin, S. (1999, October). APAs Council of Representatives
endorses new standards for testing, high school psychology.
Available: APA Monitor. http://www.apa.org/monitor/inl.html
[October 7,1999].

Government publication
Bush, G. (1989, April 12). Principles of ethical conduct for government
officers and employees. Exec. Order No. 12674. Pt. 1. Available:
http://www.usoge.gov/exorders/eol2674.html [November 18, 1997].

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E-mail. (Simply include a reference to the date sent and the subject heading):
Ward, Neil (nwar@asia.com). (2001, October 22). Tutoring Japanese
students. E-mail to Shirley Jackson (sjacks55@lottery.com).

However, if the E-mail source is a consistently retrievable, subscriber-based journal or

other text/document on E-mail, include it in the reference page as follows:
Funder, D. C. (1994, March).

Judgmental process and content: Commentary

of Koehler on base-rate [9 paragraphs]. Psycoloquy [On-line

serial], 5, (17). Available E-mail: psyc@pucc Message: Get psyc
94-xxxx

CD-ROM
Include the following information if your citation refers to an entire CD-ROM:
Beekman, G.(1991). Computer confluence (Version 1.0) [CD-ROM]. New York:
Benjamin/Cummings.

Include the following information for an abstract on a CD-ROM:

Meyer, A. S., & Bock, K. (1992). The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon:
Blocking or partial activation? [CD-ROM]. Memory & Cognition, 20.
715-726. Abstract from: Silver Platter File: PsycLIT Item: 8016351

Software
Norton, P. (1990). The new Norton guides 4.0 [Computer software]. New
York: Simon & Schuster.

Whereas you might not always be able to supply all the above information, follow the
general APA format for the specific type of source you are citing (journal, article, chapter,
book, etc.). Include all necessary information to allow the reader to access the source
material.

Abstract
The APA style requires an abstract, an 80 to 120 word summary of the contents of the
paper that immediately follows the title page. Be sure to ask your mentor whether or not
s/he requires an abstract. The abstract should include the purpose, thesis, and conclusions
of your paper and be accurate, self-contained, concise, coherent, and readable. Do not use a

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paragraph indentation for the abstract. The abstract requires a separate page and
immediately follows the title page.
Addiction 2

Abstract

Nicotine has been identified as an addictive substance since the mid-nineteenth century, when
it was the first substance used to explore and map the synaptic system of receptors.
Moreover, the common perception of American society throughout the twentieth century
regarded cigarette smoking as a bad habit akin to addiction. Yet, despite more than a century
of scientific study into and acceptance of nicotine as an addictive substance, American political,
medical, scientific, and common societies still carry on a dialogue regarding whether or not
nicotine is addictive. This dialogue is the very foundation of the prevailing negative attitudes
toward tobacco. The scientific and medical communities proclaim the costly outcomes of
nicotine addiction while the tobacco industry claims that nicotine is a relatively innocuous product.

APA format requires a title page that establishes a running head. Ask your Mentor if you
need to provide a title page for your paper.

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Addiction 1

Addiction: Societal Denial

of the Addictive Nature of Nicotine
William M. Reynolds
Austin Peay State University

Running Head: Addiction

Each successive page will then have the running head Addiction followed by the page
number in the upper right hand corner.
This style sheet was produced with the aid of the
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (3rd ed.) and the
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (4th ed.)

Guide to Writing Research Papers in the APA Style

January 11, 2003