The American Psychological Association has developed the most commonly used system of documentation for the social sciences. Began as an article published in 1929, APA style is the method of writing and publishing manuscripts specified by the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed, 2001). The newly published (2005) Concise Rules of APA Style is a user-friendly spiral bound booklet published by the American Psychological Association.

The style emphasizes the author and date as the most important information about a source. This information is contained within the text inside parentheses so the reader immediately knows if the cited research is current. A References list appears at the end of the paper. In its strictest form, this system omits quotation marks, uses minimal capitalization for titles of books and articles, and gives page numbers only for actual quotations, not for paraphrases or summaries. Consult the Manual for specifics.

General Guidelines

1. Page numbers go in the top right hand corner.
   

2. A shortened form of the title precedes the page number in the top right hand corner of each page.

Example--"Families" 18

3. Italicize titles of books and journals instead of underlining.
   

4. Only the first word of the title of a book or article is capitalized.
   Example: Uppity women of medieval times
   

5. Quotations longer than 40 words are placed in a double-spaced block that is indented five spaces from the left margin. Do not use quotation marks.
   

6. Abbreviate books of the Bible in the text. Identify which version is cited but omit all other facts of publication.
   Example 1Cor. 13:1-13 (NEB)

Citations within the text

APA uses the author-date method of citation inside parentheses within the text.

1. If the author's name is not given in the text

• For a book with one author:
  (Last name of author,date of publication)

(Mapes, 1901)

• For a book without an author:
  within the parenthesis (first word or two of the Title, copyright)

  (Historical handbook, 1998)

2. If the author's name is given within the text, give the date of     publication within the parentheses

(Mapes, 1901)

3. If you use a direct quote within the text, use the same form as    above adding the page number.

(Mapes, 1902, p. 3) or (1902, p.3)

Reference List

1. Title your bibliography--Reference, Works Cited, or Works Consulted.
   

2. The title of the paper is placed at the top center of the page and typed in upper and lower case letters.
   

3. Entries are double-spaced in alphabetical order but not numbered..
   

4. Use a hanging indent format-the first line is flush with the left margin and the following lines are indented (this is a change from the older editions of the Manual)

• For a book:
  Author's last name, First and Middle initials. (date of
      publication). Title of the book. Where published:
      Publisher
  
  Lamott, A. (1994). Bird by bird: some instructions on
      writing and life. New York:Pantheon.
  

• For a periodical:
  Author's last name, First and Middle initials. (date of
      publication). Title of article. Name of Periodical,
     volume, page numbers.
  
  Laderman, G. (March 2000). The Disney way of death.
      Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 68,
      27-46.
  

• For an online source:
  Author's last name, First and Middle initials. (date
      publication). Title of work. Retrieved MM/DD/YY,
      from url.
  
  Cole, S. (1998). Diggin a ditch in Jesus name.
      Sermons.org. Retrieved August 20,2002,from
      http://sermons.org/sermons/sermon.html.
  

• For a database:
  

  Author's last name, First and Middle initials.(date of     publication). Title of work and any other pertinent     Bibliographis information. Retrieved MM/DD/YY,     from database X.

  
  Moessner, J.S. (2001). "Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
      reformer to revolutionary."Journal of The American
      Academy of  Religion, LXII/3, 673-697. Retrieved
      Aug 14, 2002, from ATLA Religion Database.

Internet Resources for APA

http://www.apastyle.org/aboutstyle.html --The APA's own set of answers to Frequently Asked Questions

http://www.bartleby.com/141/ --William Strunk's The Elements of Style. This is an online version of Strunk's     classic reference of the principal requirements of plain     English style and the rules of usage.

http://www.wooster.edu/psychology/apa-crib.html -A revised version of the crib sheet by Bill Scott of the College of Wooster, including a link to the APA page on electronic resources.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html     Purdue's extensive Online Writing Lab