APA

Formatting and
Style Guide

Alice T. Valerio, Ph.D., FBE

Allied Business Department
CBAA, DLSU-D
What is APA?
 American Psychological
Association(APA) Style

• The APA Publication Manual is the predominant

style guide used in the social sciences, business,
economics, and nursing.

• APA prescribes specific structure, tone, format and

citation requirements for academic and professional
research and writing to assure clarity, uniformity
and credibility and to prevent occurrences of
plagiarism and upholds the pursuit of academic
integrity and honesty.
 Types of Manuscripts
• Final manuscript – produced by the
author of a thesis, dissertation or student
paper

• Copy manuscript – produced by the

author of a journal article
 What is APA?
(American Psychological Association)

• APA Publication Manual is currently in its

6th version since 1929.

• APA manual presents rules for the

preparation of manuscripts for publication.

• It is the most commonly used format for

manuscripts in the Social Sciences.
 APA Style

• Rules or guidelines observed to ensure clear,

consistent presentation of the printed word

• Concerns uniform use of punctuations and

abbreviations, construction of tables, selection
of headings and citation of references and
other elements that are part of a manuscript.
 Purposes of APA Style
• APA style shows how to use proper structure,
vocabulary, grammar and punctuation in
support of the thesis topic.
• It advises use of objective language that
also avoids language bias.
• It ensures the effective communication of
the purpose, method, results and conclusions
of a student’s research to his professors,
peers and future researchers.
 Purposes of APA Style
 It provides clear communication to
reviewers/readers
• Organization of manuscript follows set format
• Production of clear tables and graphs
• References presented in a consistent way
• Reducing bias in language
• Editorial standards in publication
– e.g., spelling, abbreviations, citations, footnotes, etc.
General Format
 General Format
References
Main Body

Your essay should Abstract

include five major
Preliminary
sections: Pages

Title Page
 Main Body (Text)

 Type the title of the paper centered, at the top of

the page

 Type the text double-spaced with all sections

following each other without a break

 Identify the sources you use in the paper in

parenthetical in-text citations

 Format tables and figures

General Instructions in
Manuscript Preparation
 General Instructions in
Manuscript Preparation
1. Paper
• 8 ½ X 11, heavy white bond paper
2. Typeface
• 12-pt Times New Roman
3. Spacing

• double space
• single space for table titles and headings, figure
captions, and footnotes
• Triple- or quadruple-spacing after chapter titles,
before major subheadings, before footnotes, and
before and after tables in the text.
 General Instructions in
Manuscript Preparation
4. Margins
• 1” left margin, top, bottom, and right margins
5. Pagination
• number all pages throughout the appendix except the
major chapters
• preliminary pages usually carry lowercase roman
numerals
• Introduction (Chapter I) – Arabic numerals

6. Tables
• short tables may appear on a page with some text
• long tables and each figure are placed on a
separate page immediately after the page on which the
table or figure is first mentioned
 General Instructions in
Manuscript Preparation
7. Figures and figure captions
• Figure number is italics; text of the caption is not
italicized; capitalize only the first word and any proper
nouns; figure captions are typed below;
• Minimum size – 8 pt, maximum size – 14 pt

8. Paragraphs and Indentations

• First line of every paragraph and the first line of
every footnote
• References /Bibliography has a hanging indent
format (first line is set flush left and the subsequent
lines are indented)
 General Instructions in
Manuscript Preparation
 Leave one space after the comma, semicolon,
colon, and periods that are used to separate
parts of the citations and initials in a person’s
name.
 Leave two spaces after the period as a terminal
punctuation mark (to end a sentence).

 For all the other pages, the header must

contain the shorter version of the title flush left
in all caps, and the page number flush right.
 General Instructions in
Manuscript Preparation
Point of view and voice in an APA paper
Use:
 the third person point of view rather than
using the first person point of view or the passive
voice

The study showed that…, NOT

I found that….

 the active voice rather than passive voice

The participants responded…, NOT

The participants have been asked….
 General Instructions in
Manuscript Preparation

Tenses
 Use past tense when discussing the literature
that you read; methodology; and results:
Percy (2013) found. . . ; Mathew (2010) argued.
..
Vector Auto Regression was used. . .
The business performance was found to be. . .

 Use present tense in giving generalizations

(Conclusions)
 General Instructions in
Manuscript Preparation
APA uses a system of five heading levels
APA Stylistics
 Editing Style
1) Period

• used in initials of names (R. T. Romero);

abbreviation for United States when used as an
adjective (U.S. Navy); latin abbreviations (a.m.,
cf., i.e., vs.), and reference abbreviations
(Vol. 1, 3rd ed., p. 10)
• No periods for abbreviations of state names
(NY, NH, NC), acronyms (APA, WB, IQ), and
metric and nonmetric measurement
abbreviations (cm, ft, hr, kg, min, ml) except
“in.”
 Editing Style
2) Comma

• used between elements in a series of three or

more items; before and and or
Ex: Cavite, Laguna, or Batangas
In a study conducted by Sandoval, Leyson,
and Reyes (2005) . . .
• to set off a nonessential or nonrestrictive clause,
that is, if removed would leave the grammatical
structure and meaning of the sentence intact.
Ex. Coconut, the tree of life, is considered as a
major dollar earner of the country.
 Editing Style
3) Colon

If the clause following the colon is a complete sentence,

it begins with a capital letter.

Ex. The result was worth noting: The Philippines is the

kidney transplant capital in the world.

Do not use a colon after an introduction that is not a

complete sentence.

Ex. The formula is Y = a + bX.

 Editing Style
4) Quotation Marks
• to introduce a word or phrase used as an ironic
comment, as slang, or as an invented or coined
expression (no quotation marks after the initial
usage)
Ex. The Philippines is considered as the “texting
capital” in the world.

• to enclose quotations in text

Ex. According to Dizon (2013) “demographic and
psychographic factors influence buying behavior”.
 Editing Style
• to set off the title of an article or chapter in a
periodical when it is mentioned in the text.

Ex. The study conducted by Austria (2014) entitled,

“Impact of the Exchange Rate on Export Volumes”
revealed that . . . .

• to reproduce material from a test item or

verbatim instructions to participants.

Ex. The performance was categorized as “high”,

“average”, and “low”.
 Editing Style
5) Parenthesis
• to set off reference citations and page number in
text
Ex. Reyes (2010) reported that. . . . (p. 245).

• to introduce an abbreviation,
Ex. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)

• to enclose statistical values, Ex. (p < .05)

• Do not use parenthesis to enclose material within

other parenthesis
Ex. (National Statistics Office [NSO], 2014)
 Editing Style
6) Seriation

• To show seriation within a paragraph or sentence use

lowercase letters in parentheses.

Ex. The three principal thrusts are (a) institute a new program;
(b) strengthen support services; and (c) increase saving rates.

• To indicate seriation of separate paragraphs (e.g., itemized

recommendations or procedures) number each paragraph
with an Arabic numeral followed by a period.

Ex. The following immediate recommendations are:

1. Launch a massive rural infrastructure programs in the

poorest regions; and
2. Immediate land reform program in the poorest areas.
 Editing Style

7) Quotations

•Short quotations (< 40 words) should be

incorporated into the text and enclosed by
double quotation marks.

Ex. Cruz (2013) stated, “The Philippine agriculture is

characterized by a relative ‘scarcity of land’ in
relation to people” (p. 300).
 • Long quotations (40 or more words) – no quotation
marks; indented; double spaced; the period comes
before the citation.

Ex. The researchers found that in order to implement e-

learning programs, it is essential to:
(a) have a clear vision of desired outcome; (b) an
understanding of the current capacity and attitudes of
the relevant staff and (c) a coherent set of steps to
move from the current situation to the desired
outcome. (MacKeogh & Fox, 2009, p.152, para. 4)
 Editing Style
8) Ellipsis points
• used to indicate omitted material
• Type three periods with a space before and after
each period to indicate an omission within a
sentence; type four periods to indicate an omission
between two sentences.
9) Spelling
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary – standard
spelling reference for APA
Ex. aging, canceled, appendix- appendixes,
matrix-matrices
 Editing Style
10) Hyphen
Prefixes that do not require hyphens – after, anti, bi, co, counter,
equi, extra, infra, inter, intra, macro, mid, mini, multi, non, over, post,
pre, pro, re, semi, socio, sub, un, under

Prefixed words that require hyphens

• an abbreviation (e.g. pre-WW II), a number (e.g. post-
2000), capitalized (e.g. pro-Duterte)
• all self- compounds, whether adjectives or nouns
Ex. self-liquidating accounts, the students are self-supporting
Other cases:
. . .student-centered approach but The approach was
student centered ; t-test results but results from t tests
 Editing Style
11)Capitalization
Do not capitalize
• names of laws, theories, models, or hypotheses
Ex. law of supply and demand, Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs, life cycle hypothesis, endogenous growth theory

12) Italicizing Words

• Use italics for titles of books, periodicals, and microfilm
publications
Ex. In the book , “Principles of Managerial Economics”
• genera, species, and varieties
• introduction of a new, technical, or key term or label (do not
italicize for the next usage)
 Editing Style
13) Abbreviations
• A term to be abbreviated, on its first appearance, must
be spelled out and followed immediately by its
abbreviation in parentheses.
• APA permits the use of the following abbreviations that
do not need explanation in text (e.g. IQ, AIDS, HIV)

• Latin Abbreviations – used only in parenthetical

material; otherwise, use the English translation
cf. – compare i.e., - that is
e.g., - for example viz., - namely
etc. -, and so forth vs. – versus, against
 Editing Style
14) Numbers Expressed in Figures

• all numbers 10 and above (e.g., 10 respondents)

• all numbers below 10 that are grouped for comparison with
numbers 10 and above (e.g., 3 out of 10 groups)

15) Numbers Expressed in Words

• numbers below 10 that do not represent precise measurements

and that are grouped for comparison with numbers below 10
(e.g. nine experiments, five trials, three-way table)

• any number that begins a sentence (e.g. Forty-five percent of the

respondents . . ., Ten cities were not. . .)
 Editing Style
16) Decimal Fractions

• Use a zero before the decimal point when numbers are

less than 1. (e.g., 0.56 cm, 0.23 in., 0,56 s, 0.9 ft)

• Do not use zero before a decimal fraction when the

number cannot be greater than 1. (e.g., p < .05, r = -.65)

17) Percent
• Use the symbol for percent only when it is preceded by a
numeral. Use the word percentage when a number is not
given. (e.g.. 23%; . . . are expressed in percent)
 Editing Style
18) Tables
Table 1

Volume and Value of Philippine Gold Exports, 1980-2003

_______________________________________________________________
Year Volume Growth rate Value Growth rate
(MT) (%) (US $) (%)
_______________________________________________________________

1980 1,140,352 544,974,421

1981 1,138,628 (0.15) 429,376,458 (21.21)

1982 1,060,405 (6.87) 312,447,026 (27.23)

________________________________________________________________
Average 266,322 (11.79) 90,261,726 (8.24)
_________________________________________________________________
Note. From “Title of Article”, by Author and Author, 2004, Title of Journal, 50,p.
30
Copyright 2005 by the Name of copyright Holder. Reprinted with permission.
Table 1

PAM Results in Brunei to Determine Short-run and Long-run

Effects of Higher education
Note: Figures in parentheses are probability values

Variable Short-run Long-run Mean lag

GDP 0.1571 0.9435 5.0060

(.0074) (.0000)

GDP per capita 0.1147 0.5601 3.8828

(.0091) (.0000)
Adolescent fertility rate -0.0064 -0.0560 7.7566
(.7679) (.0000)
Carbon dioxide emission 0.3082 0.4989 0.6189
(.0250) (.0541)

Note: Figures in parentheses are probability values

In-Text Citations
 In-text Citations Parenthetical
Subsequent Parenthetical format,
citations in format, first subsequent
Type of citation First citation in text text citation in text citations in text
One work by one author Walter (2012) Walter (2012) (Walter, 2012) (Walter, 2012)
One work by two Walter and (Walter & Alden, (Walter & Alden,
authors Walter and Alden (2014) Alden (2014) 2014) 2014)
One work by three Vanta, Romero, and Vanta et al. (Vanta, Romero, & (Vanta et al.,
authors Samonte (2014) (2014) Samonte, 2014) 2014)
((Vanta, Romero,
Vanta, Romero, Creus, Vanta et al. Creus, & Samonte, (Vanta et al.,
One work by four and Samonte (2014) (2014) 2014) 2014)
authors
One work by five Vanta, Romero, Creus, VVanta et al. (Vanta, Romero,
authors Leyson, and Samonte (2014) Creus, Leyson, & (Vanta et al.,
(2014) Samonte (2014) 2014)

One work by six or more Vanta et al. (Vanta et al.,

authors Vanta et al. (2014) (2014) (Vanta et al., 2015) 2005)
Groups (readily National Institute of (National Institute of
identified through Mental Health (NIMH, Mental Health
abbreviation) as authors 2013) NIMN (2003) [NIMH], 2003) (NIMH, 2003)
University of
Groups (no University of California California (University of (University of
abbreviation) as authors (2005) (2005) California, 2005) California, 2005)
(Angeli et al., 2010)
 In-text Citations: No Authors
Unknown author: Cite by the title.
-Titles of books and reports are italicized or
underlined -Titles of articles, chapters, and web
pages are in quotation marks.
Example (“Behavior Management,” 2005).

Organization as author:
- Write out the organization’s full name the first time
with any abbreviation in brackets
Example (National Education Association [NEA], 2011).
- Subsequent citations: use abbreviation
Example (NEA, 2011).
 In-text Citations:
Format for a quotation
When quoting, introduce the quotation with a signal phrase. Make
sure to include the author’s name, the year of publication, and the
page number.

 Clarete (2009) stated that a traumatic response

frequently entails a “delayed, uncontrolled repetitive
appearance of hallucinations and other intrusive
phenomena” (p.11).

 A traumatic response frequently entails a “delayed,

uncontrolled repetitive appearance of hallucinations
and other intrusive phenomena” (Clarete, 2009, p.11).
 In-text Citations
Formats for a summary or paraphrase :

 include the author’s name in a signal phrase followed

by the year of publication in parenthesis:

Most agribusiness projects have the potential to

produce significant positive development effects
which include employment generation ( Faye, 2010),
technology transfer (Torres; 2012), and better storage
facilities (Santiago, 2013). According to Aitkein et al.
(2009) “average wage in foreign-owned firms was
30% higher than domestic companies” (p.2).
 In-text Citations:
A work with two authors
When citing a work with two authors, use “and” in between
authors’ name in the signal phrase yet “&” between their
names in parenthesis:

According to Aitkein and Smith (2009), “Average wage in

foreign-owned firms was 30% higher than domestic
companies” (p.2).

Some researchers asserted that “Average wage in

foreign-owned firms was 30% higher than domestic
companies” (Aitkein & Smith, 2009, p.2).
Citation Format: 6th Edition Changes

If citing two different authors with the same

surname, use the authors’ first initial:
A. Leyson (2011) and M. Leyson (2012) found that
family income positively affects the frequency of
medical check up by the household-respondents.
Citation Format: 6th Edition Changes

Per APA (2010), if the first citation in the paragraph is in-

text, then subsequent in-text citations within this same paragraph
do not need to carry a year. However, all parenthetical citations
do (APA, 2010). The rule as APA described it is a bit different if
the first citation of the paragraph is a parenthetical citation.

If the first citation in the paragraph is a parenthetical

citation, then the first in-text citation must carry a year (APA,
2010). APA (2010) also indicated that all parenthetical citations
with a paragraph, regardless of the number of previous citations
within that paragraph, must carry a year. There are no exceptions
to this rule (APA, 2010).
 Citation Format: 6th Edition Changes
Secondary source material
Parenthetical: (Vanta, as cited in Valerio, 2015)
In-Text: Vanta (as cited in Valerio, 2015)
Attributing an assertion to multiple sources
Parenthetical: (Paris, 2010; Sarreal, 2012; Zaire, 2014)
 alphabetical (as they appear in reference list) and
separated by semicolons
In-text: Paris (2010), Sarreal (2012), and Zaire (2014)
Multiple sources with same author and year
Parenthetical: (Vanta, 2015a)…(Vanta, 2015b)…(Vanta,
20015c)
In-text: Vanta (2015a)…Vanta (2015b)…Vanta (2015c)
 In-Text Citation

- No date available: (Harris, n.d.)

- Author unknown: (“The Third World”, 2012)
- No date and no author: (“The Third World”,
n.d.)
 In-text Citations:
Personal communication

 When citing interviews, letters, e-mails, etc.,

include the communicators name and the date of the
communication. Do not include personal
communication in the reference list:

A. T. Valerio also claimed that many of her students

had difficulties with APA style (personal communication,
October 10, 2016).
Or,

(A. T. Valerio, personal communication, October 10, 2016).

References List
 References Page
 The word References must be centered, without quotation
marks, bold, italics, or underlining.
 This page must have a header and is double-spaced using the
same font.
 The entries are set to hanging indentation by 0.5 inch.
 The entries must be organized in alphabetical order by the
authors’ last names. Do not number the entries.
 Italicize or underline all titles of books and journals. Do not
use quotation marks, italics, or underlining with articles’
titles. Italicize the websites’ titles.
 Only the first letter of the first word of the book, article, and
webpage’s title and subtitle is capitalized.
 Every source cited in the text of the paper should be cited on
the References page.
 Reference Page Sample

APA FORMAT 23
References

American Psychological Association (2010). Publication manual of the

Hanging
indent American Psychological Association 6th ed. Washington, DC:

American Psychological Association.

Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderland, L.,

& Brizee, A. (2010). APA format and styling guide. Retrieved from

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01

(Angeli et al., 2010)

 Reference Format
Book
Marshall, H. (2009). Best book ever (3rd ed.). New
York, NY: Publisher House.

Per 6th Edition, include the state

abbreviation in ALL cases, even for well
known cities
Chapter in an edited book
Timmerman, B. (2009). Best chapter ever. In H.
Marshall (Ed.), Best book ever (pp. 14-27). New
York, NY: Publisher House.
 References
• Group author (government agency) as publisher
National Statistics Office. (2014). Census of population
and housing, Sta. Mesa, Manila

• Daily newspaper
Samson, L. A. (2015, April 20). How to fight obesity.
Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. C20.

• Magazine article
Falcon, W. P. & Capule, A. G. (2014, June 10).
Scenarios for the year 2005. Science, 290, 12-16.
 References
• Proceedings of symposia

Minguez , G. R. (2012). The expanded corn program in the

Philippines. In A. F. Salgado (Ed.), Asian Regional Maize
Workshop (pp. 120-130), University of Bandung Press.
Indonesia.

• Unpublished doctoral dissertation

Cruz, D. D. (1982). Technical and institutional change in renewable
resource development . Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Madison
University of Wisconsin.

• Article in an internet
Environmental sustainability index. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.cc
.gatech.environ/fcu/.

Newton, R. T. (2014, July 7). Ten top corporations in the world. In

Business word. Retrieved from http://www.corp.net.
 References
• Unpublished doctoral dissertation
Cruz, D. D. (1982). Technical and institutional
change in renewable resource development
(with application for traditional fisheries).
Unpublished doctoral dissertation,
Madison University of Wisconsin.

• Article in an internet
Environmental sustainability index. (n.d). Retrieved August 24, 2004,
from http://www.cc.gatech.environ/fcu/.

Newton, R. T. (2004, July 7). Ten top corporations in the world.

In Business word. Retrieved October 10, 2004, from
http://www.corp.net.
 References
Journal Article
Marshall, H. (2009). Best article ever composed. Journal of Good
Things, 6(2), 199-207. doi:10.123456789

If there is no DOI: The next preferred option is to reference the

journal’s homepage:
Marshall, H. (2009). Best article ever composed. Journal of Good Things,
6(2), 199-207. Retrieved from http://www.journalofgoodthings.com

If you cannot locate the journal’s homepage, the last option is to reference the
database
. homepage:

Marshall, H. (2009). Best article ever composed. Journal of Good Things,

6(2), 199-207. Retrieved http://www.ebscomost.com
 References
A work with eight or more authors:
List the first six authors’ last names, then put three
periods(ellipsis), and then list the last author’s last name.
Prince, P., Billups, Z., Andrews, K., Bisoux, C., Frasier, L.,
Grey, P., . . . Lanikai, H. (2008). Effects of quitting
smoking on EEG activation and attention last for more
than 31 days an dare more severe with stress,
depnedance, DRD2 A1 allele, and depressive traits.
Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 6, 249-267. doi:
10.1080/14622200410001676305
Page 198 APA 6th
 How to Cite DOIs

• DOI: Digital Object Identifier

• APA now requires that you cite DOIs when available.
• You do not need to cite the database from which the
article was retrieved
• Some journal articles have DOIs and some do not

Example

Mosteller, F., Nave, B., & Miech, E. J. (2004). Why we need a

structured abstract in education research. Educational
Researcher, 33(1), 29-34. doi:10.1037/1054-5844.23.4

(APA, 2010, pg.188-192)

 How to locate DOIs

• DOIs are usually located on the first page of an

article often in the upper right hand corner near the
copyright information.

• Sage Premier consistently lists DOIs on the title page

of the journal article.

• If you cannot find the DOI, check the article title in

the SAGE premier database and try to locate the DOI
that way.
(APA, 2010, pg. 189)
 Now You Try
• Go to Sage Premier.
• Browse journals by discipline.
• Click on education under social sciences.
• Select The Journal of Special Education.
• Search for “CBM.”
• Locate the article The predictive validity of
CBM writing indices for eighth-grade
students.
• The DOI is located on the first page.
(see next slide)
 The Journal of Special Education
http://sed.sagepub.com/
______________________________________________________

The Predictive Validity of CBM Writing Indices for Eighth-Grade Students

Janelle M. Amato and Marley W. Watkins
J Spec Educ 2011 44: 195 originally published online 27 March 2009
DOI: 10.1177/0022466909333516

The online version of this article can be found at:

http://sed.sagepub.com/content/44/4/195
_____________________________________________________________

Published by:
Hammill Institute on Disabilities

and
http://www.sagepublications.com
 Let’s practice!
1. Which one is correct:
A. (Shakespeare, 1993, p. 20)
B. (Shakespeare, page 20)
C. (Shakespeare, 1993, p.20)
D. (Shakespeare, p. 20, 1993)
 Answer
1. A
In-text citation, one author for one
book, we put the author’s last name,
year of publication, page # (p. #)
 Let’s practice!
2. Which one is correct:
A. (Abrams and Greenblatt 12-20)
B. (Abrams & Greenblatt, 2001, pp. 12-20)
C. (Abrams and Greenblatt, 2001, pp. 12-
20)
D. (Abrams & Greenblatt, 2001, Pp. 12-20)
 Answer
2. B
In-text citation for one book with two
authors. We write the authors’ last
names using a ampersand (&) between
them, date of publication, pp. #. (pp.
because it is multiple pages)
 Practice Exercises
Google: APA Style Practice Exercises
- General APA Exercise
• Formatting
- General Formatting Exercises
- Formatting figures
- Formatting tables
• In-Text Citations
• References