University of West Florida
Writing Skills Laboratory
By Betty Burleson
All information excerpted from the
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Fifth Edition

This handout addresses the basics of organizing a manuscript, of citing references in the text of a manuscript, and of completing the reference list of a manuscript.

Also, some general format guidelines are included. For more information, consult the APA Manual. Copies of the manual are available at the UWF Library and in the Writing Lab. Check with your instructor and/or department for specific requirements.

General Information

Double-space between all lines of the manuscript.

Leave uniform margins of at least 1 in.

Space once after all punctuation (exception: do not space after internal periods such as U.S. or around colons in ratios).

Number all pages except the artwork for figures consecutively. Arrange the pages of the manuscript as follows:

• Title page with running head for publications, title, and byline and institutional affiliation (separate page, numbered page 1)
• Abstract (separate page, numbered page 2)
• Text (start on a separate page, numbered page 3)
• References (start on a separate page)
• Appendixes (start on a separate page)
• Author note (start on a separate page)
• Footnotes (list together, starting on a separate page)
• Tables (start on a separate page)
• Figures captions (list together, starting on a separate page)
• Figures (place each on a separate page)

Title Page

The title page includes three elements: running head for publication, title and byline and institutional affiliation. Running Head: Identify the title page with a manuscript page header and the page number 1 placed in the upper right-hand corner of the page (see sample page at the back of this handout). Type the running head flush left at the top of the title page (but below the manuscript page header) in all uppercase letters. Do not exceed 50 characters, including punctuation and spaces. Title: If the title is two or more lines, double-space between the lines. Byline and Institutional Affiliation: Type the names of the author, using uppercase and lowercase letters, centered, one double-spaced line below the title. Type the institutional affiliation, centered under the author’s name, on the next double-spaced line.
Click here for a template for the APA Title Page.

Abstract

Begin the abstract on a new page, and identify the abstract page with the manuscript page header and the page number 2 in the upper right-hand corner of the page. Type the label Abstract in uppercase and lowercase letters, centered, at the top of the page. Type the abstract itself as a single block paragraph in block format (i.e., without paragraph indentation), and do not exceed 120 words.

Text

Begin the text on a new page, and identify the first text page with the manuscript page header and the page number 3 in the upper right-hand corner of the page. Type the title of the paper centered at the top of the page, double-space, and then type the text. The sections of the text follow each other without a break; do not start a new page when a new heading occurs. Each remaining manuscript page should also carry the manuscript page header and the page number.

Reference Citations in Text

Document your study throughout the text by citing by author and date the works you used in your research. This style of citation briefly identifies the source for readers and enables them to locate the source of information in the alphabetical reference list at the end of the article.

Quotations

Display a quotation of 40 or more words in a freestanding block of typewritten lines and omit the quotation marks. Start a block quotation on a new line and indent five spaces from the left margin.

3.94 One Work by One Author

APA journals use the author--date method of citation; that is, the surname of the author (do not include suffixes such as Jr.) and the year of publication are inserted in the text at the appropriate point:

Walker (2000) compared reaction times

In a recent study of reaction times (Walker, 2000)

If the name of the author appears as part of the narrative, as in the first example, cite only the year of publication in parentheses. Otherwise, place both the name and the year, separated by a comma, in parentheses (as in the second example). Even if the reference includes month and year, include only the year in the text citation. In the rare case in which both the year and the author are given as part of the textual discussion, do not add parenthetical information:

In 2000 Walker compared reaction times

Within a paragraph, you need not include the year in subsequent references to a study as long as the study cannot be confused with other studies cited in the article.

In a recent study of reaction times, Walker (2000) described the method. . . . Walker also found

3.95 One Work by Multiple Authors

When a work has two authors, always cite both names every time the reference occurs in text.

When a work has three, four, or five authors, cite all the authors the first time the reference occurs; in subsequent citations, include only the surname of the first author followed by et al. (not italicized and with a period after “al”) and the year if it is the first citation of the reference within a paragraph:

Wasserstein, Zappulla, Rosen, Gerstman, and Rock (1994) found

[Use as first citation in text.]

Wasserstein et al. (1994) found [Use as subsequent first citation per paragraph thereafter.]

Wasserstein et al. found [Omit year from subsequent citations after first citation within a paragraph.]

When a work has six or more authors, cite only the surname of the first author followed by et al. (not italicized and with a period after "al") and the year for the first and subsequent citations. (In the reference list, however, provide the initials and surnames of the first six authors, and shorten any remaining authors to et al.

3.103 Personal Communications

Because they do not provide recoverable data, personal communications are not included in the reference list. Cite personal communications in text only. Give the initials as well as the surname of the communicator, and provide as exact a date as possible:

T.K. Lutes (personal communication, April 18, 2001)

References

Start the reference list on a new page. Type the word References in uppercase and lowercase letters, centered, at the top of the page.

Double-space all references entries.

References cited in text must appear in the reference list; conversely, each entry in the reference list must be sited in the text.

Reference List

APA Style

• The reference list must be double-spaced, and entries should have a hanging indent.
• APA uses Arabic numerals because they use less space and are easier to comprehend than Roman numerals. A Roman numeral
• that is part of a title should remain Roman (e.g., Attention and Performance XIII).
• Arrange entries in alphabetical order by the surname of the first author.
• Italics is now preferred over the use of underlining.
• Alphabetize the reference list by the author’s surname.
• Use a hanging indent.

The principles of arranging entries in a reference list are described next. See example at the end of this handout for general forms. There is a more detailed listing in the APA Manual, which is available at the UWF Library’s information desk.

Publisher’s Location: Give the complete locations, including provinces, if applicable. When the publisher is a university and the name of the state (or province) is included in the university name, do not repeat the name of the state (or province) in the publisher location.

4.04 Order of References in the Reference List

Alphabetizing Names: Arrange entries in alphabetical order by the surname of the first author, using the following rules for special cases:

• Alphabetize letter by letter. Remember, however, that “nothing precedes something”: Brown, J. R., precedes Browning, A.R., even
• though i precedes j in the alphabet.
• Alphabetize the prefixes M’, Mc, and Mac literally, not as if they were all spelled Mac. Disregard the apostrophe: MacArthur
• precedes McAllister, and MacNeil precedes M’Carthy.
• Alphabetize surnames that contain articles and prepositions (de, la, du, von, etc).
• Alphabetize entries with numerals as if the numerals were spelled out.

Order of several works by the same first author. When ordering several works by the same first author, give the author’s name in the first and all subsequent references, and use the following rules to arrange the entries:

• One-author entries by the same author are arranged by the year of publication, the earliest first.
• One author entries precede multiple-author entries beginning with the surname
• References with the same first author and different second or third authors are arranged alphabetically by the surname
• of the second author or, if the second author is the same, the surname of the third author, and so on.
• References with the same authors in the same order are arranged by year of publication, the earliest first.
• References by the same author (or by the same two or more authors in the same order) with the same publication date
• are arranged alphabetically by the title (excluding A or The) that follows the date.

Exception: If the references with the same authors published in the same year are identified as articles in a series (i.e., Part 1 and Part 2), order the references in the series order, not alphabetically by the title.

Reference examples:

The main elements of the most common types of references are listed below.

Periodicals

Author, A. A., Author, B.B., & Author, C.C. (1994). Title of article. Title of Periodical,

xx, xxx-xxx.

Periodicals include items published on a regular basis: journals magazines, scholarly newsletters, and so on.

Nonperiodicals

Author, A.A. (1994). Title of work. Location: Publisher. Part of a nonperiodical (e.g., book chapter):

Author, A.A.,& Author, B.B. (1994). Title of chapter. Publisher.

Nonperiodicals include items published separately: books, reports, brochures, certain monographs, manuals, and audiovisual media. Online periodical:

Author, A.A., Author, B.B., & Author, C.C. (2000). Title of article.

Title of Periodical, xx, xxx-xxx. Retrieved month day, year, from source. Online document:

Author, A.A. (2000). Title of work. Retrieved month day, year, from source.

Electronic sources include aggregated databases, online journals, Web sites or Webpages, newsgroups, Web- or e-mail-based discussion groups, and Web- or e-mail-based newsletters.

Click here for an example of the Reference page.