Tips For Academic Writing and APA Style (6th ed.)

October 28, 2015

By Mark Van Dyke, Associate Professor, Communication, Marist College

The following guide is meant to offer tips regarding academic writing and APA style (6th ed.). These tips address errors that I routinely encounter when assessing academic papers in my courses. I periodically add to or update this tip sheet, as needed.

This tip sheet is not, however, meant to be a definitive writing or style guide. Don't rely strictly on what I or other professors, classmates, friends, etc. have told you about APA style. We all prone to making mistakes or neglecting to keep up with changes in APA style guidelines. Also, I relied on my direct reading of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, the original source, to prepare this tip sheet. For you, the reader, this tip sheet is only a secondary source for APA style, since you are relying on my interpretation of the APA manual.

The only definitive source for APA style is the current edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Please rely on your direct reading of the original source, the APA manual, when writing academic papers.

Click here for an official sample APA paper.

For a general guide to effective writing, I recommend A Writer's Reference by Diane Hacker or Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL).

NOTE: References to the APA manual in this tip sheet refer to the 6th edition of the APA manual.

Tips for Writers

1. Capitalize the first word of a direct quote when the quote forms a complete sentence. Also, introduce the quote by preceding it with a comma (or colon if the quote consists of more than one sentence). Don’t capitalize the first letter when the quote continues a sentence or forms a sentence fragment (and don’t set it off with a comma). Example: Barrett (2008) noted, “Ideally, positive ethos would exemplify a strong inner character” (p. 10). Or: Barrett (2008) associated positive ethos with “a strong inner character” (p. 10). See http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/577/01/

2. Use past tense when referring to an author’s published work. Example: Barrett (2008) noted, “Positive ethos would exemplify … inner character” (p. 10). (See APA 6th ed., Article 3.06, pp. 65-66).

3. Cite the work of others whenever their "ideas, theories, or research have directly influenced your work" (APA, 6th ed., p. 169). When in doubt, cite it. Use proper citation format. When using direct quotations of sources include in the citation the author's last name (no need to include first name), year, and page number (APA, 6th ed., pp. 170-171). For direct quotations of online sources without a page number, insert the paragraph number (see APA, 6th ed., pp. 171-172). Examples: (Van Dyke, 2005, pp. 10-11), Jones (2010, p. 55), (Smith, 2000, para. 4). When paraphrasing material (no direct quotes) you are encouraged to but not required to include a page or paragraph number in the citation (APA manual, p. 171) . Sample without a page or paragraph citation: Van Dyke (2005). NOTE: Also be familiar with rules governing self-plagiarism, or publishing your "own previously published work as new scholarship" (APA 6th ed., p. 16). Click here for guidance from APA (6th ed.) about plagiarism and self-plagiarism.

4. For quotations of 40 or more words, use block quote format. Double space the entire quotation. (see APA, 6th ed., p. 171, for an example.)

5. Before quoting, reprinting, or adapting copyrighted work like a figure, table, or image, you must obtain written permission from the copyright holder and append a footnote to this material acknowledging the copyright holder's permission (see APA, 6th ed., pp. 173-174).

6. Punctuate quotes properly. Periods and commas should usually appear inside the end quote marks. Example: According to Purdue University’s online writing lab (OWL), “Commas and periods go inside the closing quotation mark in conventional American usage; colons and semicolons go outside; and placement of question and exclamation marks depends on the situation.” (See http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_overvw.html and http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/577/01/.

7. When inserting ellipses to indicate content deleted from the middle of a sentence in the quote insert a space before and after the ellipses (but don’t use an ellipsis to begin or end a direct quote). Example: Barrett (2008) noted, “Positive ethos would exemplify … inner character” (p. 10). (See examples in APA, 6th ed., Article 6.08, pp. 172-173).

8. Do not overcapitalize. Pay careful attention to rules that guide capitalization of laws, theories, models, etc. (APA, 6th ed., pp. 106-107); formal titles; academic degrees, departments, majors, etc. (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/592/01/ and http://www.cmu.edu/styleguide/capitalization.html); etc. For instance, you would write "I worked as an account analyst last summer" but not "I worked as an Account Analyst last summer." You would also write, "According to Dennis Murray, president of Marist College, leaders need to communicate clearly" or "According to Marist College President Dennis Murray, leaders need to communicate clearly," but not "According to Dennis Murray, President of Marist College, leaders need to communicate clearly." (See Purdue OWL, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/592/1/). Also, capitalize proper nouns, like the complete, formal names of a discipline, field, department or course (e.g., School of Communication and the Arts; COM370 Public Relations) but not incomplete names (e.g., communication school, public relations). See APA (6th ed., pp. 102-106).

9. Use active voice (verbs). Avoid passive voice (verbs). Active voice begins with the subject, followed by the verb and the object … in that order. Active Examples: “Mark presented research at the conference.” Passive Example: “At the conference, research was presented by Mark.” (See APA, 6th ed., Article 3.18, pp. 77-78; and http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_actpass.html).

10. In APA (6th ed.) style, space once after "commas, colons, semicolons; periods that separate parts of a reference citation; and periods of the initials in personal names (e.g., J. R. Zang)" (pp. 87-88). This includes spacing once after the period in page citations. Correct example: (Barrett, 2008, p. 87). Incorrect: (Barrett, 2008, p.87). There are exceptions, however: do not add space(s) in abbreviations like i.e., e.g., a.m. or p.m., U.S., etc. NOTE: In APA (6th ed.) style, it is permissible to space twice after a period that ends a sentence. "Spacing twice after punctuation marks at the end of a sentence aids readers of draft manuscripts" (p. 88). This represents a change from APA (5th ed.) style, which called for one space "after punctuation marks at the ends of sentences" (p. 290).

11. Format title pages correctly in APA, including all required elements and paying careful attention to capitalization (e.g., Running head, not Running Head). (See APA, 6th ed., Article 2.02-2.03, pp. 23-24, and examples, p. 41). Also choose titles carefully. Titles "should be a concise statement of the main topic and should identify the actual variables or theoretical issues under investigation and the relationship between them" (6th ed., Article 2.01, p. 23).

12. Format headings and subheadings correctly in APA. Be sure to review proper format for each level of heading: first-level, second-level, third-level, etc. Place headings in proper position, bold-face some headings but not others, use proper title case or sentence case for capitalization, use end punctuation (periods) in some levels but not others, etc., as called for by APA style. (See levels of heading in APA, 6th ed., pp. 62-63; and refer to the APA blog for capitalization rules, http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2012/03/title-case-and-sentence-case-capitalization-in-apa-style.html).

13. Except for commonly accepted abbreviations that are found in the dictionary spell out abbreviations on first use (See APA, 6th ed., pp. 106-111).

14. Write concisely. Limit and vary unit length. Avoid sentences that are no longer than 2.5 lines and paragraphs that span nearly an entire page or more (see APA, 6th, ed., pp. 67-69).

15. Proof and edit carefully. Many papers contain errors highlighted by Microsoft Word (e.g., spelling, grammatical, or structural errors underlined in red or green) that could be easily detected and corrected with a simple automatic spell check. In addition to a spell check, proof and edit carefully with your own eye, since MS Word will not detect certain woods (this should have been words) that are spelled correctly but used in the wrong context.

16. Generally, spell out numbers that begin a sentence and numbers less than 10 (see APA, 6th ed., pp. 111-112; http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/593/01/).

17. Avoid slashes (/ or virgules) to separate words when a phrase would be clearer. For instance, "Bob and Betty have a hot and cold relationship," not "Bob and Betty have a hot/cold relationship." Reserve slashes for mathematical expressions, certain forms of citations, etc. (See APA, 6th ed., pp., 95-96.)

18. Be careful about uses of that and which. Which normally begins a nonrestrictive clause that is not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Precede the word which with a comma and a single space. The word that normally begins a restrictive clause that is essential to the meaning of the sentence. Do not use a comma before that. (See APA, 6th ed., p. 79).

19. Express dollar figures and percentages in numbers and symbols. Example: $1 million and 10% (see APA manual, p. 124).

20. It’s acceptable to write in first-person voice (e.g., I or we) in some papers (especially qualitative research papers); however, don’t mix voices in academic or professional writing between first-person, second-person (you), or third-person voice. Also, avoid using the “editorial we” (or “you,” etc.) in APA writing. Acceptable: “After conducting qualitative interviews and analyzing our data, we identified several important themes.” Not Acceptable: “We meaning people around the world tend to have different attitudes about systems of government.” (See APA manual, 6th ed., pp. 69-70).

21. Hyphenate compound modifiers (words joined together to form a single adjective). Example: a small-business owner, a three-year-old boy (see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/576/01/).

22. Exercise care when using commas, semicolons, and colons. See http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/607/01/ for quick guide on comma use. See http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/607/04/ for quick guide on commas and semicolons in compound sentences. See http://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/index.php?category_id=2&sub_category_id=1&article_id=44 for guidelines on commas, semicolons, and colons.

23. Use parallel structure or the same pattern when expressing ideas (e.g., series of words) that have the same level of meaning, emphasis or importance. See http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/623/01/ for examples and guidelines. Examples: (Correct) John likes eating ice cream, watching movies, riding horses; (Not Correct) John likes to eat ice cream, watching movies, and rides horses.

24. Refrain from citing secondary sources in APA papers. Example: Seidenberg and McLelland wrote, “Make very word count” (as cited in Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, & Haller, 1993). In this example, Seidenberg and McLelland is for the reader (you) the secondary source of information. Cite primary sources whenever possible (e.g., take time to locate and quote directly from the Seidenberg and McLelland source and don't rely on what Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, and Haller had to say). However, if you absolutely must cite a secondary citation (e.g. the primary source is out of print or otherwise not available), cite the primary source in the text (e.g., Seidenberg and McLelland) and cite only the secondary source (e.g., Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, & Haller) in the reference list. See APA 5th edition (p. 245) or APA 6th edition (p. 178) for specific guidelines. Also see the official APA Style Blog for clarification: http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2010/05/secondary-sources-aka-how-to-cite-a-source-you-found-in-another-source.html

25. Be judicious in the number of in-text and reference list citations used in a manuscript. The number of sources needed in a manuscript depends on the nature of the individual author's work, and will vary from case to case. Follow citation guidelines in the American Psychological Association’s publication manual (APA, 2010), which has provided the following guidance on when to cite: "Cite the work of those individuals whose ideas, theories, or research have directly influenced your work. They may provide key background information, support or dispute your thesis, or offer critical definitions of data" (p. 169). Also, "citation of an article implies that you have personally read the cited work" (p. 169). Furthermore, "in addition to crediting the ideas of others that you used to build your thesis, provide documentation for all facts and figures that are not common knowledge" (p. 169). Finally, the APA publication guide has suggested, "For most articles, aim to cite one or two of the most representative sources for each key point" (p. 169). This would pertain to course "papers" as well. Click here for additional guidelines.

26. If you are using an electronic book, you may or may not be able to see actual page numbers as they appear in the traditional book form. For instance, if you are using the latest generation of the Apple iPad, your Kindle Reader can display actual page numbers. If your reader does not display actual page numbers, read and apply this guidance from the APA's official style blog.

27. When attributing or quoting and citing e-mail messages (or iLearn course messages), electronic discussion forums, class notes and instructor handouts, podcasts, telephone calls or text messages, and other forms of communication that are limited in distribution and not widely recoverable by others, use the APA style for "personal communications." Cite personal communications in text only, not in a reference list. Offer the first name initials and last name of the author. Examples: According to M. A. Van Dyke, "It is important to immediately adopt a common understanding of social media as a part of speech" (personal communication, August 26, 2013); or, It is important to understand social media in terms of speech (M. A. Van Dyke, personal communication, August 26, 2013). (See APA manual, 6th ed., 6.20, p. 179).

28. Each pronoun should agree in terms of gender, number, etc. with the noun that it replaces. When referring to a singular noun, use a singular pronoun -- especially when referring to a single organization or organizations, a group or groups, etc. Singular Example: "Marist College is proud of its students." Plural Example: "Marist College's faculty members are proud of their students." (see APA manual, 3.20, pp. 79-80).

29. Use proper manuscript format and settings. (See APA manual, 8.03, pp. 228-230).

1. Times New Roman typeface, 12-point font size for text, including page headers and numbers
2. Double space between all lines. Change Microsoft Word default paragraph settings to zero (0) before and after paragraphs.
3. Uniform margins of one inch, top and bottom, right and left margins
4. Uniform left-hand margins (flush-left justification or "ragged right" margins, not center justified)
5. Indent first line of each paragraph, five to seven spaces or 1/2 inch

30. Use italics, not quotation marks, to add emphasis to words. Quotation marks signify a direct quote, which requires a page citation. Example, "Van Dyke (2013) discussed the unique role of groupthink in decision making." (See APA manual, 4.21, pp. 104-105).

31. When writing a business letter, use the block style, which is the most formal style. Place all elements of the letter in the proper location, use specified spacing between the elements and in the body text, etc. See the following resource for guidelines and actual sample letters: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/words/letter-formats-block-modified-block-and-semi-block-american