APA formatting

Papers that are written by students for courses at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences must adhere to the format created by the American Psychological Association (APA).  Copies of the print version of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association of both the 5th edition and 6th edition  are on reserve in the Harris Library.

NOTE ABOUT THE 6TH EDITION:   The first printing of the 6th edition has many errors in it.  Check the publisher's website for more information.  The second printing has corrected the errors.  The copies in the Harris Library are all second printings.

APA Publisher's Website: 

APA Style.org (6th ed.)
Produced by the American Psychological Association (publisher of the APA manual), the information on this site is taken from the updated 6th edition of the APA Publication Manual. The 6th edition was published July 2009.  Choose Electronic Resources to take you to information about how to cite websites and online journals. Changes, clarifications, or additions to APA style relating to electronic media will be continually updated on this page. 

Additional websites that offer information on using the APA 6th Edition format for citations include the following:

APA Citation Builder    (6th ed.)
Allows the user to enter the citation information and builds the citation correctly in APA 6th edition style or MLA style. "The Citation Builder will help you create citations for journal articles, books, web sites, and interviews. ... Be sure to type information into the Citation Builder accurately, keeping in mind spelling, capitalization, etc." -- From the website. 

APA Documentation (6th ed.)
From the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center. This link takes you to the APA section which also has a downloadable 7 page APA Overview  (6th ed.).  You can also "backtrack" to the Writers Handbook you will find a very good guide to the writing process, and if you are writing for a journal that requires another writing format this site has information about all of the other writing styles .   

APA Formating and Style Guide (6th ed.)
Originally written by David Neyhart and Erin Karper at the Purdue University Online Writing Lab, and updated regularly, this comprehensive guide summarizes the major guidelines for APA formatting. Also includes a section on citing electronic sources.

APA Style Essentials    (6th ed.)
Written by Douglas Degelman, Ph.D., and Martin Lorenzo Harris, Ph.D., at Vanguard University of Southern California, this lists common core elements of APA style, based on the 6th edition.   

APA Style Resources (6th ed.)
Links to APA style guides and help sheets on the Internet. The page is part of Psych Web, a site that contains psychology-related information for students and teachers.

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Additional websites that offer information on using the APA 5th Edition format for citations include the following:

APA In-Text (Parenthetical) Documentation (5th ed.)
This handout was written by Judith Kilborn for the Write Place, the writing center at St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnnesota.  It includes multiple examples about how and where to place in-text citations in various situations.

APA Style Guide (5th ed.)
A handout created by the University of Southern Mississippi Libraries lists the basic forms of citations used for APA as well as other writing styles. Their APA Tutorial with short quiz questions is very helpful.

A Brief Guide To American Psychological Association (APA) Style (5th ed.)
A presentation created by the Writing and Communication Center at East Tennessee State University. This presentation addresses the common problems students experience when they are attempting to learn APA style and gives some helpful pointers.

 Additional Books in the Harris Library

American Psychological Association. (2010). Concise rules of APA style (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Bromfield, R. (2011). How to cite APA style 6th in psychology, social work, education, and the social sciences . Boston, MA: Basil Books.

Szuchman, L. T., & Thomlison, B. (2011). Writing with style: APA style for social work (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Note: If you need additional assistance with APA formatting please contact a Reference Librarian .

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