What do you mean…

My instructor tells me that my references page is not complete. It clearly states I got my information from

www.toyota.com

.

What more do they want!

APA Formatting: An Introduction

Created by Christine Seideman ITT Learning Resource Coordinator Boise Campus ITT Technical Institute

What is APA?

• APA stands for the American Psychological Association • APA formatting is the widely recognized formatting process for research papers in scientific or advanced academic fields.

Why should I use APA?

– First, it gives credit to whomever you quote in your writing – Second, it provides a universal ‘look’ for all academic papers (making it much easier for your instructor to grade!) – Finally, it is required for this class (or by your instructor) and others here at ITT.

The nuts and bolts of APA…

APA formatting uses ‘in text’citations, meaning that when you quote something you immediately state who you are quoting (or paraphrasing, in your paper.

Example: Recent research on sleep and dreaming indicates that “dreams move backward in time as the night progresses” (Dement, 2000, p. 72).

Notice that only the last name is used for in-text citations, followed year the publication was published, and then by the page number.

Example continued…

You can also cite things indirectly if you are not using a direct word for word quote, this is also known as paraphrasing.

When Ledy (2005) compared the reaction times among students, he noticed an increase in errors.

citation you list the author’s last name in your writing followed publication year in parentheses

What if…there is no author?

If you are quoting an article and cannot find an author/creator name then cite the source internally by using a few words from the article title.

Example:

The World Wide Web is a helpful source for community groups seeking information on how “to protest projects that damage the local environment” (“Environmental Activism, 2001”).

This article did not have a stated author, instead we shortened the title of the article to cite it followed by the year of publication.

Listing References • The ‘References’ page is nothing more than a list of all the resources you quoted or used in your paper.

• The ‘References’ page should be the last page of your paper…it completely stands on its own.

• It is alphabetized by author last name or article title.

Works Cited Example Seideman 4 References Burroughs, A. (2003). Running with scissors. New York: Picador. Catch me if you can. (2004, June 21). Newsweek (pp. 38-42).

Ledy, Tunnis. (2007, June). Too busy to smell the roses.

Journal of the Obvious. Retrieved July 2, 2007 from http://www.journaloftheobvious/Ledy.htm

.

Breaking it Down… Let’s look at the pieces of how to cite sources.

Burroughs, A. (2003). Running with scissors. name , First initial.

City name where Title was published Year Published or Copyrighted Publishing is always

italicized

Company Name

Catch me if you can. (2004, June 21). Newsweek (pp. 38-42).

Title of article Title of the periodical

italicized

The publication Page range of the article date of the periodical Year, Month Day format

Ledy, T. (2007, June 27). Too busy to smell the roses. Journal of the Obvious. Retrieved 31 July 2007 from http://www.journaloftheobvious/Ledy.htm

.

Author’s Last Title of article.

Title of the name , periodical First initial.

The Date

YOU

The publication date of the periodical accessed the material on the Internet: Retrieved on… web address to the article.

Year Month Day format

Back to

www.toyota.com

… Before: www.toyota.com

After: Toyota Motor Sales (2008, December). Toyota Environmental Update. Retrieved January 22, 2009, from http://www.toyota.com/about/our_commitment/e nvironment/environment_updates/index.html

.

Additional Resources…

This tutorial was not designed to cover all APA formatting criteria. So here are some other resources you can use to help you out with APA formatting. • The LRC here on campus • The Virtual Library • KnightCite • APA.org

• The Owl at Purdue