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APA Format: What Does It Mean?

Almost every KGSM written assignment specifies that the paper conform to APA style. But no one really knows what this means. At the very least, the requirement could be that references be cited as described in the APA manual. But APA style involves a lot more. In this document, I will explain and/or provide examples of what I, personally, consider to be important in my classes. Some professors may require more or less. My best advice for what to do in other classes is to ask the professor.
Two Required Elements
Every paper has to have an introduction and a conclusion. The introduction establishes why the reader should read the paper. Notice that the introduction does not get a heading. The …show more content…

I am told Word also has a utility for managing references. I have never used it. You could also keep track of everything manually.
Citations
Some students may be familiar with the use of footnotes to provide information about sources of information. With APA format, footnotes are not used for this purpose. Instead, we use in-text citations and a references page near the end of the paper. The rules of the formatting of citations and references are somewhat arcane. Typically, professors will be okay with your formatting being pretty close. I am. Some professors might be sticklers about this. You might want to ask before beginning your writing assignment. Software such as Reference Point or EndNote will take care of the formatting for you if you use such software. Otherwise you will want to pay close attention to examples provided in the manual or other trusted sources.
Here are some example citations and references. In some cases, I have simplified, maybe over simplified some of the rules. I will be happy if you use the basics. You might want to ask your professor if you need to be more of a stickler. Here are citations for a book (Giorgi, 2009), a journal article (J. B. Walther, 1995), a web site (American Psychological Association, 2010), an edited book (Rehorick & Bentz, 2008), a section of a book (Polkinghorne, 1989), and a government document (National Institutes of Health, 2008). Here is what it looks like if

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