Quote Reference
Learning APA Format
Marion Parish
Janet Pollock
Mark Poulin
Brock University
Faculty of Education
Department of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies
© Brock University 2012
2
What is APA Style, and Why Should I Care
APA style is a structure of formatting rules that will ensure that your manuscript is presented uniformly throughout and also in symmetry with other manuscripts. It provides an evenness of construction that makes reading pleasurable. You are required to follow APA guidelines in preparing your exit project, thesis, or dissertation. It will be helpful for you to have a quick reference outlining some of the basic requirements regarding presentation format. These notes will guide you. Additionally, some tips are offered to help you to identify and overcome some of the peculiarities of APA style, and some common errors are identified. These notes are intended to supplement your use of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association (6th ed., 2010) and the Master of Education Program Guide, online at http://www3.ed.brocku.ca/medguide/. It should be noted that some of the requirements outlined are specific to Brock’s Faculty of Education and may differ from APA mandated style.
Format of Manuscript
The width of the margin at the left side of every page of the manuscript must be 1.5 inches (3.81 cm). The top, bottom, and right-side margins must be at least an inch (2.54 cm). The additional half inch (1.27 cm) at the left side is required to accommodate the binding of the manuscript. The right-side margin is not justified to end evenly. Rather, allow the right margin to be uneven. Long words are not hyphenated at the ends of lines.
A serif font is used for the manuscript (with the exception of figures). The preferred font is Times New Roman (which is used here).
Size of type is 12 point throughout the manuscript. Do not increase size for headings.
Double spacing is used throughout the body of the manuscript,
Marion Parish
Janet Pollock
Mark Poulin
Brock University
Faculty of Education
Department of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies
© Brock University 2012
2
What is APA Style, and Why Should I Care
APA style is a structure of formatting rules that will ensure that your manuscript is presented uniformly throughout and also in symmetry with other manuscripts. It provides an evenness of construction that makes reading pleasurable. You are required to follow APA guidelines in preparing your exit project, thesis, or dissertation. It will be helpful for you to have a quick reference outlining some of the basic requirements regarding presentation format. These notes will guide you. Additionally, some tips are offered to help you to identify and overcome some of the peculiarities of APA style, and some common errors are identified. These notes are intended to supplement your use of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association (6th ed., 2010) and the Master of Education Program Guide, online at http://www3.ed.brocku.ca/medguide/. It should be noted that some of the requirements outlined are specific to Brock’s Faculty of Education and may differ from APA mandated style.
Format of Manuscript
The width of the margin at the left side of every page of the manuscript must be 1.5 inches (3.81 cm). The top, bottom, and right-side margins must be at least an inch (2.54 cm). The additional half inch (1.27 cm) at the left side is required to accommodate the binding of the manuscript. The right-side margin is not justified to end evenly. Rather, allow the right margin to be uneven. Long words are not hyphenated at the ends of lines.
A serif font is used for the manuscript (with the exception of figures). The preferred font is Times New Roman (which is used here).
Size of type is 12 point throughout the manuscript. Do not increase size for headings.
Double spacing is used throughout the body of the manuscript,
Citations: A citation at the end of a sentence precedes the closing punctuation (Parish & Pollock, 2009) punctuation” (Parish & Pollock, 2009, p. 3). The citation at the end of a block quotation follows the closing punctuation. be correct (Parish & Pollock, 2009). Multiple citations within the same parentheses are ordered alphabetically, that is, the same order as the reference list: (Jones, 1997, 1998; Jones & Smith, 2005; Weir, 1997). personal communication, September 1, 2005). Do not include a reference listing for a personal communication. authors’ names (i.e., Jones, 1997; Jones & Allen, 2005; Jones, Allen, & Buckle, 2004; Jones & Dink, 2003)