Appendix: Writing & Research Skills
51 Formatting Your Paper in APA
Melanie Gagich
American Psychological Association (APA)
The American Psychological Association, established in 1892, is “the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States” with approximately 117,000 members (“American Psychological Association”). The American Psychological Association created their style guide in 1929 and is most often used in the social sciences (e.g. psychology, sociology, education, criminology), business, nursing, linguistics, and composition. While the style, organization, and formatting of APA differ from MLA, similarities between the two styles remain. For example, to help readers understand the critical conversation to which your writing contributes and to avoid plagiarism, provide readers with important source-related information, and give credit where credit is due. You must include bibliographic information at the end of the document (the Reference page) and in-text citations in the form of signal phrases and/or parenthetical citations.
For the most recent version of APA style please visit their website or the OWL of Purdue’s APA Guide.
