common Mistakes iN APA FORMATTING

Capitalization

• one might think that most words would be capitalized on a reference page for APA format. This is not the case
• only capitalize: the first word, proper nouns, words following punctuation
• citation generators and automatic citations from academic databases often make these errors

Example 1 - Incorrect

Hanstedt, P. (2012). Three Reasons to Make Writing Across the Curriculum Part of the Conversation. Liberal Education, 98(4), 48-51.

Example 1 - Correct

Hanstedt, P. (2012). Three reasons to make writing across the curriculum part of the conversation. Liberal Education, 98(4), 48-51.

Ex 2 - Incorrect

Martinez, C., Kock, N., & Cass, J. (2011). PAIN AND PLEASURE IN SHORT ESSAY WRITING: FACTORS PREDICTING UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ WRITING ANXIETY AND WRITING SELF-EFFICACY. Journal Of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54(5), 351-360.

Ex 2 - Correct-Notice that the word after the colon is capitalized.
Martinez, C., Kock, N., & Cass, J. (2011). Pain and pleasure in short essay writing: Factors predicting university students' writing anxiety and writing self-efficacy. Journal Of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54(5), 351-360.

authors

• Many students incorrectly list the complete first and last name of an author, which is a convention often learned from the MLA format
• In APA format, include only the full last name and first initial of the first and middle (if available) names

Example 1 - Incorrect

Otey, Brittany. (2013). Millennials, technology, and professional responsibility: Training a new generation in technological professionalism. Journal Of The Legal Profession, 37(2), 199-264.

Example 1 - Correct

Otey, B. (2013). Millennials, technology, and professional responsibility: Training a new generation in technological professionalism. Journal Of The Legal Profession, 37(2), 199-264.

Journal article and Websites – No Quotes

• Another common mistake when creating a reference is for students to put an article title or website title in quotes
• Such titles do not need quotation marks or even italics
• However, a webpage within the in-text citation will include quotation marks. For example, (Enmax, n.d., “Enmax Energy Home,” para. 1)

Example 1 - Incorrect

Otey, B. (2013). “Millennials, technology, and professional responsibility: Training a new generation in technological professionalism.” Journal Of The Legal Profession, 37(2), 199-264.

Example 1 - Correct

Otey, B. (2013). Millennials, technology, and professional responsibility: Training a new generation in technological professionalism. Journal Of The Legal Profession, 37(2), 199-264

Newspaper Articles versus Journals and Books

• Students often list only the year for newspaper articles, or they erroneously list “n.d.” for “no date”
• When available, the full date should listed. Only the year is needed
• Fail to list the author’s name for newspaper articles.There are occasions where there is no author listed, but make sure to look and include it if available

Example 1 - Incorrect

Muppets’ John Paul Henson dies at 48. (n.d.) USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/02/15/john-henson-muppets-di...

Example 1 - Correct

Deerwester, J. (2014, February 15). Muppets’ John Paul Henson dies at 48. USA Today. Retrieved fromhttp://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/02/15/john-henson-muppets- dies/5513653/

Indentation, Spacing, and Font Requirements

• References page should be Times New Roman, 12 point font and double-spaced
• If a reference takes up more than one line, as many of them do, make sure the first line of each reference is left-justified and each line after that is indented ½ inch
• Many students incorrectly indent the first line or do not indent the second or third lines

Second line indent

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