Hints for using APA writing style in your writing

1. APA Style, Writing and You
A.P.A. DOESN’T MEAN
“AGGRAVATING PAPER APPLICATIONS”
Presenter: Nichole Hertel, M.Ed.
Doctoral Resident and Teaching Fellow
University of Houston

2. Tonight’s Agenda
 Jokes
 Some Questions about APA
 What is APA Style?
 Define “education”
 Helpful Advice to Survive Writing
 Brief Overview of the Dissertation Chapters
 APA Formatting of Your Paper
 Any Questions?

3. Jokes – In Honor of Halloween
 What is a Mummy's favorite type of music?
 Wrap!!!!!
 Why do demons and ghouls hang out together?
 Because demons are a ghouls best friend!
 What's a monster's favorite bean?
 A human bean.
 Why can't the boy ghost have babies?
 Because he has a Hallo-weenie.

4. About Me
 3rd year doctoral student – C&I
 graduate in summer (hopefully!)
 Bachelor of Journalism (UH )
 Master in Education, Secondary Instruction (HBU)
 Taught secondary and elementary grades
 Currently teach Class Mgmt to pre-service teachers
at Sugar Land and Main campuses
 Mom of two

5. So, Why Am I here?

6. And Because…

7. Before We Begin, Let’s Answer
Some Questions about APA…
 What is APA?
 Why is it so important?
 What does it do and do I benefit from it?
 Why do we use it in the field of education?

8. What is the APA?
 APA = The American Psychological Association
 a professional organization representing psychologists in the U.S.
 around 150,000 members
 an annual budget of around $70M
 Founded in July 1892 at Clark University by a group of
26 men
 First president was G. Stanley Hall
 There are currently 54 divisions and it is affiliated with
60 state, territorial, and Canadian provincial associations
(Note: Occasionally confused with the America Psychiatric Association)

9. APA Organization Mission Statement
 To advance psychology:
 as a science and profession and
 as a means of promoting health, education, and human welfare by the
encouragement of psychology in all its branches in the broadest and
most liberal manner;
 by the promotion of research in psychology and the improvement of
research methods and conditions;
 by the improvement of the qualifications and usefulness of
psychologists through high standards of ethics, conduct, education, and
achievement;
 by the establishment and maintenance of the highest standards of
professional ethics and conduct of the members of the Association;
 by the increase and diffusion of psychological knowledge through
meetings, professional contacts, reports, papers, discussions, and
publications;
 thereby to advance scientific interests and inquiry, and the application
of research findings to the promotion of health, education, and the
public welfare

10. What is APA Style?
 A widely accepted style of documentation
particularly in the social sciences area
 Specifies multiple items within your paper:
 the names and order of headings
 paragraph formatting
 organization of citations and references,
 arrangement of tables, figures and appendices

11. What is APA Style? Cont.
 And it uses Harvard referencing keyed to a subsequent list of
References
 Harvard referencing is also referred to as the author-date system of
citations and parenthetical referencing
 The APA Publication Manual provides basic guidelines for
documenting both print and electronic resources.

12. Why is APA Style So Important?
 For You…
 Can make organizing your paper MUCH easier
 For Your Reader…
 Can make your paper easier to read for your intended audience

13. What Does it Do & Do I Benefit From It? -YES!
 If you wish to publish in a psychological or
educational journal, then this is the style you will
need to follow
 It allows for protection in your writing through the
use of references
 Protects sources/authors you are quoting from being plagiarized
 Protects you, the writer, from accusations of plagiarism

14. Why Do We Use It In the Education Field?
 Education is found under the social sciences
umbrella
 The social sciences are comprise academic disciplines
concerned with the study of the social life of human groups
and individuals
 A few examples: Anthropology, communications studies,
criminology, economics, geography, history, political science,
psychology, social studies and sociology

15. What is “Education” Anyway?
 Education encompasses teaching others (outward)
and learning specific skills (inward)
 It is the imparting of knowledge, positive judgment
and well-developed wisdom from the inward self to
and outward source

16. What is “Education” Anyway? Cont.
 “To educate” = to draw out
 From the Latin “educare”
 to facilitate the realization of an individual's potential and
talents.
 It is an application of pedagogy
 a body of theoretical and applied research relating to teaching
and learning
 specifically draws on disciplines such as psychology,
philosophy, computer science, linguistics, neuroscience,
sociology and anthropology

17. Why, again, is APA Style Used?
 Main reason: To give writers a standard format to
follow when preparing their manuscripts for
publication
 Makes the editorial process go smoother
 Provides editors with benchmarks against which to measure
the quality of writing
 Rules make converting writte work into published pages a
more consistent process

18. A Few Helpful Resources in Your Journey…
Let’s take a look
together

19. Now It’s Your Turn
 You will need these things for the next part:
 Something to write with
 This handout
 The second handout titled “Sample APA Style Used in A
Candidacy Paper”
 The third titled “Levels of Heading”
 The fourth titled APA Sample Paper
 The dissertation in front of you (to share)
 Your brains

20. INHALE DEEPLY
AND
LET’S BEGIN

21. General Formatting for Education Papers
 First, the words “papers,” “proposal,” “candidacy
paper,” “dissertation,” and “article” are going to
mean the same thing in terms of this discussion

22. The Real Dissertations
 Thumb through the dissertation in front of you
 What do you see?

23. How Are the Papers Set Up?
 Cover Page
 Table of Contents
 Abstract
 Body of Paper
 Chapters
 Headings
 Sections and Subsections
 Tables and Figures
 Citations
 References
 Appendices
 Tables
 Figures

24. Body Chapters Briefly
 5 main dissertation chapters:
 The introductory part
 The literature review
 The methodology
 The results
 The discussion
 All dissertation chapters have their specific
characteristics

25. Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
 Presents the main problems which will be discussed
in your dissertation
 Important to demonstrate that your work is
significant
 Ending of this chapter is a statement of your
research question
 Think: How you came to this topic

26. Chapter 2: LITERARY REVIEW
 Main points which were presented in other researches
on this topic
 Qualitative studies "talk to" the literature
 can be integrated throughout the paper, with advisor's approval
 Quantitive studies present the literature
 Relatively small compared to the rest of the chapters
 4-5 concepts/key terms presented (develop completely)
 Think: History of my topic

27. Chapter 3: METHOLOGY
 Describes the methods and investigation
 Try to prove your ideas by different references
 Present your own ideas and viewpoints
 include strong rationales
 Will lead-in to your conclusion in the next chapter
 AKA persuasive argument paper
 Think: Turn your reader into an agreer

28. Chapter 4: RESULTS
 Sum up all of your research
 Show that all the necessary questions have been
answered
 Be crystal clear and laconic
 Series of chapters/subchapters divided by logical and
natural layout of the inquiry
 Think: Scientific Method Syntax (not actual scientific
method used)

29. Chapter 5: DISCUSSION
 Compare your results with the results made by others
 Demonstrate your knowledge and skills in theory and
practice
 End with the new knowledge you are bringing to the
field (leads to Chapter 6)
 Think: The reason I should get an "A" on this
assignment is because…

30. Chapter 6: REFLECTION
 Optional Chapter
 but push in Education now is on the self-reflective
practitioner
 I call it the “I.E.S.” Chapter
 Think: What impact did my learning have directly
on me?

31. Last Words on Dissertation Chapters
 Very important to create a logical connection
 often happens slowly
 The more interesting your info is presented, the
more captivated your reader becomes in your paper
 Good for us because advisor/editors will read to enjoy and
learn rather than to critique 

32. APA Within Your Paper
 Covers mainly Chapters 2-5
 Specific Parts Are:
 Sections and Subsections
 Headings
 Tables and Figures
 Citations
 References

33. Sections and Subsections
 Typically include the following 7 sections
 Title Page
 Abstract
 Body
 References
 Tables (new page for each table)
 Figure captions
 Figures (new page for each figure)
 Also, avoid having one sub-section heading in a paper.
 Let’s look at Handout #2

34. Headings
 Aid in establishing the hierarchy of the sections of a
paper to help orient the reader
 Topics within a paper that have equal importance
will have the same level of headings throughout the
paper
 Can also function as an outline to reveal the papers
organization

35. Levels of Headings
 Consists of five possible formatting arrangements, each
according to the levels of subordination. The headings
are numbered Level 1, Level 2, and so forth to Level 5
 Level 1: Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Headings
 Level 2: Left-aligned, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
 Level 3: Indented, boldface, lowercase heading with period.
 Level 4: Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase heading with
period.
 Level 5: Indented, italicized, lowercase heading with period
 Let’s Look at Handout 3

36. Tables and Figures
 “table” = data that is entered in columns and rows
 “figure” = all other kinds of illustration or
representation of data
 Integrated throughout the paper where needed AND
attached at the end of the document
 Data should not be just left as a narrative
 Put into SOME kind of graphic or chart form -- either as a
table or as a figure (such as a bar graph or a pie chart)

37. Tables and Figures Cont.
 In the paper body, center table/figure and label all
information
 Describe table (pretend the table is not there and your are telling the
reader about it)
 At the end of the document after Appendices, one
table/ figure per page
 What you should use depends on what facts you are
trying to display
 Think: What is the most informative way to display the
information?

38. Hints About Tables and Figures
 Figures
 should not have tick marks for the measures
 should have titles for the x and y axis
 should not have outline around the graph
 should not have minor lines on the chart
 the legend should either not exist if the graph is simple or should be
inside the chart
 need to be on a figure captions page, with an explanation of the
data represented
 do not have page numbers, and should have penciled in, on the back
the top and the figure caption that corresponds to it.
 Tables
 do have page numbers
 do not have vertical lines

39. Citations
 Reference citations in text are done using
parenthetical referencing
 Involves enclosing the author's surname and the date of
publication within parentheses, separated by a comma,
generally placed immediately after the reference or at the end
of the sentence in which the reference is made.
 Also common for the authors to be the subject or object of a
sentence.
 In the case of a quotation, the page number is also included in
the citation.

40. Citation Examples
 Example 1 –
 Pauling (2005) writes that “after a successful experiment, I
discovered a possible genetic cause of alcoholism” (p. 123).
 Example 2 –
 Pauling (2005) discovered a possible genetic cause of
alcoholism.
 Example 3 -
 A recent study found a possible genetic cause of alcoholism
(Pauling, 2005).

41. Direct vs. Indirect Quotes
 Direct Quotation = exactly what the author wrote
 Indirect Quotation = a paraphrasing of what the
author wrote
 The same rules apply, the format being (Author,
Year, Page Number).

42. Direct vs. Indirect Quote Examples
 Example #1 –
 When asked why his behavior had changed so dramatically,
Max simply said he believed it was because of the
reinforcement (Pauling, 2004, p. 69).
 Example #2 –
 When asked why his behavior had changed so dramatically,
Max simply said, "I think it's the reinforcement" (Pauling,
2004, p. 69).

43. Statistical Expressions in APA
 There are certain ways to do this as well
 Don’t be concerned about it yet
 If needed, ask Dr. Ruban for assistance
 Take EDRS 8382

44. References
 Full bibliographic information
 Found at the end of the paper
 Can only include articles that are cited within the
body of an paper
 This is the distinction between a document having a Reference
section and a bibliography, which may incorporate sources
which may have been read by the authors as background, but
not referred to or included in the body of a document

45. Types of References
 Print sources
 Electronic sources

46. Handout #4 – The Complete Sample Paper
 Use this paper as a future reference

47. What Questions
Can I Help
Answer for You?