Download Common APA Conundrums

Common APA Conundrums
With
Jeff Zuckerman
[email protected]
June 2007
Purpose
These slides show the most common APA
style errors students make in their papers.
We ask that you alert your students to the
patterns of their errors. You need not correct
every instance—just enough to show them
the kinds of APA errors they are making.
Topics
•
•
•
•
Documentation
Formatting and Variations
Numbers, Spelling, and Punctuation
Quirks and Odds and Ends
In-Text Citations: Bottom Line
– Writers must supply page numbers for
direct quotes from print sources or ¶
number for electronic ones.
– You must use quotation marks if
quoting a source directly (unless block quote).
– Per APA 3.39, you are not required to
provide page numbers for paraphrases,
but “authors are encouraged to do so.
How to Cite Sources
• Follow the conventions of the style
manual.
– In-text citations on pp. 117-122 & 207214
– Reference lists chapter 5 (5th ed.)
– www.apastyle.org
– See the APA Style Asylum in the
writing center for more examples.
APA style uses author-date citations only.
The authors (or in their absence, the title of
the work) appear first, followed by the year of
publication, and often a page number at the
end of a sentence.
After first reference in a paragraph, you
need not cite the year in the same paragraph.
You must cite the year on first reference in
subsequent paragraphs.
When citing multiple authors in parentheses, use
an ampersand.
Nuance was determined to be irrelevant
(Gerstein, Morrison, & Glazer, 2000, p. 211).
When not in parentheses, use the word and.
Gerstein, Morrison, and Glazer (2000) found
that “nuance is far overrated” (p. 211).
Note where the punctuation belongs.
The plural of p. is pp. {space}
(pp. 211-212).
Space after a p. or pp.
WAIT I MISSED THOSE.
(In parentheses, use &)
Not in parentheses, use and
“Place the final punctuation after
the parentheses” (Tom, Dick, &
Harry, 2001).
On Formatting Block Quotes
• Block form for direct quotes 40 words or more.
• Use only rarely; instead, paraphrase.
• Indent the same as a paragraph tab; same margin
on the right.
• The final punctuation comes before the
parenthetical element.
. . . and unpatriotic. (p. 285)

 No
punctuation
Steinbrink and Cook (2003) wrote that
the post-September 11 discussion in the U.S. media,
based on fear of additional terror, showed an
overwhelming preoccupation with nationalistic images
and icons. The media’s “us versus them” discourse is
based on patriotic motifs (U.S. flags everywhere);
human-interest stories about the 9/11 victims that
reinforce nationalism; and narratives that demonize
“them,” such as reports about Taliban brutality and
Palestinian suicide bombers. (p. 285)

 No
punctuation
In-text citation of Web page
Show retrieval date for nonpermanent
Web sources. Electronic sources:
para. or ¶
Best
or
p. 2 of 6.
Method section, ¶ 3.
WAIT! I ALMOST FORGOT!
If you’re listing groups of authors, they
go in alphabetical order:
Ya di ya di ya di da (Bonds, Van Slyke,
Bonilla, & Bell, 1990; Mazeroski &
Groat, 1960; Stargell, Alou, & Clemente,
1970)
Reference Lists
– As discussed on page 326 in the APA
manual, single-spaced reference lists are
easier to read than double-spaced ones.
– Use a hanging indent.
– Alphabetize the references.
– If there’s no author, the article title in the
author slot.
– Use (n.d.) if no date is indicated.
STANDARD FORMAT FOR A
JOURNAL REFERENCE
space
comma
+&
Steinbrink, J. E., & Cook, J. W. (2003).
Media literacy skills and the war on
terrorism. Clearing House, 76(6),
284-288.
italics
lower
case
STANDARD FORMAT FOR AN
ONLINE JOURNAL REFERENCE
Steinbrink, J. E., & Cook, J. W. (2003).
Media literacy skills and the war on
terrorism. Clearing House, 76(6),
284-288. Retrieved October 21,
2006, from Academic Search
Premier database.
The manual is ambiguous about when you
can use [Electronic version]. If a database
was used, per the manual, students should
cite the database.
STANDARD FORMAT FOR A BOOK
REFERENCE
Space
Comma
+&
Pesto, R. I., & Lutefisk, N. J. (2003).
Lemonade, lemonade: You know you
like it. New York: Longman.
Lower
case
italics
Review: Key Points on Citations
1. You must use quotation marks if you
are quoting directly.
2. You must indicate the page number or
paragraph number of a direct quote.
Secondary Sources
3. Students cannot pretend to have read something
firsthand they did not read. Some programs
prohibit secondary sources. If you allow
students to use a secondary source, then they
show it as follows:
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar (Freud, as
cited in Cohen, 1999).
The year Freud wrote his piece doesn’t appear
here, nor is Freud in the reference list.
Another Common Error
It is not spelled et.al, et. al, etal, et.al, la.te, or ‫אּתּﬠ‬
It’s et
al., followed by a comma.
Yadi yada overrated
(Culpepper et al., 2005)
2. Check the manual for when you can use et al.
Formatting and Variations
Because the APA manual was written for
submissions to journal articles, there may not be
one standard “right way” to format a course
paper.
Here are some helpful guidelines.
Margins: Course Papers
Left
margin
is 1”
from
the left
edge of
paper
My Wonderful Research
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
1 in. from
the edge
of paper
for top,
bottom,
right
side
margins
Margins: Page Numbers
FIRST
LINE OF
TEXT IS
1.5”
down
2
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
The page
number
goes 1”
down.
You must change Word’s default: Go to File, Page
Setup, Margins.
Formatting Lists
• Vertical lists, go
1.
2.
3.
4.
• In the paragraph, use (a), (b), (c). . . .
tab 1.tabIn a vertical list like this
one, tab the 1. over, and tab again.
2. Double space. As in the last
sentence, go back to the left margin.
3. Use a #., not a #) or (#).
but O’Reilly and Hannity (2000) blamed the
following for disruptive behavior among
adolescents:
1. Not saying the Pledge of Allegiance at
school in the morning.
2. Irresponsible parents.
3. The elimination of paddling.
Blah blah Clinton (2006), who said it was
(a) the right thing to do, (b) a mistake, and
(c) the right thing to do but a mistake.
But: Blah blah Robertson (2005), who
encouraged prohibiting (a) atheism; (b)
pinkos, especially pinko demagogues; and
(c) coed dancing.
Headings (APA 3.31)
• Keep your reader from getting lost.
• A series of road signs.
• Some choices depending on how many
levels you have.
• All levels belong in the table of contents,
which on most word processing programs
can be generated automatically.
Here’s how you’d do three levels:
Highest Level [L1]
Next Level [L3]
Next level. [L4]
Here’s how you’d do three levels:
Twentieth-Century Theorists {L1}
Abraham Maslow {L3}
Harmony, beauty, and justice. {L4} This
concept arose during the theorist’s days at a deli
counter on Murray Avenue in the Squirrel Hill
area of Pittsburgh.
Table of Contents
Twentieth-Century Theorists [L1]……………….14
Abraham Maslow [L3]…………………… …14
Harmony, beauty, and justice…...…….16
Justin Timberlake [L3]………………………18
Justin on quantum physics..……………25
Twentieth-Century Theorists [L1]
Blah blah blah these are really swell guys that I’ll be discussing.
Abraham Maslow (1954) [L3]
Blah blah svelt Maslow (1954) blah blah ya da da da da da selfactualization blah blah hungry but blah blah think sex is more important.
Harmony, beauty, and justice . [L4] Self-actualization blah blah papers
written by graduate students blah blah but did he ever play ice hockey?
Justin Timberlake [L3]
Blah blah blah Timberlake (2004) blah blah ya da da da da da talented
and intelligent blah blah famous performance at the Super Bowl blah blah.
Justin on quantum physics. The erudite performer (2004) blah blah
whose secret work at the NSF was only recently revealed blah blah. . . .
Tables and Figures
The APA manual has excellent guidelines on
tables and figures. In APA style, anything that is
not a table is a figure—not a chart or graph or
illustration.
Note that the table title goes flush left, above the
table.
The figure caption goes flush left, under the figure.
Table 4
Comparison of Boys and Girls by Height and
Weight
Variable
Height
Weight
Boys (n=61)
5 ft 1 in
104 lb
Girls (n=60)
5 ft 2 in
98 lb
Note. From “Analysis of Seventh Graders’
Hormones,” by W. Steeves, 2001, Journal of
Despair, 98, p. 11. Reprinted with permission.
Pressure from
School
Pressure from
Work
Dangerous Levels of Medications
Figure 13. Causes of stress and its effects among
graduate students. But is this really necessary?
According to whom?
By the way, number tables and figures consecutively,
that is, Table 1, Table 2, Table 3; Figure 1, Figure 2. . . .
Spacing
• Normally, double space.(See p. 326 in the
APA manual.)
• Insert only one space after a period or
colon.
Numbers, Spelling, and Punctuation
On Numbers (APA 3.42-3.45)
• Normally, numbers 10 and higher are written as
numerals. Nine and lower are written out.
• But there are exceptions where numbers 9 and
lower appear as numerals, too—mainly (a)
elements of time, (b) participants in a study, and
(c) great big numbers, like 4 million.
• All eight boys threw rocks at a carp. Meanwhile,
14 catfish nipped at Mrs. Thatcher’s arm.
• Every 2 or 3 years my lovely bride and I spend a
weekend in Crawford, TX, discussing the positive
effects of oil profits on luxury boat sales.
• There were like 4 million people at the DMB
concert last night.
• Exactly 60 boys and 8 girls participated.
Percentages (APA 3.42d) are straightforward.
Use a numeral and percentage sign unless at the
start of a sentence or if you’re quoting directly
from a source that used a different style
manual.
• Sixteen percent favor death by lethal
injection.
• Another 12% favor Cheez-Whiz, and 2%
marked “Hemlock.”
Commas
Insert a serial comma in a series of
three or more nouns or noun phrases
before the words and or or:
Moe, Larry, and Curly
Comma
Wait. I missed that one.
What was that again?
USE A SERIAL COMMA.
Cheese, mushrooms, green
peppers, and onions.
Spelling
Check the tables in chapter 3 for rules on
hyphenation. In general, words with prefixes such
as non, semi, pre, post, anti, multi, and inter are
not hyphenated: pretest, posttest, antibiotic,
antisocial, nonprofit, semipro, multiphased,
subsample. But self-esteem, self-concept.
Possessives of proper nouns ending in s get ’s
added:
Rogers’s, Wilks’s lambda, Jones’s bottle of rum.
On Abbreviations
• Italicize statistical abbreviations
• Uppercase N means population;
lowercase n means subsample
• Use etc., e.g., and i.e. only inside
parentheses
(e.g., means for example)
(i.e., means that is)
POP QUIZ
• My sister has three/3 children
• The plane was two/2 hours late.
• I plan to eat lunch, take a nap and spend the
whole evening writing a course paper.
• I plan to eat lunch, take a nap, and spend the
whole evening writing a course paper.
• I may have turned 52/fifty-two, but I do not
feel a day older than 50/fifty.
• I’m/I am not old; I’m/I am a non-traditional/
nontraditional student.
POP QUIZ
• My sister has three/3 children
• The plane was two/2 hours late.
• I plan to eat lunch, take a nap and spend the
whole evening writing a course paper.
• I plan to eat lunch, take a nap, and spend
the whole evening writing a course paper.
• I may have turned 52/fifty-two, but I do not
feel a day older than 50/fifty.
• I’m/I am not old; I’m/I am a non-traditional/
nontraditional student.
Quirks and Odds and Ends
VERB TENSES
First rule: The verb tense must make sense.
Corporations lack the trust many Americans had in
them a decade ago.
The U.S. manned space program has experienced
setbacks / experienced a major setback. . . .
There are growing concerns about the shortage of
water in the American West.
The crime rate fell during the 1990s.
VERB TENSES
Second rule: Report the literature in past tense.
Freud (1917/1980) explained [not explains] that
sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
Deming (1982) argued that blah blah.
Bennis (1980) believed [not believes]
Linus (2000) found that
Calvin and Hobbes (2001) wrote that
Dagwood (2004) demonstrated/indicated/opined
VERB TENSES
Third rule: Report the literature in past tense, but
it has to make sense.
Parker (1935) claimed that boys seldom make
passes at girls who wear glasses.
Bausch and Lomb (2002) studied male
heterosexual college students (N=100) at Princeton
and found that 75% of the students made passes at
girls who wore glasses.
Miscellaneous
• Data and media are plural nouns and take
plural adjectives, pronouns, and verbs.
• Use respectful and inclusive language.
• Avoid contractions.