using apa style for academic writing & avoiding plagiarism prepared by: carla levesque, faculty...

Using APA Style for Academic Writing & Avoiding Plagiarism

Prepared By: Carla Levesque, Faculty LibrarianMiami Dade College

Medical Center Campus

Miami Dade College, Medical Center Campus Library

Table of Contents

Introduction to APA Style APA Style Manual Format of an APA Paper Major Sections of Paper Title Page In-Text Citation

Paraphrasing Direct Quotations

Print Sources

Electronic Sources Long Quotations

Personal Communications References Page Avoiding Plagiarism

What is Plagiarism Penalties for Plagiarism Turnitin.com

Additional Help

To go to a particular section, click on that heading or click on the arrow at the bottom of the page to move through the slides sequentially.

This button will return you to the Table of Contents.


Introduction to APA Style

American Psychological Association (APA) Style is an editorial method commonly used in the social & behavioral science disciplines.

The style consists of rules & guidelines for writing a paper.

References are cited in text with an author-date citation system & are listed alphabetically on the References page.


APA Style Manual

APA’s style rules & guidelines are set out in a book called The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. This manual is available in the reference collection at each of the Miami Dade College Libraries or a copy may be purchased from one of the campus bookstores.


Format of an APA Paper

Double-space. Use 1” margins. Number pages in

upper right-hand corner, beginning with the title page.

Before the page number, use an abbreviated form of the title as a header.

12-pt Times Roman or Courier are preferred typefaces.


Major Sections of Paper

Title Page Text of Paper References Page


Title Page

Include a “running head,” an abbreviated title, in ALL CAPS flush left at the top of the page.

Center the paper’s full title (lower & upper case).

Center the author’s name & affiliation below the title.

View Sample Title Page:


In Text Citation

Provide parenthetical citations when: Paraphrasing or using ideas from a source Quoting directly from a source Referring to personal communications


Paraphrasing

Provide the author(s)* & copyright date inparentheses.

Example: As the sixty-five-and-older age group

continues to grow, there is a greater demand for health care workers (Snook & D'Orazio, 1998).

*If a source has no known author, then use an abbreviated version of the title.


Direct Quotations: Print Sources

Provide the author(s), copyright date & pagenumber in parentheses.

Examples: "The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that

jobs in health care should grow 47 percent overall by the year 2010" (Snook & D'Orazio, 1998, p. 1).

OR According to Snook & D'Orazio (1998), "The U.S.

Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that jobs in health care should grow 47 percent overall by the year 2010" (p. 1).


Direct Quotations: Electronic Sources

Many electronic sources do not include pagenumbers. If paragraph numbers are given, usethem in place of page numbers, preceded by the¶ symbol or the abbreviation para.

Example: According to the U.S. Department of Labor,

“the health care industry is predicted to grow at a rate of 28 percent between 2002 and 2012, adding 3.5 million new jobs” (2004, ¶ 5).


Long Quotations

Quotations of 40 or more words are formatteddifferently:

Start on a new line Block Indent the full quote 5 spaces

from the left margin Omit quotation marks Double-space

See Example of Long Quotation


Long Quotations

Example:According to Solovy & Towne (2003):

Over five million new health care workers will be needed by 2010. Roughly 60

percent of those positions, or 3.1 million workers, will represent new jobs; the other 2.2 million workers are replacements for retirees and others leaving health care. (¶ 1)


Personal Communications

Personal communications include: Letters Memos E-mails Personal Interviews Telephone Conversations

See Example of Personal Communication


Personal Communications

Cite only within the text. They are not included in

the reference list.

Example:(J. D. Smith, personal communication, Feb. 3, 2005).


References Page

Start on a separate page. Center the word

“References” in upper & lowercase letters at the top of the page.

Arrange references alphabetically by author’s last name.

Use hanging indentation: first line is set flush left & subsequent lines are indented.

View Examples of References in APA Style.

View Sample References Page.


Avoiding Plagiarism

Proper citation of yoursources in APA style

can help you avoidplagiarism.


What Is Plagiarism

Plagiarism is using someone else's wordsor ideas without giving proper credit.

Examples of plagiarism include: Buying a paper. Turning in a paper that a friend or classmate

wrote. Copying/Paraphrasing from a source without

citing.


Penalties for Plagiarism

Miami Dade College's Procedure for Dealing withAcademic Dishonesty (www.mdc.edu/procedures/Chapter4/

4074.pdf) outlines possible sanctions against astudent suspected of plagiarism.

Possible sanctions include: a grade of zero on the assignment in question a grade of F for the course removal from the course disciplinary probation suspension or dismissal from the college


Turnitin.Com

Faculty at Miami Dade Collegenow have access to Turnitin.com, a software program that analyzespapers to determine whether or notthey are plagiarized.


For Additional Help

APA Style.org Landmark Citation Machine Microsoft Word Template Ask-A-Librarian

using apa style for academic writing & avoiding plagiarism prepared by: carla levesque, faculty...

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