APA 7th Style

Everything you’d need to reference your

research paper

Credits:
Table of Content

Introduction
Paper Format
In-text-citation
Reference citation
Language and Punctuation
What is APA Style?

● APA = American Psychological Association

● Based on the APA Publication Manual
● The 7th edition is the latest, published in 2019
● Used widely, especially in the social sciences
● Provides guidelines for language, formatting, and citations
Abbreviations
Word Abbreviation
Revised edition Rev. ed.
Second edition 2nd ed.
Editor(s) Ed. / Eds.
Translator(s) Trans.
Narrator(s) Narr. / Narrs.
No date n.d.
Page(s) p. / pp.
Paragraph para.
Volume(s) Vol. / Vols.
(Issue) number No.
Supplement Suppl.
Paper Format
General formatting
✓ Times New Roman (12 pt)
Heading: 18px, Sub-Headings: 16px, Body text: 14px
✓ Arial (11pt – 15px) ✓ Calibri (11pt – 15px)
✓ Georgia (11pt – 15px) ✓ Lucida Sans Unicode (10pt – 13px )

● Double line spacing ( 2.0 )

● One-inch (2.54 cm) margins
● Page number in the top right
Levels of heading
Level Format

1 Centered, Bold, Title Case

Text begins on a new line (indent first line)
2 Left-aligned, Bold, Title Case
Text begins on a new line (indent first line)
3 Left-aligned, Bold, Italic, Title Case
Text begins on a new line (indent first line)
4 Indented, Bold, Title Case, Period. Text begins on the same line

5 Indent, Bold, Italic, Title Case, Period. Text beings on the same line
Title page: Elements
✔ Paper title
Write an informative, striking title that summarizes the topic of your paper
✔ Team members
Give their full names (first name, middle initial(s) and last name)
Example: Amjad Mohamed Mounir => Amjad M. Mounir
✔ Institution or school name (Gharbiya STEM High School)
✔ Instructor name (Capstone Leader)
✔ Due date of the assignment
Title page: Multiple authors
● List the authors alphabetically. If there are more than one author,
separate their names with a comma. Only write “and” before the last
author
Title page: Example
Tables and Figures Format

● Preceded by a number, in bold, above the table/figure

● Brief title, in italics and title case, under the table/figure number.
● Followed by citation and explanatory notes or legends (if necessary)
integrated into the image
● Any relevant notes below the figure
Tables
• No vertical lines.
• Horizontal lines only
where necessary

• Clear, concise labels

for headings
Figures
● Any data
visualization
● Images
● Graphs
● Diagrams
● Flowcharts
● 3D Models
Referring to tables and figures in the text
Avoid making redundant statements about your tables and figures in your
text. When you write about data from tables and figures, it should be to
highlight or analyze a particular data point or trend, not simply to restate
what is already clearly shown in the table or figure:

✗ As Table 1 shows, there are 115 boys in Grade 4, 130 in Grade 5, and 117 in Grade 6 …
✓ Table 1 indicates a notable preponderance of boys in Grade 5. It is important to take
this into account because …
Referring to tables and figures in the text
Even if you have embedded your tables and figures in your text, refer to
them by their numbers, not by their position relative to the text or by
description:

✗ The table below shows… ✗ The photograph of a bald eagle is an example of…

✓ Table 1 shows… ✓ Figure 1 is an example of…

✗ As can be seen in the image on page 4…

✓ As can be seen in Figure 3…

Abstract
● 150-200 word summary
● Placed on a separate page
after the title page
● Doesn’t include indentation
Keywords
● 3-5 relevant keywords
● Placed directly below the abstract
● On a new line, write the label
“Keywords:” (italicized and indented)
● Followed by the keywords in
lowercase letters, separated by
commas.
Table of Content
✔ Include all level 1 and level 2 headings (other levels are optional and intended).
✔ Indicate different heading levels with indents.

● Place the table of contents on a separate page between the abstract and
introduction. It should be written in the same font and size as the rest of your
text (usually 14px Times New Roman).

● At the top of the page, write Contents, centered and in bold.

In-text citations
Components of a reference entry

Authors’ Last Name + Year + Locator

Format

Parenthetical citation
It is important to avoid plagiarism in academic writing (Smith, 2020, p. 15).

Narrative citation
Smith (2020, p. 15) states that it is important to avoid plagiarism in academic
writing.
 Multiple authors
Author type Parenthetical Narrative

One author (Harris, 2020) Harris (2020)

Two authors (Harris & Cook, 2020) Harris and Cook (2020)

Three or more (Harris et al., 2020) Harris et al. (2020)

Group authors (Scribbr, 2020) Scribbr (2020)

Abbreviated group author (National Aeronautics and Space National Aeronautics

Administration [NASA], 2020) and Space
• First Citation Administration (NASA,
• Subsequent Citation (NASA, 2020) 2020)

NASA (2020
Missing information
● Any missed information should be found through the context
of the referred source

Unknown element Solution In-text citation

Author Use the source title (Source Title, 2020)

Date Write “n.d.” for “no date” (Harris, n.d.)

Page number Use an alternative locator or (Harris, 2020, 03:46)

omit the page number (Harris, 2020, Chapter 3)
(Harris, 2020, para. 4)
(Harris, 2020)
Combining citations

X (Smith, 2020) (Jones, 2015) (McCombes et al., 2017)

✓ (Jones, 2015; McCombes et al., 2017; Smith, 2020)

The reference list
Generated using Microsoft Word
Format of the reference page
Components of a reference entry

1. Author
2. Date
3. Title
4. Source
 The full reference entry
Anderson, B. (1983). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origins and
spread of nationalism. Verso.

Andreff, W., & Staudohar, P. D. (2000). The evolving European model of

professional sports finance. Journal of Sports Economics, 1(3),
257–276. https://doi.org./10.1177/152700250000100304

Rowlatt, J. (2020, October 19). Could cold water hold a clue to a

dementia cure? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-
54531075
 Language &
Punctuation Guidelines
Active vs. Passive
● APA recommends using the active voice by default. However,
that doesn’t mean you can never use the passive voice. When
it’s unimportant who carried out a particular action, the
passive voice is a better choice.

✗ The test was compeleted.

✓ The participant compeleted the test

Personal Pronouns
● First-person pronouns (I, we) should be used when referring to your
own actions and thoughts. Don’t use (we) to make a generalization about
the world or about a group of people.

✗ The researcher(s) administered the test.

✓ I/we administered the test.

● Second-person pronouns (you) should avoid using you and prefer

use (one) instead of it.

● Third-person pronoun “they” to refer to an individual and instead of

he/she.
Anthropomorphism: (attributing actions to object)

1) Replace terms that are unnecessarily gendered or that

have sexist connotations with more inclusive alternatives
(e.g., change “fireman” to “firefighter”).

2) Don’t use colors to refer to other racial groups. Also

capitalize terms like “Native American,” “Hispanic,”
“Indigenous,” and “Aboriginal.”
3. Generally, avoid using adjectives as nouns to label groups of
people. For example, prefer “people living in poverty” over “the
poor.” This emphasizes that poverty is a circumstance in people’s
lives, not anessential quality of their existence.

4. Don’t hyphenate terms such as “Asian American” or “African

American” in any position.
Punctuation

1. Always use a comma after the Latin abbreviations “e.g.” and “i.e.”

2. Similarly, use a comma after an introductory phrase.

3. Hyphenate fractions only when they are used as adjectives
(e.g., “two thirds of the participants,” but “a two-thirds majority”).
4. Always use the serial comma
For example “grammar, usage, and style.”
5. Double quotation marks should be used, with a comma or period
enclosed within the quotation marks.
Hyphenation:

• The prefix “self-” (e.g., “self-deprecating”)

• Prefixes that end with “a,” “i,” or “o” when the following word starts
with the same letter (e.g., “meta-analysis,” “anti-intellectual”)
• When attaching to a number, abbreviation, or capitalized word
(e.g., “pre-1914,” “post-Napoleonic”)
• To avoid ambiguity (e.g., “re-form” to mean “form again” as
opposed to the usual meaning of “reform”).
Abbreviations and acronyms

1. Abbreviations and acronyms Proper use of abbreviations and

acronyms is important, since they help keep your writing concise
but can be confusing if used inconsistently or without proper
explanation. EX: DNA , HIV

2. Define an acronym when you first mention it, and use it

consistently after that point.

3. Redefine an abbreviation in each figure and table in which it

appears.
EX : fig.1
4. You can use acronyms in headings only if they are similarly
common or have been defined in the text before that heading.

5. Use periods in the terms "U.S." and "U.K." only when they are
used as adjectives, not when they are used as nouns. Do not use
periods in abbreviations of state, province, or territory names
(e.g., “NY”).
Numbers: Words vs. numerals
● As a general rule, spell out numbers for zero through nine and use
numerals for 10 and above. However, note the following exceptions.

● Always use numerals:

1) When a number directly precedes a unit of measurement (e.g., 5 cm)
2) When referring to statistics, equations, fractions, decimals,
percentages, or ratios
3) When a number represents time, dates, ages, scores, points on a
scale, exact sums of money, or numerals as numerals (but use words for
approximations of numbers of days, weeks, months, or years).
EX: 19 April.

4) When referring to a specific place in a numbered series

5) In the abstract of a paper (this allows you to save space in the

character limit)

6) Note that when referring to a numbered element of your text, you

should use a numeral and capitalize the word preceding it (e.g.,
“Chapter 2,” “Table 4”).