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SOC 125 (Williams) FA25

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Getting to Know APA: Formatting Rules

APA Formatting Rules

  • Author Names: Last Name, First Initial. (e.g., Smith, J.).
  • Title Formatting: Use Sentence Case (Capitalize First Word & Proper Nouns).
  • Italics: Italicize book and journal titles
  • DOIs & URLs: Always include them. No "Retrieved from" needed.
  • In-Text Citations: (Author, Year) → (Smith, 2023). For quotes: (Smith, 2023, p. 45).
  • Reference Page: Double-space, indent second line of each entry.
  • DOI vs URLs? Check out the APA Style Blog website

More details: APA Style Guide & Citing AI in APA

Getting to Know APA: Common Database Citation Errors

  • Don't blindly trust auto-generated database citations as they often have errors in formatting, punctuation, and capitalization.
  • Verify page numbers, as database citations often do not include accurate page numbers. Double-check the page numbers in the article.
  • Fix title capitalization as databases often show titles in ALL CAPS. Convert to sentence case (capitalize only first word and proper nouns).
  • Remove database names such as "Academic Search Complete" or other database names in your citation.

Quick Citation Checklist

  • ✓ Author names in correct format (Last, F. M.)
  • ✓ Article title in sentence case
  • ✓ Journal title italicized and in title case
  • ✓ Double-check page numbers, volume, and issue
  • ✓ DOI included (not database URL)