APA Formatting Across the Curriculum
Many schools are requiring APA style for all student writing these days, regardless of the specific academic discipline of the class. Faculty, especially those not well-practiced in APA, may need some help learning to “see” basic APA formatting in students’ papers. If the faculty can learn to see it and address common errors, it will be much easier to maintain consistent standards across your college or university. English, Engineering, or Economics, alike, faculty have to make sure all papers have the APA look, and we have to make sure all papers have APA citations, both in-text and as References. I’ll split this APA explanation into two distinct brief and simplified focus areas; “the look” and “bibliographic.”
The Look
After painstakingly assessing a few student papers for the APA look, it should easily become second nature. You will be able to see “the look” immediately. As for general formatting, look for Times New Roman 12 point font – a non-serif font will be easy to notice. Make sure the entire paper is evenly double-spaced without any extra-large spaces before or after paragraph breaks. Look for 1-inch margins, and look to be sure the student has indented all new paragraphs appropriately.
Faculty should also check the formatting of the title block and headers. The title block appears centered in the upper half of the first page, labeled page “1.”. Minimally, the full title of the paper, the writer’s name, and the organization name is required in the title block. Unless otherwise restricted by your school's guidelines, specific title block requirements, such as the date or the class's section number, may be added by individual instructors. If the title of the paper refers to the title of another work, that title should be in italics. For example, a paper about a film could be called
An Analysis of Psychosis in Silence of the Lambs; Hannibal Lecter’s Fava Beans
The full title of the paper appears, again, at the top of the first page of the body of the paper. When required by the instructor, an abstract on a separate page that comes before the body of the paper will include the heading “Abstract.” The abstract is numbered as page “2,” should not be indented, and it should be 120 – 150 words.
As for the headers, there are two different headers: one header for the title page, and another header for all subsequent pages. The margins for both headers are 1-inch on both sides, and the font is also Times New Roman 12. On the title page, the words “Running head” appear before the abbreviated title in all capital letters. On subsequent pages, the words “Running head” do not appear. The title in all capital letters, instead, appears by itself, flush left. All of the pages should be numbered in the upper right, and all headers should be in the header area of the Word document.
Bibliographic
The formatting of citations, both in-text and bibliographic, should also be according to APA standards. All sources, with the exception of personal communications, must be cited both in-text and on the References page. For in-text citations of paraphrased or summarized material, the (Author, date) format is appropriate, or sources can be introduced with a brief, “According to Author in a 2011 article . . . .” If source material is quoted, the citation must also include the page number or paragraph number. For example, if I were to quote something I hypothetically published, it would look like this: “All quotations require a page or paragraph number” (Hess, 2011, p. 12). That citation could also look like this: According to Hess in an article she wrote for the magazine Publication Today in 2011 (p.12), “All quotations require a page or paragraph number.” Notice punctuation always follows a citation. Beware the most common red flag for in-text citations: seeing a URL within the text of a paper. For more information, look closely at the APA Manual, or your school’s style guide.
Students often have difficulty properly formatting the bibliographic page, which for APA is a References page. Again, if a student uses a source in the paper, it must appear cited both in-text and on the references page. Every source type must follow the formatting requirements for that source type as dictated by APA guidelines. Italics, capitalization and punctuation do count in this citation shorthand. All sources should be listed alphabetically and should be formatted with a hanging indent.
When APA formatting is not a suggested format for student papers, but a requirement, it's up to all faculty members to adhere to the guidelines in order to maintain consistency. The more consistently faculty reinforce the principles, the more effectively students will meet this objective.
Amy Lynn Hess - Hess is an Associate Professor of English, a publisher, painter, potter, ukulele learner, dramaturg, and poet.
