APA has a number of rules that your instructor may want you to follow. The following information came from the 5th edition of the APA manual. See the page number that follows each style rule for more information. NOTE: Your instructor may prefer slight changes to these rules. Check with your instructor for any variations.

Document Format:
Margins - 1 inch all sides, including top, bottom, left and right (p. 286)

Font preference and size - The preferred font is 12-pt Times Roman or 12-pt. Courier. (p. 285)

Line Spacing - Double spacing should occur throughout the document, with one exception. A quote of 40 or more words should be indented 5 spaces and single spaced. (p. 286)

Page Numbers - Page numbers should be located in upper right corner, unless specified differently from your instructor. (p. 288)

Paragraph Indentation - Paragraphs should be indented 5 spaces or 1/2 inch. (p. 289)

In-Text Citations:
Paraphrase - Include author's last name and date of publication in parentheses at the end of the sentence. Be sure to separate author's last name and date by a comma. Don't forget to add a period after the parentheses! Example: (Gutek, 2004). (p. 207)

Quote - Include author's last name, date of publication, and page number where quote was found in parentheses at the end of the sentence. Be sure to include a comma after author's last name and date. Add a "p" before the page number. Include a period after the "p" and a space before the page number. Don't forget to add a period after the parentheses! Example: (Gutek, 2004, p. 25). (p. 207)

See the APA In-Text Citation Guide for more information about citing your sources.

Reference List:
Always start your reference list on a new page.

Page title - The word References should appear centered at the top of the page. If you have only 1 citation the title should be Reference. (p. 299)

Line Spacing - Double space between each line. (p. 299)

Alignment - The first line of each entry should align with the left margin. All subsequesnt lines should be indented 5 spaces or set a hanging indent at 1/2 inch. (p. 299)

Order of entries - Alphabetical order by author. If there is no author use the title of the document. If you have more than one entry by the same author, then arrange by year beginning with the earliest publication. (p. 220).