ThePortableEditorVol. 3,No. 3

APAChecklistforClassPapers

TitlePage

______Titleof paper isTimes New Roman, 12 pt. font; centeredverticallyandhorizontally on page; beneath title list course number, instructor’s name, date, and student’s name or PID number (check with each instructor for preferred format)

______Titlepageheaderformat:Runninghead:SHORTENEDTITLEALLCAPS(Limit50charactersspaces;flushleft)

andpagenumber(flushright);Remove“Runninghead”labelforsubsequentpages.

______IncludesUNCHonorCodeStatementatbottomofpage: “I have neither given nor received any unauthorized assistance in completing this assignment.”

Format

______Entire paper uses12-pt.TimesNewRomanfont, black; noboldfont,noitalics

______Titleiscenteredatthetopofpage2,upper-andlowercaseletters,boldfont.

______Marginsareleft-justified(i.e.,raggedrightedge),1” onallsides;double-spacingthroughout,inc. references

______TextusesTimesNewRoman,12pt.font;Tables that are primarily numeralsuseArial or Calibri

______Firstlineofparagraphsindented0.5inch;noblanklinesinsertedbetweenparagraphs

______Onespaceafteranypunctuationmark;onespacebetweensentences

______Quotationsof40wordsormorearetreatedasblockquote(noquotationmarks,alllinesindented0.5”).

StylePoints

______Textusespasttensewhenreferringtopublishedmaterialor prior research(e.g.,“Maysindicated,Dayfound”)

______Attentiongiventopreciselanguage(e.g.,since,whilelimitedtotemporalterms,thatvs.whichusedcorrectly)

______Toincreaseclarity,undefinedpronounshavebeeneliminatedbyidentifyingsubject (e.g.,“Theyfound...”or“This

means…”replacedwith“Theseinvestigatorsfound…”and“Thisprocessmeans…,”respectively).

______Punctuationusedproperly(e.g.,serialcomma,noback-to-backparentheses,noparenthesesinparentheses)

______Abbreviations-termsarespelledoutonfirstuseandabbreviationsdefinedinparentheses

______Wordsusedastermssetinitalicsonfirstuseanddefinitiongiven(e.g.,reentryyouth,definedas…)

______Quotationsareusedsparingly,ifatall.

In-TextCitations

______Work,words,andideas ofothersareproperlycited (Quotes, paraphrases, & influence);citations for quotes include page number.(e.g.,Xiu,2007,p.10).

______CitationsfollowAPA (Author, Date) or(Organization,Date)format

  • Ifpublicationyearisnotknown,n.d.hasbeenusedtoindicate“nodate.”

_____Works with 3-5 authors: firstcitation lists allauthors; subsequent citationsshortenedto(FirstAuthoretal.,Date)

_____Works with 6 or more authors: All citations areshortenedto(FirstAuthoretal.,Date)

ReferenceSection

______Startsonnewpage(insertpagebreakatendofbodytext),double-spaced,noblanklinesbetweenentries

______Headingissimply“References”in12pt.TimesNewRoman,notboldfont

______Entriesformattedwithhangingindentof0.5inch.

______Authors’namesareinverted(lastname,initials).Alphabetizedbyfirstauthor’slastname(Ifsamefirst

author,alphabetizedbysecondauthorandsoon).

______Onlysourcescitedinthepaperareincludedinthereferencelist.

______Personalcommunication(e.g.,interviews,e-mail)andprimary sourceinasecondarysourcecitation

arecitedin-textbutnotincludedinthereferences.

______Entriesforworkswith1-7authorslistallauthors; entriesforworkswithmorethan7authorslistthefirst6,addan

ellipsis,and thenaddlastauthor

______EntriesforelectronicarticlesincludeDOIsifavailable(usecrossref.org“Simple TextQuery”tofindDOIs)

_____Entriesforelectronicarticlesw/outDOIsprovideexactURL(i.e.,open-accessjournalsordatabases)orURLof

thejournal’shomepageforarticlesobtainedthroughsubscription-baseddatabase

______EntriesforWebpagesgive enoughinformationtolocatethesource.Forexample,specificURLforpagecited,not

organization’shomepage.

______NopunctuationaddedatendofDOIsorURLs

Writing Support Available to SSW Students

  • Writing Resources Page on the School’s website:

Under the Current Students tab. Includes archives of Portable Editortip sheets, library of PowerPoint presentations, and links to other resources.

  • APA Quick Reference Guide – download from the Writing Resources page
  • Grammar Review and Tutorial on Sakai –SOWO Grammar Skills SP10 – send an e-mail to Tiffany Carver at with “Sign me up for Grammar Skills” in subject line
  • Writing Support Team:
  • The School’s Team offers face-to-face appointments, quick answers via e-mail, or support via a combination of phone and e-mail.
  • When requesting an appointment, please include 2-3 “best times” (i.e., specific dates and times) that work for your schedule. A team member will honor your request, if possible. Having several time slots to choose from avoids a lot of back-and-forth e-mail to find a mutually agreeable date and time.
  • The Portable Editoris a monthly in-house e-mail newsletter written by Susan White and Diane Wyant to help students, faculty, and staff improve their writing skills.The Portable Editor is sent only to those who have asked to be included on the LISTSERV. To subscribe, send an e-mail with “Subscribe to Portable Editor Listserv” in the subject line to Susan White at
  • UNC Writing Center – Student and Academic Services Building, North

On-campus graduate students can use the Center once per week. The Writing Center offers 50-minute face-to-face sessions and an online tutoring system.

  • APA Citation Guide for Online Sources:
  • Lansing Community College – one of millions, but this site links examples to page in APA Manual.
  • Self-paced tutorial for APA style:

Other Resources:

Duke Graduate School Writing Resource Center. (2013). Scientific writing resource. Retrieved from

Three online lessons that can be completed in about 45 minutes. Lessons address effective sentence and paragraph structure, cohesion, concision, and clarity.

Hacker, D. (2003). A writer’s reference (5th ed.). New York, NY: Bedford/St. Martin.

Provides clear and useful explanations of proper use of punctuation and grammar. Often used as textbook, so used copies can usually be found for $1- $5. Diane Wyant has several copies to lend.

Gopen, G. D., & Swan, J. A. (1990). The science of scientific writing. American Scientist, 78, 550-558. Retrieved from

Brief introduction to improving communication by writing from the reader’s perspective.

Alley, M. (1996). The craft of scientific writing (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.

Williams, J. M. (2005). Style: Ten lessons in clarity and grace (8th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Longman.

Invaluable practical tips for improving flow and clarity in writing. Used copies abound.

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.).Washington, DC: Author

If buying used, make sure you get second or later printing (August 2009 or later). First printing (July 2009) had so many errors it was “quietly” recalled.

Supplement to the APA Manual: APA Style Blog at

Blog has searchable archives of entries that correct the Manual and address overlooked/additionaltopics

Revised 8/22/2014