APA Style Basics

Flashcards covering key vocabulary terms, formatting principles, structure, and style rules from the APA Style tutorial.

APA Style

A set of guidelines developed by social and behavioral scientists to help writers achieve clear, precise, and inclusive writing.

Student Title Page

A required page for student papers that includes the paper title, author name, author affiliation, course number and name, instructor name, assignment due date, and page number 1.

Abstract

A brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of a paper, written as one paragraph and usually up to 250 words long.

Footnotes

Notes used to supplement or strengthen information in the text and to acknowledge copyright.

Tables

Displays that show numerical values or textual information arranged in columns and rows.

Figures

Visual displays including bar charts, line graphs, drawings, maps, photographs, and any other visual display that is not a table.

Appendices

Supplementary sections that provide additional content not integral to the main text, such as detailed instructions to participants.

Method Section

The section of a research paper where authors describe in detail how the study was conducted.

Results Section

The section usually used for quantitative studies where authors summarize the data and the statistical analyses performed on those data.

Findings Section

The section usually used for qualitative studies where authors summarize the data and the analyses performed on those data.

Discussion Section

The section of a paper where authors evaluate and interpret the implications of their results or findings with respect to original hypotheses.

Page Header

A header located in the top margin of every page of a paper, consisting of a page number and, when required, a running head.

Running Head

A shortened version of the title of the paper typed in all-capital letters, required only for manuscripts being submitted for publication.

Continuity

A logical, orderly, and smooth flow of ideas across words, concepts, and themes throughout a scholarly paper.

Anthropomorphism

The attribution of human characteristics to animals or inanimate objects.

Person-First Language

An approach to language that puts the person before a disabling or chronic condition, such as "people with substance use disorders".

Identity-First Language

An approach to language that allows people to incorporate a disability into their personal identity, such as "autistic people".

Singular "They"

A gender-neutral pronoun used to refer to individuals who use "they" as their pronoun or when an individual's gender is unknown or irrelevant.

Serial Comma

A comma placed before the final item in a list of three or more items.

Title Case

A capitalization style where most words in titles or headings are capitalized.

Sentence Case

A capitalization style where most words are lowercase, except for the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns.

Plagiarism

The unethical failure to provide appropriate credit when using the words, ideas, or images of other researchers.

Author–Date Citation System

The citation system used in APA Style where each work cited in text is identified by its author and year of publication.

Paraphrase

A restatement of an author's idea in one's own words.

Direct Quotation

An exact reproduction of someone else's written or spoken words.

Block Quotation

A direct quotation of 40 words or more formatted as a freestanding block of text indented 0.5 inches from the left margin without quotation marks.

Hanging Indent

A reference list formatting style where the first line of an entry is flush left and all subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inches.

Level 1 Heading

An APA Style heading format that is Centered, Bold, Title Case Heading, with text starting as a new paragraph.

Level 2 Heading

An APA Style heading format that is Aligned Left, Bold, Title Case Heading, with text starting as a new paragraph.

Level 3 Heading

An APA Style heading format that is Aligned Left, Bold Italic, Title Case Heading, with text starting as a new paragraph.