1. APA STYLE
How to Format Your Paper
Using the APA Publication Rules to Avoid Plagiarism

2. APA STYLE
• All assignments must be formatted as MS
Word documents using the APA style of
manuscript preparation.
• Keiser University uses the Publication
Manual of the American Psychological
Association (APA) 6th
Edition style of
documentation.

3. APA STYLE
• Using the APA Publication Manual’s rules
helps you avoid plagiarism.
• Plagiarism is the act of submitting text to
your instructor that is not your own and
that is not identified as coming from an
outside source.
• The penalties for plagiarism are very
severe at all universities.

4. APA STYLE
At Keiser University, the penalties for
plagiarism are as follows:
•First Offense: Student receives a grade of “F”
on their assignment.
•Second Offense: Student receives a grad
“F” in the course and must
repeat the class.
•Third Offense: Student is dismissed from the
University.

5. APA STYLE
Set-up your page as follows:
• Font Times New Roman
• Size 12 point
• Margins Minimum 1” all around
• Line Spacing Double space

6. APA STYLE
• A complete APA paper must have 4 Parts:
• The 4 Parts are:
• Title Page
• Abstract
• Body
• References Page
• Before you turn in your paper, be sure it has all 4
Parts. (Tables, figures, appendices can be included if required by
your topic, but they are not required for all APA papers.)
• Not all assignments require all 4 Parts; check
with your instructor to learn what is required on
any given assignment.

7. APA STYLE
You can find an APA Template file on the
Keiser OWL Course Home Page.
• Click the APA Help button on the left side of
the OWL Course Home Page.
• Click APA Template.
• Download the APA Template to your desktop.

8. APA STYLE
• Using the APA Template as your guide, type the
Title Page of your paper by typing over the
words on the APA Template.
• Remember, do not change the spacing or
format of the APA Template; just type your
information over what is on the template.
• Be sure to type your title (in CAPS) after
“Running Head:” as well as all the other
required information on the Title Page.

9. APA STYLE
Following the Title Page is the Abstract.
• An Abstract is a one-paragraph summary of
what your paper is about.
• Write your Abstract after you complete your
paper.*
*You cannot summarize what you have not written.

10. APA STYLE
After the Abstract, you type the main body
of your paper.
• The main body of your paper is the first place
where you are required to CITE your sources.
• CITATIONS show your reader the sources of
the information that you used in your paper.
• You must cite the source of any information
that is not common knowledge.

11. APA STYLE
Citing Word-for-Word Quotations
• If you reuse the exact words from one of your
sources, use quotation marks around the words
you copied.
• After the closing quotation mark, inside
parentheses, type the name of the author(s) last
name, the year the source document was
published, and the page number, if available.
Note that your normal sentence-ending period is
placed AFTER the parentheses.
(See the example below.)
EXAMPLE: “…increased” (Jones, 1999, p.35).

12. APA STYLE
Citing Word-for-Word Quotations (continued)
• This ensures that your reader knows you did not
create the information, and it tells them where they
can go to read the source material you quoted.
• Typically, your instructor will limit the amount of
word-for-word content you are permitted to include
in a given paper.

13. APA STYLE
Paraphrased Content
• If you do not copy the exact words of your
source, but only the author’s main idea(s), do
not use quotation marks.
• You must still cite the source using the
parentheses, and the author, date, and page
number.
EXAMPLE: …went up (Jones, 1999, p.35).

14. APA STYLE
• When you use the same source more than once
in the same paragraph, you do not have to type
in the full citation each time.
• Also, if you type the name of the author and year
in the text of your paper, you only have to type in
the page number, enclosed in parenthesis, for a
citation.
EXAMPLE: Smith (2007) stated in his article that Jones was guilty (p. 24).

15. APA STYLE
After you type the main body of your paper,
type your References page.
• The References section contains a list of ALL
the sources you used in your paper.
• Be sure to use the EXACT formatting required
for the type of source you are citing. Below are
three documents that show you how to do this:
1. APA Reference and Citation Samples: Color Coded (APA Help button)
2. Cita’s and Refer’s: Single and Multiple Authors (APA Help button)
3. http://www2.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citapa.htm

16. APA STYLE
Final Steps
• After you have completed typing your paper,
perform the following tasks:
• Select the SPELL CHECK function and review
all words with red jagged lines under them.
Change the ones that are spelled incorrectly.
• Re-read the items that have a green jagged line
under them and consider the suggested
changes. You will find that some of these items
do not need to be changed.

17. APA STYLE
Final Steps (continued)
• Re-read your entire paper aloud or have
someone read it to you so that you can hear
the words and ensure that you have not made
any errors.
• Rewrite any section that may prove confusing
to the reader.
• Submit your paper to the OWL for review.