APA Intro - Jumpstart 2011

APA style rules call for bold font to applied to heading Levels 1-4 WITHIN the body of the paper. According to APA, the title page, the Reference section, and appendices are not within the body of the paper (Strictly speaking, the body of the paper starts with the paper's title on the first page of text, encompassing everything through the last sentence of the concluding paragraph).

The given statement is true. In APA style, the title of a web page should be set in italics in the reference entry. This is consistent with the example provided, where the title "LIHEAP frequently asked questions" is written in italics.

Look closely at Ans. A to see that the writer has misplaced the period BEFORE the citation. The correct APA format (Ans. B) places the sentence punctuation AFTER the parenthetical citation to indicate the citation refers to the preceding information. Ans. C uses the correct punctuation but has spelled out and rather than using the ampersand (&), and therefore, does not follow APA style. Ans. D has the incorrect publication year. It is your responsibility as a scholar to ensure that your references contain accurate information, including correct spelling of authors' names, complete titles, and correct publication data.

For works with 3-5 authors, the first in-text citation lists all authors; subsequent citations are shortened to the first author plus et al., which is a Latin abbreviation meaning and others. Et is not an abbreviation whereas al. is the abbreviation for alia, and therefore, al. always uses a period.
Answers A, B, and C are incorrect because they did not use the shortened format. In addition, B uses square brackets instead of parentheses.
Answer D is missing the period following the abbreviation al.

Ans A is incorrect because it doesn't have correct punctuation for authors' initials and has used headline style caps for the article title.
Ans. B uses the correct format for the author information and year, but is missing the other essential elements of the entry.
Ans. C is the correct format; the article title is in correct sentence style caps with Latino Health Assessment Project capped because it is a proper name. APA format omits the issue number for journals that use continuous pagination throughout a volume. In other words, if Vol. 4, Issue 1 contains pages 1-190, and Vol. 4, Issue 2 contains pages 191 -302, the journal is using continuous pagination. In this quiz example, the high page numbers (i.e., 1134-1145) are a strong clue that the journal is using continuous pagination.
Ans D has two fatal flaws. For works with 7 authors, list all authors. For works with more than 7 authors, list the first 6, insert ... then list the last author. Second flaw: DOI should be lowercase.

Many times, online articles will have a publication date or "date posted" that should be used as the publication date in an APA citation. If the article or page does not have separate publication date, use the website's copyright date, “last revised,” or “page last updated” date that can usually be found on the bottom of the Web page. If no date is found, use "n.d." for "no date" in the reference and in-text citations. Example: (Administration for Children and Familiesm, n.d.).
In the example used in the question, the website copyright date is 2011.

Keep authors listed in the order as listed on the title page rather than arranging alphabetically. (Ans.C)
Ans. A is incomplete because it does not include the DOI (digital object identifier) for the electronic journal.
The APA format does not include the ISSN number (Ans. B), which is an identifying number assigned by the Library of Congress.

The correct answer is "All of the above" because all of the mentioned sources provide writing support for full-time on-campus students attending the UNC School of Social Work. The Writing Resources page on the School's website, under the Current Students tab, offers various writing resources. The APA Quick Reference Guide, which can be downloaded from the Writing Resources page, provides guidance on APA formatting. The School's Writing Support Team is available to assist students with their writing needs. Additionally, the UNC Writing Center offers writing support services to students. Therefore, all of these sources can be utilized by students for writing support.

When using authors' names in the text, APA does not include first names unless needed to distinguish authors with identical initials. Ans. B failed to replace the & with the word and . Ans D used the correct citation format but uses present tense find, rather than past tense found, to refer to the published work.

According to APA, in-text citations for works with 6 or more authors can be shortened to first author + et al. (abbreviation for "and others) on first use.
Answer A didn't shorten the citation and misspelled the names of two authors (Chan instead of Cahn; Steel instead of Stele). Attention to detail is critical.
In addition to not using the shortened citation format, Answer B used "and" instead of the & symbol. "And" should be spelled out when the authors' names are used in the sentence but parenthetical citations should use the ampersand (&).
Answer D used an inappropriate format for a parenthetical citation; however, the use of "and colleagues" is allowed if the authors' names are used as part of the sentence.

The correct reference entry for the low birth weight article is "March of Dimes Foundation. (2008). Medical resources: Low birthweight. Retrieved from http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/medicalresources_lowbirthweight.html."

The paragraph contains multiple writing problems. Firstly, the information is poorly organized as it jumps between different points without clear transitions. Secondly, the author has failed to cite sources, making it difficult to verify the accuracy of the information presented. Lastly, the author's meaning is not clear due to the excessive use of pronouns with unclear antecedents, causing confusion for the reader. These writing problems hinder the overall effectiveness and clarity of the paragraph.

In the correct answer A, the title of the Web page "Code of Ethics: Preamble" should be set in italics. Answer B has four fatal errors in its format: (a) the NASW abbreviation is not included in the reference entry, (b) when an URL is included in the reference entry it is redundant to include "on line" in square brackets, (c) APA no longer requires the date to be included in the retrieval statement, and (d) whenever possible, the reference entry should give the URL to the exact page, rather than the organization's home page.
Answer C has three fatal format flaws: (a) it is redundant to include [Electronic format] when an URL is included in a reference entry, (b) no need to include "Author"; reference entries for web sites do not include publisher's name or location, and (c) APA requires the use of phrase "Retrieved from" rather than "available at."
Answer D has one fatal flaw -- the dual year. Dual year indicate a work that has been republished without revision.

The correct answer is that there is a problem with subject-verb number agreement. This is because the subject "sample" is singular, but the verb "were" is plural. The verb should be "was" to agree with the singular subject. Additionally, the first sentence should use "compared with" instead of "compared to" to indicate a comparison between the two samples. Lastly, the third sentence has used the contraction "it's" which is incorrect; it should be "its" to show possession.

When a newspaper article doesn't list an author, reduce the title to the fewest words possible that will still allow the reader to easily locate the entry in the reference list. Enclose the shortened title in quote marks, and add year of publication. A specific page number is added to a citation when using a direct quote from the source, but not for a paraphrase.

The correct in-text citation for the quote would be (MOD, 2008, para. 4) because it follows the standard format of including the abbreviation for the source (MOD), the year of publication (2008), and the specific paragraph number (para. 4) where the quote can be found.

The page title for the given source is "LIHEAP Frequently Asked Questions". This can be inferred from the multiple instances of this phrase in the provided answer. The source is from the Office of Community Services and specifically addresses the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and its benefits for tribes.

No flip-flopping with abbreviations. According to APA style rules, once you have defined an abbreviation by writing out the full term and placing the abbreviation in parentheses, you must use the abbreviation thereafter. APA allows the use of an abbreviation to start a sentence.
The example shows a common misuse of a colon: Many people are under the false assumption that a colon should be used to start a list. Wrong. A colon must be preceded by an independent clause: In other words, what appears to the left of the colon must be a complete sentence that is capable of standing alone. However, what follows the colon does not have to be an independent clause.
According to APA "in-line seriation" or lists of items that appear within a sentence can be distinguished using lowercase letters enclosed in parentheses. Special rules apply to lists that use numbers or bullet points.

Citing websites often requires that you supplement APA rules with some detective work. The principle underlying APA citation formats is "give the reader the information needed to retrieve the source." Along with that principle, keep in mind that links to websites often change between the time a paper is written and when a reader is trying to use the link. Therefore, give the reader the most helpful information to track down the source. U.S.Dept. of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is perhaps too broad to be helpful in tracking down this source authored by a division within DHSS. The Office of Community Services makes sense in the context of the DHHS, but without that context, Office of Community Services could apply to any local community government or home-owners association. In this case, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is the corporate author that takes responsibility for the content on the website. You can confirm this "authorship" status by clicking on the Last updated link at the bottom ot the page, which opens a new page that includes ACF's responsibility for the site.

APA groups formal and informal communication that is not published in the personal communication category, which includes interviews, letters, phone calls, and e-mail. Cite personal communication in the text only. Give the initials and the surname of the person, and provide as exact a date as possible.
Answer A is incorrect because your citation should document your source rather than your name as the interviewer.
Answer B is incorrect because the communicator's initials and surname are listed before the type of communication and date.
Answer C uses the correct format AND uses Dr. Bledsoe correct initials (i.e., Sarah Elizabeth Bledsoe)
Answer D incorrectly uses interview instead of personal communication.
Answer E is incorrect because it not clear that the quote is from an interview.

The correct in-text citation for the first reference would be (March of Dimes Foundation [MOD], 2008). This citation includes the name of the organization (March of Dimes Foundation) and the year of publication (2008) in brackets. The abbreviation [MOD] is used to represent the organization in subsequent citations to the same source.

Answer A would be an acceptable paraphrase IF the source were cited. Paraphrasing without citing the source is plagiarism because you are representing another author's thoughts as your own.
Answer B is NOT an acceptable paraphrase because it duplicates parts of the original without identifying the words or phrases as quotes.
Answer C is NOT an acceptable paraphrase because it is not identical in meaning to the original.
Answer D IS an acceptable paraphrase because it restates Keaveney's ideas using this author's own words AND it credits the original source.
Answer E is NOT an acceptable paraphrase because the syntax follows the original too closely.

Use quotes as supporting information, not as replacements for doing your own writing. To be used effectively, a quote must be introduced to the text by having the meaning and relevance of the quote stated explicitly. Don't drop "quote bombs" (Answer D) and expect the reader to do the work of deciphering the meaning and relevance of the quote.
Neither Answer A nor Answer B adequately integrates the quote.

Statement A does not need a citation because the information could be considered general knowledge. Although Statement B notes that the Code of Ethics is authored by the NASW, the statement should include a citation that notes the year of the Code that the author has used as a source. Statement C gives specific information that cannot be considered as general knowledge even within the field of social work; therefore, this statement should include a full citation of author and year for the source of this information (i.e., National Association of Social Workers, 2008). In addition, Statement C is a poor paraphrase of the section from the Code of Ethics; an improved revision would place quote marks around the six values. Although Statement D is a paraphrase of the section from the Code of Ethics, the basic thoughts and concepts expressed were derived from a source; therefore, the statement should include a citation giving credit to the word, thoughts, and work of others that has influenced the author's thinking.

The sentence provided has multiple problems based on APA style rules. Firstly, APA mandates the use of past tense when referring to published material or prior research, which is not followed in the sentence. Secondly, the sentence uses informal language by using the term "teens", whereas APA requires the use of formal and precise language such as "youth" or "adolescents", which should also be defined by an age range. Additionally, when referring to the United States, APA requires that it must be spelled out when used as a noun, whereas the abbreviation "U.S." can be used as an adjective, such as "U.S. population". Lastly, the sentence makes a half-comparison, as it states that the study participants were more likely to adopt conservative family norms, but it does not specify who they were more likely than.

Items in a list must have parallel structure. Usually the easiest way to achieve parallel structure is to use the same verb form to begin each item in the list. Using the SIP example from this question, the list of steps could be revised as follows: (a) encoding cues, (b) interpreting cues, (c) clarifying goals, (d) constructing responses, (e) deciding on a response, and (f) enacting the selected response.
Parallel structure creates a harmony with each item hitting a pleasant note; when parallel structure is lacking, some items will hit sour or off-tune notes.

All answers are acceptable, but Answers A and B are the reasons that are most widely accepted. Secondary citations are weak supports because you are relying on another person's interpretation of the primary source. Rigorous scholarship demands that you investigate primary sources whenever possible. Moreover, students should seek out the primary sources of seminal works such as Erickson's that have had a substantial influence on the field.

APA limits since and while to temporal terms. Since indicates a time span from one event to another and while indicates two or more simultaneous events. Use although or whereas to indicate contrasting information; use because to indicate reason for or cause.