Documentation style

A documentation style is a standard approach to the citation of

sources that the author of a paper has consulted, abstracted, or
quoted from. It prescribed methods for citing references within the
text, providing a list of works cited at the end of the paper, and
even formatting headings and margins.

Different academic disciplines use different documentation styles.

Type of documentation style

The Modern Language Association (MLA)

The American Psychological Association (APA)

The University of Chicago Press (Chicago Manual of Style)

The Council of Science Editors (CSE)

The American Chemical Society (ACS)

APA Style
The American Psychological
Association

APA style
APA style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social
sciences its provides a standard system for giving credit to others
for their contribution to your work. It's what we call a
"parenthetical" documentation style, meaning that citations to
original sources appear in your text. This allows the reader to see
immediately where your information comes from, and it saves you
the trouble of having to make footnotes or endnotes.
The APA style calls for three kinds of information to be included in
in-text citations. The author's last name and the work's date of
publication must always appear, and these items must match
exactly the corresponding entry in the references list. The third kind
of information, the page number, appears only in a citation to a
direct quotation.
The APA style includes guidelines for the formatting of documents.

Why use APA?

Allows others to
access your
sources
Helps you stay
organized

Establishes
credibility
Prevents
plagiarism

Necessary Info

Year of publication

Page number

Authors last name

Book with one author:

General format :
Last name, First initial. (pub.Year). Title of book.
Place of publication: Publisher.
Andreasen, N. (2001). Brave new brain: Conquering
mental illness in the era of the genome. Oxford,England:
Oxford University Press.

Book with two or more authors:

General format :
Author, A., & Author, B. (year). Title of book.Place
of publication: Publisher.
Copstead, L., & Banasik, J. (2005).
Pathophysiology (3rd ed.). Philadelphia ,PA:
Saunders.

Book by an unknown author

Title of book. (Year). Place of publication:
Publisher. The Koran. (1974). New York:
Crescent Books.

Article in an edited book or

anthology:
Smith, A. (2002). Editing for clarity. In
R.M. Miller (Ed.), Writing with
precision (pp. 120-132). Detroit: St.
Martins Press.
Last name, First initial. (pub. Year). Title of
article or chapter. In Editors name
(Ed.),Title of book (pp. ). Publication city:
Publisher.

Article from a database:

Moser, P., & Mun, T. (2004). Supply
and
demand. Business First, 32
(2), 34-37. Retrieved from General
BusinessFile
ASAP database.
Last name, First initial. (pub. Year).
Title of Article. Title of Journal,
volume(issue), pp. Retrieved from
database name.

Example of a Reference Page

ALCOHOL USE AMONG TEENS
11
References
Amanae, O. (2006). The basics of troubleshooting. Technology
in a Modern Age Journal, 41, 72-79. Retrieved from
Lexis-Nexis database.
Brazil, K., & Mayes, S. (2005). Keys to aesthetics: The look of
HDV technology. Denver: Green Publishers.
Luther, L. (2005). Incorporating technology into the workplace.
Business Forum, 35, 322-326.