You are writing a paper and must include APA-formatted source information.
What to do? Make Microsoft Word work for you!
1. In-text Citations
First, place your cursor at the end of the phrase, sentence, or paragraph where you need to indicate the source - before final punctuation:
Click on the References ribbon at the top of the document, and look in the Citations & Bibliography section. Make sure the style says "APA" (Use the fifth edition for now, because otherwise you don't get to input the retrieval date) - then click on Insert Citation > Add New Source:
Fill out the form as accurately as possible. Special notes:
- Make sure the Type of Source is accurate.
- If there is no human name, leave the author blank. Ignore the corporate author option.
- If there is no date available, write n.d. (this stands for "no date") for the year and leave the month and day blank.
- If there is a partial date such as October 2011, then provide what you can and leave the other parts empty.
- If it is a webpage, provide the complete URL, not just a home page.
- To make sure you are filling things out correctly, Word gives examples! Click in any field and look towards the bottom of the dialogue box to see an example.
If you wish to check out this example: the source is found at
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-20120919-64/steve-jobs-last-big-project-the-next-iphone/?tag=mncol;topStories.
Click the OK button, and you will see the in-text citation appear where you left your cursor:
If your information is a quote, the in-text citation should occur after the end-quote and before the final period:
If you use this source again, all you need to do is go back to Insert Citation and choose from the sources you have already input for this paper.
2. Reference Entries
Once you have completed all of the sources for your paper, you can insert the reference entries. First type the word References at the top of the last page of your paper and center it. Press the enter key and left-align the cursor.
Go to the Citations & Bibliography section and click on the Bibliography icon; pull all the way down to Insert Bibliography:
Once you let go of the mouse button, your entries are already formatted for you! Special notes:
- Occasionally, you may have to re-alphabetize.
- Make sure the font and font size of your entries match the rest of the paper.
- Check that the indent and double-spacing are correct.
- If any blue hyperlinks are present, right-click to remove them.
Created spontaneously Oct. 19, 2011 by Prof. Tamara Fudge