FORMATTING IN MS WORD 2008 MAC 1
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APA 6
th
Edition Guidelines: Formatting in MS Word 2008 for Mac
The guidelines for formatting a research paper in APA style are set forth in the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association, 6th edition. For consistency, these requirements will be followed in
all classes and your grade may depend on the requirements listed below. If you have questions about
formatting, please ask your instructor, your campus librarian (e-mail: librarians@rasmussen.edu) or
refer to the 6th edition Manual, available through the library. Please remember to save your work often!
General Formatting Guidelines
Font & Font Size
Times New Roman, 12 pt for all text
Paragraph Spacing
Double space the entire paper
Do not use extra spaces between paragraphs
Indentation
½ inch first line indent of each paragraph on the body of your paper
½ inch hanging indent of each citation in your References page
Title Page Header
Running head: Abbreviated title in ALL CAPS, aligned-left
The words Running head only appear on cover page
Page number aligned right
Body Header
Abbreviated title on all following pages in ALL CAPS, aligned left
Page number aligned right
Headings
Major headings: Centered and Bold
Minor headings: Align text left and bold
For all headings: Major words capitalized; all other letters lowercase
Long quotations (40 words or more)
Block format: entire quotation is indented 1/2 inch from left-hand margin
and double spaced.
Setting Defaults in Word 2007: Modifying Styles:
1. Open the Styles palette (go to View<Formatting Palette).
2. In the Styles palette, click the dropdown box and select Modify Style.
3. Name your style APA. Change your font to Times New Roman, size 12. Change your line
spacing to double spacing.
4. Next, click the Format button at the bottom of the box and select Paragraph. Under Spacing,
change After to 0, and then hit OK.
5. Finally, click to select Add to template, then click OK.
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Formatting the Title Page:
Running head and Page Number
In the Header:
· Page numbers aligned right
· Running head: abbreviated title IN ALL CAPS aligned left
The title of the paper
Stated topic of the paper, no longer than 12 words long; typed on one or two
lines. Centered in the upper half of the page.
The author’s name (Byline)
Your first name, middle initial, and last name, centered in the upper half of the
page, beneath the title of the paper. If it is a group paper, list each author.
Institutional affiliation
Rasmussen College, directly beneath your (the author’s) name
Author Note
The words Author Note are centered just above the center of the paper.
Beneath Author Note, indent and then type: “This research (or essay or poem,
etc.) is being submitted on (date) for (instructor, course number, and name of
course) course.” Please see the example below. At Rasmussen College the
Author Note is not optional.
1. To activate the Header, double click on the top of the page.
This opens the header.
2. In the Header and Footer palette, check the box next to
Different First Page option.
3. Click on the Format Page Number icon for Insert. For
Number Format, select 1, 2, 3… from the dropdown list and
click OK.
4. To insert the page number, click on the Insert Page Number
icon next to Insert.
5. In the Header area, move your cursor to the left of the page
number and type in the words
Running head: ABBREVIATED TITLE (in ALL CAPS
(On the following pages, only the ABBREVIATED TITLE
is used.)
6. With your cursor between the text and the page number, press the Tab
key twice, or until the number is aligned to the right margin.
7. The page number should now be aligned to the right, and the text should
stay aligned to the left. (If it’s on the line UNDER the abbreviated title,
hit backspace until both are on the same line.)
8. Click Close to exit from the Header.
9. Click the Align Center button to align your title page text in the center of your paper.
10. Check to be certain the line spacing is set to double space without extra spacing between
paragraphs.
11. Press the Enter key 4 times to move your cursor to the top half of the page; type in the title of
your paper using normal capitalization, then press Enter.
12. Type in your first name, middle initial, and last name, then press Enter.
13. Type in Rasmussen College, then press Enter.
14. Press the Enter key 4 more times to move your cursor to place the Author Note.
15. Type in the words Author Note, then press Enter.
16. Click the Align Text Left button to align your Author’s Note to the left side of your paper, then
press the Tab key once.
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17. Enter in the following sentence: This research (or essay, poem, etc.) is being submitted on (month
day, year,) for (instructor’s first and last name)’s (course abbreviation and number and name of
course) course. Look below for an example.
18. Click on the Insert menu header then select Break<Page Break to start a new page.
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Formatting the Body of the Paper
Header
Double click on the top of the page to activate the Header.
In the Header and Footer palette, check the box next to Different First Page option.
Click on the Format Page Number icon for Insert. For Number Format, select 1, 2, 3… from
the dropdown list and click OK.
To insert the page number, click on the Insert Page Number icon next to Insert.
In the Header area, move your cursor to the left of the page number and type in the words
ABBREVIATED TITLE (in ALL CAPS).
(Note that only the ABBREVIATED TITLE is used in the body of the paper.)
With your cursor between the text and the page number, press the Tab key twice, or until the
number is aligned to the right margin.
The page number should now be aligned to the right, and the text should stay aligned to the left.
(If it’s on the line UNDER the abbreviated title, hit backspace until both are on the same line.)
Click Close to exit from the Header.
Abstract
May not be required; check with your instructor.
Appears on the second page of the paper
immediately after the title page.
Page should begin with the word Abstract centered
at the top of the page.
Abstract text is not indented; should be aligned
to the left side of the page.
No more than 120 words.
Should include the thesis or main idea of the paper.
Insert a page break to move to the body of the paper.
Body of the Paper
Begin with the full title of your paper centered at the top of your page.
Use headings only to distinguish important sections of a paper. Tips on headings:
o Each heading must have at least two sub-headings if sub-headings are used.
o Both headings and sub-headings should be formatted bold.
o A heading is aligned-centered. A sub-heading is aligned-left.
Align each paragraph to the left side of the page, and indented the first line1/2 inch. Use the tab
key or set your paragraph style to first line indent.
Insert a page break at the end of the body of the paper to move to your References page.
Reminder: In-Text Citations:
You must have an in-text citation for EVERY source on your References page. You must also
have an in-text citation for personal communications, such as e-mail or interviews.
There are two reasons to use in-text citations:
o Paraphrase – Using your own words to describe or explain the author’s idea. A
paraphrase does not include the author’s own words.
o Direct Quote – Quoting the author word for word. Please note that direct quotes should
be used to support your points and arguments, and be used sparingly.
The in-text citations for both a paraphrase and a direct quote are typed within the sentence:
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o Cite a paraphrase with the author’s last name and the date of publication (Smith, 2009).
o “Cite a direct quote with quotation marks around the quote, then the author’s last name,
the date of publication, and the page or paragraph number of the source” (Jones, 2009,
para. 4).
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References Page:
Appears at the end of the paper after the last page of the body
Except for personal communications, each source cited in the body of the paper MUST appear in
the references list.
Author: Author’s last name, first & middle initial
2+ Authors: Separate names with an & symbol
3-6 Authors: Include all names
More than 7: Include first 6, followed by … then the final name.
Smith, K. R.
Smith, B., & Jones, F.
Smith, A. B., Markus, L. Z., Midas, N., Opal, R.
S., Thomas, R. N., Smith, I. Q.,… Jondig, R. T.
Date of publication: Use the most current year listed
Journal: Specify month or season only if no volume number is given
Newspaper or Weekly Magazine: Include the day, month and year of
publication
Monthly Magazine: Include month and year of publication
Book: (2007).
Journal with volume number: (2007).
Journal without volume number: (2007, Spring).
Weekly Magazine: (2007, June 5).
Newspaper: (2007, April 4).
Monthly Magazine: (2007, June).
Title of an article or website section: The title of an article is NOT
italicized. Capitalize only the first word of the title and any subtitle plus
any proper nouns.
Completing the cycle: An American biker’s
journey.
Title of a book, magazine, journal or website – Italicized:
Books : Capitalize only first word of title and any subtitle plus any
proper nouns.
Magazine, Journal or Newspaper: Capitalize first word, and all proper
nouns.
Book: The greatest musical moments of all time.
Newspaper: The Modesto Sun-Times,
Note: Journal, newspaper & magazine titles end
with a comma.
Volume (issue) page number or page number range (The volume
number is typically italicized.)
12(1), 15.
165(3), 14-22.
Place of publication & publisher (book only): List the city & state, or
city & country, for each resource. Include words like Book and Press, but
not terms such as Co., or Inc.
(eBooks do not include place of publication and publisher, just the URL)
Los Angeles, CA: DeMarco Press.
Paris, France: Wadsworth.
Morgantown, WV: Mountaineer Society Press.
URL: There is no period at the end of the URL. Do not include a
hyperlink (to remove hyperlink, right click on the link, select Remove
Hyperlink)
http://www.alliedhealth.org/can329382
DOI Number (when available)
10.1080/1462222004-10001676406
1. Click the Align Center button and type the word References at the
top of the page then press Enter, or paste your reference page from
Noodlebib.
2. Type in each entry alphabetically by Author’s last name.
3. Allow Word to wrap automatically from one line of a citation to the
next. Only hit Enter when finished with one entry and ready to begin
the next entry.
4. Select all reference entries. In the Alignment and Spacing palette,
set First value to -.5 for Indentation. This creates the half-inch
hanging indent required for APA references.
5. Check for errors but do not allow Word to automatically
correct spelling and grammatical errors.
