Introduction
The skill of writing instructions allows not only to understand the described process but to learn how to systematize and structure information. The instruction should be clear, consistent, and visualized, reflecting a step-by-step solution to a problem or task (Markel & Selber, 2020). The topic of citing in the APA format was chosen to develop the skill of writing instructions. The target audience for this manual is schoolchildren and students doing academic work. The instruction’s purpose is to provide a precise sequence for citing in academic papers in the APA format.
How to Cite Information in APA Format
Design the work’s title page following the rules of the APA: no more than 12 words and the title is placed in the upper half of the first page. The title page should include the author’s name, the course title, the professor’s name, and the date.
Make sure the work pages are numbered correctly: starting from the title page, the number should be located in the upper right corner.
Compose headings according to the APA citation style; the title of the first level is bold in the center. The heading of the second level should be left-aligned and bold. The heading of the third level should be bold italic, the fourth – indented, bold, and with a dot.
Convince all sources used are cited and placed in the bibliography at the end. There must be a half an inch gap after the first line in the entry, and the list must always be in alphabetical order.
Make sure the sources cited are reliable; to search for reliable sources, you can use Google Books – to search for books and Google Scholar to search for articles.
It is necessary to determine the type of source cited: book, article, or online resource.
With one author of the cited source, it is necessary to structure the information as follows: Surname, Initial. Middle Initial. (Year). Book Title: Subtitle. Publisher. If there are two authors of the source, it is necessary to place the sign & between the surnames. If there are more than three authors, but less than 20, the last surname must be separated by &. More than 20 APA-style author names should not be used.
If the book does not have an author, mark the editor with (Ed.) or (Eds.). When citing a chapter in a book, it is imperative to include page numbers.
When citing an article, it is necessary to indicate the volume and number of the publication and the Doi number, if any. The structure looks like this: Last name, First initial. middle initial. (Year). Title of the article. Journal Title, volume(number), pages–pages. Doi number (clickable).
In the absence of a Doi number, specify a clickable link to the article’s source. In addition, the date on which the information was accessed must be indicated.
Web pages are cited according to the following scheme: Surname, Initial. Middle Initial. (year, month, day). Website page title. Name of the site. Link. Quote posts on social networks according to the following scheme: Surname, initial of the name. Middle Initial. (year, month, day). Video title [Video]. Site host. Link.
Check the correctness of the list of references; cite sources using the author’s last name or the name of the organization and the year of publication when paraphrasing. When using a direct quotation, indicate the page number from which the information was taken.
Reference
Markel, M. H., & Selber, S. A. (2020). Technical Communication. Bedford/St. Martin’s.