CODE SHEET for GRADING APA FORMAT (5Th Edition) PAPERS

RADFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NURSING CODE SHEET FOR GRADING APA FORMAT (5th Edition) PAPERS Dr. Kim Carter (May 2007)

1. Title Page A. Header and Page Numbers: Title page should appear as page 1. The first two or three words of the title should be used as a header. Header and page number should be in upper right corner. See APA p. 296. B. Good title should summarize main idea of paper. See APA p. 10 C. Author’s name should be included. See APA p. 11, 296 D. RU School of Nursing requests that a date of submission be placed on the title page following the author’s name.

2. Manuscript A. Title of paper should begin manuscript. See APA p. 298 B. Manuscripts should be left-justified, but right margin should be ragged (p. 287). C. Paragraphs should be indented 5-7 spaces on the first line of each paragraph. (p. 289). D. A 12-point font is to be used (p. 285). No more than 27 lines per page (p. 287). E. Every page should be numbered, with the title page being page 1 (p. 288). F. Abbreviations should be used sparingly (p. 103-104). Abbreviations should be written out completely on first appearance, with abbreviation in parentheses following. (p. 104-105). G. Margins should be at least 1 inch on each side. (p. 286-287). H. 1 sentence paragraphs do not reflect a development of ideas. Paragraphs longer than 1 page lose the reader’s attention (p. 36). I. Paper should be 8.5 x 11 heavy white bond (p. 284). J. Acceptable Typeface examples on p. 285. K. Headings should not be bold. (p. 113-115; 289-291). L. Proofreader’s Marks used in grading (p. 337-338)

3. Grammar and Structure A. Pronouns must agree in number with their antecedent (p. 47). B. Rework sentence to increase gender clarity (p. 66). C. Even if using spell check or a typist, the author is responsible for final presentation of the paper (p. 284). D. Independent phrases joined by a conjunction should be separated by a comma. (p. 79) Independent phrases not joined by a conjunction should be separated by a semicolon (p. 80) E. Subject and verb should match in number (p. 44). F. A word being used in its possessive form should have an apostrophe. Exception: It’s = it is. {It’s} is not possessive G. Rework misplaced or dangling modifiers (p. 50-52.) H. Elements in a series should be in parallel form (p. 60) I. Contractions are not acceptable in professional nursing writing.

4. Reference Page A. Start reference list on new page, and type “References” at top of page in upper and lower case, centered, without underline or bold. (p. 299). B. Use Hanging Indent format (p. 299). C. Double space entire list. (p. 299). D. Include last name, and initials only. Use “&” in publications with more than one author. (p. 223). Do not include degrees or titles of the authors. E. Follow author with the year of publication in parentheses followed by a period (p.223). F. Follow the year with the title of the article if periodical (not underlined or italicized) or the title of the book (italicized). (p. 223). G. Follow journal article titles with period and the Title of the Periodical, italicized, and in upper and lower case letters. (p. 223). H. Follow journal name with a comma, and then the volume number italicized. (p. 223). I. For journals paginated by issue, follow the italicized volume number with the issue in parentheses and not italicized (no comma between volume and issue). (p. 240). J. Follow the volume (and issue if needed) with a comma, and the page numbers. (p. 223). K. Follow book titles with edition (if not the first) in parentheses), a period, city of publisher, colon, and publisher. (p. 248) L. Entries should be alphabetical according to order of authors as printed in article (p. 219). M. Each entry on the reference page must be cited in the text. (p. 215).

5. Citing Sources in Text A. Nonoriginal ideas should be clearly linked to a source. (p. 207). Give credit where credit is due, including written words and ideas (p. 349-351; 395) B. When quoting directly from print materials, a page number is a must. For electronic sources that do not provide page numbers, cite paragraphs using para or ¶ (p. 120). Providing reference locations for some documents accessed with a Web Browser may not be possible. Authors are encouraged to provide references for paraphrases (p. 121). Direct quotes of <40 words should be indicated with quotation marks. C. Block quote passages of greater than 40 words. Blocked quotes should be double spaced, indented five spaces from the left margin with subsequent lines flush with the indent. No change to right margin. Omit quotation marks (p. 117). D. Accuracy of quotations and use of sic (p. 118). E. Citations in text must be retrievable. They should include the author’s last name exactly as listed on the reference page. (p. 207). Text citations should be titles, only if the passage does not have an author. (p.210). Use “Anonymous” only if so designated by the author (p. 211). Text citations should include author’s last name (no initials or first names) and year of publication. (p. 207). F. Personal Communications should include the name of the PERSON (not organization), the words “personal communication (not in quotes), and date of communication. (p. 214). G. At minimum, a reference of an Internet source should have title, date and URL (p. 269) H. Review citation of secondary sources. (p. 247) I. Review use of “et al.” (p. 168-9). List all authors on the reference page. (p. 208, 241). J. Each citation in the text must be included on the reference page. (p. 215). K. Multiple works by same author in same year should be separated by a, b, c, etc. (p. 221).