JIU APA Handbook
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Contents
Writing Standards at JIU ............................................................................................................................... 3
Avoiding Plagiarism ....................................................................................................................................... 3
How can I avoid Plagiarism? ..................................................................................................................... 3
Turnitin®.................................................................................................................................................... 3
Using Credible Sources ................................................................................................................................. 4
Tips for Good Writing.................................................................................................................................... 4
What is APA Style? ........................................................................................................................................ 5
APA Formatting Help................................................................................................................................. 5
In-Text Citations ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Direct Quotes ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Paraphrasing ............................................................................................................................................. 7
Reference List................................................................................................................................................ 8
General Format ........................................................................................................................................... 10
Additional Resources .................................................................................................................................. 10
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Writing Standards at JIU
Good writing skills are essential for effective communication, whether in the classroom or at
your place of business. As future scholars, JIU students are expected to achieve a high standard
of written communication to express ideas clearly and concisely. To prepare students to be able
to present acceptable work to journals, employers and colleagues, JIU has established
standards for completing papers and projects in JIU courses. These writing standards clarify
what is expected of students across JIU’s different certificate and degree programs.
This handbook provides a structure to define JIU writing standards and assist JIU students in
producing a scholarly term paper, essay, analysis or any other formal writing assignment. It also
highlights appropriate citation skills which ensure that students acknowledge the work of
others by properly citing all sources used in preparation of a paper or project. It is expected that
all JIU students and faculty will adhere to these standards unless otherwise indicated within a
course syllabus or as defined by an individual faculty member.
Avoiding Plagiarism
Students should consult the Student Handbook for policies regarding intellectual honesty and
academic code of conduct. JIU expects that “students are obligated to not plagiarize (represent
the work of another as his/her own), nor violate copyright or other applicable U.S. laws”
(Student Handbook). If a faculty member determines that a student has plagiarized, s/he will
notify Academic Affairs, who will then pursue official charges or sanctions against the student.
It is the responsibility of JIU students to know what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid
plagiarism by properly crediting sources.
How can I avoid Plagiarism?
 Turn in your own work.
 Put quotation marks around phrases or sentences copied directly from a source.
 Learn how to properly use in-text citations in the body of your paper to acknowledge
the ideas or words found in a source.
 Properly document the sources you use in the reference list at the end of your paper.
Turnitin®
JIU uses an anti-plagiarism tool called Turnitin® that checks papers against 20+ billion web
pages, 220+ million student papers and 90,000+ publications to ensure papers submitted by
students contain original work. Students may be required to submit their work to Turnitin®,
which is free to JIU students.
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When cutting and pasting information, it is easy to miss a citation. Turnitin® provides students
with an excellent means to quality check their work. If a faculty member in your course hasn’t
provided you with a course access code for Turnitin®, ask him/her to set it up for you.
Using Credible Sources
Good research skills are an important part of academic writing and during your courses at JIU,
one or more of your faculty members may ask you to find scholarly or peer-reviewed articles
for your assignments. Although searching Google may seem easy, there are an abundance of
non-authoritative sources on the open web and this information needs to be evaluated
thoroughly before it is used for research. The JIU Library provides access to subscription-based
authoritative content that is reliable, credible and free to JIU students.
To learn more about using the JIU Library, click on the “Tips & Tutorials” link in the left
navigation bar of the JIU Library homepage and select the subtopic “Using the JIU Library.”
To get 24/7 research help from academic librarians, visit the “Live Chat with a Librarian” link
on the Library homepage, or email the JIU Library at [email protected].
Tips for Good Writing
A well-constructed essay or research paper begins with a carefully constructed thesis
statement. In many cases, your teaching faculty will have asked a direct question that becomes
the thesis statement for your response.
 After a brief introduction to your topic, state your point of view on the topic. This
sentence is the thesis sentence and it serves as a summary of the argument you will
make in the rest of the paper.
 Construct an outline to organize your goals. Taking time to outline what you want to say
can help you stay focused and on task and can guide you through the writing process.
 Make sure your writing has a clear opening paragraph that presents the thesis, contains
the body to support your thesis and conclusion that summarizes and ties together your
main point.
 Use an active, rather than a passive voice and avoid writing in first person (unless the
assignment requires). Use third person.
 Read your work out loud to check your writing for grammar errors. Check your spelling.
 Format your work using APA style (see “What is APA Style?”)
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What is APA Style?
JIU students are required to use APA (6th Edition) style in their writing. The American
Psychological Association (APA) style was developed to standardize writing practices for clarity
in layout, punctuation, grammar, and reference citation. Students will need to be familiar with
the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, and the reference list. By
understanding the rules for citing sources of information, students will gain proper academic
writing techniques and avoid instances of plagiarism.
This guide includes the basics of how to properly cite commonly used source materials in APA
style. Students should also refer to the following sources:
 The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th Edition
contains a concise rendering of all of the elements of APA style.
 Additional APA resources are available under the Resources link in the left
navigation bar of any course.
 Visit the “Tips & Tutorials” link in the left navigation bar of the JIU Library homepage
for tutorials on citing APA style.
APA Formatting Help
Students can also contact a JIU Librarian at [email protected] if they need help
with APA style.
In-Text Citations
APA provides standardized guidelines for citing information within the body of your paper. You
must use an in-text citation when you directly quote or paraphrase a source such as a book,
article, website, a JIU course, etc. An in-text citation will give credit to the source, and allow the
reader of your paper to locate the source if needed.
To correctly format in-text citations in APA style, consider if the source is directly quoted or
paraphrased.
Direct Quotes
When you use exactly the same words as the original source, this is considered a “direct quote”
and must be properly cited in-text. APA style requires that directly quoted material must
include the author, publication year and page number (or paragraph number). The quoted
material must be enclosed in double-quotation marks.
Author names can be included in the sentence or narrative, or they can be placed in a
parenthetical citation (see below for examples).
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If you are directly quoting material and the author is not included in the sentence
(parenthetical):
1 author
2 authors
3-5 authors
6 or more authors
“Students must use APA” (Jones, 2010, p. 4).
“Students must use APA” (Jones & Smith, 2010, p. 4).
“Students must use APA” (Jones, Smith, & Chi, 2010, p. 4).
“Students must use APA” (Jones et al., 2010, p. 4).
If you are directly quoting material and you include the author in the sentence (narrative):
1 author
2 authors
3-5 authors
6 or more authors
According to Jones (2010), “Students must use APA”
(para. 40).
According to Jones and Smith (2010), “Students must use
APA” (para. 40).
According to Jones, Smith, and Chi (2010), “Students must
us APA” (para. 40).
Jones et al. (2010) stated, “Students must use APA” (para.
40).
If a corporation, association, or government agency is listed as the author (common with
websites):
Parenthetical
Example
Narrative
Example:
“Quotation marks should be used to indicate the exact
words of another” (American Psychological Association,
2010, p. 15).
According to the American Psychological Association
(2010), “Quotation marks should be used to indicate the
exact world of another” (p. 15).
When no author is listed:
Cite the first few words of the title enclosed in double quotation marks.
Example:
“JIU students must use APA” (“Citing Sources,” 2010, para. 3).
For direct quotations longer than 40 words:
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Place the quotation on a new line in a free-standing block indented ½ inch from the paragraph
and omit the quotation marks. Add the page number in parenthesis after the closing
punctuation mark. Double-space throughout.
Example:
The American Psychological Association (2010) stated the following:
References in APA publications are cited in text with an author-date citation system and
are listed alphabetically in the reference list. This style of citation briefly identifies the
source for readers and enables them to locate the source of information in the
alphabetical reference list at the end of the article. (p. 174)
Paraphrasing
When you take material from an original source and put it into your own words, this is
considered “paraphrasing” and must be properly cited in-text. APA style requires that
paraphrased material must include the author and publication year.
Author names can be included in the sentence or narrative, or they can be placed in a
parenthetical citation (see below for examples).
If you are paraphrasing material and the author is not included in the sentence (parenthetical):
1 author
2 authors
3-5 authors
6 or more authors
JIU students must know APA (Jones, 2012).
JIU students must know APA (Jones & Smith, 2012).
JIU students must know APA (Jones, Smith, & Chi, 2012).
JIU students must know APA (Jones et al., 2012).
If you are paraphrasing material and you include the author in the sentence (narrative):
1 author
Jones (2012) stated that students must use APA.
2 authors
Jones and Smith (2012) stated that students must use
APA.
3-5 authors
Jones, Smith, and Chi (2012) stated that students must
use APA.
6 or more authors
Jones et al. (2012) stated that students must use APA.
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Reference List
APA style requires that you include a reference list at the end of your paper to provide the information
necessary to retrieve and to identify each source you cite. The references listed in your reference list
will correspond to an in-text citation within the body of your paper (except for interviews and personal
correspondence). No other references should appear on the list.
To format the reference list, follow these guidelines:
 Start the reference list on a new page titled “References” which is in upper and lowercase
letters, centered and not bolded.
 All entries are alphabetized.
 All entries are double-spaced.
 All entries are typed in 12 point Times New Roman font.
 All entries have a hanging indent. The first line of the entry is flush with the left margin and
each additional line is indented.
Some tips on creating the reference list:
 Identify the source. Is it a book, article, website, dissertation…etc.
 Find a reference example that is most like your source in the APA Publication
Manual or the Purdue OWL website.
 Follow that format to construct your reference.
Below are examples of some commonly cited source materials.
Please note: APA requires certain elements of the reference to be formatted in a particular
way. Please take note of the placement of punctuation marks, capitalization, italicization,
abbreviations, multiple authors, and other formatting details.
Books
Example:
Peter, B. R. (1995). Getting to know APA style. London: Taylor & Francis.
eBook
Example:
Redding, S., & Lawson, R. A. (2001). Computer addiction. Retrieved from
http://www.ebooks.com
Online Newspaper article
Example:
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Allen, P., Chamberlin, J. C., & Light, S. (1968, September 18). Enhancing worker well-being. The
Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://www.wallstreetjournal.com
Website with a Corporate Author
Example:
American Psychological Association. (2010, July 11). Learning APA style. Retrieved from
http://www.apastyle.org/
Website with No Author or Date (list the title in the author’s place)
Example:
How to train students on APA style. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.webpage.com
Entry in Encyclopedia (if there are no page numbers, the entry title is sufficient)
Example:
Klein, A. L., & Lassen, B. B. (2001). Research libraries. In A. Smith & B. Clark (Eds.), The British
encyclopedia (4th ed., pp. 25-39). London; Avonhurst Books.
Online Lecture Notes (from a course module)
Example:
Stevens, R. L. (2012). Introduction to globalization [Course Module]. Retrieved from
http://courses.jonesinternational.edu/
Entry in an Online Dictionary, No Author
Example:
Civil War. (1995). In Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary (11th ed.). Retrieved from
http://www.merriamwebster.com
Online Journal Article with DOI
Example:
Adams, K. L., & Smith, J. A. (2005). Teaching students to cite sources. Journalof Education, 24(1),
225-229. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.22
Online Journal Article without DOI
Example:
Black, A., Ganster, D. C., Scholk, J., & Meyers, B. T. (2010). Citing sources in your writing.
Research International, 6, 249-267. Retrieved from http://ri.lib.ede
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General Format
Click here to view a sample paper that meets all the requirements for a written assignment at
JIU.
Additional Resources

Basics of APA Style Tutorial from apa.org

APA Formatting and Style Guide from the OWL at Purdue University

What’s New in the 6th Edition from apa.org

APA Style Quiz from Jones International University

KnightCite online citation tool from Calvin College

APA Checklist from Jones International University
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