APA 7th Edition Basics Manual
Introduction
Work submitted to courses at American College of Education (ACE) should follow scholarly
writing practices. While all work submitted to courses should demonstrate original thought,
students use peer-reviewed and relevant research to give their own ideas credibility. Many
colleges and universities, including ACE, use APA formatting to provide a uniform way to
present references and citations of others’ research, which allows readers to focus on content.
This document provides the basics for formatting in-text citations and references in APA format.
Please understand these examples are not meant to be exhaustive, and all students are highly
encouraged to purchase the most recent edition of the APA manual to ensure they are following
all APA rules carefully. In addition to the citation and reference examples, please keep these
important aspects of APA and ACE requirements in mind while completing assignments:
All research and references cited in a paper should be published within the last five
years - unless a piece of research is seminal to a specific field of study.
Though first person (I, my, etc.) is permitted in APA 7 th edition, it can hinder scholarly
tone. Therefore, work submitted in ACE courses should be written in third person, unless
an instructor specifically states otherwise. Even when asked for personal reflections,
limited use of “I” is preferred. Instead, students can state “this author” or “the
researcher.” Second person (you, etc.) should also be avoided in scholarly writing.
Active voice is preferred. In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the verb
(e.g. Researchers found…). In passive voice, the subject of the sentence is being acted
upon (e.g. The topic was researched and it was found…). While passive voice is
sometimes appropriate, active voice keeps sentence structure clear and concise.
Verb tense should be consistent throughout a paper. When discussing research that has
already taken place, use past tense (Researchers found…) or past perfect tense
(Research has proven…). Present tense can be used when discussing conclusions to be
drawn from the research and applied to future scenarios.
People first language should be used when discussing individuals or groups of people to
avoid defining people by a label (e.g. use Persons with disabilities (people first) instead
of disabled people (defined by label)).
In most assignments, each paragraph should include at least one citation. Check the
examples provided in this document for correct formatting. All in-text citations should
have a corresponding reference at the end of the paper.
All assignments that have in-text citations must include a reference page. All references
on the reference page should have a corresponding in-text citation.
Initial posts to the Discussion Board are expected to have citations and references.
, Citation Examples
Paraphrasing or Referring to an Idea or Information
In scholarly writing, you will refer to other author's research to provide credibility to the
statements you are making in your own assignments. When referring to others' work,
you typically want to paraphrase the ideas and put them in your own words. Direct
quotes will be discussed later in this document and should be used sparingly.
By paraphrasing carefully, you will avoid a high Turnitin score on your course
submissions. All Turnitin scores should be below 20%.
When paraphrasing or referring to an idea or information, you must still cite the work
to avoid plagiarism. The following variations of in-text citations are acceptable.
Smith (2020) discussed job performance....
In a recent study (Smith, 2020) on job performance, employee respondents stated....
In 2020, Smith discussed job performance, stating....
A recent study on job performance revealed...(Smith, 2020).
Citing a Work with One or Two Authors
When citing work with one or two authors, list the last names of all authors each time
you refer to their work. When using the authors within the structure of the sentence,
spell out "and." When referring to the authors in a parenthetical citation, use the
ampersand (&).
Smith and Jones (2020) identified four factors....
In a recent study (Smith & Jones, 2020), four factors were identified....
In 2020, Smith and Jones identified four factors....
2
, Citing a Work with Three or More Authors
When citing a work with three or more authors, only use the first author's last name
followed by et al. for all citations, even the first. Note where there are periods in et al.
Smith et al. (2020) stated...
The four factors identified were...(Smith et al., 2020).
Note: If two sources have the same first authors, you will want to cite enough authors
before the et al. so there is no confusion on which reference applies to the citation.
Smith, Jones, et al. (2020)
Smith, Thompson, et al. (2020)
Citing a work from an Organization or Group
If the author is an organization or a government agency (something that happens a lot
when citing the department of education, district testing manuals, medical facility
codes, etc.), state the organization or group in the citation as the author followed by
the year of publication.
According to the Indiana Department of Education (2020)...
The standards set forth state...(Indiana Department of Education, 2020).
If the organization or group uses an abbreviation, include it in parentheses in the first
citation of the source:
According to the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) (2020),...
All subsequent citations can then simply use IDOE followed by the year (IDOE, 2020).
Your reference list should still spell out the full name of the organization or group.
3
Introduction
Work submitted to courses at American College of Education (ACE) should follow scholarly
writing practices. While all work submitted to courses should demonstrate original thought,
students use peer-reviewed and relevant research to give their own ideas credibility. Many
colleges and universities, including ACE, use APA formatting to provide a uniform way to
present references and citations of others’ research, which allows readers to focus on content.
This document provides the basics for formatting in-text citations and references in APA format.
Please understand these examples are not meant to be exhaustive, and all students are highly
encouraged to purchase the most recent edition of the APA manual to ensure they are following
all APA rules carefully. In addition to the citation and reference examples, please keep these
important aspects of APA and ACE requirements in mind while completing assignments:
All research and references cited in a paper should be published within the last five
years - unless a piece of research is seminal to a specific field of study.
Though first person (I, my, etc.) is permitted in APA 7 th edition, it can hinder scholarly
tone. Therefore, work submitted in ACE courses should be written in third person, unless
an instructor specifically states otherwise. Even when asked for personal reflections,
limited use of “I” is preferred. Instead, students can state “this author” or “the
researcher.” Second person (you, etc.) should also be avoided in scholarly writing.
Active voice is preferred. In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the verb
(e.g. Researchers found…). In passive voice, the subject of the sentence is being acted
upon (e.g. The topic was researched and it was found…). While passive voice is
sometimes appropriate, active voice keeps sentence structure clear and concise.
Verb tense should be consistent throughout a paper. When discussing research that has
already taken place, use past tense (Researchers found…) or past perfect tense
(Research has proven…). Present tense can be used when discussing conclusions to be
drawn from the research and applied to future scenarios.
People first language should be used when discussing individuals or groups of people to
avoid defining people by a label (e.g. use Persons with disabilities (people first) instead
of disabled people (defined by label)).
In most assignments, each paragraph should include at least one citation. Check the
examples provided in this document for correct formatting. All in-text citations should
have a corresponding reference at the end of the paper.
All assignments that have in-text citations must include a reference page. All references
on the reference page should have a corresponding in-text citation.
Initial posts to the Discussion Board are expected to have citations and references.
, Citation Examples
Paraphrasing or Referring to an Idea or Information
In scholarly writing, you will refer to other author's research to provide credibility to the
statements you are making in your own assignments. When referring to others' work,
you typically want to paraphrase the ideas and put them in your own words. Direct
quotes will be discussed later in this document and should be used sparingly.
By paraphrasing carefully, you will avoid a high Turnitin score on your course
submissions. All Turnitin scores should be below 20%.
When paraphrasing or referring to an idea or information, you must still cite the work
to avoid plagiarism. The following variations of in-text citations are acceptable.
Smith (2020) discussed job performance....
In a recent study (Smith, 2020) on job performance, employee respondents stated....
In 2020, Smith discussed job performance, stating....
A recent study on job performance revealed...(Smith, 2020).
Citing a Work with One or Two Authors
When citing work with one or two authors, list the last names of all authors each time
you refer to their work. When using the authors within the structure of the sentence,
spell out "and." When referring to the authors in a parenthetical citation, use the
ampersand (&).
Smith and Jones (2020) identified four factors....
In a recent study (Smith & Jones, 2020), four factors were identified....
In 2020, Smith and Jones identified four factors....
2
, Citing a Work with Three or More Authors
When citing a work with three or more authors, only use the first author's last name
followed by et al. for all citations, even the first. Note where there are periods in et al.
Smith et al. (2020) stated...
The four factors identified were...(Smith et al., 2020).
Note: If two sources have the same first authors, you will want to cite enough authors
before the et al. so there is no confusion on which reference applies to the citation.
Smith, Jones, et al. (2020)
Smith, Thompson, et al. (2020)
Citing a work from an Organization or Group
If the author is an organization or a government agency (something that happens a lot
when citing the department of education, district testing manuals, medical facility
codes, etc.), state the organization or group in the citation as the author followed by
the year of publication.
According to the Indiana Department of Education (2020)...
The standards set forth state...(Indiana Department of Education, 2020).
If the organization or group uses an abbreviation, include it in parentheses in the first
citation of the source:
According to the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) (2020),...
All subsequent citations can then simply use IDOE followed by the year (IDOE, 2020).
Your reference list should still spell out the full name of the organization or group.
3
