APSA Citation Style: A Brief and Understandable Guide for Beginners

Most students are familiar with MLA style, while the APSA format causes many questions. This review observes the most significant points of this formatting style based on the official manual of APSA. Also, you can see samples citing the various materials. Mastering your writing skills will make a positive impact on the quality of your academic writing. That will reward you with high grades subsequently.

APSA Formatting Style: Definition and Purpose

The American Political Science Association (APSA) is the citation system appropriate for political science research works and governmental documents. It is a variation of the well-known Chicago style that focuses on documentary materials and reports. However, it differs from it by omitting the footnotes as the primary element of the citation.

As practice shows, political science professors are not usually strict about the citation style. They allow students to use MLA, yet to maintain a proper citing throughout the paper. Knowing APSA would be beneficial for those who want to delve into political documentation. It can significantly help in developing the career of a politician. 

Writers use the APSA citation style in their research works to highlight their credit to the sources. Its easiness and practicability made it regarded by professionals. There are three core points of APSA which a writer should consider:

• the name of the author;
• year of publication;
• the number of pages. 

Correct citation aims to represent your awareness of the work with professional conversations on a particular subject and the skills to facilitate the thoughts and develop them. Also, it must give credits to the authors who have put effort into their scientific research. Finally, formatting citation properly is essential to exclude any plagiarism suspicions. Only the works with the correct implementation of the quotes can pretend for high grades. The accurate APSA results will impress your professor or scientific coordinator. So let’s observe them in detail.

Basic Formatting Rules of APSA

The basic requirements of the APSA citation are similar to another official format. These include:

• cover page;
• assignment text;
• quotes within the text;
• reference list;
• Times New Roman font.

The tile includes general information about a writer, such as names of 

• a person;
• assignment title;
• subject;
• deadline frames.

Sometimes the requirements of studying establishments demand adding more details, e.g., e-mail contact or phone for a closer discussion of issues. 

Arrange the title in the center, approximately one-third down the paper. Other details follow a few lines below the title. Separate subtitle in case it is a part of a title. Use double spacing to format the cover page. 

Citation within the text should be apposite, confirm the reader in the credibility of the delivered information and in-depth study. Like with the Chicago style, APSA requires mentioning the name of the composer and the date of the edition. Yet, the specific features of APSA are:

• writing the citation, adding the last name of the writer, and year of the published material in the brackets;
• indicating the name of an author and year of source publishing in the parenthesis;
• Specifying the total number of pages in the source after the citing (if this information is absent, omit it).

Parenthetical citations provide an instant understanding to readers of the material, either a quote, statistic facts, or other data. They help to orient the readers in the reference list.

If you are familiar with MLA requirements, following APSA won’t create any trouble for you.

References Formatting According to APSA Style

Like with Chicago style, use the word «References» for the reference list, placing it at the end of the assignment. Sort sources in alphabetical order, maintaining the following requirements:

• separate the first and the last name of an author by a comma;
• spell the full name of an author excluding initials (except for the case, when an author preferred to use them);
• indicate the name of an editor if the author’s name is absent;
• start with the book or article title if the former is unknown;
• write in italics periodical literature and books;
• place an article and paragraph title in inverted commas;
• use capitalization for each reference without prepositions;
• citing several sources together, write them in alphabet order, and separate by semicolons;
• mentioning several works of the same author does not require writing the name of an author the second time;
• when two, three, or more source former are involved, use «and,» not & symbol;
• write abbreviations fully-fledged mentioning the for the first time, then use a shortened form,
• capitalize all acronyms, maintain italics or quotation marks from the source.

Convince that you use the appropriate reference style for each type of literature. The formats for books, journal articles, and web sources differ. Let’s review them on the examples.

Examples of APSA Formatting

Here are the samples of correct APSA formatting for various types of sources. 

For printed publishings with one author:

Wales, Francis M. 1998. The Inside View: Five Years with Donald Trump. New York: Barnes Press.

For printed publishings with two authors:

Krasnovsky, M. T. and Daniel Edinhof. 1984. History of the Voting: Urbanization and its influence on the elections. 2nd ed. Washington: Losos Publishing.

For edited publications and series:

Wesley, Jordan A, and Johan Rodriges, eds. 2005. The Failures and Successes of Democracy Development Worldwide: A Contrastive Analysis. Chicago. World Press.

For paragraphs of the book:

Douglas, James K. 1995. «The reasons for the Second World War» The Modern Review, ed. Jacob Miller and Alexander M. Davis.Houston: Houston Publishers.

For the articles and paragraphs from a reduced book or series:

Lopez, Anthony K. 2001. «Small Business Against Monopoly.» Politics and economy, ed. Matthew S. Brown. Dallas: American Business, 234-237.

For articles from a journal written by one author:

Jones, Richard. 2008. «The Announcing of the Default: What Does It Mean for the Country.» Journal of the American Brokers 19:1-25. American Press (April 25, 2009).

For articles from a journal with two authors:

Johnson Elliah S, and Logan S. Smith 2003. «The Strategy of Winning the Elections: the Story of Ex-Presidents.» Journal of Government 65 (September): 332-50.

More information about the correct citation in APSA style you can study in the APSA official manual. Use the navigation guide to know about each source particularly.

Summing Up

Any information taken from sources that appear in your paper requires the correct citing. These can be direct quotes or paraphrasing of material generally. This brief guide has observed the most significant points of APSA formatting style, the premier one in political science. More detailed information you can get in the official APSA manual. 

Being cognate with the Chicago format, it includes additional rules fitting to the specific political documentation. You can easily find the rules appropriate for a separate category of paper. 

APSA format is applicable for scientific and official documentation. Provide the information in a direct, precise, and professional manner without unnecessary details and quotes. This step will help to maintain the proper size of the paper fulfilling it with more sense. It is obligatory to add the link between citing in the text and reference list for immediate finding the source by a reader.

Mentioning side thoughts without giving credit means academic dishonesty and plagiarism. That is a prohibition in scientific society that leads to banning the work. Possessing the knowledge of APSA formatting is of high importance in academic writing. Disregarding them will lead to the grade decreasing (even if a way of thinking of the writer is correct).  

Professional Assistance

There are automatic generators that help to form citations and the reference list. They help to avoid incorrect APSA citing and edit the mistakes. But relying on the machine is risky, except for using this tool additionally. 

The best way is to apply for professional writing services. We specialize in academic writing and provide works in all scientific formats, including APSA. Be sure that the ordered paperwork in political science matches the standards of documental formatting. We are always at your service either you want to write an entire work or do the formatting corrections.

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