GCU’s APA Style Formatting and Citation

Before we dive into the “how,” let’s establish the “why.” Your professors at GCU insist on APA style for three critical reasons:

Your first impression matters. APA 7th Edition makes the student title page simple and clear. Unlike professional papers, student papers generally do not require a running head unless your GCU instructor specifically requests one.

Key Components of the Title Page

All text on the title page should be centered and double-spaced. The elements are:

1. Paper Title: In bold, title case, and positioned in the upper half of the page.
2. Author Name(s): Your full name.
3. Affiliation: For your GCU papers, this is “Grand Canyon University.”
4. Course Number and Name: e.g., “PSY-452: Experimental Psychology.”
5. Instructor Name: e.g., “Dr. Jane Smith.”
6. Assignment Due Date: e.g., “October 22, 2025.”

This is where you integrate sources into your writing. You must cite a source every time you paraphrase, summarize, or quote another author’s idea. There are two main ways to do this.

Narrative vs. Parenthetical

• Narrative: You make the author part of your sentence. Example: “Smith (2024) argued that…”
• Parenthetical: You place the citation at the end of the sentence. Example: “The study found a significant correlation (Smith, 2024).”

Citing Multiple Authors (The “et al.” Rule)

APA 7th Edition simplified this rule. For any source with three or more authors, you use “et al.” from the very first citation.

• Example: (Smith et al., 2024)
• Narrative: Smith et al. (2024) found…

Paraphrasing vs. Direct Quoting

In graduate-level writing, you should paraphrase (restate the idea in your own words) far more often than you use direct quotes. Paraphrasing shows you understand the concept. When you do paraphrase, you must include the author and year. While not required, APA encourages adding a page number for long passages.

Use direct quotes only when the author’s exact wording is essential. When you do, you must include a page number (or paragraph number for websites). Example: (Smith, 2024, p. 15).

The reference list is the most error-prone section of an APA paper. Every source you cited in your text must appear in the reference list, and every entry in the list must be cited in the text.

Basic Formatting

• The title “References” should be centered and in bold at the top of a new page.
• The entire list must be double-spaced.
• Use a 0.5-inch hanging indent for each entry.
• Alphabetize entries by the last name of the first author.

Common Reference Formats

Journal Article (with DOI):
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article in sentence case. Title of Periodical in Title Case, volume(issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxxx

Example:
Van Bavel, J. J., et al. (2024). Misinformation on social media: A practical guide for scientists. Nature Reviews Psychology, 3(10), 690-703. https://www.nature.com/articles/s44159-024-00465-4

Book:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work in italics and sentence case. Publisher.

Webpage on a Website:
Organization. (Year, Month Day). Title of webpage in italics and sentence case. URL

Example:
American Psychological Association. (2024). APA style blog. https://apastyle.apa.org/blog

APA headings provide a clear hierarchy for your ideas, guiding your reader through the paper. Using them correctly is a sign of a professional paper. A GCU paper will almost always use at least two or three levels.

• Level 1: Centered, Bold, Title Case
• Level 2: Flush Left, Bold, Title Case
• Level 3: Flush Left, Bold Italic, Title Case
•     Indented, Bold, Title Case, Ending with a Period. Text starts after.
•     Indented, Bold Italic, Title Case, Ending with a Period. Text starts after.

For most psychology papers, you’ll have a structure like: Level 1 for “Method,” “Results,” and “Discussion.” Level 2 for sub-sections like “Participants,” “Measures,” and “Procedure.”

APA 7th Edition places a strong emphasis on writing with inclusivity and respect. As a psychology student, this is an ethical imperative.

Use Specificity

Be specific when describing people. Instead of “underprivileged youth,” write “youth from families with incomes below the federal poverty level.” Avoid broad, homogenizing terms.

Person-First vs. Identity-First

Person-First Language (e.g., “a person with schizophrenia”) has traditionally been the standard. However, many groups now prefer Identity-First Language (e.g., “an autistic person”). Always respect the preferences of the group you are writing about. When in doubt, check the APA’s language guidelines. This is a critical component of our ethics paper writing service.

• Incorrectly formatting the reference list: Mismatched capitalization, missing DOIs, or incorrect use of italics.
• Misusing “et al.”: In APA 6, the rule was different. Ensure you are using the APA 7 rule (use “et al.” for 3+ authors from the first citation).
• Citing secondary sources: You should always try to find the original (primary) source. Only cite a secondary source (e.g., “Smith’s study, as cited in Jones, 2024…”) sparingly.
• Incorrect use of page numbers: Forgetting to include a page number for a direct quote is a form of plagiarism.