University of Phoenix Formatting Standards for Written ...



University of Phoenix

Approved Style Guides

and Formatting Standards

Table of Contents

APPROVED STYLE GUIDES 2

Little, Brown Compact Handbook 2

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 2

Formatting Standards 3

General Information 3

Paper 3

Font Style and Size 3

Margins 3

Assignment Identification 3

Title Page 3

MLA 3

APA 3

Abstract and Table of Contents 3

Page Numbers 4

Text 4

Spacing 4

Paragraph Indents 4

Punctuation 4

Spacing After Punctuation 4

Hyphens and Dashes 4

Citations 4

Approved Style Guides

THE PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT IS TO CLARIFY AND SUMMARIZE THE GENERAL FORMATTING STANDARDS THAT ARE ACCEPTABLE FOR BOTH APA AND MLA STYLES OF WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS AT UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX. WHEN YOU ARE WRITING A FORMAL RESEARCH PAPER FOR A COURSE, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU FOLLOW EITHER APA OR MLA STYLE CAREFULLY. YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIND ANSWERS TO MANY OF YOUR FORMATTING QUESTIONS IN THESE FEW PAGES. IF YOUR QUESTIONS ARE NOT ANSWERED HERE, LOOK IN THE APPROVED STYLE GUIDES: THE LITTLE, BROWN COMPACT HANDBOOK (LBCH) OR THE PUBLICATION MANUAL OF THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA MANUAL). PLEASE VISIT THE UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX CENTER FOR WRITING EXCELLENCE WEB SITE AT UNDER SERVICES FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Little, Brown Compact Handbook

University of Phoenix has adopted The Little, Brown Compact Handbook (LBCH), by Jane E. Aaron (University of Phoenix Custom 4th ed. Needham Heights: Pearson/Longman, 2001), as the official style guide for the MLA or APA style for students in the following program areas:

▪ General and Professional Studies

▪ Graduate Business and Management

▪ Information Systems and Technology

▪ Undergraduate Business and Management

Note: Canadian students should use the following approved style guide:

The Little, Brown Compact Handbook, by Jane E. Aaron and Murray McArthur. (Don Mills, Ontario: Addison/Wesley/Longman LTD., 1997)

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PUBLICATION MANUAL OF THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

University of Phoenix has adopted the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA Manual), by American Psychological Association (Washington, D.C., 2001), as the official style guide for the APA style for students in the following program areas:

▪ Education

▪ Health Sciences and Nursing

▪ Social and Behavioral Sciences

▪ Advanced Studies

Note: The Bachelor of Science in Human Services/Management program requires the use of the Little, Brown Compact Handbook for the management courses.

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FORMATTING STANDARDS

GENERAL INFORMATION

Paper

Use 8 1/2" x 11" white bond paper of at least twenty-pound weight. Use the same type of paper throughout the assignment and print on only one side of each sheet.

Font Style and Size

Use a conventional serif or sans serif typeface (such as Times New Roman, Courier, or Arial) with 12-point type that is dark, clear, and readable.

Margins

Use a 1-inch or 1 1/2-inch margin on the left and 1-inch margins on the other sides. Use the flush-left style and leave the right margin uneven, or ragged.

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ASSIGNMENT IDENTIFICATION

Title Page

MLA

Do not use a title page. Give your name, your instructor’s name, the course title, and the date the assignment is turned in, on separate lines in the upper left of the first page, one inch from the top and left of the paper. Double-space between all lines of this identification. (See sample in the LBCH.)

Double-space after the identification and center the title of your assignment. Double-space after the title. If the title runs two lines, center both lines and double space between them. Use capital and small letters for the title, capitalizing according to the guidelines in the LBCH. Do not type the title in all capital letters, underline it, or enclose it in quotation marks.

APA

Use a title page. On the title page, include the full title of your assignment, your name, the course title, the instructor’s name, and the date the assignment is turned in. (See sample in the LBCH or APA Manual.) The title should summarize the main topic of your assignment and be a maximum of ten to twelve words. You may use a centered layout for the title page that uses the entire page or an abbreviated, centered layout in which all title page information appears on the top half of the page. (See samples in the LBCH or APA Manual.) You do not need to place a running head on the title page.

Abstract and Table of Contents

Assignments that have fewer than eight pages do not require an abstract or table of contents. This guideline applies to papers in both APA and MLA formats. (A table of contents was added to this document as an example.)

Page Numbers

Begin numbering your assignment on the title page for APA style and the first page for MLA style. Number consecutively through the end of the assignment. Use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) and do not add periods, parentheses, hyphens, or the abbreviation “p.” Align the page number with the right margin and position it about half an inch from the top of the page. You may include your last name in front of the page number if you choose.

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TEXT

Spacing

Double space throughout your assignment, including short quotations and the list of works cited or reference list (if applicable). Do not insert extra spaces between paragraphs. Single spacing may be used for tables or lists. Triple spacing may be used after chapter titles, before major subheadings, and before and after tables or lists in the text.

Paragraph Indents

Indent the first line of every paragraph five to seven spaces or one-half inch. The default setting on the tab key is acceptable.

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PUNCTUATION

Spacing After Punctuation

You may use one or two spaces after a period, a colon, a question mark, or an exclamation mark. Use only one space after a comma or a semicolon. Do not space after internal periods in abbreviations or around colons in ratios.

Hyphens and Dashes

Hyphens: Use no space before or after a hyphen.

Dashes: Type as two hyphens with no space before or after the hyphens or use the longer dash symbol in your word processing program symbol list with no space before or after the symbol.

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CITATIONS

For questions about citing materials, please consult the approved style guide for your degree program. Sample APA and MLA in-text and reference page citations are available on the Center for Writing Excellence Web site accessed from under Services (see Sample Papers and APA Format and Style Checklist). You may also email questions to the Center for Writing Excellence at mailto:grammarexpert@phoenix.edu.

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