Tips, How to Reference an Appendix Using the APA Format?

APA format is a very specific type of format and writing style that's used for various types of academic and research-based papers, essays and reports. Generally, APA format is reserved for papers and reports that relate to scientific fields and research. The papers are broken up into various sections that lend themselves to research, such as methods, results and recommendations. Papers written in APA format also usually include an appendix that it references throughout the document.

Instructions

1. Create an appendix following the Reference section at the end of your paper. This is where you will add information such as charts, graphs, and pictures, and anything else that would take up too much space within the paper. By doing so, you can get essential information across to the reader without interrupting the flow of the writing. Label each appendix as Appendix A, Appendix B, and so on, so that readers will know where to look based on your citation. (See Reference 2, pg. 400.)

2. Use an appendix in situations where you need information to back up a point you are trying to make. Referencing an appendix too early, however, can break up your introduction by taking your reader away from your writing before she's had the chance to become engaged in what you are trying to get across. (See Reference 2, pg. 400.)

3. Cite your appendix in-text according to the proper APA format style. This should be written following the sentence where you lead into the information that the appendix contains. For example, you might write something along the lines of "More than half of the city voted for the Republican candidate, while only 31% of the city voted for the Democratic candidate." The citation is then written in after that sentence in parentheses, such as "(See Appendix A)," where it would than lead them to a chart in the appendix that lists the percentage of votes that all of the candidates received. (See Reference 1, and Reference 2, pg. 400)

4. Explain the information in the appendix after you have cited it. As the reader returns to the text, you'll want them to be able to make sense out of what they just flipped to the back to see and why it was important for them to see. Adding on to the example in the previous step, you might go on to explain why each candidate received the amount of votes that they got. (See Reference 2, pg. 400).