Tips on How to Use ASA Format the Right Way

Nowadays scholars, professors and academics regard ASA (or American Sociological Association) format as the chief method of citation, along with APA or MLA styles. ASA citation format causes difficulties to students, in spite of the fact that there is nothing hard about it.

This format, as well as ASA style, is the most common one among scientists and academics. It is mostly used by students who study sociology. Those who want to publish their research paper or college homework in publishing houses apply this style. Also, research essays are on the list. ASA citation is the kind of format that changes all the time depending on the primary sources.

What Is ASA Format?

Students of universities and colleges from the sociology departments get a task to write an ASA paper and bury themselves in searching for a guide. They undertake a study looking for relevant informational sources. Before publishing their works, students write them according to the ASA citation format requirements. This style is similar to APA style paper when it comes to citations in an assignment. The rules for quotations in the text in ASA format need to specify the first author's name, then the initial date of publication of the material which you refer to.

ASA Paper Structure

1. Title page: Includes full title followed by an asterisk, name(s) and institution(s) of author(s), a complete word count, running head, and a title footnote with name and address of author(s), acknowledgments, credits, and grant information (if any).
2. Abstract: Begin on a new page headed by the title. Brief, jargon-free paragraph (less than 200 words) summarizing the work, followed by three to five key words.
3. Body: Begin on a new page headed by the title. Use headings and subheadings after the introduction.
4. Notes: Footnotes and endnotes should be indicated in the text with superscripted numbers. The notes can be typed at the bottom of the page (footnotes) or in a separate section labeled Notes or Endnotes. Do only one or the other; not both. Begin each note with its superscript number.
5. References: List alphabetically in a new section labeled References.
6. Appendices: If more than one, label Appendix A, Appendix B, etc. Appendices should be labeled with a title.

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Some Crucial Things about ASA Citation Format

• The list of references should be written at the end of your scientific work;
• Each source cited should be included in the list of references, each of them should be cited in the work;
• Start the list of links on a new page;
• Insert a title of the references at the top, in the center of the page;
• Make a one-half inch margin from the left side;
• Firstly, specify the names of authors followed by their surnames;
• If the work was written by a committee, the use of et al. would be unacceptable.

The last rule of ASA citation format is to place in an alphabetical order the last names of the authors of each work. If using several works of the same author, write them in the order of publication, from the old to the new ones. Now that you know what is ASA format, start writing the assignment to reap the best results!

Headings & Subheadings

 

FIRST-LEVEL HEAD

First-level headings are all in caps and left-justified. Start using headings after the introduction. Don't use a bold font. Don't begin the manuscript with a heading, such as "Introduction".

Second-Level Head

Second-level headings are italicized, left-justified, and all words except prepositions and conjunctions are capitalized. Don't use a bold font. Use title case.

            Third-level head.

Third-level headings are italicized, indented, left-justified and ended with a period; and only the first word and any proper nouns are capitalized. Don't use a bold font.

Learn How to Cite in ASA Format

Put the notes in the same arrangement as they appear on the page and make a numbering under the line. The order is a crucial thing in ASA citation format. If one firstly specifies the work of the writer, he should write his full name and the year of publication. Specify the page number in ASA format. In this case, it will be separated from the publication year by a column with no spaces.

Simple Rules with ASA Format Example

The assignment should be written in simple words and the Active Voice. Never use jargon, slang or general expressions in ASA format. Words such as “percent”, “versus” are written in words, do not abbreviate them. As for abbreviations in ASA citation format, use them in tables or graphs. Apply gender terms if they have important meanings in the analysis that is conducted.

Be careful about ethnic and racial stereotypes. Describe race or ethnicity precisely e.g., Mexican instead of Latin American. In a case when one uses an abbreviation in the text, specify its full name in brackets. Once it is done, use the abbreviations.

ASA Bibliography Format

Let's see how to write a bibliography. Write a list of references on another page. Do not forget that it’s needed to make it in an alphabetical order by the author's name in ASA bibliography format. Apply hanging indent if using two or more authors' names of the same work. Write all the elements according to the rules of ASA paper format. If you want to indicate the writer for the second time, use six hyphens and a period instead of names. To discern the paperwork of the same author, add the letters, for e.g. 2015а, 2017 b, 2018с.

ASA format citation is easy to make. For titles of books and periodicals, use italics or underline them. If there is no publishing date, apply the combination " N. d.". Specify not the city but the state of the place of publication. Draw on the abbreviation of the U.S. postal code. If the writer of the book is from other cities, specify the name of the country. Use online sources to check ASA format example. It would be easier to write the assignment if you have a general idea of how to cite in ASA format.

Essay Writing Advice from Our Experienced Writer John

Writing any kind of assignment requires a lot of time and effort. So try to start when you get the assignment. Put the emphasis on the researches. Conduct a study concerning your topic, make sure that you understand it. Find the answers to the key questions of the assignment; once it is done, start writing.

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+ Sample Annotated Bibliography in ASA Style

Battle, Ken. 2007. “Child poverty: The evolution and impact of child benefits.”     Pp. 21-44 in A Question of Commitment: Children's Rights in Canada, edited by     K. Covell and R. B. Howe. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.     Ken Battle draws on his research as an extensively-published policy analyst, and a close study of some government documents, to explain child benefits in Canada. He outlines some fundamental assumptions supporting the belief that all society members should contribute to the upbringing of children. His comparison of Canadian child poverty rates to those in other countries provides a useful wake-up to anyone assuming Canadian society is doing a good job of protecting children from want. He pays particular attention to the National Child Benefit (NCB), arguing that it did not deserve the criticism it received from politicians and journalists. He outlines the NCB's development, costs, and benefits, including its dollar contribution to a typical recipient's income. He laments that the Conservative government scaled back the program in favour of the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB), and clearly explains why it is inferior. However, Battle relies too heavily on his own work; he is the sole or primary author of almost half the sources in his bibliography. He could make this work stronger by drawing from the perspectives of others' analyses. However, Battle does offer a valuable source for this essay, because the chapter provides a concise overview of government-funded assistance currently available to parents. This offers context for analyzing the scope and financial reality of child poverty in Canada. Kerr, Don and Roderic Beaujot. 2003. “Child Poverty and Family Structure in     Canada, 1981- 1997." Journal of Comparative Family Studies 34(3):321-335.     Sociology professors Kerr and Beaujot analyze the demographics of impoverished families. Drawing on data from Canada's annual Survey of Consumer Finances, the authors ASA 29 consider whether each family had one or two parents, the age of single parents, and the number of children in each household. They analyze child poverty rates in light of both these demographic factors and larger economic issues. Kerr and Beaujot use this data to argue that . . .