ASA Format – General Information, Guidelines, and Tips

ASA citation format aka English American Sociological Association Style is the style that is accepted for designing academic papers in the field of Sociology and Sociological Sciences. ASA format has specific requirements to the content organization as well as the style of footnotes, headers, and entries in the bibliography. What is ASA format? How to write in ASA format? Let us get style features straightened out in this post - make your essay writing successful.

What Is ASA Format?

ASA format style is a mix of APA and Chicago styles when it comes to the way citations are formatted. The enumeration of the cited literature and used sources is placed at the end of the paper on a separate page labeled “References.” The main structural elements of the style are the title page, abstract, body, and bibliography – all sections are to be designed according to ASA formatting specs.

5 General Features of ASA Format

Just like any other formatting styles, ASA format style has its own requirements defining the way academic papers are designed. Here are some of them to see:

1. All the text, including footnotes, in ASA paper format style should be typed in 12-point Times New Roman Font with a double line spacing.
2. The paper should have a title page containing the full title of the work and the name of both the author and educational institution or scientific organization.
3. The title page is to be followed by an Abstract (approx. 150-200 words). An Abstract should be typed on a separate page and can be formed in a single paragraph containing information about the general idea/ purpose of the work and key aspects of it. Another important element of the Abstract is keywords with their detailed explanation being in place.
4. The body of the paper should be a new page just after the Abstract. The page following the Abstract should begin with the title of the paper, which should be centered on the page, typed in 12-point Times New Roman Font. The title should not be bolded, underlined, or italicized. Write it in title case.
5. Use footnotes and endnotes when citing literature in your work designed in ASA citation format style. Alternatively, you can follow the author-date method of in-text citation. It is advisable to avoid footnotes; if necessary, footnotes can be used to quote a small-volume material or to expand the information contained in the table. Footnotes are sequentially assigned with numbers in Arabic numerals in the upper index. Endnotes are listed at the bottom of each page or in a separate section labeled “Endnotes”.

Want to know everything about APA format style? Find a full practical guide about APA formatting here.

ASA Citation Format – How to Cite in ASA

If you do not know how to cite in ASA format style, there are several options to choose from. ASA format style presupposes following the author-date method of designing in-text citations. The author's last name and the year of source publication should be indicated in the text. And complete reference info should be in the References at the end of the paper arranged according to ASA citation format.

Alternatively, you can use footnotes and endnotes as the ASA citation format style for the paper. You should include a footnote each time you cite a source. It doesn’t matter if you quote the author directly or just paraphrase his ideas. Note numbers should be placed at the end of the clause or sentence which they refer to (after any punctuation mark, except dash).

Discover how to make your paper outstanding by smartly using quotations in your piece of writing.

ASA Bibliography Format

Based on the ASA bibliography format, sources used in the paper should be specified at the end of the paper on the page labelled “References” (with no other variants). Here are some of the main requirements to the ASA format citation style.

• All sources cited in the text should be listed here, without any being missed out.
• Just like other parts of the paper, the list of sources should be typed in 12-point Times New Roman Font with a double line spacing.
• All lines after the first line of each entry in the list should be 1.5 margins indented from the left margin.
• Authors’ names should be written in an inverted order, with the last name going first.
• Arrange all the entries in the alphabetical order by the author’s last name.
• List the works of one author in the order by the year of their publication, starting from the “earliest” ones.
• Several works by the same author published in the same year are to be delimited by letters (e. g., 1993a, 1993b, 1993c).
• Names of books and periodicals should be written in italics (title case). Write article titles in quotation marks (title case).

ASA Format Example

ASA format style may be complicated for those who have never done it before. If you are one of those students and have no clue on what to start with, you can always use ASA format example found on the Internet as a detailed guide.

This approach will help you a lot. Check any ASA format sample paper on our website for a better understanding of style designing specifics and requirements. As an alternative solution, you can ask professional writers to format the style of a ready-made paper or write it from scratch to you. Using highly qualified assistance is always a good solution!