ASA (American Sociological Association) Formatting Guide

When an author creates their own paper, he or she has to cite it correctly. If you are writing a text in sociology subject, you will be required to write each page your work properly in a certain style. In this guide, we will provide our readers with all requirements of ASA format.

Read our article and see the main rules of using American Sociological Association style. We have created a detailed instruction about ASA citation format with the ASA format sample paper to help writers with a question “How to cite in ASA format?”.

What Is ASA Format and Where to Use it?

Before we will give you the main rules, let's define what is ASA format and why we need it. The ASA citation format is a style that is widely used by researchers, publishers, writers, and students that need to complete their scholarly papers in sociology field. This style is used by sociologists to include other people's words in their writing.

The ASA format is a parenthetical referencing style that uses the author-date system. Many sociologists find this style attractive because it doesn't have those footnotes that may distract from reading, and in general, this is very efficient and economical way of citing your paper. The ASA paper format includes:

• In-text citations that should be inserted near the source and include the author's surname and the year of publication.
• Section of references that should be put at the end of your work. This is a list of all sources cited in the paper with full publication information for each source.

9 Rules How to Cite in ASA Format

Here are the main rules for how to write in ASA format. Before you will start working on your paper, read everything thoroughly to make sure you understood it.

Rule 1: Title page in ASA bibliography format style

Your title page should include the title of the work, author's name and institutions, and word count of your paper, including references and footnotes. Put into the title footnote next information:

• address of the corresponding author;
• funding and grants;
• additional credits and acknowledgments. 

Rule 2: Abstract in ASA format style 

An abstract should be placed on the separate page with the title of your paper as a heading. This part should be 150-200 words. If you do not have any ideas on how to write an abstract, open one more blog. You will find all information there. 

Rule 3: Text style

Your document should be written in a 12-point font and double-spaced, or you need to follow the journal or the instructor notes. 

Rule 4: Margins in ASA citation format style

You need to make margins at least 1 ¼ inches on all sides, or follow instructions provided by journal or course instructor.

Rule 5: First page in ASA citation format style

You need to start your essay on a new page (after the abstract and title page). Start this page with a title of your work.

Rule 6: Subheadings in ASA bibliography format style 

You have to use three different levels of subheadings:

First-level head style.

• You need to write this heading in caps and left-justify;
• Don't make a bold font;
• Never start your work with a heading (for example, Conclusion).

Second-level head style.

• Make this heading italicized and left-justified;
• Don't make a bold font;
• Use title case.

Third-level head style.

• Make this heading italicized and left-justified;
• Don't make a bold font;
• Only the first word of the heading should be capitalized.

Rule 7: Footnotes and endnotes

These elements are used to cite sources, expand upon the text, or to explain the information provided in a table. We suggest not to mix footnotes and endnotes. Whether you use endnotes or footnotes, remember you should number them consecutively throughout the text with superscript Arabic numerals. Each note should be started with the same number you used in the text.

Rule 8: Page numbering style

Number all pages consecutively from the title page to the references page, or follow the instructions provided by journal/instructor.

Rule 9: Figures and tables in ASA format citation

If you use figures and tables in your work, they should be numbered consecutively. Place each separate table or figure on a new page and write a descriptive text to explain the table or figure to the reader. You need to give full headings for every row and column for tables. Please avoid any kind of abbreviations and spell out the word “percent”.

ASA Format Example

We want to provide you with the ASA format example that may be useful for writing your own work:

• If the author's name was mentioned in the text: … Connels contends that life on Mars doesn't exist (2012).
• If the author's name wasn't mentioned in the text: … It was contended that life on Mars doesn't exist (Connels, 2012).

You may need some information about Chicago annotated bibliography. Keep in mind, we have the whole blog dedicated to this kind of formatting.

We hope that this guide was helpful. Try to avoid mistakes and make a good work in accordance with all requirements! Improve yourself in writing and remember that you can always order your paper online and save your time, while professionals write your essay for you.