apa paper writing help

apa paper writing help

Effective Strategies for Writing APA Style Papers

1. Introduction to APA Style

Particularly in the social sciences, APA style is widely considered an accessible way to communicate research methodology and theory in comprehensive, standard forms to a broad, international audience of scholars, readers, and practitioners who neither know what has been done in the field nor what has been published in other languages. And unlike other forms of citation systems, such as the Modern Language Association (MLA) style used in humanities or arts and the note systems often found in the legal profession and history journals, APA style makes it possible for many readers who do not have access to specific databases or the text of original works to identify papers related to their topics of interest with the help of reflective citations, without needing footnotes or endnotes.

The American Psychological Association (APA) style refers to a format that has been specifically developed to guide and standardize the process of documenting sources used in academic papers and addressing other disciplinary writing norms. The style has been created and continually updated by an organization of professionals with backgrounds in psychological disciplines—thus making reference to early writing, the publication side of psychology, and the methods of researchers in the field—so it particularly suits scholars and students working in psychology, related healthcare disciplines, as well as all social and behavioral sciences not overwhelmed by disciplinary-specific traditions, such as counseling, sociology, and epidemiology. Despite its grounding in both psychology and its pragmatic industries, though, APA style is also consulted by authors preparing their work in professional disciplines—like business and education—as a style that offers a descriptive, rather than a prescriptive, set of publication standards to describe research and writing.

2. Key Components of an APA Paper

APA papers include a brief or detailed abstract on page 2. The introduction, located below the abstract, is the gateway to your topic of choice. Indent the first line of the main body and every new paragraph by 1/2 inch or 0.5 tab. Next is the conclusion of your paper on which the main points of the paper are wrapped up; the new perspective is brought forward; and the reader is left with a closing thought, offering some opportunity for further reflection on the matter. Lastly, the reference list is included on a new page. The word “References” should be centered at the top of this page without bolding, italics, or quotation marks. Entries are organized alphabetically by authors’ last names or by the name of the institution or title of the publication if no authors are provided. Details have different formats depending on the type of source. Please refer to the guidelines for the correct formatting of the specific kind of the cited source. All main components will be discussed with greater attention in-depth. Failure to adhere to these guidelines will result in a loss of points or an invitation to resubmit an APA-compliant assignment.

One essential feature of an APA paper is that it follows a general structure with a title page; abstract; introduction; main body, including headings and subheadings; a conclusion; and a list of references. The paper begins with double-spaced text center-aligned at the top of page 1. The title is bold and in title case (first word and subsequent major words are capitalized). It should reflect the paper’s content and be as concise as possible. The title page continues with your first and last name followed by the institution’s name. With the same vertical and horizontal positioning as the author’s information, provide the date that the paper is submitted.

3. Formatting Guidelines and Citations in APA Style

APA style has laid out very specific guidelines, which range from function (clarifying the purpose of the source and attribution of the source) to technical details (margin settings, line spacing, etc.). All these requirements are intended to make the paper easier to read for your audience or instructor and demonstrate your respect for their time by making it easier for them to find the information they need. Proper citations are important for three key reasons: Citing provides clear identification for the reader, indicating where borrowed information came from, so as not to be confused with the writer’s thoughts. Citing helps ensure an author has given other authors proper credit for their work. Citing gives credence to an individual’s writing and ideas and can be an important step in avoiding plagiarism. APA style advises careful citation of sources and gives examples of different citation formats based on the communication type used.

The American Psychological Association style, or APA as it is commonly called, is used to write essays and research papers. Commonly, colleges and universities follow specific guidelines while formatting papers in an APA style. This handout covers marking margins, selecting fonts and line spacing, constructing page headers and the running head, identifying the five levels of headings, adding a title page and an abstract, and formatting a reference list. It will also outline proper in-text citations for print and in-print sources such as books, journal articles, and website material.

4. Common Mistakes to Avoid in APA Writing

3) Incorrect referencing: All work/ideas of others cited in the reference list must be cited in the main body of the dissertation also, and vice versa. Another problem is not listing all the authors in the first time when cited.

2) Citation problems: This certainly includes not giving credit to others for their ideas/words. Carefully indicate the sources in which you borrowed ideas or wordings. When you do not acknowledge a prior idea, you could be seen as stealing another author’s ideas/words, which is also known as plagiarism.

1) Not sticking to the original APA requirements: One wrong assumption with this area is many of our in-house “experts” that go around claiming they know everything about this or that, but really, they have no idea what they are talking about. But they can’t be bothered to check out the APA manual to make sure they are correct – most arrogant attitude.

There are several areas of APA writing that can make the formatting of a document a major pain in the neck. At times, it feels just like a waste of time to give emphasis to these APA requirements, especially when it really doesn’t seem to be all that valid. However, the bottom line is that things go as they are, causing you problems and disrupting your work. You can easily prevent these issues by knowing the most common APA writing mistakes and understanding how to avoid them. Here are the most common areas in which people usually make these mistakes.

5. Resources for Further Assistance

You can locate additional resources for your specific topic in other databases. Try: Congressional Quarterly, JSTOR, the conference materials database ERIC, the Literature Online database, and SIRS Researcher. If you need help, visit the McQuade Research Center in person, or on the web. Don’t forget to drop by the Writing Center for further support in developing your research essay.

Other Databases

Tremblay, Alain R. “Guide on Fast Presentation in APA.” Department of Psychology, York University, n.d.

“Effective Writing Center: APA Documentation Style.” The University of Maryland. 2 Dec. 2005.

“Documenting Electronic Sources: APA Style.” The University of Toronto, 3 June 2005.

“Berry’s Quick Reference/Research Tips: APA.” Mulford Library of the Medical University of Ohio, n.d.

Guides to Communicating in APA/Kate Turabian Style

Parsons, Daniel R. Guide to Intellectual Property: What Every Scientist, Engineer, and Manager Needs to Know. Hoboken: Wiley-Interscience, 2004.

Eifling, Sam. Asia-Pacific Biotech Directory. The Pacific Bridge Companies, 2004.

Douglas, Ian. Biopatent Law: European Union and New Guidelines. London: Kluwer Law International, 2004.

Biotechnological Reference Books

Washington Post

USA Today

Chicago Tribune

New York Times

Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly

Broadcasting and Cable

Editor & Publisher

Advertising Age

ABA Journal

Mass Media: Law & Regulation

Academic Search Ultimate MasterFILE Premier Full Text Finder PsycARTICLES Teacher Reference Center Two Basic Sources for Referencing

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