how to put an essay in apa format

how to put an essay in apa format

A Comprehensive Guide to Formatting Essays in APA Style

1. Introduction to APA Formatting

A little history about APA style The APA’s style guide contains the guidelines that writers should follow in the writing and submission of academic works. Although both books and articles appear in the reference lists, only articles are discussed for the following reasons: the authors of most articles already have enough knowledge to write a book, and many journal writers have a book in mind when they write an article. Nonetheless, the principles of analysis to be covered can help authors with book manuscripts as well.

Where is APA used? APA is used around the world to help people find information, understand published research findings, and better communicate ideas to a small group or large audience. APA has been adopted for use in other fields such as education, business, and nursing. APA provides a number of aspects for people in these professions to follow through a structured format of titles, headings, order, and reference citations.

Goals of formatting essays in APA style The overall goal of APA style is to make writing and ideas as clear as possible. To achieve this clarity, APA fosters the following objectives: 1. Clarity in communication 2. Reaching out to a reader 3. Helping a reader find information 4. Promoting the fair and appropriate use of ideas to give credit to others, through a structure of citation and format

What is APA formatting? APA Style is the most common formatting and citation style in the social sciences. The APA style was created and is updated by the American Psychological Association. The APA provides a set of rules and guidelines for readers and writers to follow that ensure clear and proper communication of ideas. This includes how ideas are presented on a page, the organization of research, and how other people’s ideas are used.

2. Basic Guidelines for APA Formatting

Incorporating Any Optional Pages in Your Essay: – Footnotes and Endnotes – Tables – Figures – Appendices

– First-Level Headings: Type first-level headings in bold and centered, capitalizing the first letter of all major words. Do not end first-level headings with a period except for hitting. – Second-Level Headings: Type second-level headings in bold and flush left, capitalizing the first letter of all major words. Include a period after the heading. – Third-Level Headings: Type third-level headings indented, bold, and with the first letter of the first word capitalized. End third-level headings with a period.

1. Set margins to 1 inch on all sides. 2. Double space all text, including headings. Indent the first line of every paragraph five to seven spaces or one-half inch. 3. Center your title, and use upper and lower case for the first thorough word. Then, enclose your title in quotations if it contains words requiring quotation marks (even though the majority of the titles of papers should be styled in italics). 4. Begin the text of your essay on page 3. 5. Type headings and subheadings in the same size and type of font as the rest of the fragment below it. To create a double space before a subheading, hold down the shift key as you press the ‘Enter’ key. Begin the text of a subheading on the next line immediately after the subheading. 6. Use no more than two or three levels of headings.

3. Structuring Your Essay in APA Style

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References: Start your reference list on a new page. Center and bold the label “References” and maintain “References” left-justified. At the conclusion of your reference, list double-space. Between lines, utilize a 1/2″ (-1.25 cm) hanging indent. Alphabetize entries. Ensure to spell out the names of all authors.

Main Body: The main body comprises the introduction, methods, results, and discussion. Moreover, in differentiated specialty areas such as forensics, you might require extra headings that conduct side-by-side comparisons of racial and ethnic disparities in subjects accused of specific crimes (e.g., violent crimes, property crimes, drug crimes, sex crimes, and other crimes).

Abstract: Your abstract should be a single paragraph, usually between 150-250 words that summarizes the main elements of your essay, including your research topic, research questions, methods, results, data analysis, and conclusions. It should be a standalone entity containing fully developed arguments and it should not include any reference or explanation to references. In certain cases, it may be beneficial to include keywords to assist researchers in locating your essay in databases.

Title Page: Your title page should contain a running head and page number, title of the essay (with no more than twenty words), name, and institution affiliation, and author note if necessary.

An APA-style essay consists of four main sections, which are: title page, abstract, main body, and references.

4. Citing Sources in APA Format

When your essay is completed, it is time to submit a final copy, but do not rush because there is still work to be done! You must review your essay for citation effectiveness and correct minute errors, then complete a works cited sheet to include with your work. The purpose of these items is to inform readers about the sources of analysis, information, and evidence utilized, and to maintain the academic honesty of the research project (giving credit where credit is due). Additionally, there is the possibility that a reader may wish to independently verify a notation made within the research. Therefore, proper citations are important ally objects that assist in providing context and clarity. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), you must avoid plagiarism by giving credit to the authors whose work you are using in a few ways: by placing a citation that directs readers to the source’s corresponding reference (including full publication information to be located in the works cited list) within the text of the paper and by providing a reference list of the full publication information of the source at the end of the paper. Any punctuation patterns in your papers require careful attention, but in particular, APA citations need your accurate application of parentheses, periods, and the ampersand.

If it is critical to your writing process, you may want to create a bibliography or a reference list for your research project at the same time that you begin choosing your sources. Research and noting book and periodical information can assist you in perfectly formatting a citation in your first draft. Additionally, it is important to create a system so that you can note (and reverse-note) materials as you are researching. Every student should engage in selecting a note-taking policy or method that contains important information directly on a note card or in an electronic file. This preventative action will not only help to save you time later (avoiding rereading and wasting time flipping the pages back to locate the citation), but is helpful for other organizational stages (check to make sure you are citing enough or not citing too much, remembering planned parenthetical placements at a later date).

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid in APA Formatting

Given the large number of rules it contains, the APA style can get rather tricky at times. Here are some of the most common mistakes students make and should avoid. Do not introduce acronyms in the abstract – only introduce them in the body of the paper if and when you use the acronym again. Do not use footnotes, as footnotes can be quite confusing to readers. If you have to give, but not interpret or explain, additional, supportive or related information, use an in-text citation or a parenthetical citation. Avoid undefined abbreviations. Spell them out rather than just using the letters. Last but not least, the country you’re in will influence your writing style; APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Language Association) are rather America-centered, and so are the Canadian and Australian versions of the Harvard system. If you need to follow a different national standard, you are encouraged to do so!