Our editors break up just how to write an APA paper
Within the first article of our American Psychological Association (APA) series, we talked about APA style and formatting basics. This short article will discuss how exactly to write an paper that is APA-styled tackling essay components just like the title page, abstract, and the body.
Title page
The title page of an APA paper should include a concise title, the writer’s name and institutional affiliation, an author’s note, and a running head for publication. A head that is running an abbreviated title of no more than 50 characters, you start with the words „Running head,“ accompanied by a colon, one space, and an abbreviated title—all in capital letters. Part Four of your APA series provides an APA title page example for the reference.
All pages in an APA paper will include a header. When you look at the header, include the running head title, followed by the page number, that should be right-justified. When page numbering is properly put up making use of the Headers and Footers function in Microsoft Word, the computer will automatically handle the numbering that is consecutive.
The Abstract, typically a component that is crucial of APA paper, should summarize the topic and must accurately state the rationale and fundamental nature of the paper by including the main ideas and major points.
We advise students to say just the most findings that are important implications. The word count limit of an varies that are abstract journal to journal, and that can cover anything from 150 to 250 words. The Abstract should stick to the title page, on a page that is separate with all the centered word „Abstract.“
This section is not labeled. The text is contained by it of this APA paper divided in to Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion. All these sections should naturally follow the other, which means they just do not necessarily begin on a page that is new. A title is required by each section devoted to the page. And remember, you need to follow APA reference guidelines to make certain all of your citations are accurate and properly formatted.
Introduction
The development of an APA paper has to start on a new page, following the Abstract. Because its position in the paper makes it easily identifiable, the Introduction will not require a heading. Instead, range from the title regarding the paper towards the top of the page, in upper and lower case, accompanied by the writing. Our editors typically look for the following items in an APA Introduction:
- Background information about this issue
- A reason of why the subject is significant
- A synopsis of relevant literature
- A discussion regarding the hypothesis
- The way the author promises to address the situation
- Information on the paper’s organization
The Introduction must be well organized and may also contain headings to make the APA paper more understandable. Stay away from jargon because it will only confuse your reader.
This section describes the extensive research and just how it was conducted. The method is vital because the reproducibility is concerned by it of the research. Reproducibility, one of many principles of this Scientific Method, refers to the ability of a test or experiment to be replicated by independent researchers.
We try to find the subsections that are following the Method part of an APA paper: participants (or subjects), measures, and procedures (the latter two in many cases are combined in one subsection). These subheadings should really be left-justified. The „participants“ subsection should describe the subjects (including final amount and their basic demographic information) and how they were selected and categorized. It should also explain why some subjects are not included.
The subsection for measures and procedures should specify the apparatus and materials found in the experiment, including any questionnaires or surveys. This section must also describe in detail the way the research was conducted.
The results part of an APA paper presents the findings. This section should summarize the data collected and also the statistical or treatments that are analytical. Tables, figures, graphs, charts, drawings, and photographs might be included, but it is important to keep them as facile as it is possible. Clearly label each visual with an Arabic numeral (e.g., Table 1, Table 2, etc.) and a title. The label while the title should appear flush left on separate lines over the table. Don’t forget to include any source details below the table.
Discussion
The Discussion section is an interpretation and evaluation of this findings. In this section, on the basis of the findings discussed into the Results section, the writer should address the issues raised in the Introduction. This isn’t simply a reiteration regarding the results or points previously made.
