APA Style for Scientific Documents Miss Petrik

How to Format the Pages Use 8 ½ by 11” white paper, with margins of 1” Double space EVERYTHING Font should be Calibri, size 10 or Times Roman size 12 Single spaces between sentences Page numbers in upper right hand corners

SO FAR: How is this different from MLA? You do NOT need to have your last name in the upper right with the page number You do NOT begin with a heading on the first page.

Title Page Begin with a title page should contain the title of your paper (not a topic, but a title that reflects the content of the paper), your name, the course name the paper is for, and the date you wrote it You should have a header, in the upper right hand corner of the page On the title page, the header should begin with “Running head: SHORT TITLE IN CAPITAL LETTERS”

Headings in APA Headings organize information for the reader for quick and easy access to specific parts of your scientific study There are 5 (headings) for the 5 sections to the document. Abstract Introduction Methodology Results Discussion

Abstract Heading “Abstract” should be centered and bolded. A four – eight sentence paragraph that paraphrases the motivation for the study, the general idea/process, and the results. It should not be detailed. It allows the reader to know what the paper will be about. The abstract is always page 2 of the document, and is alone on the page. Supply keywords that describe the nature of the project

Notice, your header no longer requires the words “Running head:” Heading is centered!

Introduction This begins on page 3 and should have no heading Instead, you reiterate the title of your paper. The title should be centered. Your introduction synthesizes known research and your observations. It concludes with your hypothesis!

Title of paper, centered

Methodology The heading: “Method” should be centered and bolded. Two parts (sub headings should be bolded, flush left) Materials In written (sentence) form, what items did you need to perform your experiment? Procedure What were the detailed steps you followed. BE PRECISE HERE

Centered and bolded Bolded and flush left

Results Heading: “Results” should be centered and bolded. What were your findings? Only the facts, not interpretations, go here It is generally the shortest part of the essay!

Discussion Heading: “Discussion” should be centered and bolded. Make interpretations about your data. Compare what you found to things you explored in your introduction.