The Center for Academic Excellence presents . . . The APA Essay Basic Format

Although this PowerPoint presentation does not claim to be a comprehensive introduction to APA Style, it will provide beginning students with a general introduction to the basic requirements and structure of a formal APA research paper. Please note that individual professors may request slight variations on the information presented here. They may, for example, prefer that students include the professor’s name and the course information on the title page. Your professor’s instructions override any other requirements.

Table of Contents General APA Guidelines Parts of an APA Essay Sample APA Pages Setting up the Title Page The Abstract Levels of Seriation Some Useful Links

General APA Guidelines The APA essay is typed on letter-sized paper (8.5" x 11") , is double-spaced, and has 1" margins all the way around. APA recommends using 12 pt. Times New Roman font. APA style requires that authors use the past or the present perfect tense when using signal phrases to describe earlier research—for example, “Vogel (2009) found . . .” or “Archbold (2012) has found . . .” Return to Contents

The basic APA essay consists of nine distinct parts: The cover sheet The abstract (about 250 words) The introduction (topic, comparison of the literature, hypothesis) Primary research method (including the rationale) Primary research results (completely objective) Body Discussion of the research (an interpretation) Conclusion (summary, conclusions, suggestions) References Tables Return to Contents

Note that the title of the abstract is not bolded. First-level subtitles are bolded and centered. All parts of the essay are subitled except the intro. and the conclusion. THE EFFICACY OF UNIFORMS 12 Methods The title of the essay is centered at the top of page three. It is not bolded. THE EFFICACY OF UNIFORMS 3 The Efficacy of Uniforms: A Five-Year Study The title appears on the far left on every page—always on the same line as the page number. Note that the title of the abstract is not bolded. THE EFFICACY OF UNIFORMS 2 Abstract The running head is followed by the title of your essay. The words “Running head” appear only on the cover sheet and are on the same line as the page number. Number every page, even the cover sheet. Running head: THE EFFICACY OF UNIFORMS 1 The Efficacy of Uniforms: A Five-Year Study Jane Doe Ivy Tech Community College, Fort Wayne Centered between the running head and the center of the page are (a) the essay title, (b) your name, and (c) the name of your college or university.

Illustrative charts or tables are included after the References page. THE EFFICACY OF UNIFORMS 13 Tables The word “References” is centered on the bibligoraphic page. It is not bolded. THE EFFICACY OF UNIFORMS 12 References Biancarosa, G. (2005). After third grade. Educational Leadership, 63(2), 16-22. Borman, K., Dole, G., Kral, C., Salinger, T., & Torgensen, J. Improving adolescent literacy: Effective classroom and intervention practices: A practice guide (NCEE 2008-4027). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, US Department of Education. Return to Contents

Setting up the Title Page Perhaps the most challenging part of formatting the APA paper is including the words “Running head” on the title page. Open Word, and look at the Ribbon across the top of the page. Click on the INSERT tab.

Header & Footer Section After clicking on the Insert tab, locate the Header and Footer section, and click Page Number. When the drop box appears, click on Top of Page and choose Plain Number 3. Header & Footer Section Page Number Top of Page Plain Number 3

After the page number is inserted you will notice something interesting about the ribbon—a shaded green Design tab will appear (see below). Check the box labeled Different First Page.

When you check the box, the page number will disappear When you check the box, the page number will disappear. Left justify your text, then type the words “Running head” and a shortened version of your title in the header, followed by the number 1. Space the number all the way over to the right. Now tap the ESC key (or double click below the pale blue dotted line) to escape from the header. Space down to the second page. Note that the Label “Running head” is in upper- and lowercase. Note, too, that the title of the running head is in capital letters.

The header of the second page will contain only the number 2 The header of the second page will contain only the number 2. Place the cursor beside the number, and type the shortened version of your title in capital letters. Keep tapping the space key until the title meets the left margin. Your paper is basically set up and you can return to making the title page.

Running head: The Efficacy of Uniforms 1 The Efficacy of Uniforms: A Five-Year Study Jane Doe Ivy Tech Community College, Fort Wayne The full title of the essay is typed in in upper and lowercase letters and is centered in the upper half of the page. APA format suggeststhat titles be limited to a maximum of twelve words. The title may be as many as two lines long, though one is preferable. All text on the title page, and throughout the paper, is double-spaced only. The author's name appears below the title and includes first name, middle initial(s), and last name. Neither degrees (Ph.D.) nor titles (Dr.) may be included. Beneath the author’s name is the name of the college or university where the paper was prepared. Return to Contents

Begin a new page. Your abstract page obviously includes the page header. On the first line of the abstract page, center the word “Abstract” (no bold, formatting, italics, underlining, or quotation marks). Beginning with the next line, write a concise summary of the key points of your research. (Do not indent.) Your abstract should contain at least your research topic, research questions, participants, methods, results, data analysis, and conclusions. You may also include possible implications of your research and future work you see connected with your findings. Your abstract should be a single paragraph double-spaced. Your abstract should be between 150 and 250 words. You may also want to list keywords from your paper in your abstract. To do this, indent as you would if you were starting a new paragraph, type Keywords: (italicized), and then list your keywords. Listing your keywords will help researchers find your work in databases. The Efficacy of Uniforms 2 Abstract Many private schools claim that uniforms promote discipline and create a climate for success. This study examined the merit of such a claim. A five-year study was conducted at two local high schools, both of which were similar in terms of economic background and academic achievement. The study clearly suggests that students who wear uniforms tend to better than students who do not, for a variety of reasons: not only do uniforms appear to diminish the teenage obsession for fashion, they also seem to promote a definite sense of belonging and of group rather than individual identity. Critics of the study point out that it is impossible to account for all of the variables which affect student performance ; further research is necessary before any definitive conclusion can be made. Return to Contents

Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading Levels of Seriation Although the titles of the main sections of your essay are not bolded, the headings within the body of your essay are quite fussy: APA Headings Level Format 1 Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading 2 Left-aligned, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading 3 Indented, boldface, lowercase heading with a period. Begin body text after the period. 4 Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase heading with a period. Begin body text after the period. 5 Indented, italicized, lowercase heading with a period. Begin body text after the period. Return to Contents

Some Useful Links This PowerPoint presentation is a very simple introduction to APA format. For more detailed information, feel free to consult the following resources: See, too, the other PowerPoint Presentations in the CAE’s APA Series. The Purdue OWL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ Noodletools: http://www.noodletools.com/noodlebib/citeone_s.php?style=APA American Psychological Association: http://www.apastyle.org/ Return to Contents

PowerPoint presentation by Mark A. Spalding, BA, MEd, MA (2012). The End PowerPoint presentation by Mark A. Spalding, BA, MEd, MA (2012). All information is derived from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association or from the Purdue OWL.