APA- American Psychological Association Research Paper Brought to you by: Georgina Armendariz & Douglas Perry RG Writing Center

Cover Page: Header - (0.5” margin) Header: (appears on every page) Purpose: To identify the manuscript without the author’s name Note: Double-spaced throughout manuscript 12 inch serif font (preferably Times New Roman) Page number Title page is page 1 Flush Right Running Head (yes, you write “Running head” on the cover page, but not on the subsequent pages) An abbreviated version of the title Max 50 words (does not include “Running head”) Avoid commas ALL CAPS Flush Left

Cover Page- (1” margins all around) Mid-Section (centered) Title Review main idea of your paper First letter of each main word is capitalized words Author’s Name That’s you! School El Paso Community College Last Section (centered) Instructor Class Date

Abstract Center the word “Abstract” Don’t indent paragraph Use one paragraph ( words) Review/ summarize your paper Identify key words Write concisely State thesis statement *Ask your instructor if an Abstract is required.

Thesis One sentence that says what your trying to prove, your conviction Tips for creating your thesis What is the purpose of your paper? Be specific to your topic you are discussing Your thesis statement should be at the end of your first paragraph (introduction). Ex: “The life of a typical college student is characterized by the time spent studying, attending classes, and socializing. The paper should then explain how the students spend their time studying, attending classes, and socializing.

Body Title Repeat the title (centered) Experiment Research paper sections : Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, References. All Headers in the paper. Essay style research paper: sections not identified by headers, but rather by topic sentence. (This type of paper is very much like a regular essay using APA style citations). Headers can be used but not necessary. What format are we using in this class?

Body-Headers There are five ways to do proper APA headings: Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading Flush Left, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading Indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period. Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period. Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.

In-Text Citations Author-date method of citation (author’s last name, date of publication) Two basic ways to cite: 1) According to Smith (2009), humans have one less chromosomes than animals. 2) Chimpanzees are the closest ancestors that humans have to another species (Smith, 2009).

In-Text Citations Two Authors Smith and Foster (2009) (Smith & Foster, 2009) Three Authors Smith, Foster, and Ross (2009) Smith et al. (2009) (Smith, Foster, & Ross, 2009) (Smith et al., 2009) Et al. subsequent times Five Authors Smith, Foster, Ross, Butler, and Xavier (2009) Smith et al. (2009) (Smith, Foster, Ross, Butler, & Xavier, 2009) (Smith et al., 2009) Et al. subsequent times Six Authors or more Smith et al. (2009) (Smith et al., 2009) Et al. Initially and subsequent times

Paraphrase vs. Quotation Quote: word for word/ verbatim Example: “Chimpanzees carry the SIV virus that mutates into the HIV virus in humans” (Smith et al., 2009, p. 40). For direct quotations, give either page numbers or paragraph (para. #) numbers if visible. Secondary sources: Obama interview (as cited in Jones, 2011). Paraphrase: Summarize author’s idea in your own words/ interpret the text Example paraphrases: According to Smith et al. (2009), he stated that Kaprowski was guilty of accidentally infecting the human population with AIDS. Documents show that chimpanzee kidneys were kept in Kaprowski’s facility even though he refutes such claims (Smith et al., 2009).

Number Rules General Rule: Numbers 10 and above are expressed as numerals. Nine or below are written as words Basic exceptions to the rule: 1. Measurements are always numerals 2. Statistical functions are always numerals 3. Numbers that represent time, dates, ages, scores and point scales, exact sums of money are numerals. However, approximations are represented by words 4. If a sentence starts with a number, it is always a word. Use % symbol when preceded by a number. Use “percent” when you begin with a written number or when number is undetermined.

References Purpose: To provide the complete reference for every citation mentioned in the manuscript Centered heading Alphabetical order First line of each reference is flush left and the subsequent lines are indented 1/2 inch. Basic Format: Author, A.A. (year). Title of article. Source, volume (ed.), page numbers. Smith, J.R. (2009). Chimpanzees: Nature’s driving force. Scientific American, 14(5),

Other Resources Your Instructor The Writing Center Hacker, D. & Sommers, M. (2011). A writer’s reference (7 th ed.). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. American Psychological Association. (2010) Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6 th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Purdue University On-line Writing Lab (OWL) owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/