Basic Structure of an APA Style Paper
Abstract
APA (American Psychological Association) Style writing is widely used across all fields of study and is regularly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This paper details the basic structure of an APA paper, provides resources and tips to assist authors during the writing process. As stated by the Publication Manual of the APA, an abstract is “a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the article; it allows readers to survey the contents of an article quickly and, like a title, it enables persons interested in the document to retrieve it from abstracting and indexing databases” (2010, p. 25). Applying and understanding the method of APA
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Direct quotations must equal the original source exactly, word for word. The source of the quotation must be cited. The organization of direct quotations may vary with the placement of the quoted material in the sentence. The author’s last name, the year of publication, the website title or section title, and the paragraph number, when no page number is available, are included in the citation. Quotations that contain fewer than forty words are enclosed in double quotation marks within the text. Use single quotation marks for quotations contained within a direct quotation. Use double quotation marks to indicate a quotation within the block quotation. Paraphrasing allows the writer to present someone else’s ideas and acknowledges the original author.
The Reference page will begin on a new page. References are designed to document the sources a writer uses so the reader knows where the original information derived from and it acknowledges the original author’s work. Hanging indentation is used for the reference page. In a hanging indent, the first line of the reference rests against the left margin, and the lines that follow are indented five to seven spaces. “The reference page is alphabetized by author or by title of the work when no author is listed, and each entry contains the date of publication in parentheses right after
In-text citations should note the author(s) and the publication date for a paraphrase. For a direct quotation, citations should include author(s), date, and page number. See the following examples:
7. Must include at least one direct quote from one of the sources (see Guidelines for Quoting Sources).
Referencing should be used whenever quotations of an original text is used or you refer to quotations and paraphrase any content that has been written by someone else. References could
Paraphrasing is more acceptable and should be done frequently, again with appropriate references of the author’s name and publication date. Should several paragraphs be from the same reference, each paragraph needs to have the reference at least once, usually after the first or last sentence. However, it is appropriate to use multiple references in a paragraph. When this is done, place the reference after each new reference so that the reader knows from where the information came.
the appropriate length depends on the journal to which you are submitting, but they are typically
| 1. Reference list begins on a new page, with the word Reference centered at the top of the page 2. There should be a hanging indent on every reference. In MS Word, create a hanging indent by going to “Format” > “Paragraph” >
The paper contains an introductory paragraph with a thesis statement, followed by an outline of supporting information, and is formatted according to APA; title & reference page
Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is required.
When you include a direct quotation or paraphrase referring to a specific passage in your paper, always include the author and year, as well as the page number, as part of the citation. APA requires the author, year, and page number for direct quotations and recommends providing the same information for paraphrases.
Jamie Anderson, SFU Surrey Library August 1, 2006 The APA Manual should be your main source of information for citing sources, but this addendum was put together to cover several types of electronic sources which are not covered by the APA. Here’s what the guide covers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Webpages Blogs Online Journal Articles Online Encyclopedias and Dictionaries Email Online Images The TECH 100 text Teamwork and Communication
How to Write an APA Comparative Analysis Your university English Language teacher has asked you to write a comparative analysis paper. This paper, also known as a compare and contrast, allows the writer to analyze two different things or ideas. She wants you to write the paper in APA format. APA is an acronym for American Psychological Association. The APA’s format is popular in education, social sciences and behavioral sciences. This article will help you format a comparative analysis paper. The first step in your thesis is to conduct research in books, articles, and scholarly journals. . Make notes of important concepts found in the book or article. Paraphrase the notes on note cards or on a separate sheet of paper. Be sure to write down
For any kind of academic writing, the references page plays an important role and teachers’ marking is based on it. Our academic writers are fully aware of all writing patterns due to which they always write by following that pattern that is assigned to them for writing.
General Principles Writers use quotations for a variety of purposes: to argue with another author’s definition of a term, to provide statistical evidence or testimony to validate a claim; to present the reader with a statement we wish to refute or discuss in detail. If writers overdo and include too many quotations in a research essay, readers will form the negative impression that the authors of those sources are more authoritative than the writer of the research paper. Often the voices of those authorities drown out the writer’s voice, in a sense taking over authorship of the paper. Writers should use direct quotations only when the source’s words are particularly relevant, powerful, and/or an extremely
"The APA stylebook started in 1929 as a seven-page article in a journal of the American Psychological Association. Since its inception, the stylebook has served as a “standard of procedures, to which exceptions would doubtless be necessary, but to which reference might be made in cases of doubt”"(Instructions, 1929, p. 57 as cited in APA, 2001, p. XIX). APA was developed for consistency in writings, it is a guideline and standard for scholarly articles. My challenge for using APA is research. I still haven't mastered this style and I don't want to take credit for someone else's work accidentally. I am still learning to navigate the library and EBSCO. I have found articles with the key words, but the meat and potatoes of the articles are not
* A direct quotation represents a person’s exact speech or thoughts and is enclosed in quotation marks (“ “).