APA-American Psychological Association

Research PaperBrought to you by:

Georgina ArmendarizRG 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 sepia font Page number

Title page is page 1 Flush Right

Running Head (yes, you write “Running Head”) 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 10-12 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 paragraphUse one paragraph (150-250 words) Review/ summarize your paperWrite conciselyState thesis statement

*Ask your instructor if an Abstract is required.

ThesisOne sentence that says what your trying to prove,

your convictionTips for creating your thesis

What is the purpose of your paper?Be specific to your topic you are discussingYour 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.

BodyTitle

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. Headers can be used but not necessary.

What format are we using in this class?

Body-HeadersThere are five ways to do proper APA headings: Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase

HeadingFlush 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 CitationsAuthor-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. QuotationQuote: word for word/ verbatim

“Chimpanzees carry the SIV virus that mutates into the HIV virus in humans” (Smith et al., 2009).

Paraphrase: Summarize author’s idea in your own words/ interpret the text

According to Smith et al. (2009), he states 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).

Should I favor one over the other?

Number RulesGeneral 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.

ReferencesPurpose: To provide the complete reference for every

citation mentioned in the manuscript

Centered headingAlphabetical orderFirst 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), 73-91.