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Running head: WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS 1

A Guide for Writing APA Style Research Papers

Susan B. Smith

Capital Community College

PROVIDE A “RUNNING HEAD” OR

SHORT TITLE OF YOUR PAPER IN

ALL CAPS FOR EACH PAGE OF THE

PAPER

Each page is numbered

starting with the title page.

The title of your paper is centered and

positioned in the upper half of the page. It

should be no longer than 12 words.

Student’s name: first, middle initial, last.

Institutional affiliation

The recommended typeface is Times

New Roman with a 12 point font size.

Based on the Sixth Ed. of the Publication

Manual of the American Psychological

Association. Updated September 19, 2012.

WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS 2

Abstract

This paper is a guide to writing a general paper in according to the Publication Manual

of the American Psychological Association. The guide instructs a user on how to format

a paper in APA style, illustrating structure, style and content, as well as presenting detailed

examples of references cited, including print examples of books, magazine articles and

reference works. Additional examples are provided for electronic versions of the above.

Keywords: APA, research papers, format, style guide

An abstract is a brief comprehensive

summary of the paper between 150 and

250 words. Do not add to or comment on

the body of the work here. It provides the

reader with a brief overview of the article.

The running head or short title Page number

Check with your instructor to

see if an abstract and/or

keywords are required elements

of your paper.

Type the

abstract in

block format,

one paragraph,

no indentations

and double

spaced.

WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS 3

A Guide for Writing APA Style Research Papers

There are several different types of articles appropriate for publication in the

APA or American Psychological Association style. These include reports of empirical

studies, literature reviews, theoretical articles, methodological articles, and case studies.

Each of these types of articles follows a proscribed format. Refer to the Publication

Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6 th edition for the most up to date

and comprehensive details of setting up your manuscript. This paper will serve as a

general guide only, and as always, your instructor has the final word on the format and

style required for the assigned paper.

Method

A research paper presents the results of your investigations on a selected topic.

Based on your own thoughts and the facts and ideas you have gathered from a variety of

sources, a research paper is a creation that is uniquely yours. The experience of

gathering, interpreting, and documenting information, developing and organizing ideas

and conclusions, and communicating them clearly will prove to be an important and

satisfying part of your education. Generally, the formatting of citations recommended

below is based on the American Psychological Association guidelines. Your instructor

may require another format. It is important to follow consistently and accurately a

recommended format that is clear and concise and that has been approved by your

teacher. This guide may suffice for most students' needs for most academic purposes, but

for advanced research projects it is by no means a substitute for the Publication Manual

Page 3 begins the body of the paper.

Type and center the title

of the paper on this page.

Do not bold or underline.

Running head on every page

1 inch margins

on all sides 1 inch margins

on all sides.

Leave right side

ragged and do

not hyphenate

words.

2 spaces after a

punctuation mark

helps the reader.

Level 1 Heading

The heading

style

recommended by

APA consists of

5 possible

formatting

arrangements.

Check with your

instructor and/or

the APA Manual

section 3.02 for

further guidance

regarding

headings.

1 inch

margin

1 inch

margin

WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS 4

of the American Psychological Association Sixth Edition (2010). That handbook can be

purchased in most bookstores and copies should be available in every college and

municipal library. This guide and a guide similar to this one, but based on the MLA

style, are available online. “Your best source of advice on all these matters is, of course,

your instructor and your library professionals” (Darling, 2008, p. 98).

Once your topic has been approved, gather information from authoritative sources:

pertinent books, encyclopedias, and articles in magazines, journals, and newspapers.

Librarians will be happy to show you how to use the various research tools

within the library and may suggest other sources of information. Important new resources

are now available to you through electronic services which provide many learning and

reference tools as well as access to the Internet, where you can often discover an

abundance of information. Depending on the resources available and the length

of your assignment, you may find it necessary to widen or restrict the scope of your

topic (Darling, 2008, pp. 96-97).

Discussion

Using someone else's ideas or phrasing and representing those ideas as your own,

either on purpose or through carelessness, is a serious offense known as plagiarism.

Ideas or phrasing includes written or spoken material, from whole papers

and paragraphs to sentences, and, indeed, phrases but it also includes statistics, lab

results, art work, etc. Someone else can mean a professional source, such as a published

Level 1 Heading

If you are instructed by your professor

to use headings, refer to section 3.02 of

the Publication Manual of the APA.

If a quotation is

40 or more

words, start a

new line, using

a block

quotation;

indent as if a

new paragraph,

double space,

and do not use

quotation

marks.

Quotations

fewer than

40 words are

incorporated

into the text

using quote

marks. Cite

the specific

page of the

quote.

Quotations

WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS 5

writer or critic in a book, magazine, encyclopedia, journal or in an electronic resource

such as material you discover on the Internet; another student at your school or

anywhere else; or a paper-writing service which offers to sell written papers for a fee.

Newton (2011) found that he penalty for plagiarism is usually determined by the instructor

teaching the course; in many schools and colleges, it could involve failure for the paper and

it could mean failure for the entire course and even expulsion from school. At the very least,

however, students who plagiarize have cheated themselves out of the experience of being

responsible members of the academic community and have cheated their classmates by

pretending to contribute something original which is, in fact, a cheap copy (Newton, 2011).

Summary and Concluding Discussion

One-inch margins at the top, bottom, right and left sides are now required by APA.

Double spacing is required throughout the paper. In 2011 Newton stated that if you wish to

use single spacing for quotations of verse and drama because it more nearly approximates

what the poet would want, you must consult with your instructor before doing so.

Each page is numbered consecutively including title page and reference page. Type the

numbers in the upper right-hand corner using Arabic numerals. Arrange the manuscript as

follows: title page, abstract, body of the paper, and reference page. A short title is used

throughout the paper. R. Newton (personal communication, July 20, 2012) states that the

short title is a two or three word derivation of the title of the paper. If the title of your paper

were Understanding Patterns of Byzantine Intrigue, the short title could be Byzantine Intrigue

(R. Newton, personal communication, July 20, 2012).

Citing references in text

Option #1

Option #2

Option #3

Personal

communication,

option #1

Personal communication, option #2

Do not include references to personal

communications, such as letters, emails,

interviews, telephone conversations on the

reference page as they are not recoverable.

You may however cite them in-text. What you

cite should have scholarly relevance.

Options 1, 2, and 3 are all acceptable

formats for pointing to the source listed

on the reference page.

or (Newton, 2011, Chapter 3)

or

(Newton, 2011, p. 11)

WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER 6

References

Darling, C. (2008). Saints of diminished capacity. New York: Random House.

Language (2009). In Columbia electronic encyclopedia. Retrieved September 18,

2012, from http://www.informationplease.com

Harkavy, W. (2010, November 3). Educational writings. Village Voice.

Retrieved September 8, 2012 from http://villagevoice.com

Newton, R. (2011). A reference guide to learning about research. Hartford,

CT: Merganser University Press.

South, S., Oltmanns, T., & Turkheimer, E. (2009). Interpersonal communication

across peer groups. Journal of Communication, 73, (2) 675-692.

doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00325

South, S.,Oltmanns, T., & Turkheimer, E. (2009). Interpersonal communication

across peer groups. Journal of Communication, 73, (2) 675-692. Retrieved

from http://search.ebscohost.com

Wheatcroft, G. (2008, June). The challenge of education. The Atlantic, 293(3), 56–72.

Arrange entries in alphabetical order by the

author’s last name, or if no author, by the 1 st

word in the citation. APA Style

Include page number in upper right corner

Use Times New Roman 12 point font.

Book with 1 author

Online journal

article from a

database with

no DOI. (Same

article as above

when no DOI

is provided).

Article retrieved from an

online reference work with no

author

Web site

Book 1 author

Print journal article. Full title

italicized in upper and lowercase

letters. Italicize the volume

number but not the issue and

page numbers.

Online journal

article with DOI.

Include the DOI

(digital object

identifier) in

your citation

whenever it is

provided.

Capitalize only

the first word of

a journal article

title and subtitle.

Do not italicize.

The reference page provides the

information necessary for a reader to locate

and retrieve any source you cite. Each

source you cite in the paper must appear in

your reference list.