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Considerations When Writing a Paper Using APA Style

Dr. Craig Stern

Northcentral University

Considerations When Writing a Paper Using APA Style

One of the challenges facing graduate students at Northcentral University is learning to write papers using style and formatting requirements according to the guidelines in the 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (American Psychological Association, 2010). For ease of reference, henceforth this resource will be referred to as simply the APA Manual. There are two basic considerations when writing in what can be called the scholarly or academic style or in APA style: the first consideration relates to certain conventions of writing that can loosely be characterized as formal, which includes the structure, sequence, and organization of a paper, as well as the writing voice, tone of language use, etc.; the second consideration relates to certain formatting conventions that include the use of headings as well as specific rules regarding font, margins, spacing, in-text citations, and formatting the title page and references section. This paper will discuss these considerations; and through that process, it will also demonstrate appropriate APA style and formatting in the actual writing.

Basic Writing Conventions for APA Style

The APA Manual commits an extensive amount of discussion and examples to writing style, use of language, and organization of papers. Besides including the basic elements such as introduction, body, and conclusion, student writers should also focus on their use of language and word choice. Many students are not accustomed to writing in a more formal style.

While the use of headings will be discussed more extensively in a later section on formatting conventions, a word will be said here. Notice that this section started with what APA style calls a Level 1 Main Heading. It is centered, bolded, and the main words are capitalized. The next section begins with a Level 2 Subheading. It has the same text formatting requirements but is flush with the left margin. This will be new to students who are used to Modern Language Association (MLA) formatting, as headings are not used in MLA style. Becoming familiar with how to use headings is a basic skill graduate students need to develop. Also, it makes writing easier, as it breaks the paper down into shorter, more manageable sections.

Organization of Papers

As noted, APA style has the three basic parts: the introduction, the body of the paper, and the conclusion. These will be discussed in sequence using APA style Level 3 subheadings which are indented and start the first paragraph of the subsection. Notice that the main words are not capitalized, and the subheading is followed by punctuation, unlike the Level 1 and 2 headings.

Writing the introduction. How to write a developed introduction is something many students have difficulty with, as it is rarely if ever taught as part of a composition or writing course. The purpose of the introduction is to tell the reader the general context of the paper (main topic), the specific context (related subtopics), and then a clear thesis statement telling the reader what the paper will be about, or how the paper will address the topics or issues outlined in the introduction. The introduction above does this and note, that the subtopics that were introduced, the “two basic considerations when writing,” become the main headings for the paper. These considerations were followed by the thesis statement. For APA style, the heading for an introduction is the title of the paper, centered but not bolded. It is one of the exceptions where a heading is not bolded. Writing a well-developed introduction that includes a clear thesis is a skill in itself that takes repeated practice to develop.

Aspects of the body of the paper. The body of the paper is where the main topic is discussed in the context of designated subtopics, often using supporting material acknowledged by citations. Sometimes these subtopics are delineated in assignment instructions. In other assignments, you will need to establish these subtopics (headings and subheadings) for yourself. The NCU Academic Success Center (ASC) has some excellent resources for improving student efforts to meet APA style considerations and expectations.

Academic Success Center (

Resources for Writers (

Questioning Strategies; Prewriting Strategies; Drafting your Paper for …

Writing the conclusion. In APA style, the paper needs a developed conclusion. A conclusion should have the main heading. Also, it should not focus on minor details or vague generalities but should summarize why the reader should understand the importance of the topics that were discussed, the challenges they present, and what can be gained by understanding them. Think of it as summarizing specific points the reader should take away from the discussion.

Writing Style and Use of Language

Academic papers typically use more formal language and a scholarly writing voice. Writing is clear and concise and tries to avoid passive voice. For example, active voice would be: The dog bit the boy; passive voice would be: The boy was bitten by the dog. Also, avoid using the first person (I, my, we, us, our, etc.) and second person (you, your, etc.) in academic writing, unless it is part of the assignment, as it often is with papers involving personal reflection. This happens directly or indirectly when the writer wants to insert his or her personal opinion(s) and/or experience(s), etc. This is a writing style you will need to adapt to and get used to writing in the more formal third person.

Also, avoid vague or exaggerated words or expressions; be expressive without being over-expressive. For example, students often try to lend importance to their topic with phrases like, “All across the country …,” or “The field of education needs …,” or “All teachers need to …,” etc. The same goes for writing in an overly-scholarly voice: avoid using too much technical language or expressions when this is not needed. The term for this is pedantic, which means making a show of one’s knowledge in a condescending manner.

Basic APA Formatting Requirements

An essential aspect of writing in APA style is conforming to APA formatting requirements. There are three dimensions to this effort: one is the correct use of headings and subheadings that was introduced above; the second is conforming to the various rules regarding font, margins, spacing, in-text citations, formatting the title page and references section, etc.; and the third is acknowledging resources used in one’s paper, which includes the formatting of citations and references. Being successful learning APA formatting requires persistent effort and attention to details.

APA-Style Headings

The definitive guide for formatting APA headings is found in APA Central. For most assignments, you will only use Levels 1 and 2 headings and occasionally Level 3 subheadings (examples provided above). However, you need to have at least two Level 2 subheadings under a Level 1 main heading; if there aren’t two, you should not use any Level 2 headings in that section. The same holds for using Level 3 subheadings following a Level 2 subheading: there needs to be two or more Level 3 headings or don’t use them.

Basic APA Formatting Requirements

While the APA manual contains a wealth of detailed information, it is often difficult to find exactly what one is looking for in the book itself, as the index is not cross-referenced very well. That said, it is still the definitive reference for style and formatting and should be used frequently. The following sections will summarize important aspects of APA formatting. Many of these aspects require changing the default settings of Microsoft (MS) Word. Consult the Internet (Google) for directions on how to change settings and defaults.

APA-style cover page. The cover page is actually somewhat complicated, so use the one that was provided with this paper and substitute your information. The basic elements are the running header, the pagination (page numbering), and the title page information: Title of the Paper, Student Name, and School. This summary will not go into detail about the running header except to say the following: do not use a running header that is text at the top of a page, as that will move down the page when text is added to the narrative of the paper. The running header needs to be set up in the actual header of the paper. Consult the Internet for detailed instructions for how to set up the header in MS Word.

APA preferred font. APA requires uniform 12-point Times New Roman font size and type. Many versions of MS Word (versions 2007, 2010, 2013) have the font default set at 11-point Calibri font (both Windows and Macintosh versions). There are many useful resources on the Internet that describe the procedure for resetting the font default to 12-point Times New Roman.

APA margin formatting. APA requires uniform 1.0-inch margins all around the paper. And there should be no embellishments, like borders, highlighted page numbers, flamboyant fonts, etc. Some earlier versions of MS Word have left and right margins set at 1.25 inches. Go to the “Page Layout” section of MS Word and set the paper template default to 1.0-inch margins.

Paragraph indentations and justified text. For APA style paragraphs are indented 0.5 or half an inch. The default can be set to indent 0.5 inch or use the conventional Tab setting. Also, make sure the text is left-justified (“Align Left”) and not full-justified (“Justify”), where both left and right margins are straight along the edge. Full justification varies the spacing between the words in the text and after punctuation. APA style prefers uniform spacing in these areas (one space between each word and sentence).

APA-style paragraph line spacing. APA requires uniform double spacing throughout the paper, including the cover page. This requires that the default paragraph spacing is set at 2.0 (“Double” in the Paragraph dialogue box). One issue that arises is when the default spacing setting in MS Word is 1.15 along with “Spacing: Before” or “Spacing: After” turned on in the Paragraph settings. This gives a result similar to double spacing, but the “Spacing: Before/After” makes the spacing between paragraphs and headings greater than 2.0 spacing. So in the Paragraph dialogue box, “Spacing: Before” and “Spacing: After” should both be set to 0 pt. Again, a simple query to the Internet (Google) will provide you with examples of how to change these settings.

Acknowledging Scholarly Resources in APA Style

The goal of graduate writing in education is to learn to make a meaningful contribution to the ongoing dialogue of scholarship in the field. In conjunction with this, APA-style papers require that students “cite the work of those individuals whose ideas, theories, or research have directly influenced your work” (American Psychological Association, 2010, p. 169). Acknowledging the sources used for writing a paper is very important. At the same time, if more than 10% of a paper is in someone else’s words, this goal is not being effectively accomplished; in addition, it can represent a form of plagiarism. Academic integrity is considered an important and essential aspect of being a graduate student. Learning how, when, and how often to cite resources is an important skill that all graduate students need to learn.

Using and formatting citations in APA style. Novice graduate writers are beginning to develop their own voice in the context of their profession. This requires frequent recourse to scholars in the field who have contributed to the broader discourse in their area of interest. The majority of the material from outside sources need to be written in the student’s own words with paraphrasing citations as needed. Many students have difficulty with the finer points of paraphrasing. This is a style that takes practice to use comfortably. There are a variety of ways to cite a resource (or resources). Here are three basic examples using an article by Lourenco (2012) that compares the theories of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. One starts with the author of the outside source, the second shows how to cite a quotation, and the third shows how to cite a passage that was paraphrased (for examples of citing and referencing multiple authors, see the APA Manual, p. 177).

According to Lourenco (2012), Piaget’s theory …

When he commented on the development of Piaget’s theory, Lourenco (2012) noted that “Piaget came to recognize that formal thought was more dependent upon context than he had initially admitted” (p. 285).

Analysis of the foundations of the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky revealed the fundamental differences between them (Lourenco, 2012).