proposal

An abstract is a single paragraph, without indentation and double-spaced, that summarizes the key points of the manuscript in 150 to 250 words. The purpose of the abstract is to provide the reader with a brief overview of the paper; avoid using source material. Your abstract should contain at minimum your research topic, the gap you have identified, an overview of your proposed methods, your hypothesis regarding what you expect your study to reveal, and a final conclusion that demonstrates a solid purpose regarding the need to have this research conducted. You may also include possible implications of your research or possible future work you see connected with your findings. If you choose to include keywords, they would be set up using the example below.

Keywords: writing, template, seventh edition, APA format, style, self-discipline

Title of Paper Gets Repeated Here Exactly As It Appears On the Title Page

This is where the body of your paper begins. Note that the title of your paper appears at the top of your introduction and is bolded like other sections that begin with headings such as “Literature Review,” “Methodology,” “Rationale,” “Conclusion,” and “References.” Also notice that there is no extra spacing between the paragraphs or sections. Sections can have subsections with Level 2 headings. For example, a Method section might have Participants, Materials, and Procedure subsections if there are enough details to explain such headings. The seventh edition of the APA manual instructs users to use bold fonts for all headings; examples are below. The rest of the text in this template provides hints about properly generating the parts of your APA-formatted paper.

Although not labeled with the heading “Introduction” on your paper, this first section will introduce your topic and provide information about your specific research focus that will be developed throughout the paper. It may consist of multiple paragraphs. Discuss what makes the overall topic of the focus article interesting and worth studying. Give a broad overview of the scope of the work you are reviewing. Best practice for this introductory section is to reference the ideas from the research hypothesis (not the research question) at the end of the introduction. In doing so, you are creating a thesis sentence for the rest of the paper that supports your topic. Notice that a thesis sentence is not a question itself, but you can take the question and turn it into a statement. The thesis statement should be the last sentence of the introductory section

Literature Review

This section should have its own introductory paragraph that provides an overview of the literature. The literature review section should be 1,000 to 1,200 words; it will include at least five sources, remain objective (no 1st- or 2nd-person pronouns), and synthesize the information that you have uncovered about your topic without bias. This section will mostly read like the work of a reporter sharing observations of what others are doing, what they are thinking, and what they have uncovered through their own research. Now that you have “joined the conversation” regarding your topic, you are creating the framework to help others see how your later contribution will help to fill in the gaps from other literature. A good suggestion from the instructions is to focus the literature review around 3-5 key concepts, devoting 1-2 paragraphs to each and pulling information from various sources. Since multiple authors will be discussing the same concepts but in different ways, this section will require synthesis of their ideas. Do not merely report five paragraphs about five different sources . You may choose to use level 2 headings to separate your concepts. If so, an example heading appears below. This literature review section may have a formal thesis that keeps the information centered on the literature, like this example: Scholarship has much to say about the [aspect] and [aspect] of this [topic], but there is still much to be studied in relation to [gap(s)].

Heading Level 2 if Necessary

Although not required, some students find that using Level 2 Headings are helpful in this section. The best papers use topics for such headings and synthesize information from the various authors who discuss those topics. Following this method encourages organization of ideas instead of a boring list of sources, so information from one source may be used in various sub-sections if it applies to multiple topics. Note the heading is flush left, bolded, and capitalized using title case with no punctuation. This level 2 heading is probably the deepest you will go for the papers in our class, but APA does have specific rules regarding headings at additional levels based on the seventh edition of the APA style manual.

Methodology

This methodology section is hypothetical, but it should be written as if you were really going to test your research question. Include what participants you expect to find, how you would collect and analyze data from them, and how you would identify differences between your control group and your test group or identify changes within your test group(s). This is the only section where first-person (I) pronouns are acceptable, though they are not required. If the paper can be written without such pronouns, do so. This section will probably have some future-tense verbs because of its hypothetical nature. Review the methodology sections of papers from academic journals you have been researching to see how detailed this section can be in real life and to model your explanations after. Carefully consider the questions and suggestions on the instruction document. This section may also incorporate level 2 headings, though they are not required.

Rationale

In this section, you can finally argue your case regarding why anyone should fund or complete your research. Address why your topic is so important to the stakeholders involved. Who cares about it and why should people care? As with your entire paper, keep your audience in mind. Consider what is important to them, what their goals are, and what they are concerned about. This paragraph should comprise 250-300 words. This section may be similar to some of the information from your introductory paragraph, but its focus will be on the justification of your research and how it falls within the rhetorical situation (understanding your audience and how your own purpose in studying the topic meets their expectations). A sample topic sentence could be, “Research for Topic X is important to study because a significant finding will have such-and-such effect(s).” Use your own words, but those key elements (research topic, value judgment, effect(s) that are important to your audience, etc.) should appear in your justification.

Conclusion

Wrap up the entire paper after all the individual parts are revised and connected. A good conclusion will remind without being redundant; do not copy the thesis from the beginning of the paper. Broaden out by addressing the “so what?” aspect of why filling in the gap is important for anyone interested in your topic. Consider the examples within the articles you have been researching this term.

Use the “Insert> Page Break” option following this paragraph to ensure the References section will begin on the next clean page. In the References section below, notice that each entry has instructions regarding how to cite such examples. Use the information if it is helpful, but be sure to remove anything that you do not use. Before submitting, proofread the entire paper for accuracy, remove any contractions and non-justified first-person pronouns, and consider having the Writing Center review your paper.

References