APA Style 1

Running head: WRITING IN APA STYLE

#14) How to Write a Research Paper Using APA Style

The Writing Center

University of Arkansas

A serif font should be used as per APA manual,

5th ed.

Example:
serif: Times New Roman
sans-serif: Arial

Figure 5.1 on pp. 306-20 gives a full sample

paper (complete with references to numbered
sections), APA Publications Manual 5th ed.

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Abstract

If you are required to write an abstract for your paper, keep in mind the following:

1. An abstract should consist of no more than 120 words.

2. Type the abstract as a single paragraph in block style (no indentation) on a page following the title page.

The function of an abstract is to let potential readers (most likely those performing research in a related

area) know what points or issues you have covered and decide if reading your article will provide useful

information.

3. The abstract must present succinctly the objectives and most important findings of an investigation.

4. Write the abstract in the active voice.

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How to Write a Research Paper

Using APA Style

The introduction to a paper in the humanities or social sciences should not bear the heading Introduction.

The title of your paper should be centered at the top of the page in one or two lines. There is no extra space between

the title and the beginning of the text. Your introduction should consist of one or two paragraphs in which you: a)

establish the purpose and rationale for your research, that is, what you did and why it needed to be done, b) develop

some background for your study, establishing logical continuity between past and present work, and c) state your

hypothesis or thesis.

The most frequently heard complaint among those faced with producing a term paper or research article is

“I have been staring at the computer for hours trying to think of a good way to begin this. If I could just get started,

the rest would be easy.” If you find yourself in a similar situation, one way to get past this kind of writer’s block is

to write a sentence stating your purpose and then another that states the rationale. Then write a third stating your

thesis or hypothesis. Once you have these in front of you, try writing an opening sentence something like the

following to jump start your writing engine:

For the last XX years (decades, months, etc.) researchers (educators, anthropologists, etc.) have been

investigating (discussing, arguing about, trying to find a solution to, etc.) the problem (issue, the value, relevance,

etc.) of XX.

Remember, nothing you write at this stage needs to be in final form. For the moment, you just need to get

rolling. Write now, revise later.

The Body of the Research Paper

Matters of Form and Format

Spacing, Margins, and Punctuation. The APA style paper is double-spaced throughout (yes, even

paragraph-long quotations). Margins must be at least 1 inch on all sides. The right margin should not be justified.

Do not use a hyphen to break a word at the end of a line. The first line of every paragraph should be indented 5 to 7

spaces (use the tab key). All other lines should be typed to a uniform left-hand margin, with the exception of those

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of the abstract (see Abstract), block quotations (to be discussed later), titles, and headings. Introduction, body, and

conclusion are typed continuously. Abstract and references are separate from the text.

An APA paper should be written in accordance with standard rules of punctuation. Please refer to The

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association or to a good handbook of English for complete

guidelines. Note the following requirements for spacing:

Space once after all punctuation as follows:

• after commas, colons, and semicolons;

• after punctuation marks at the ends of sentences;

• after periods that separate parts of a reference citation; and

• after the periods of the initials in personal names (e.g. J. R. Zhang).

Exception: Do not space after internal periods in abbreviations (e.g., a.m., i.e., U.S.) or around

colons in ratios. (p.

291)

Headings. In the body of the research paper, you should use headings if these will serve to make the paper

more readable and present your material more clearly. For most papers the following three levels of heading

exemplified below will be all that is necessary:

(1) Centered Uppercase and Lowercase

(2) Flush-Left, Italicize, Uppercase and Lowercase Side Heading

The second level heading stands alone. Text begins on the next line.

(3) Indented, underlined, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period. Text begins right after the

period.

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Matters of Content and Style

In the body of the paper, the writer presents the evidence or information that supports the thesis in a clear

and logical manner with good transitions between ideas, paragraphs, and/or sections. Chapter 2 (“Expressing Ideas

and Reducing Bias in Language”) and Chapter 3 (“APA Editorial Style”) of the APA manual thoroughly cover

matters of orderly presentation of ideas, language, appropriate modes of expression, style, usage, and punctuation—

with clear examples. Familiarizing yourself with these two chapters before starting to write your paper will save

editing time later on. In them you will also find answers to questions about using ‘I’ and ‘we’ in a research paper

(third person is preferred, but first person is no longer absolutely prohibited), appropriate tense, and avoiding

language that projects ethnic, racial, and/or gender bias. Changing times and sensibilities have led to less emphasis

on formality and more emphasis on readability, directness, clarity, and careful word choices.

Quotations, Citation, and Documentation

For most people, writing a research paper involves presenting material and ideas that are either taken

directly or extracted from outside sources. The problems of properly attributing those ideas and smoothly

integrating them into the text often cause more headaches to the writer than any other aspect of producing the paper.

The first question that arises is how do you know what needs to be documented. Obviously, direct quotations must

be attributed, but so must any other information or ideas that you have gotten from an outside source and then put

into your own words.

Quotations. Any time you quote someone else’s exact words, those words must be enclosed in double

quotation marks, and the source identified, including the page number. Quotations of over 40 words should be set

off from the text in a block, without quotation marks, with each line indented 5 to 7 spaces (right margin stays the

same). Author, date, and page number should appear in parentheses after the period. If you have already stated

author and date when introducing the quotation, then only the page number will appear in the parentheses. Detailed

rules for quotation of sources are given on pp. 117-121 of the APA manual.

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Citation of References in the Text. Any time you paraphrase someone else’s material or present information

taken from a secondary source, you must cite that source immediately afterward.

The work of a single author would be cited in one of the following ways:

1. Brown (1972) noted that 40 percent of recent graduates. . . .

2. In a study conducted in 1972, Brown found that 40 percent of. . . .

3. An early study (Brown, 1972) revealed that 40 percent of. . . .

4. Brown determined that “40 percent of recent graduates ate doughnuts for breakfast” (1972, p. 46).

If Brown wrote the article with Black, the citation form would be as follows:

a. Brown and Black (1972) discovered that 40 percent of recent. . . .

b. In a study conducted in 1972, Brown and Black found. . . .

c. An earlier study (Brown & Black, 1972) revealed that. . . .

Note that the only difference is that both names are included, connected with and when mentioned in the text, and

by & when inside parentheses.

In the case of three to five authors of a single work, all authors are cited the first time the reference occurs.

In subsequent citations, use only the surname of the first author followed by “et al.” (no underline, period after

“al.”) and the year if it is the first citation of the reference within a paragraph:

1. Brown, Black, Green, and Jones (1972) found . . . (first citation)

2. Brown et al. (1972) found . . . (subsequent citations)

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Conclusion and References in an APA-Style Paper

Conclusion

Depending on the formality of your paper and whether you have used headings throughout the body, you

may or may not want to use the heading Conclusion(s) when you come to that part of your paper. The main point to

remember is that you must relate your conclusion to your thesis statement. In addition to bringing the reader back to

your original thesis, you might want to reiterate the most important point(s) you have made or make some

suggestions about possible applications of ideas or changes that might be made to an existing situation, based on the

new data. If your thesis was argumentative, you would probably want to reinforce it once more with some additional

reasons why it is valid and/or convince your readers of the need to take action. Do not simply repeat what you have

said before in the same words.

Reference List

Begin this section on a separate page. References are presented in alphabetical order. Also, the fifth edition

of the APA manual specifies using an ampersand (&) instead of and to show joint authorship, and using a

continuous underline, including the comma from journal name to volume number. The sample references at the end

of this paper are in correct APA manuscript style.

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References

American Psychological Association. (1992). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. American

Psychologist, 47, 1597-1611.

Brown, H., & Milstead, J. (1968). Patterns in poetry: An introductory anthology. Glenview, IL: Scott,

Foresman.

Cates, R. L. , Rutter, C. H., Karl, J., Linton, M., & Smith, K. (1982). Premarital abuse: A social psychological

perspective. Journal of Family Issues, 3(1), 79-90.

Dunn, B. R., Gould, J. E., and Singer, M. (1981). Cognitive style differences in expository prose recall (Tech.

Rep. No. 210). Urbana-Champaign: University of Illinois, Center for the Study of Language

Processing. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 205 922).

Eysenck, M. W. (1977). Human memory: Theory, research, and individual differences. Elmsford, NY:

Pergamon Press.

Galin, D. (1974). Implications for psychiatry of left and right cerebral specialization. Archives of General

Psychiatry, 31, 572-583.

Hall, B. (Writer), and Bender, J. (Director). (1991). The rules of the game [Television series episode]. In J. Sander

(Producer), I’ll fly away. New York: New York Broadcasting Company.

National Institute of Mental Health. (1990). Clinical training in serious mental illness (DHSS Publication No.

ADM 90-1679). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Wilfley, D. E. (1989). Interpersonal analyses of bulimia: Normal-weight and obese. Unpublished doctoral

dissertation, University of Missouri, Columbia.

APA recommends placing titles, etc. in italics Examples of Internet sources can be
rather than underlining them. found on pp. 268-81.

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