The American Psychological Association (APA) developed a style guide of standards for scholarly writing that is widely used in the social sciences. The 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association outlines the basic guidelines and formatting requirements for writing research papers and documenting sources in APA style. This style guide standardizes the structure and presentation of papers, citations, and reference lists in a consistent manner across all publications. Following APA guidelines helps establish credibility by demonstrating a mastery of proper research practices.
Some key aspects of a properly formatted APA style research paper include proper in-text citations, a References page, font, margins, page headers, and a title page. The basics of each of these elements are outlined below to help students get started on their APA papers.
Title Page
The title page is the first page of a research paper. It introduces the paper topic and identifies the author/authors. The title page in APA format contains four key pieces:
Running head: This includes a shortened title in all capital letters aligned left at the top of the page. The shortened title cannot exceed 50 characters including spaces. Page numbers are also included with the running head flushing right on the title page and subsequent pages.
Title: Centered roughly halfway down the title page should be the full title of the research paper using title case (capitalize first letters of content words only).
Author name(s): Provide your full name as the author centered on the line beneath the title.
Institutional affiliation: Center the name of your school or university one line under your name.
All text on the title page should be double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font. The title page also contains a page header flush right with the shortened title in all caps.
Abstract
The abstract page summarizes the key aspects of the research paper in 150-250 words. An abstract allows readers to quickly review the purpose and structure of the paper. The Running head is included flush left with the shortened title in all caps. The word “Abstract” is centered but not bolded or underlined at the top of the page. The body of the abstract follows in block format – not indented – and is single-spaced.
Paper Format and Layout
The basic paper formatting in APA includes setting 1-inch margins on all sides of the page, double-spacing all text, left-aligning text, and using a highly readable 12-point font such as Times New Roman. Page numbers are included in a header flush right on every page. Section headings are centered and bold on their own line and occasionally include subheadings which are left-aligned, bold, and ending with a period. Sections and all content should be written in a clear, concise, and simple manner.
In-Text Citations
Parenthetical citations identify any external sources included in a paper and allow readers to locate complete source information in the reference section. In-text citations minimally require the last name of the author(s) and year of publication. These are included in parentheses immediately following the quote or reference. Page numbers are also included for direct quotes.
Example: (Smith, 2020, p. 17)
When paraphrasing or referring to an idea from another source, the author’s last name and year are cited. When directly quoting, the author’s last name, year, and page number are cited. Sources without page numbers use paragraph numbers (para. 4). For references with two authors, both last names are connected by “and” in the in-text citation. References with three to five authors initially include all last names in the in-text citation but are then abbreviated to just the first author’s last name plus “et al.” For six or more authors, only the first author’s last name and “et al.” are used in all in-text citations.
References Page
A References page is included at the end of a research paper that provides full bibliographic information for all in-text citations. The References page has a centered title “References” without formatting and is double-spaced like the rest of the paper. References are listed alphabetically by author’s last name or name of group author (for sources without individual authors).
All references have a hanging indent – meaning the first line of an entry is flush left and subsequent lines in an entry are indented. Elements included in every reference typically are author(s), date of publication, title of source, publication details. The references are formatted differently depending on whether they are books, journal articles, websites, etc. The Publication Manual of the APA has numerous examples for formatting the different types of sources.
Concluding Thoughts
Adhering to APA style guidelines for formatting and citations ensures research papers are presented professionally and sources are properly credited. Writers must use proper structure, layout, citation format, and reference lists in order meet the standards for scholarly communication. While it requires dedicated practice to master all aspects of APA style, applying the writing format appropriately establishes credibility and ethics in research. The basics of title pages, text body formatting, in-text citations, and references covered here provide a solid foundation for students and professionals to build upon as they develop their skills in academic and scientific communication.
Andrew Stroud