The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) is an excellent resource for learning the publication style of the American Psychological Association (APA). Developed and maintained by experts in writing and style at Purdue University, the OWL provides comprehensive guidelines for writing research papers in APA style. Some key things to know about formatting an APA style paper according to the guidelines set forth by the Purdue OWL include:
Document Formatting
APA style papers use one-inch margins and are double-spaced throughout. This includes the title page, abstract, body text, footnotes or endnotes, reference list, tables, and figure captions. All text should be formatted using an easily readable font like Times New Roman with a size of 12 points. Page numbers are placed in the top right corner of each page, starting with the title page numbered as page 1.
Title Page
The title page should contain a running head that is a shortened version of the paper title in all capital letters that is flush left. The page number for the title page is page 1 and is included in the header. Below the running head is the full title of the paper, author’s name, and affiliation in centered, uppercase and lowercase letters.
Abstract
The abstract provides a brief summary of the entire paper in 150-250 words. It concisely describes the topic, research questions or hypotheses, participants, methods, results, data analysis, and conclusions. The heading Abstract is centered and typed in boldface. The text of the abstract is single-spaced and indented 0.5 inches from the left margin.
Section Headings
There are five heading levels in APA. The top level is centered and bolded, while subsequent levels are left-aligned and bolded or italicized. Section headings and subsequent text are separated by a blank line and are not indented.
Level 1 Heading: Centered, Boldfaced, Title Case Heading
Level 2 Heading: Left-aligned, Boldfaced, Title Case Heading
Level 3 Heading: Left-aligned, Italicized, Title Case Heading
Level 4 Heading: Indented, boldfaced, lowercase heading with period. End with a period.
Level 5 Heading: Indented, italicized, lowercase heading with period. End with a period.
Reference List and Citations
References are arranged alphabetically by author’s last name. References should appear as a separate section at the end of the paper with the centered heading References, in the same font and size as the rest of the paper. Directly quoted or paraphrased text requires an in-text APA citation. The author’s last name, year of publication, and page number if available are included in parentheses after the cited information. If no year is available, use “n.d.”.
Common APA Mistakes
Some common mistakes to avoid when formatting an APA style paper according to Purdue OWL standards include: inconsistent formatting of section headings, not separating references by a blank line, improper capitalization of titles in the paper/reference list, incorrect page header/number format, improper indentation of block quotes or headings, improper in-text citations, incorrect font type or size, lack of running head, inconsistent margins, or incorrect abstract formatting. Careful proofreading is important to avoid losing points for stylistic errors.
The Purdue OWL is an authoritative source for answering questions about properly formatting papers according to the APA manual. Knowing the key elements like title page setup, section headings, citations, and reference list order and formatting are crucial. Paying close attention to style guidelines will help students produce papers that conform to APA standards. Formatting may seem trivial, but consistency and attention to detail are important for academic credibility. Understanding guidelines set forth by resources like Purdue OWL ensures research papers meet all formatting requirements.