Professional Documents
Culture Documents
information.
otherwise.
otherwise.
participants.
author,
date,
title,
source
authors are now included before names are omitted with an ellipsis
standardized
longer used, and the words “Retrieved from” are used only when a
include the issue number, and book references now omit the publisher
location.
For consistency and ease of formatting, blogs and other online platforms
New, relevant legal reference examples are provided (e.g., the Every
New content helps early career researchers adapt a dissertation or thesis into a journal article or
articles
New guidance addresses how authors can share and promote their work following publication.
Order of Pages
All papers, including student papers, generally include a title page, text, and references. They
may include additional elements such as tables and figures depending on the assignment. Student
papers generally do not include an abstract unless requested.
title page
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abstract
text
references
footnotes
tables
figures
Appendices
SSCID rule
Title (Every First Letter of the Word Should Be Capital and Bold)
Student name
School/campus
Course name
Instructor/author
Due Date
Student Name, Institution, Course Name & Number, Instructor, and Due Date, all on
separate lin
Abstract
(Not usually necessary with student research papers. But check with instructor if the
abstract is to be included)
This is a brief summary of the contents of the paper. Usually not more than 250 words.
(0.5 inch) Keywords: APA style, citation, references, frustration (no period)
These are usually words, phrases or acronyms that describe the most important aspects of my
paper. Used for indexing in databases and help readers find your work during a search.
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Check with your instructor to see if an abstract and/or keywords are required for your
paper.
Headings:
Sub sections:
The APA style guidelines are designed for primary research papers that usually contain the
following sections:
(a) Introduction
(b) Method
(c) Results
(d) Discussion
(e) References
Papers that do not describe primary research or original experimental data may omit the method,
results, and discussion sections (Xyers, Young, Zucherman, & Anne, 2019, p. 291).
Most APA style papers written by students are not experimental; the organization of
headings and subheadings within the main body of the paper is therefore particularly important.
In certain cases, the author might use additional major sections, such as a literature review, to
introduce their own material.
Organizing the Main Body When There are Additional Content Concerns (level 3 heading) –
usually a sub-section of the level 2 heading
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Language Concerns in the Body of the Paper (level 4 heading). Sometimes, writers who are just
becoming comfortable with APA style, or with academic writing in general, will mimic academic
language in ways subtly less clear than writers who use academic register fluently. For example, one
might write the following sentence, which sounds academic to the mental ear, but in which almost
everything is done poorly:
During the preparatory process of elucidating the critical and fundamental elements of this
theory for analysis, it would be observed that certain subjective elements of the theory
would be excessively situational to the point of being non-applicable outside of the
theorists’ particular circumstances. (Goodwin, 2012a)
For block quotes, period comes before citation, if a quotation is 40 words or more, use a block quote format: new
line, indent ½ inch, double space, no quotation marks.
Parenthetical: Often, the rules of academic English, and American academic English in particular, are
presented as assumptions rather than with explicit guidance (Graham & Harris, 1997).
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