STRUCTURING DOCUMENTS WITH APA AND MLA 1

STRUCTURING DOCUMENTS

WITH APA STYLE

IN MICROSOFT WORD
STRUCTURING DOCUMENTS WITH APA AND MLA 2

Ser No. Topic Name Page No.

1. Introduction of APA 3

2. History of APA 3

3. Using some basic steps for document structuring 4

4. Why is APA Style needed? 4

5. Review 5
STRUCTURING DOCUMENTS WITH APA AND MLA 3

INTRODUCTION OF APA

APA is the style of documentation of sources used by the American

Psychological Association. This form of writing research papers is used mainly in

the social sciences, like psychology, anthropology, sociology, as well as education

and other fields. APA Style provides a foundation for effective scholarly

communication because it helps writers present their ideas in a clear, precise, and

inclusive manner.

HISTORY OF APA

APA Style originated in 1929, when a group of psychologists,

anthropologists, and business managers convened and sought to establish a simple

set of procedures, or style guidelines, that would codify the many components of

scientific writing to increase the ease of reading comprehension. They published

their guidelines as a seven-page article in Psychological Bulletin describing a

“standard of procedure, to which exceptions would doubtless be necessary, but to

which reference might be made in cases of doubt” (Bentley et al., 1929, p. 57).
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Since then, the scope and length of the Publication Manual have grown in

response to the needs of researchers, students, and educators across the social

and behavioral sciences, health care, natural sciences, humanities, and more;

however, the spirit of the original authors’ intentions remains.

USING SOME BASIC STEPS FOR DOCUMENT STRUCTURING

Using some steps for structuring documents in Microsoft Word by APA:-

1. Set the Margins to One Inch. Basics.

2. Set the Spacing to Double. Basics.

3. Create a Title for Your Paper. Basics.

4. Add Page Numbers to the Header. Basics.

5. Create the Title Page. Basics.

6. Set Up the References List. The references list should be on a new page,

and should be the last section of your paper.

Why is APA Style needed?

Uniformity and consistency enable readers to (a) focus on the ideas being

presented rather than formatting and (b) scan works quickly for key points,

findings, and sources.

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Style guidelines encourage authors to fully disclose essential information

and allow readers to dispense with minor distractions, such as inconsistencies or

omissions in punctuation, capitalization, in-text citations, references, and

presentation of statistics.

When style works best, ideas flow logically, sources are credited

appropriately, and papers are organized predictably and consistently. People are

described using language that affirms their worth and dignity. Authors plan for

ethical compliance and report critical details of their research protocol to allow

readers to evaluate findings and other researchers to potentially replicate the

studies. Tables and figures present data in an engaging, consistent manner.

Whether you use APA Style for a single class or throughout your career, we

encourage you to recognize the benefits of a conscientious approach to writing.

Although the guidelines span many areas and take time and practice to learn, we

hope that they provide a balance of directiveness and flexibility and will eventually

become second nature.

REVIEW

APA Style covers the aspects of scholarly writing most pertinent to writing

in psychology, nursing, business, communications, engineering, and related fields. It

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specifically addresses the preparation of draft manuscripts being submitted for

publication in a journal and the preparation of student papers being submitted for

a course assignment.

The Publication Manual does not cover general rules explained in widely

available style books and examples of usage with little relevance to the behavioral

and social sciences. Among the most helpful general guides to editorial style

are Words Into Type (Skillin & Gay, 1974) and the Chicago Manual of Style (17th

ed.; University of Chicago Press, 2017).

Style manuals agree more often than they disagree. Where they disagree,

the Publication Manual, because it is based on the special requirements of

psychology, takes precedence for APA publications.

APA Style promotes consistency in writing, and the APA Style team values

the same in developing APA Style guidelines. Consistency of style helps authors

learn and apply the guidelines correctly over time. However, to reflect changing

standards and new developments in research, writing, publishing, and more, any

needed changes or updates to APA Style are documented on the Updates and

Additions to APA Style page.

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STRUCTURING DOCUMENTS WITH APA AND MLA 7

STRUCTURING DOCUMENTS

WITH MLA STYLE

IN MICROSOFT WORD
STRUCTURING DOCUMENTS WITH APA AND MLA 8

Ser No. Topic Name Page No.

1. Introduction of MLA 9

2. History of MLA 9

3. Using some basic steps for document structuring 9

4. Using MLA Style 10

5. Review 10
STRUCTURING DOCUMENTS WITH APA AND MLA 9

INTRODUCTION OF MLA

MLA Style is an abbreviation for the Modern Language Association Style. It's a way of

citing research and tackling grammatical issues for people writing within the liberal arts and

humanities.

HISTORY OF MLA

If you've ever felt like MLA and APA styles are rival citation formats, you're actually

kind of right. MLA Style was created in 1931, just two years after APA Style. MLA members

Carleton Brown and Cyril Arthur Peerenboom invented the style to create a consistent look and,

more importantly, consistent grammatical and citation rules for the scholarly journal the

association published. MLA had a few bugs to work out in its early days, such as choosing to use

in-text citations instead of footnotes. Now in its eighth edition, the style has evolved into a

helpful, world-renowned citation method for writers of all experience levels.

USING SOME BASIC STEPS FOR DOCUMENT STRUCTURING

Using some steps for structuring documents in Microsoft Word by MLA:-

1. One inch margins on sides, top and bottom.

2. Use Times or Times New Roman 12 pt font.

3. Double-space the text of the paper.

4. Use left-justified text, which will have a ragged right edge. ...

5. Indent the first word of each paragraph 1/2".

6. Indent block quotes 1".

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Using MLA style

The style guide's parent organization, the MLA, shares the ins and outs of MLA citations

on its website. The MLA Style Center offers free resources, such as citation quick guides, a

FAQs section, style blogs, and even a formatting template to help you set your paper up the right

way. You can also check out Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (Purdue OWL) for MLA

formatting and citation guidelines and helpful video tutorials.

REVIEW

A Review. To cite a review, include the title of the review (if available), then the phrase,

“Review of” and provide the title of the work (in italics for books, plays, and films; in quotation

marks for articles, poems, and short stories). Finally, provide performance and/or publication

information. Review Author.

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