How To Write Using the APA Writing Style

The APA writing style is most commonly used to cite sources for psychology, education, and social sciences and is also the official writing style of the American Psychological Association. The General APA Organizational Guidelines are basic guidelines that explain how to write a research paper in the APA format. These guidelines ensure clear and consistent presentation of written material that differentiates from other writing styles because it concerns elements such as: Citations, punctuation, presentation of numbers, etc

There are four major sections in an APA paper. They consist of the title page, abstract, main body, and references. The title page of an APA paper has recently been changed in the publication of the sixth edition of the APA Publication Manual. In the title page a writer should include the title of the paper, the writer’s name, and the school affiliation. It is suggested that the title should be no more than 12 words, and when writing ones name, not to include titles or degree info such as Dr. or Ph.D. Also the title page should include, at the top of the page, a running head that is flush left and a page number that is flush right.

The abstract, one of the four major sections in an APA paper, is the section where one would summarize research that was conducted, the methods of which the thesis was tested, the findings of the research, the purpose of the research, the analysis of data, and conclusions. It should begin on a new page and already include the page header. “Abstract” should be centered on the first line of the abstract page with no bold, italics, underlining, or quotation marks. The abstract should be double-spaced and a single paragraph around 150 to 250 words. Keywords may be listed to h...

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...ieved June 18, 2011, from http://psychology.vanguard.edu/faculty/douglas-degelman/apa-style/

Driscoll, D. (2010, April 21). Purdue OWL: Writing in Psychology: Experimental Report Writing . Welcome to the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL). Retrieved June 22, 2011, from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/670/03/

Johns, J., Fox, T., & Silvia, R. (n.d.). APA Writing Style. DK Schools. Retrieved June 26, 2011, from dkschools1.org/Documents/apa%5B1%5D.pdf

Mongan-Rallis, H. (2006, November 17). Guidelines for writing a literature review . University of Minnesota Duluth Welcomes You. Retrieved June 22, 2011, from http://www.duluth.umn.edu/~hrallis/guides/researching/litreview.html

What is APA Style?. (n.d.). APA Style. Retrieved June 18, 2011, from http://www.apastyle.org/learn/faqs/what-is-apa-style.aspx?apaSessionKey=9E1D0F5CFDDB1694AFB05C302651AD48