APA Writing Style

1. APA Writing Style American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: APA.

2. Basic Formatting • Margins 1 inch on all sides. • Always double space • Left justify • Begin page numbering on title page and thru the end.

3. Basic Formatting Continued • Indent paragraphs 5-7 spaces. There are no spaces between paragraphs. • Font: Times New Roman or Currier. Not the default font style in Word! • Use only one space after each sentence, not two.

4. Title Page • Running Head: THE EFFECTS OF DOPAMINE ON WHITE RATS’ MEMORY • The Title Block: The Effects Of Dopamine On White Rats’ Memory Ike Duran California State University Bakersfield

5. Headers • Create Headers on the title page and every page. • The Header is flush right. It is the first 2 or 3 words of the title, then 5 spaces to the right is the page number. • In Word, go to View Header and Footer. Tab twice to get to the far right of your header. Type in the short title, then space 5 times then. Then hit close.

6. Sections of the Paper • First is the Title Page • Then is the Abstract • Then the Text or Introduction section • The Introduction starts with the title, centered and double spaced.

7. How to write an introduction • It does not need a label. • State specific problem • Describes the research strategy • When reading other articles, notice how they write their own introductions!

8. How to write an introduction II • In a couple of paragraphs, the introduction should answer these questions: • Why is the problem important? • How do the hypothesis and exp design relate to the problem? • Theoretical implications and how does it relate to previous work in the area? • What theoretical propositions are tested?

9. Introduction, Developing the Background • The lit. review usually starts after the first 2 or 3 paragraphs. • Discuss relevant literature only. Don’t discuss work that is only tangentially related to your work. A sudden digression or change of course: went off on a tangent during the courtroom argument.

10. Lit Review continued • Discuss research that presents the continuity between past work and your present work. • State the purpose and rationale for your method. “Why did I do it this way?”

11. Wrapping up the introduction • Questions I should answer • What is my independent variable? • Dependent variable? • What results do I expect? • Why do I expect these results?