Writing an APA Style Essay
February 27th, 2010
The APA style of documentation refers to the rules and requirements described by the American Psychological Association while documenting research papers or dissertations in subjects such as social sciences and arts. Writing an APA style essay refers to writing it and formatting it according to the APA norms and guidelines. This kind of style is used for writing term papers, case studies, literature reviews and research reports. When you format your essay according to the APA style, you will need to adhere to rules around typeface, line spacing, margins, page headers, footers etc. Here are some guidelines around writing an APA style essay.
- Font: Use only Times New Roman or a similar serif font. Retain the font size at 12.
- Spacing: Have only double spacing in the entire report or document. Double spacing is required after titles, sub-headings, quotes, figure captions, references, foot notes etc.
- Margins: Ensure that you have one inch margin on all sides of the document.
- Page Header and Footer: Make sure to include a header and footer on every page. The title and the page number are also mandatory on every page.
- Include an indent of about half an inch for the first line of every paragraph. Text should be left aligned with no specific alignment at the right.
- Tables and figures should begin on a new page each.
- The format of the document should be in the following order – Title page, Abstract, Main body of the document, References, Appendix.
- Citations are very important, if you’ve used a reference or another writer’s words or ideas. The format of the citation should include the author’s last name, the year of publication, and the page number. For instance, the format should be as follows: Cook, 1987, pp. 34-35). Then, ensure that you mention all details about the author in the references. Note that citing the page number is not mandatory at all times. You need to mention it only if you’re referring to and quoting from a particular source. Otherwise, just having the author’s name and year will suffice.
- If citing multiple authors, mention all the names followed by the year.
- In the references, mention the authors’ names in alphabetical order, starting with the last name and the initials of the first names. This is followed by the publication date, title, publisher details and so on.
- References going on to the 2nd and 3rd lines are to be indented by half an inch.
- The references list is important because it serves as a comprehensive list of resources for your reader. Therefore, make sure that you make it as informative as possible and maintain the correct format.
The APA Style essay has been used by many disciplines and many writers around the world prefer using this style in their work. It is important to maintain consistency and standard in scientific publications. Therefore, the APA Style essay is highly preferred in these kinds of writings. Remember to remain focused on the facts and concentrate on the formatting guidelines to write the right APA style essay. Also, take some time out to look up some essay samples online to gain more idea of this kind of writing.
