The American Psychological Association (APA) style is a widely used citation and formatting style for research papers in the social sciences, including psychology, sociology, economics, and political science. It is important to properly format your college paper using the APA style to ensure that it is easy to read and professional in appearance.
The basic structure of an APA-formatted paper includes a title page, abstract, main body, and references.
The title page should include the title of the paper, the author's name, and the institutional affiliation (e.g., the university you attend). The title should be centered on the page and written in title case (i.e., only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized).
The abstract is a brief summary of the paper that should be no more than 250 words. It should provide an overview of the research question, methods, results, and conclusions. The abstract should be written in a single paragraph and should not contain any citations.
The main body of the paper should be divided into sections with headings. In the APA style, there are five levels of headings: Level 1 is the main heading, Level 2 is a subheading of the main heading, Level 3 is a subheading of the Level 2 heading, and so on. Headings should be written in title case and left-aligned.
In-text citations are used to give credit to the sources you used in your paper. In the APA style, the author's last name and the year of publication should be included in the in-text citation. For example, "According to Smith (2020)..."
The references section should include a list of all the sources cited in the paper, including books, articles, and online sources. The references should be listed in alphabetical order by the author's last name. The reference list should be double-spaced and each entry should be formatted according to the APA style guidelines.
It is important to carefully follow the APA style guidelines when formatting your college paper. Not only does this help to ensure that your paper is professional in appearance, but it also helps to ensure that your research is accurately and properly credited.