Running head: SHORT FORM OF TITLE (now appears on every page)
Title of Paper
Your Name
Your University
Your School of Engineering, Social Sciences, etc
Number and Name of Course
Instructor's Name
Date of Paper
Any author's notes should be entered here, flush left
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Running head: SHORT FORM OF TITLE (now appears on every page)
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Abstract
The abstract (in block format) begins on the line following the Abstract heading. The abstract is generally
between 150 and 250 words. Any number that is expressed in an abstract should be expressed as a
numeral and not text. It is a single paragraph and is not indented. All numbers in the abstract (except
those beginning a sentence) should be typed as digits rather than words. The abstract is a 1 paragraph,
summary of the most important information in the paper. This is only 96 words; a .real abstract would be
about double this length.
Keywords: five or six keywords should be included at the end of the Abstract.
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Title of Paper (Does not Count as Heading)
The introduction to the paper should not have a name, especially not "Introduction"
(American Psychological Association, 2009). The first part of the document is assumed to be the
introduction. This information is given on page 63 in the new APA guidelines.
Spacing, Indentation, and Headings (Level One Heading)
Paragraphs are indented one half inch and the space key should never be used to set the
indention. Instead, the Tab key should be used. The paper should be double spaced and
everything in the paper, including quotations, should be double spaced. The only exception
would be to allow an additional line before a complicated table or figure. Another change is that
there is now a double space after each punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. Remember that
paragraphs in an actual paper should never be shorter than three sentences.
The paper's title should appear on the page that follows the abstract. It should be
centered on the first line of text. The title should not be underlined and none of the text should
be underlined. If a particular point requires emphasis it should be italicized, although in general
the point should be made with the words and not the type face.
Many of the headings are now italicized. Capitalization and format of headings depend
upon level of headings; these are illustrated here. Do not begin a new page with each new
heading. In a standard paper, only the abstract, the first page of the paper, the reference page,
and any appendixes begin on new pages. This paper illustrates all five levels of heading: styles.
In-text Citations (Level One Heading)
In-text citations consist of author's last name, followed by year of publication. Citations
may appear in the running text or within parentheses. Here are some examples.
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Example One (Level Two Heading)
Zager and Evans (2003) stated that .(etc.).
Example Two (Level Two Heading)
Maxx and Rogers (2003) reported that .(etc.).
Note that the word and is used in the in text references. However, if the reference were
parenthetical (Tyson & Hill, 2007), the reference would use an ampersand. In both cases the
date follows the author's name. One big change is that the date of the reference is now given
only once per paragraph for each source.
Example Three, or first subdivision of level two, or the Level Three Heading. If you
need to subdivide a level two heading into sections, use level three headings as illustrated here.
Remember to make each paragraph at least three sentences long. Remember that if you have a
level three heading, you must have a second level three heading. You cannot have only one level
three, four, or five heading.
Second subdivision of level two, or the Level Three Heading. Remember that you
need at least two headings at each level.
Example four, or first subdivision of level three, or the Level Four Heading. If you
need to subdivide a level three heading into sections, use level four headings as illustrated here.
Remember that if you have a level four heading, you must have a second level four heading.
You cannot have only one level three, four, or five heading.
Second subdivision of level three, or the Level Four Heading. Remember that you need
at least two headings at each level.
First subdivision of level four, or the (Level Five Heading. If you need to subdivide a
level four heading into sections, use level five headings as illustrated here.
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Second subdivision of level four, or the Level Five Heading. Remember that you need at
least two headings at each level, each with three sentences or more.
Quotations
In general you should paraphrase rather than quote. If you do have to quote, quotes of
less than 40 words are placed inside double quotes in the text and the page number of the quote
is given. "This is how it is done" (p. 12). If the quote is 40 words or more it should be set off in
a block indented one-half inch from the left margin. If the quote contains more than one
paragraph then the second paragraph is indented an additional five spaces. It looks like this:
Assume that this quote is really forty words long. Note that the first line of the quote is
not indented, even if it is the beginning of the paragraph.
Any additional paragraph, however, would need to be indented. Again, assume
this quote is forty words or more (Michaels, 2009, pg. 12).
At this point the paper would continue in the normal way. This would be another
paragraph and it would be at least three sentences long.
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References
American Greyhound Association. (2004). Internet document with no publications date (assume
this is the title of the article). Retrieved from
http://www.americangreyhound.org/content.asp?contentid=173
Janes, J. T. (Ed.). (1991). Cooking for the disabled. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Johnson, S. L. (2008). Autism in the Amish. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 12(2), 209-235.
doi:15.1067/0028-147X.138.2.252
Notes: Note that in the reference list, only one space is used after the period at the end ot the
sentence. Also, don't tab or space at the beginning of the line. Instead use a hanging indent. This
offers you one other advantage in the latest version of word: you can auto sort them. This means
that you can do a long paper and type references as they come rather than alphabetize. Then, you
can auto-alphabetize. To do this, Make sure you use auto-hanging indents. Then highlight the
first word of the first reference in the list. Highlight everything up to and including the last word
of the last reference, but don't highlight the title "References". Once you have done this, click
"home". In the middle of menu screen there is a sort icon (AZ with an arrow). Click this. Then
choose Paragraph, text, ascending (which is usually the default, unless you have somehow
changed it). Click okay, and it will sort the references for you. Once you have read this, you can
delete it.