How to Write an Essay using APA Style
HOW TO WRITE AN ESSAY USING APA STYLE
Thesis Statement
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The thesis statement is the most important part of your paper. It states your purpose to your audience.
In your thesis statement, you explain what your paper will prove. For most academic writing, your thesis
should identify your subject and take a position on that subject. A strong thesis statement will direct the
structure of the essay. The thesis should be explicitly stated somewhere in the opening paragraphs of
your paper, most often as the last sentence of the introduction. Often a thesis will be one sentence, but
for complex subjects, you may find it less awkward to break the thesis into two sentences.
TIPS to Create a Successful Thesis Statement:
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One sentence lengh
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Create a Statement, NOT a question
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Identify the subject
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Tell the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper
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Be bold and make a claim that others might dispute!
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Images retrieved from Microsoft Word Clip Arts
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How to Write an Essay Using APA Style | Rev. 4/11/2013 Durian, N & Lekkerkerk, M.
How to Write an Essay using APA Style
What is a “Thesis”?

“A thesis is an idea, stated as an assertion, that represents a reasoned response to a question at
issue and that serves as the central idea of a composition”.

A thesis statement declares what you believe and what you intend to prove.

A thesis answers the question “What do I want readers to understand, believe, or do after they
read my essay that they may not understand, believe, or do before they read my essay.
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A thesis is the “centerpiece” of an essay—i.e. its main point/idea and its driving force, its reason
for being.

It represents a reasoned response to a question at issue (i.e. it engages a conflict the audience
cares about).

Is rooted firmly in what one knows (i.e. evidence and logic). It is the product of inquiry and
deliberation. It is not an unexamined belief or knee-jerk response.

It is worded as an assertion, not as a question or as a fragment. Assertions propose ideas to
which one might respond, “I agree” or “I disagree.”

It is clearly and precisely worded.

The thesis statement is typically located at the end of your opening paragraph. (The opening
paragraph serves to set the context for the thesis.)
Attributes of a good thesis:
 It provides the reader with a map to guide him/her
through your work.

It anticipates and refutes the counter-arguments

It avoids vague language (like "it seems").

It avoids the first person. ("I believe," "In my
Remember: your
reader will be looking
for your thesis. Make
it clear, strong, and
easy to find.
opinion")
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How to Write an Essay Using APA Style | Rev. 4/11/2013 Durian, N & Lekkerkerk, M.
How to Write an Essay using APA Style
Useful Formula for Thesis Statements
If you're not sure whether you have a good thesis statement, see whether you can fit your ideas into
one of these basic patterns.
1. [Something] [does something] because [reason(s)].
2. Because [reason(s)], [something] [does something].
3. Although [opposing evidence], [reasons] show [Something] [does something].
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How to Write an Essay Using APA Style | Rev. 4/11/2013 Durian, N & Lekkerkerk, M.
How to Write an Essay using APA Style
Body
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What is a Paragraph?
A paragraph is a collection of related sentences dealing with a single topic. Learning to write good
paragraphs will help you as a writer stay on track during your drafting and revision stages. Good
paragraphing also greatly assists your readers in following a piece of writing. You can have fantastic
ideas, but if those ideas aren't presented in an organized fashion, you will lose your readers (and fail to
achieve your goals in writing).
The Basic Rule: Keep One Idea to One Paragraph
The basic rule of thumb with paragraphing is to keep one idea to one paragraph. If you begin to
transition into a new idea, it belongs in a new paragraph. There are some simple ways to tell if you are
on the same topic or a new one. You can have one idea
and several bits of supporting evidence within a single
paragraph. You can also have several points in a single
paragraph as long as they relate to the overall topic of
the paragraph. If the single points start to get long,
then perhaps elaborating on each of them and placing
them in their own paragraphs is the route to go.
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Some methods to make sure your paragraph are well-developed:
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Use examples and illustrations
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Compare and contrast
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Cite data (facts, statistics, evidence,
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Evaluate causes and reasons
details, and others)
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Examine effects and consequences
Examine testimony (what other people
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Analyze the topic
say such as quotes and paraphrases)
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Describe the topic
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Use an anecdote or story
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Offer a chronology of an event (time
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Define terms in the paragraph
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segments)
How to Write an Essay Using APA Style | Rev. 4/11/2013 Durian, N & Lekkerkerk, M.
How to Write an Essay using APA Style
How do I know when to start a new paragraph?
You should start a new paragraph when:
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When you begin a new idea or point. New ideas should always start in new
paragraphs. If you have an extended idea that spans multiple paragraphs,
each new point within that idea should have its own paragraph.

To contrast information or ideas. Separate paragraphs can serve to
contrast sides in a debate, different points in an argument, or any
other difference.

When your readers need a pause. Breaks in paragraphs function as
a short "break" for your readers—adding these in will help your
writing more readable. You would create a break if the paragraph
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becomes too long or the material is complex.

When you are ending your introduction or starting your conclusion. Your introductory and
concluding material should always be in a new paragraph. Many introductions and conclusions
have multiple paragraphs depending on their content, length, and the writer's purpose.
Sample Body Paragraph
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How to Write an Essay Using APA Style | Rev. 4/11/2013 Durian, N & Lekkerkerk, M.
How to Write an Essay using APA Style
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How to Write an Essay Using APA Style | Rev. 4/11/2013 Durian, N & Lekkerkerk, M.
How to Write an Essay using APA Style
Conclusion
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This section is your last chance to persuade your readers to your point of view, to impress yourself upon
them as a writer and thinker. The end of an essay should convey a sense of completeness and closure as
well as a sense of the lingering possibilities of the topic, its larger meaning, and its implications: the final
paragraph should close the discussion without closing it off.
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How to Write an Essay Using APA Style | Rev. 4/11/2013 Durian, N & Lekkerkerk, M.
How to Write an Essay using APA Style
Sample conclusion
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To establish a sense of closure, you might do one or more of the following:

Conclude by linking the last paragraph to the first, perhaps by reiterating a word or phrase or
image you used at the beginning.

Conclude with a sentence composed mainly of one-syllable words. Simple language can help
create an effect of understated drama.

Conclude with a sentence that's compound or parallel in structure; such sentences can establish
a sense of balance or order that may feel just right at the end of a complex discussion.
To close the discussion without closing it off, you might do one or more of the following:

Conclude with a quotation from or reference to a primary or secondary source, one that
amplifies your main point or puts it in a different perspective. A quotation from, say, the novel
or poem you're writing about can add texture and specificity to your discussion; a critic or
scholar can help confirm or complicate your final point. For example, you might conclude an
essay on the idea of home in James Joyce's short story collection, Dubliners, with information
about Joyce's own complex feelings towards Dublin, his home. Or you might end with a
biographer's statement about Joyce's attitude towards Dublin, which
could illuminate his characters' responses to the city. Just be careful,
especially about using secondary material: make sure that you get the
last word.
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How to Write an Essay Using APA Style | Rev. 4/11/2013 Durian, N & Lekkerkerk, M.
How to Write an Essay using APA Style
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Conclude by setting your discussion into a different, perhaps larger, context. For example, you
might end an essay on nineteenth-century journalism by linking it to a current news magazine
program like 60 Minutes.
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Conclude by redefining one of the key terms of your argument. For example, an essay on
Marx's treatment of the conflict between wage labor and capital might begin with Marx's claim
that the "capitalist economy is . . . a gigantic enterprise of dehumanization"; the essay might end
by suggesting that Marxist analysis is itself dehumanizing because it interprets everything in
economic rather than moral or ethical terms.

Conclude by considering the implications of your argument (or analysis or discussion). What
does your argument imply, involve, or suggest? For example, an essay on the novel Ambiguous
Adventure, by the Senegalese writer Cheikh Hamidou Kane, might open with the idea that the
protagonist's development suggests Kane's belief in the need to integrate Western materialism
and Sufi spirituality in modern Senegal. The conclusion might make the new but related point
that the novel on the whole suggests that such an integration is (or isn't) possible.
Finally, some advice on how NOT to end an essay:

Don't simply summarize your essay. A brief summary of your
argument may be useful, especially if your essay is long -more
than ten pages or so. But shorter essays tend not to require a
restatement of your main ideas.

Avoid phrases like "in conclusion," "to conclude," "in
summary," and "to sum up." These phrases can be useful -even
welcome -in oral presentations. But readers can see, by the
telltale compression of the pages, when an essay is about to
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end. You'll irritate your audience if you state the obvious.
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How to Write an Essay Using APA Style | Rev. 4/11/2013 Durian, N & Lekkerkerk, M.
How to Write an Essay using APA Style
Additional Resources
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The following resources offer additional information about writing an essay:
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American University in Cairo: http://www1.aucegypt.edu/academic/writers/research.htm
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*Brandman University’s Online Writing Community (OWC): Go to www.brandman.edu and
login to MyBrandman to access the OWC.
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*Chapman University, Leatherby Libraries Style Guides:
http://www1.chapman.edu/library/reference/styles.html
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Illinois State University Sample Paper: http://my.ilstu.edu/~jhkahn/APAsample.pdf
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Palomar College: http://www.palomar.edu/library/guide/puttingitogether.htm
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Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL): http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/
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University of New Hampshire: http://www.unh.edu/writing/cwc/handouts/
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University of Richmond Writing Center:
http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/started.html
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University of Texas at El Paso:
http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/engl1311/intro_conclu.htm
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University of Wisconsin-Madison: http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/process.html
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How to Write an Essay Using APA Style | Rev. 4/11/2013 Durian, N & Lekkerkerk, M.