This is what your title page
should look like.
The elements should be located
at the top half of the page and
should be centered between
margins. It should include:
The title
Your name
Institutional Affiliation
Please note the page header,
also called the running head.
Running head: DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY PAPER
My Awesome Developmental
Psychology Paper
James C. Braun
Brevard Community College
1
Running head: DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY PAPER
The running head is flush left.
On the title page only, it starts with
Running Head:
Then the running head.
The running head should be a shortened
version of the entire title.
The page number is flush right.
Below is an example of a running head on
the title page.
The title is My Developmental
Psychology Paper, notice how the running
head summarizes the title.
Running Head: DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
My Awesome Developmental
Psychology Paper
James C. Braun
Brevard Community College
1
The abstract is not a part of this assignment but to find out
more about the APA abstract, please consult:
http://www.apastyle.org
http://owl.english.purdue.edu
At the top of the page, place the title of the paper in its entirety then
indent the next line and begin your introduction. All paragraphs are
indented and double spaced.
Running head (notice that you do not type in running head any more,
simply place the header in all capitals.
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY PAPER
2
My Awesome Developmental Psychology Paper
Developmental psychology is the study of changes throughout the human life
span. Two of the main founders of this branch of psychology is Jean Piaget, Erick
Erickson and Sigmund Freud; however it was a gentleman by the name of G. Stanley
Hall that is credited with officially founding developmental psychology. He was also
Running head (notice that it is a
summary of the actual title)
Title of the paper
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY PAPER
Indent and begin
introduction
My Awesome Developmental Psychology Paper
Developmental psychology is the study of changes throughout the human life
span. Two of the main founders of this branch of psychology is Jean Piaget, Erick
Erickson and Sigmund Freud; however it was a gentleman by the name of G. Stanley
Hall that is credited with officially founding developmental psychology. He was also
2
The first paragraph of your paper is your introduction. It should cover
only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with
specific evidence.
The thesis is usually the last sentence of the introduction.
Please note, your thesis is an essential part of your paper. Having a weak
or no thesis at all will substantially hurt your grade.
After your introduction, consider using a heading.
This assignment is considered an APA general format, thus headings are
optional. With specific formats, there are required subtopics such as “Method”
or “Results”.
In the general format the use of headings help organize the paper. The number
of headings in the paper are determined by the author's topic and treatment of
the topic. The heading should help organize the paper. Examples would be:
My Adolescent Years
or
The Longitudinal Study
Headings are centered and boldfaced, with the first letter of each major word
capitalized. Avoid abbreviations in headings
An example of
a heading
The conclusion is the last paragraph in the body of the paper. It should
not introduce any new evidence; instead, it should synthesize in a
meaningful way the information already present in the paper.
In this assignment, your conclusion will be looked at closely. Having a
weak conclusion, or no conclusion, will result in a significant loss of
points.
When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text
citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of
publication for the source should appear in the text.
Example:
(Jones, 1998)
A complete reference should appear in the reference list at the end of the
paper.
The last page of the paper is your reference page. At the top, centered
(without bolding, underlining or using quote marks) type References.
All text on your reference page should be double-spaced just like the
rest of your essay.
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY PAPER
10
References
Smith, G. R., & Ferguson, T. T. (2001).Sigmund Freud: Champion of the
unconscious. St. Paul, MN: Worth
The following slides where taken from:
Drew C. Appleby, PhD
Department of Psychology
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Why and How to Write APA- Style References in the Body and
Reference Section of Your Papers. Found at www.ulib.iupui.edu
Dr. Appleby’s entire PowerPoint presentation is located in the folder
titled “In-text Citations and Reference Page”
 Who wrote this document?
 When was it written?
 What was its title?
 Where was it published?
 Who published it?
Suppose you paraphrased information from a book
titled Sigmund Freud: Champion of the Unconscious
by Gerald R. Smith and Thomas T. Ferguson that was
published by Worth Publishers of St. Paul, Minnesota
in 2001.
Smith, G. R., & Ferguson, T. T.
Smith, G. R., & Ferguson, T. T. (2001).
Smith, G. R., & Ferguson, T. T. (2001). Sigmund
Freud: Champion of the unconscious.
Smith, G. R., & Ferguson, T. T. (2001). Sigmund Freud:
Champion of the unconscious. St. Paul, MN:
If two or more publisher locations are given, use the location
listed first in the book or, if specified, the location of the
publisher’s home office.
Smith, G. R., & Ferguson, T. T. (2001).Sigmund Freud:
Champion of the unconscious. St. Paul, MN: Worth
Include only the publisher’s name, without any
unnecessary words like Publisher, Co., or Inc., but do
retain the words Books or Press.
For further information on how to write in the APA
format, please visit the following websites.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/05
http://www.apastyle.org