How to write an APA style research paper?

Writing a research paper is not always easy and to most of you out there, it may just be one of the most difficult things to do while in school. In the end, this type of assignment can get quite complex and it will require a lot of time and effort from your behalf. However, by the end of it you will have felt how it truly feels to do academic or scientific research and you may even decide that you want to do this as a profession.

Most often, the MLA and the Chicago academic styles are more common than the APA style. However, if you have to write a psychology paper, a scientific paper, a mathematics paper or any paper that could be included in the field of the “exact” sciences out there, it is quite likely that you will be required to use the APA style.

Although it may be confusing at first to pass from your usual MLA academic style to APA, you should know that once you learn the basics and once you finish writing one paper in this style, everything will come much more naturally. Continue reading if you want to find out about the basic things everyone writing in the APA style should know.

  • When writing a research paper in this academic style, make sure that you have a so-called “running head” as header for each page contained by your paper. This running head will be a short form of the title of your entire paper and it will most likely include the very first words (do make sure that it does not take more than 50 characters).
  • The APA style uses the Times New Roman font (size 12), it is double-spaced and there should be uniform margins at the top, bottom and on the left and right sides.
  • Also, the top right corner of the page should contain the page number as well.
  • Make sure to include a title page in the APA format. To see how this looks, make sure to check with a sample or to ask your teacher about it.
  • Definitely include a reference list at the end of the paper. This is extremely important because you will want your readers to know where to go to check with certain pieces of information you included in the paper.
  • Last, but not least, make sure to insert references in the text as well. Although they are slightly different than those used in the MLA style, the APA style also uses the in-text (in between brackets) system of referencing. Again, make sure to check with a sample or with a teacher to know exactly how to do this, since it can be important if you do not want your work to be considered to be as plagiarized.

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Posted by December 3rd, 2014

 
 
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