Based on the Sixth Ed.

of the Publication Manual of the American Psycholog

Association. Updated September 19, 2012.

PROVIDE A “RUNNING HEAD” OR
SHORT TITLE OF YOUR PAPER IN
ALL CAPS FOR EACH PAGE OF THE Each page is numbered
PAPER starting with the title page.
Running head: WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS 1

The recommended typeface is Times

New Roman with a 12 point font size.

The title of your paper is centered and

positioned in the upper half of the page. It
should be no longer than 12 words.

A Guide for Writing APA Style Research Papers

Susan B. Smith Student’s name: first, middle initial, last.

Capital Community College

Institutional affiliation

WRITING RESEARCH An abstract is a

PAPERS brief
The running head or short title comprehensive
summary of the
 paper between 150 and 250 words. Do not add to 2
or comment on the body of the work here. It
provides the reader with a brief overview of the
article. Page number

Abstract

This paper is a guide to writing a general paper in according to the Publication Manual
Type the
abstract in of the American Psychological Association. The guide instructs a user on how to format
block format,
one paragraph, a paper in APA style, illustrating structure, style and content, as well as presenting detailed
no indentations
and double
examples of references cited, including print examples of books, magazine articles and
spaced.
reference works. Additional examples are provided for electronic versions of the above.

Keywords: APA, research papers, format, style guide

Check with your instructor to

see if an abstract and/or
keywords are required
elements of your paper.
 Page 3 begins the body of the paper.

1 inch
Running head on every page margin

WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS 3

Type and center the title
A Guide for Writing APA Style Research Papers of the paper on this page.
Do not bold or underline.
There are several different types of articles appropriate for publication in the

APA or American Psychological Association style. These include reports of empirical

1 inch margins
on all sides studies, literature reviews, theoretical articles, methodological articles, and case studies. 1 inch margins
on all sides.
Each of these types of articles follows a proscribed format. Refer to the Publication Leave right side
ragged and do
Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition for the most up to date not hyphenate
words.
and comprehensive details of setting up your manuscript. This paper will serve as a

general guide only, and as always, your instructor has the final word on the format and
The heading
style style required for the assigned paper.
recommended
by APA consists Level 1 Heading Method
of 5 possible
formatting
arrangements. A research paper presents the results of your investigations on a selected topic.
Check with your
instructor and/or Based on your own thoughts and the facts and ideas you have gathered from a variety of
the APA Manual 2 spaces after a
section 3.02 for sources, a research paper is a creation that is uniquely yours. The experience of punctuation mark
further guidance helps the reader.
regarding gathering, interpreting, and documenting information, developing and organizing ideas
headings.
and conclusions, and communicating them clearly will prove to be an important and

satisfying part of your education. Generally, the formatting of citations recommended

below is based on the American Psychological Association guidelines. Your instructor

may require another format. It is important to follow consistently and accurately a

recommended format that is clear and concise and that has been approved by your

teacher. This guide may suffice for most students' needs for most academic purposes, but

for advanced research projects it is by no means a substitute for the Publication Manual
1 inch
margin
 Quotations

WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS 4

of the American Psychological Association Sixth Edition (2010). That handbook can be

purchased in most bookstores and copies should be available in every college and
Quotations
municipal library. This guide and a guide similar to this one, but based on the MLA fewer than
40 words are
style, are available online. “Your best source of advice on all these matters is, of course, incorporated
into the text
using quote
your instructor and your library professionals” (Darling, 2008, p. 98). marks. Cite
the specific
Once your topic has been approved, gather information from authoritative sources: page of the
quote.
pertinent books, encyclopedias, and articles in magazines, journals, and newspapers.

Librarians will be happy to show you how to use the various research tools
If a quotation is
40 or more
within the library and may suggest other sources of information. Important new resources
words, start a
new line, using
a block are now available to you through electronic services which provide many learning and
quotation;
indent as if a reference tools as well as access to the Internet, where you can often discover an
new paragraph,
double space, abundance of information. Depending on the resources available and the length
and do not use
quotation of your assignment, you may find it necessary to widen or restrict the scope of your
marks.
topic (Darling, 2008, pp. 96-97).
If you are instructed by your professor
Level 1 Heading Discussion to use headings, refer to section 3.02
of the Publication Manual of the APA.
Using someone else's ideas or phrasing and representing those ideas as your own,

either on purpose or through carelessness, is a serious offense known as plagiarism.

Ideas or phrasing includes written or spoken material, from whole papers

and paragraphs to sentences, and, indeed, phrases but it also includes statistics, lab

results, art work, etc. Someone else can mean a professional source, such as a published
 Citing references in text
Options 1, 2, and 3 are all acceptable
formats for pointing to the source listed
on the reference page.

WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS 5

writer or critic in a book, magazine, encyclopedia, journal or in an electronic resource

such as material you discover on the Internet; another student at your school or

anywhere else; or a paper-writing service which offers to sell written papers for a fee.

Option #1 Newton (2011) found that he penalty for plagiarism is usually determined by the instructor

teaching the course; in many schools and colleges, it could involve failure for the paper and

it could mean failure for the entire course and even expulsion from school. At the very

least, however, students who plagiarize have cheated themselves out of the experience of

being responsible members of the academic community and have cheated their classmates
Option #2
by pretending to contribute something original which is, in fact, a cheap copy (Newton,
or
2011).
Summary and Concluding Discussion (Newton, 2011, Chapter 3)
or
(Newton, 2011, p. 11)
One-inch margins at the top, bottom, right and left sides are now required by APA.

Double spacing is required throughout the paper. In 2011 Newton stated that if you wish to
Option #3
use single spacing for quotations of verse and drama because it more nearly approximates

what the poet would want, you must consult with your instructor before doing so.

Each page is numbered consecutively including title page and reference page. Type the

numbers in the upper right-hand corner using Arabic numerals. Arrange the manuscript as

follows: title page, abstract, body of the paper, and reference page. A short title is used
Personal
communication, throughout the paper. R. Newton (personal communication, July 20, 2012) states that the
option #1
short title is a two or three word derivation of the title of the paper. If the title of your paper

were Understanding Patterns of Byzantine Intrigue, the short title could be Byzantine

Intrigue (R. Newton, personal communication, July 20, 2012).

Personal communication, option #2

Do not include references to personal

communications, such as letters, emails,
interviews, telephone conversations on the
reference page as they are not recoverable.
You may however cite them in-text. What you
cite should have scholarly relevance.
 APA Style
Arrange entries in alphabetical order by the
author’s last name, or if no author, by the 1st
word in the citation.

Include page number in upper right corner

WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER 6

Use Times New Roman 12 point font.
References

Darling, C. (2008). Saints of diminished capacity. New York: Random

Book with 1 author
House.

Language (2009). In Columbia electronic encyclopedia. Retrieved September 18,

Article retrieved from an
2012, from http://www.informationplease.com online reference work with no
author
Harkavy, W. (2010, November 3). Educational writings. Village Voice.

Retrieved September 8, 2012 from http://villagevoice.com Web site

Newton, R. (2011). A reference guide to learning about research. Hartford,

Book 1 author

Include the DOI

(digital object CT: Merganser University Press.
identifier) in
your citation Online journal
whenever it is South, S., Oltmanns, T., & Turkheimer, E. (2009). Interpersonal communication article with DOI.

Capitalize only across peer groups. Journal of Communication, 73, (2) 675-692.
the first word of
a journal article doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00325
title and subtitle.
Do not italicize. Online journal
South, S.,Oltmanns, T., & Turkheimer, E. (2009). Interpersonal communication
article from a
database with
across peer groups. Journal of Communication, 73, (2) 675-692. Retrieved no DOI. (Same
article as above
from http://search.ebscohost.com when no DOI
is provided).
Wheatcroft, G. (2008, June). The challenge of education. The Atlantic, 293(3), 56–72.
Print journal article. Full title
The reference page provides the italicized in upper and lowercase
information necessary for a reader to locate letters. Italicize the volume
and retrieve any source you cite. Each number but not the issue and
source you cite in the paper must appear in page numbers.
your reference list.