Formatting a Paper for APA Style

 

 

Here are some basic guidelines for setting up a paper in APA style. All papers and projects handed in for any Davenport University class, must adhere to the APA style manual. You should have purchased the style manual when you took ENGL111. If you don’t have one, the guidelines below should get you through most papers. I do suggest getting a copy though.

 

General Requirements:

  • Everything is double spaced. This includes the title page, abstract, body of the paper, and the references page.
  • At least 1” margins (top, bottom, left, and right)
  • Font should be 12 points
  • Accepted font style: Arial, Courier New, Times New Roman, or another non-fancy typeface.

 

Cover Page Requirements:

Page Headings:

  • Use the HEADER feature of your word processor
  • Half inch from top of page. Default in Word
  • Topic of the paper typed in upper and lower case
  • Found on ALL pages of the paper, including the cover page, abstract, body and references page
  • Right align

 

Running Head:

  • One inch from top of page on the left side
  • Type the words “Running Head:” followed by the topic of the paper

 

Title:

  • Typed in upper and lower case
  • Double spaced
  • Centered
  • Includes title of paper, along with student name. Don’t include the word “by” in the title
  • May include class name, date, name of instructor, etc.

 

Abstract:

  • If required by your instructor
  • Include headings, as noted above
  • Double-spaced
  • Include Abstract as heading. Centered
  • On indention of text
  • No more than 120 words, stating what the paper will prove, what the premise is, and how the paper will support itself.

 

Body of the Paper:

  • Page headings, as noted above, on each page of the body
  • Title of the paper on the first page of the body of the paper, typed in lower and upper case
  • Indent, then proceed with the paper, double spaced throughout
  • In-text citations: author’s last name and the year of the publication following the citation enclosed in parentheses (LaMontagne 2004)
  • Headings are permitted, double-spaced and centered. If subheadings are used, they are flush left.

 

References Page:

  • Should correspond to the references cited in the text. No other references should be included.
  • Should be in alphabetical order, according to author’s last name. Articles with no author are placed alphabetically according to the title along with the listed authors.
  • Page headings included, as notes above
  • Type the word “References” at the top, centered
  • Double spaced
  • Citations are flush left. If another line is needed, it should be indented five spaces and indented. Use the hanging indent function in Word. FORMAT to Paragraph or use the shortcut key CTRL- T

 

Example References:

Delgado, B. (1998). A Resource Guide to Business Documents. Miami, FL: Goodloe Publishing.

Friesen, K. D. (1998). Fundamentals of Written Communications. New York, NY: Auburn/Lowell Publishing House.

Markham, C. L. (2000). The Art of Communicating (4th ed.). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Reinhart Publishing, Inc.

Robbins, D. H. (1999). Improving Business Communications. Seattle, WA: Evergreen Publishing International.

 

 

Suggested Websites:

  • APA Research Style Crib Sheet: An excellent site with on punctuation, formatting pages, and referencing material used in your paper or report.
  • APA Style Electronic Formats: Site covers how to reference electronic sources you may have found on the Internet or other means.
  • APA Style Examples: An extensive page on how to reference sources in your paper. Examples include books, magazine articles, journal articles, conference papers, and electronic sources.
  • A paper formatted in APA. It’s in Acrobat format. It’s a great resource to see how to apply various APA rules and how to format your headers and title page.
  • Another example of a paper formatted in APA style.