Writing a citation in apa format

The APA Essay Format includes rules on margins, spacing, formatting, headings, and the citation of resources. Instructors who require APA essay format often lower grades of students who fail to follow the APA guidelines, and it is therefore important to understand exactly how to use those guidelines properly. Below is the description of each required element of an APA style essay or research paper:

When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use. APA American Psychological Association style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences.

For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed. To see a side-by-side comparison of the three most widely used citation styles, including a chart of all APA citation guidelines, see the Citation Style Chart.

General Format

You should use a clear font that is highly readable. APA recommends using 12 pt. Times New Roman font. Include a page header also known as the "running head" at the top of every page. Major Paper Sections Your essay should include four major sections: Include the page header described above flush left with the page number flush right at the top of the page.

Type your title in upper and lowercase letters centered in the upper half of the page.

APA Sample Paper

APA recommends that your title be no more than 12 words in length and that it should not contain abbreviations or words that serve no purpose.

Your title may take up one or two lines. All text on the title page, and throughout your paper, should be double-spaced. Do not use titles Dr. Your abstract page should already include the page header described above.

Beginning with the next line, write a concise summary of the key points of your research. Your abstract should contain at least your research topic, research questions, participants, methods, results, data analysis, and conclusions.

You may also include possible implications of your research and future work you see connected with your findings. Your abstract should be a single paragraph, double-spaced. Your abstract should be between and words.

You may also want to list keywords from your paper in your abstract. To do this, indent as you would if you were starting a new paragraph, type Keywords: Listing your keywords will help researchers find your work in databases.Click on the link above in the Media box to download the pdf handout, APA Sample Paper.

APA Essay Checklist for Students The American Psychological Association (APA) is one of the largest scientific and professional associations in the United States, and it has created a set of citation rules and formatting guidelines for scholarly writing to ensure a professional standard of academic integrity.

Citation Machine helps students and professionals properly credit the information that they use.

Cite your website in APA format for free. The APA Essay Format is a style of writing developed by the American Psychological Association and is generally accepted as one of the standard ways to structure essays and research papers for students in social sciences and business.

Citation Machine helps students and professionals properly credit the information that they use. Cite your website in APA format for free. The authority on APA Style and the 6th edition of the APA Publication Manual.

Find tutorials, the APA Style Blog, how to format papers in APA Style, and other resources to help you improve your writing, master APA Style, and learn the conventions of scholarly publishing.