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PSY 289 - Northwest - Psychology Research Methods (Rubenstein): Formatting your paper in APA style

Introduction to scientific methodologies used in psychological research. Includes experience in using a range of psychological research methods for students.

Formatting papers

APA has recommended journal article reporting standards that specify the formatting and structure of papers submitted for publication in journals.  Your instructor may or may not want you to use this format for assignements so it is always a good idea to check to see if you instructor has any special instructions.

Papers written in APA format have the following recommended features (see right for examples):

GENERAL FORMATTING

  • Preferred typeface in Times New Roman with a 12-point font size
  • One inch margins at top, bottom, and sides of paper
  • Use double-spacing throughout the paper, including the title, footnotes, quotations, references page, and figure captions.
    • In Microsoft Word:  Select all text > click Home tab > in Paragraph box, click Line Spacing icon > select 2.0
  • Indent the first line of every paragraph, with the exception of the abstract, block quotations, and titles and headings.
  • Each section (e.g. abstract, references, tables, figures, and appendices) should start on a separate page

TITLE PAGE

  • The title page includes the following elements
    • Running head - abbreviated title placed in the top left corner in the header of every page
    • Page number - placed in the top right corner in the header of every page  
    • Title - centered on top half of page
    • Author of paper
    • Institution
    • Author note - this may include the course, instructor, and date.

ABSTRACT PAGE

  • This includes the following elements
    • Running head - consistent with title and abstract pages
    • Page number
    • Abstract heading - centered at top of page
    • Abstract text

BODY OF PAPER

  • This includes the following elements
    • Running head - consistent with title and abstract pages
    • Page number
    • Title - centered at the top of page

Example of heading/title page

Sample heading page for a paper in APA format:

Running head:    FAST FOOD                                                1


Fast Food and Childhood Obesity

Andrew Smith

Pima Community College








Author Note:

This paper was prepared for Psychology 289,

taught by Professor Howe for the Spring 2012 semester.

See more sample papers:

Sample APA paper from OWL (PDF)
Sample APA paper from Diana Hacker (PDF)

Example of abstract page

Sample heading page for a paper in APA format:

Running head:    FAST FOOD                                           2


Abstract

Childhood obesity is the result of eating too many

calories and not getting enough physical activity.  In the

United States, 17% of all children and adolescents are

obese (“Overweight and Obesity,” 2012).  This is triple

the rate from just one generation ago.  Recent studies

have also indicated that childhood consumption of fast

food is up fivefold from the 1970s (Lin, Guthrie, and

Frazao, 2001).  This paper will use recent studies to

determine if there is a link between increased

consumption of fast food and childhood obesity.

See more sample papers:

Sample APA paper from OWL (PDF)
Sample APA paper from Diana Hacker (PDF)