Do you think that using the APA format is like going through hell? This article is here to give your head a shake and change your views. Using the APA paper format can and should be easy. Check this free guide to learn all you need to know about using it.
APA Essay Format: Perfect Start
What is APA format for an essay? In a nutshell, this essay format requires appropriate page layout, parenthetical citations, and a reference list. To make an effective start using it, you should first learn the peculiarities of page layout in APA citation style. These are the main recommendations from American Psychological Association (APA):
- 1 inch margins on all sides;
- font 12 Times New Roman;
- double spacing;
- no extra lines between paragraphs.
APA Essay Format: Good Continuation
When you start writing, you need to pay attention to the format of your in-text citations. These are examples that you can use in your APA papers:
- Grant (2009) noted that … (p.15) – use this when you want to cite a specific page;
- (Grant 2009, p. 15) – use this at the end of a sentence, when you want to cite a specific page;
- Grant (2009) noted that … – use this form when you cite the entire source or there are no page numbers for the part you are referring to;
- (Grant 2009) – use this at the end of a sentence, when you cite the entire source or there are no page numbers.
APA Essay Format: Final Strokes
After you write the last sentence of your conclusion, you may think that your APA essay style is just perfect. Wait a moment… have you included a reference list in your essay? You should better include one, or your teachers might lower your grade significantly for this oversight of such an important part of your essay.
These are the common recommendations for formatting your reference list:
- Use the title Reference List and always start it on a new page.
- Order alphabetically all entries.
- Press the key Tab to indent the content of entries (see the example below).
- Make certain you use at least one in-text citation for every entry in your reference list and that you include in the reference list all sources that you cite in the text.
Here is a good example for you:
Reference List
Bryson, J. (2004). What to do when stakeholders matter: Stakeholder identification and analysis techniques. Public Management Review, 6 (1), 21-53.
Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Torobin, J. (2012, January 18). Euro crisis to cost Canada $10B, BoC warns. Business News Network. Retrieved from http://www.bnn.ca/News/2012/1/18/Euro-crisis-to-cost-Canada-10B-BoC-warns-.aspx
No more unnecessary frustration caused by the APA format! Read here the tips to easily handle the APA format forever! Feel free to visit this or other pages of this site whenever you need them.