APA essay format is a widely used writing style that is applied for writing scientific papers in all the colleges and universities. Certainly, an average student has to be professional and skillful when creating an academic masterpiece. Every specific degree requires writing peculiar papers. However, the academic standards of APA formatting change with every year and all the students have to be very flexible learning the most up-to-date APA requirements. The freshmen find it extremely difficult to learn and follow all the APA requirements. Indeed, writing an APA format essay can be a very frustrating and daunting task without the proper understanding of the subject. All the respected universities release effective manuals with the set of rules for APA formatting. If you want to be a professional writer, you have to read several of them and practice a lot writing more and more APA papers.
What is APA writing style?
The common APA essay format definition says that it is the writing format that is widely used for writing papers in education and social related fields. It stands for American Psychological Association and is quite different from other academic formats – MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Oxford, Turabian, etc. Indeed, there exist some peculiar elements that make this writing format different from others.
The Main Peculiarities of APA Writing Style
APA is widely used for the scientific disciplines and requires official writing style. As well as any other formatting style, APA requires proper organization of every source used for the paper. First and foremost, the writer should know how to organize the in-text citations. In the body of the paper, the in-text citation should include the following information – the author`s last name, the date of publication, the text itself, and the page where this text can be found in the source. The rest of the details should be noted in the reference list in alphabetical order. As for the general formatting requirements, the APA style essay should be typed, double-spaced, with 1” margins on all the sides. The font should be Times New Roman, sometimes Arial. Apart from these peculiar specifications, APA writing format requires a running head on every single page of the paper. It is a shortened version of the topic written in all capital letters.
The Main Elements of the APA Paper
Title page. The title page includes the running head with the shortened topic of the paper and the page number at the top of the page. In the center of the page, feel free to include the extended topic of your paper, the date and the name of your educational institution. Also, do not forget to include some notes at the bottom of the page. It may be the acknowledgment for your professor or some other necessary information.
Abstract. It is the peculiar part of the APA essay. The abstract is a brief summary of your paper that includes its key ideas. Some researchers find it necessary to include the keywords that will facilitate reading the paper.
Main Body. Your main body should be divided into several paragraphs in accordance with the number of your key ideas. Feel free to include headings and subheadings for the main sections of your paper. Be sure to use the third person and do not forget about transitions.
References. In APA essay format, the reference list should be double-spaced and written in alphabetical order. Do not forget to note every source you use to avoid unintentional plagiarism.
If you want to get a clear understanding of how a perfect APA essay should look like, feel free to download an effective APA sample essay available on the web.
