07 Mar Locate current research topics relevant to your field of study to help identify a problem in your organization or industry that can be mitigated or reso

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Title of Paper

Student Name

Institution

Course/Number

Faculty Name

Due Date

Title of Paper

Often the most crucial paragraph in the essay, the introduction grabs the reader’s attention. Provide a brief overview of the general topic and end with a preview of the topics discussed in the paper. Double-space the entire document. Indent each paragraph by one tab keystroke (0.5 inches), and include a single space after the ending punctuation of each sentence. Do not include a subheading in this section, and avoid starting sentences with flat announcements of your intention or topic, like “The purpose of this essay is…” or “In this essay, I will…” Unless the paper is a self-assessment analysis or reflection paper, never write using the first person, like I, me, my, mine, etc., or the second person, such as you, yours, etc. Avoid using editorial words like “we” and “our.” For more information on writing style and grammar, review the APA Manual, Chapter 4.

Level One Heading

Replace the level one heading with the words for your heading. The heading must be in bold font and centered. Headings help your audience track the sub-topics discussed in the body of the essay or report. Begin a new heading for each sub-topic.

Headings identify paragraph topics. Following the introduction, the body of the paper begins with a Level 1 heading. Level 2 headings are formatted flush left, exemplified in the In-Text Citation section later in this template, and reflect subtopics of the Level 1 heading. While some papers only have Level 1 headings throughout, others use a combination of Level 1 and Level 2 headings. More complex topics may require additional headings. For guidance with headings, consult the APA Manual Chapter 2, Section 2.27 for examples.

In-Text Citations

The formatting of in-text citations throughout the paper varies, with options to ensure readability and writing style. The following sections briefly overview two types of in-text citations: narrative and parenthetical. Review the APA Manual, Chapter 8, for more information regarding the formatting of personal communications, block quotes, secondary sources, and citing several sources to support a single claim.

Narrative Citations

Narrative citations are citations where the author or authors are listed as part of the sentence. Alexander and Smith (2019) examined… Notice that narrative citations use “and” between authors’ names. Also, always use past tense verbs when associated with a citation since the source was published before the date used in the paper. If three or more authors are cited, such as a source written by Thomas, Dickinson, and Harrison, list the first author and then use et al. Thomas et al. (2018) stated…

Parenthetical Citations

A parenthetical citation is where the writer presents the statement followed by the citation. The writing process requires… (Alexander & Smith, 2019). Notice an ampersand (&) is used between names in parenthetical citations. A parenthetical citation for three or more authors requires only the first author’s last name and the addition of et al. Improvement strategies for writing include… (Thomas et al., 2018).

Paraphrasing and Quotations

The examples shown in the narrative and parenthetical citation sections are paraphrases. Paraphrases are the writer’s interpretation of an author’s statement. None of the exact phrases used by the author should appear in a paraphrase. Conversely, direct quotes occur when the writer copies the exact words an author uses. To properly acknowledge the sentence as a direct quote, quotation marks must surround the quoted material, and a page number or paragraph number (if pages are not marked) must appear in the citation. For example, Alexander and Smith (2019) stated, “[wording exactly as the author wrote it]” (p. 423), or “The guidelines for writing an academic paper require…” (Alexander & Smith, 2019, para. 6). The use of direct quotes in scholarly writing is discouraged as the ability to paraphrase indicates critical thinking skills. Refer to the APA Manual, Chapter 8, for more information on in-text citations.

Conclusion

The final Level 1 heading in every paper is for the conclusion section, eliminating the need to add “In summary” or “In conclusion” at the start of the final paragraph. The conclusion summarizes the key points made in the paper without new information or analysis; it is simply a recap of the most notable information presented in the paper.

References

The reference page always begins at the top of the next page after the conclusion.

This is a hanging indent. To keep the hanging indent format, triple-click your mouse on this line of text and replace the information with your reference entry. The Reference & Citation Generator can help format your source information into a reference entry.

You can find additional reference and citation examples at https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples.

References are listed in alphabetical order. All references in the reference list must have an in-text citation from that source in the body of the paper. For additional examples of reference formatting, see Chapter 10 of the APA Manual.

You are responsible for determining if an article has a digital object identifier or DOI number. Please see https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/dois-urls for more information on DOIs and when to include them. You can use https://www.crossref.org/ to search for DOIs. Select the Search Metadata option on the search box to search by title, author, and more.

Please note that, in your final paper, references should not be sectioned by reference type. The following sections are for demonstrative purposes.

Journal Article Example

Grady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelinek, J. (2019). Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic and racial groups in the United States. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185

Magazine Article Example

Schulman, M. (2019, September 9). Superfans: A love story. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/09/16/superfans-a-love-story

Authored Book Example

Jackson, L. M. (2019). The psychology of prejudice: From attitudes to social action (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000168-000

Chapter in an Edited Book Example

Dillard, J. P. (2020). Currents in the study of persuasion. In M. B. Oliver, A. A. Raney, & J. Bryant (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (4th ed., pp. 115–129). Routledge.

Dissertation Example

Kabir, J. M. (2016). Factors influencing customer satisfaction at a fast food hamburger chain: The relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty (Publication No. 10169573) [Doctoral dissertation, Wilmington University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

Webpage on a Website Example

Bologna, C. (2019, October 31). Why some people with anxiety love watching horror movies. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anxiety-love-watching-horror-movies_l_5d277587e4b02a5a5d57b59e

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