APA Essay Format: Core Peculiarities and Features

Basic Details about APA Essay Format

To write an APA format essay in the right manner, one should be familiar with the basic features of the said style.
So, draw yours attention to the following list:

• Double spacing is applied to the entire text.
• 1" margins are set on all sides.
• Indentation applies to all paragraphs.
• The title of an essay in APA is centered with a student’s name together with institution affiliation provided underneath.
• 12pt font is used within the text.
• Page numbers in APA format are placed in the upper right corner.
• It is advised to put one space after the majority of punctuation marks.
• A running head is to be provided in the upper left hand corner.

These are general APA format guidelines. To get a better understanding of how to organize a title page of an essay in APA or deal with any other structural component, keep following this article.

Want to find out more about how to organize headings in APA style correctly?
Have a look at the following list:

According to general APA format rules, double spacing is applied to all headings and no additional spaces or lines between the sections are set.

Title Page in APA Format

A title page AKA a cover page is the first page of an academic work. This page may be arranged differently depending on its type, meaning whether it’s student or professional. Still, in both cases, the work title, writer’s name and affiliation should be added. As to student papers, they should contain the course number and title, professor’s name and the due date. The professional ones contain an author note and running head.

It’s worth admitting that some professors do not demand a title page, while others - do. In case of doubts, ask your professor for clarifications.

The fundamental elements which a cover page in APA format includes are:

1. Title
2. Authors’ names
3. Institution affiliation
4. Course number and name
5. Professor’s name
6. Due date

In case an author note is needed, it has to be put below the Institution affiliation. Below, there are some helpful tips on how to make a good title page in APA format:

• The title should be catchy and engaging, and represent a core idea of the paper. Abbreviations and senseless words are to be avoided in a title.
• The title should be centered and located about 3-4 lines from the top.
• Bold style and tile case should be used. As to the font size, it should be the same as that applied to the entire paper content. No italics or underlining is to be used.
• A cover page should be double-spaced.
• The authors’ names are to be provided without any title, e.g. Mrs. or Doctor. When indicating your professors’ names, use the style/form they deem state.

Find it hard to arrange a cover page in APA format? Turn to our team for assistance! Our experts would be glad to give you a helping hand.

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Running Head in APA Style

As it has been stated above, running heads are not needed for student papers, and the American Psychological Association Publication Manual, 7th edition proves it. However, according to the 6th edition, such a structural component is needed. So, you’d better clarify the matter with your professor. As to professional papers, running heads are the element that cannot be avoided.

Don’t know exactly what a running head implies? This is nothing else than a page header located at the top of each page. It contains two items:

• paper title
• page numbers

Page numbers are to be placed at the right-hand side of the paper. In front of the numbers, no p. or pg. is to be placed.

The “TITLE OF YOUR WORK” should be placed on all pages, the cover one included, and justified to the left. In case a complete title is longer than 50 characters, the running head should be its concise version.

Writing an Outline in APA Essay Format

Outlines are very useful since they help authors stay focused on the topic, identify the research scope, and produce a consistent work. As to the outline structure in APA format, there are no specific rules to be followed. It’s up to you to decide how to arrange it and what characters to use. Some authors use roman numerals, uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers. Not to get into trouble, ask your professor for clear specifications (if an outline is required at all).

We offer you to have a look at the following outline example. Perhaps it will help you organize yours:

Outline

Thesis statement

Organizing an Abstract in an Essay in APA Format

To write an APA format essay abstract in the right manner, one should know what is and why it’s needed.

So, an abstract is a concise summary of the entire paper that consists of about 150-200 words. This structural component is usually intrinsic to professional papers but not student ones unless it goes about long academic works such as dissertations and theses. An abstract helps readers decide whether to read the entire paper or not.

An abstract is written on a separate page which follows the cover one and is labeled with a corresponding title. The first line shouldn’t be indented. Abstracts are usually presented in one paragraph without any headings. Below the abstract, you may write keywords related to the topic separated by a comma, which should be labeled with the word “Keywords.”

A few hints to keep in mind when writing an abstract in APA style:

• Highlight the fundamental points of your investigation. Write an APA paper abstract in a concise manner.
• Apply double spacing.
• Use an active voice.
• Avoid evaluating your paper. Your task is just to explain what it is built around.

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Reference Page in APA Format

A reference page follows the body section and precedes appendices. It includes all sources cited in a piece of writing.
Below, there are several important points to keep in mind when formatting a reference section:

• The title “References“ should be bold and centered. No quotation marks, italics or underlining should be used.
• Arrange all entries in alphabetical order. Apply double spacing.
• Use Arial, Times New Roman or any other readable font.
• Information taken from outside sources should be quoted and have a corresponding entry in the reference section.
• A reference section can be longer than 1 page.

Tables and Figures in APA Format

These two visual elements are organized in the same way. They precede a number and title and follow explanatory notes if required.

The words “Figure” or “Table” and a number should be bold. A title is placed on a separate line below the mentioned items. Title case and italics are to be used. In tables, only a few horizontal lines are to be used and row and column names should be succinct. No vertical lines are to be used.

Figures should be designed in a simple way. If needed, a title and legend can be added. Color is to be applied only when required.

• Useful Advice on the Writing Style in APA Format

The papers covering scientific topics differ from those covering some sort of literature subjects. While the former are clear, succinct, and objective, the latter are creative and more personal. Below, you will find several recommendations about the tone, verb use, and other aspects that should be considered when producing an APA paper.

• Verb Use

Using verbs, make certain they are used in the same tense throughout your paper. Talking about scientific academic works, it’s advised to use:

• either the past tense or present perfect to explain some processes;
• past tense to explain the research results;
• present tense to highlight a conclusion and describe future implications.

• Writing Tone

Your piece of writing has to be interesting and engaging. So, mind your readers and then establish a proper tone of writing that would help them delve into the APA format essay and learn more about the topic.

• Abbreviations: Do’s and Don'ts

Using abbreviations can be rather tricky. One may get confused about using periods between the letters in, applying capitalization, writing the names in full all the time, etc. To make everything clear, have a look at the following list of tips:

• Use abbreviations reasonably. Too many abbreviations may confuse readers and make the work complicated for understanding.
• In case an abbreviation is mentioned less than three times in a work, type it out each time since it’s hard to bear in mind what an abbreviation stands for.
• Before using an abbreviation for the first time, type it out and provide the very abbreviation right away in parentheses. The following uses of the same abbreviation does not require description.

• In-text Citations

You have detected a great quote and want to include it in your paper but you don’t know how to arrange APA citations. We will help you out. In this article, you will find detailed explanations as to how to organize APA citations. First and foremost, you need to keep in mind that copy-pasting is unacceptable. Every time you use information from outside sources, make sure to give proper credit to the author(s).

APA applies two different forms of in-text citations, i.e. parenthetical and narrative. Both require:

• Author’s name
• Publication year

The difference between these forms is in the way information is provided.

Parenthetical citations are commonly used in academic works where the mentioned reference items are provided at the end of a sentence in parentheses.

Narrative citations allow including one or both of the listed elements inside of the running sentence. It helps avoid repetitions. In case only one of the provided items is added in a sentence, the other one is presented parenthetically.

If the source has two authors, the parenthetical citation has to provide both. In case of three or more authors, they can be abbreviated in a parenthetical to “et al.”, which stands for “and others.”