Sample Apa

APA DOCUMENTATION STYLE:
A BRIEF OVERVIEW

APA citation style refers to the rules and conventions established by the American Psychological Association for documenting sources used in writing a research paper. APA style requires two elements for citing outside sources: Reference Citations in Text and the Reference List. These documents credit the information sources and make it possible for others to retrieve this information.

This document provides basic information about APA format. For more detailed information, refer to The Brief Wadsworth Handbook or the websites listed at the end of the document.

Creating a Title Page
(Using Microsoft Word 2003)

1. To create the Page Header:
a. Click on Insert.
b. Click on Page Numbers.
c. Select Top of Page.
d. Double-Click in the Header until the cursor appears before the Page Number.
e. Type a brief version of the paper’s title, followed by five spaces.
f. Click on the Close button of the Header and Footer pop-up window.   The cursor will automatically move to line one for insertion of the Running Head.

2. To create the Running Head:
a. At the top of the page, click on Align Left (Left Justify).
b. Type in the words Running Head followed by a colon and a space.   In all caps, type an abbreviated version of the paper’s title.   It can contain no more than fifty characters including spaces, punctuation, symbols, and numbers.   Note:   The Running Head can be, but does not have to be, the exact same words as the Page Header.

3. To create the Title:
a. Place the cursor at the middle of the page.
b. Click on Center Align (Center Justify).
c. Type the title of the paper.   APA recommends no more than twelve words.   If the title is more than twelve words, divide at a logical place, double space, and center.

4. To create the Byline (author’s name and institutional affiliation):
a. Place the cursor two lines below the title and center.
b. Type the name(s) of the author(s) and capitalize normally.... [continues]

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