APA style is a writing style and format for academic documents such as scholarly journal articles and books. It is commonly used for citing sources within the field of social sciences. It is described in the style guide of the American Psychological Association (APA), which is titled the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
The formatting guidelines for APA style essays include guidelines for margins, font, and spacing. Margins should be set to one inch on all sides. The font should be 12-point Times New Roman. The entire essay should be double-spaced, including the title page, abstract, main body, and reference list.
The title page of an APA style essay should include the title of the paper, the author's name, and the institutional affiliation. The title should be centered on the page and should be written in capital and lowercase letters. The author's name should be written in capital and lowercase letters and should be followed by the institutional affiliation, which should be written in italics.
The abstract is a summary of the main points of the essay and should be written in a single paragraph. It should be between 150 and 250 words and should be placed on a separate page after the title page. The abstract should not contain any citations.
The main body of an APA style essay should be organized into sections and sub-sections. The sections should be labeled with headings, and the sub-sections should be labeled with subheadings. Headings should be written in capital and lowercase letters and should be aligned left. Subheadings should be written in capital and lowercase letters and should be aligned left.
Citations in APA style essays should be written in a specific format. In-text citations should include the author's last name and the year of publication. If the author's name is not mentioned in the text, it should be included in the citation, along with the year of publication. For example: (Smith, 2020). If the author's name is mentioned in the text, the year of publication should be included in parentheses after the author's name. For example: Smith (2020) found that...
The reference list should be placed on a separate page after the main body of the essay. It should include all of the sources cited in the essay and should be arranged alphabetically by the author's last name. Each reference should be written in a specific format, including the author's last name, the year of publication, the title of the work, and the publisher.
In conclusion, APA style is a widely used format for writing academic essays. It includes specific guidelines for margins, font, spacing, and citations. By following these guidelines, you can ensure that your essay is properly formatted and that your sources are properly cited.
