What is an APA research paper?

APA is the style of documentation of sources used by the American Psychological Association. This form of writing research papers is used mainly in the social sciences, like psychology, anthropology, sociology, as well as education and other fields.

How do you write a good paper in APA format?

BasicsThere should be uniform margins of at least one inch at the top, bottom, left, and right sides of your essay.Your paper should be double-spaced.Every page should include a page number in the top right corner.For professional papers, every page of your essay should also include a running head at the top left.

What should you not do in APA?

Five Common Mistakes in APA Style—and How You Can Fix ThemINCORRECT HEADER. The first words in a paper with a title page is the running header. ERRORS IN IN-TEXT CITATIONS. You’ve spent hours researching and reading information to include in your paper. IN-TEXT CITATIONS DON’T MATCH REFERENCE LIST. INCORRECT QUOTATIONS. CITING WITH MULTIPLE SOURCES.

What makes a good abstract?

An abstract summarizes, usually in one paragraph of 300 words or less, the major aspects of the entire paper in a prescribed sequence that includes: 1) the overall purpose of the study and the research problem(s) you investigated; 2) the basic design of the study; 3) major findings or trends found as a result of your …

What is the difference between introduction and abstract?

An abstract is similar to a summary except that it is more concise and direct. The introduction section of your paper is more detailed. It states why you conducted your study, what you wanted to accomplish, and what is your hypothesis. Let us learn more about the difference between the abstract and introduction.

What does an APA introduction look like?

The purpose of the introduction is the same as any research paper: in one to two paragraphs, briefly introduce and state the issue to be examined. The introduction always states what you are trying to prove/disprove in the paper. The most important part of your introduction is this statement.

How should an APA reference list look?

Setting out the reference listFor APA the reference list is arranged in alphabetical order of authors’ surnames.Arrange by first author’s name, then by second author if you have the same first author, etc. If a reference has no author, list it alphabetically according to the title.