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APA Style format
By: Maria khan
College of nursing (F) MPKs
GBScN 2nd year 4th semester
Submitted to: Sir Uzair
2023-05-07
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Abstract:
APA style
Why do we use APA style?
What does APA style include?
Key aspects of APA style
References
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APA Style:
APA style is a set of guidelines and standards for writing and formatting scholarly
papers, research reports and academic essays. It is the style commonly used in social
sciences including psychology, sociology, education and business.
Why do we use APA style?
We use APA style for several important reasons first; APA is referred to as citation style
because it includes specific rules for how the reference you cite should be formatted
and indicated in your research paper.
Second, APA style provides style and writing guidelines to make sure your research
paper is easy to read and has all of the necessary elements.
What does APA style include?
APA style has three levels. The first level dictates organization. The second level
addresses writing style and language use. The third level deals with mechanics such as
punctuation.
Level 1- Organization:
An APA style research must include:
A title page: limit your title to a maximum of 12 words and avoid the use of
abbreviations and unnecessary words.
An abstract: the abstract should discuss the topic under study, the research
questions, any subject of the research, your research method, the
findings/results, analysis of the data and your conclusion.
An introduction: Address the problem and premise upon which the research
was based.
Your methodology: explain in detail how you did your research.
Your result: explain what you found.
A discussion: talk about what your findings mean.
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References: a list of the sources you cited.
Level 2- Writing style:
An APA style research paper should be written formally. Your intended audience is
other academics, your colleagues and you want to communicate with them very clearly
and professionally. This means:
No slangs
No pop culture references
No humor
Minimize literary devices
Be direct and straightforward
Use technical terms but only where appropriate
Avoid biased language
Level 3- Mechanics:
Use title case for headings
Use numerals for numbers 10 and above
Hyphenate compound adjectives that precede a noun
Spell out terms before introducing its abbreviation in parentheses
Left align all tables and figures
Use in text citations for sources.
Use footnotes sparingly.
Key aspects of APA style:
Here are some key aspects of APA style:
Formatting: papers written in APA style should be doubled space, which 1 inch
margins on all sides of the page. The font should be 12 points time new roman or
similar. The paper should also include a title page, an abstract ( if required) and a
reference list.
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In text citation: when citing sources within the text of a text paper, APA style
uses author-date citation style. This means the author’s last name and the year
of publication should be included in parentheses after the information being cited
for example: (smith, 2020).
Reference list: at the end of paper written in APA style, a reference list should
be included this should contain all the sources cited in the paper, arranged in
alphabetical order by author’s last name. The references list should also be
doubled-spaced and use a hanging indent for each entry.
Example:
o Book: last name, F.M (year publishes). Book title. Publisher name.
o Journal article: last name, F.M. (year published) article title. Journal title,
volume (issue) pages.
o Website: author, A.A. (year, month, day published) page. Title. Website title.
URL
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References:
1. https://www.enago.com/author.hub/what-is-apa-style.
