Running Head: THE TITLE OF NO MORE THAN 50 CHARACTERS 1

The Full Title of the Paper

(recommend no more than 12 words)
Your Name
The Name of the Institution
(in top half of page)
Running Head: THE TITLE OF NO MORE THAN 50 CHARACTERS 2

Abstract

The abstract is a concise summary of the paper and includes a brief overview of the main
points. It is written in the present tense. For example, this sample paper includes information
about the proper format to use when writing an APA paper. Examples of a title page, abstract,
first page of the paper, and references page are shown. An abstract is not an introduction to
the paper. The abstract should generally be a paragraph that is anywhere from 150 – 250
words in length, and the paragraph is not indented. Directly after the paragraph, 3 – 5 key
words from the content of the paper can be listed. “Keywords:” will be indented half an inch
(1.27cm) from the left margin and italicized. For keywords, select terms that could be used to
find the paper in a database search and be sure to use lower case letters except for proper
nouns.

Keywords: APA format, cover page, abstract, references

Running Head: THE TITLE OF NO MORE THAN 50 CHARACTERS 3

The Full Title of the Paper

The body of the paper will begin on page 3 if an abstract is required. The paper’s
format consists of one-inch (2.54cm) margins, double-spacing, and 12 point font. All text is
flush left with the first line of each new paragraph and indented half an inch (1.27cm) from
the left margin. The list of references is the last page, separate from the body of the paper.

The References page will list only the sources cited within the paper. Each source will
be listed alphabetically by the first word in the entry (except a, an, the), which is usually the
author’s last name, a corporate author, or the title of the source when there is no author. For
multiple entries by the same author, the sources should be listed by publication year. The
entries should be formatted with hanging indents, where the first line of an entry is flush left
and each subsequent line is indented half an inch (1.27cm) from the left margin.

Internal Headings

Since APA format was designed to help organise research findings for publication,
internal headings may be required to separate multiple sections within the body of the paper.
The first level of the internal headings is boldface and centred with title case capitalisation.

Second Level Headings

The second level of the internal headings is boldface and flush left with title case
capitalisation.

Citations

Whenever you use a quotation from an author or summarise or paraphrase a person’s

ideas or research, you must identify the source. This in-text citation is formatted with
parentheses and shows:

 the last name(s) of the author(s) of the work, or the first few words of the References
list entry (usually the title) if the author is not known
 the year of publication, or n.d. (no date) if the year is not known
 page number(s) if available

Citing Short Quotations (fewer than 40 words)

Use the author’s name in the text, for example, Lee (2007) stated, “The ability to
think critically is needed in this revolutionary age of technological change” (p. 82). Or put the
Running Head: THE TITLE OF NO MORE THAN 50 CHARACTERS 4

author’s name in parentheses. One researcher emphasised that “the ability to think critically is
needed in this revolutionary age of technological change” (Lee, 2007, p. 82).

Citing Long Quotations (40 words or more)

When using longer quotations you should:

 use a block format in which all lines of the quotation are indented half an inch
(1.27cm) from the left margin.
 do not use quotation marks
 introduce the quotation with a complete sentence and a colon.

Wang, Johnston, Juarez, and Marks (2010) described effective time management as an
ongoing process:

Time management is not a skill that can be achieved at once; it takes self-awareness,
planning, execution, and reflection. The perception about time management is that the
work is done once a schedule is created. In reality, that is only the first step.
Successful students are adaptable and flexible; they are able to make changes to a
schedule because they can purposefully and proactively move tasks around to adjust
to new situations. (p. 27)

Citing Summaries or Paraphrases

When you put information in your own words by summarising or paraphrasing, you
must cite the original author and year. APA also recommends you include a page or
paragraph number to help an interested reader locate the relevant passage. For example, one
researcher emphasised the necessity of flexibly applied thinking to cope with rapidly
changing technology (Lee, 2007, p. 82).

Citing Information with No Page Numbers

Websites, for example, commonly have no page numbers. If the source has no page
numbers but explicitly numbers the paragraphs, you can include the paragraph number(s),
preceded by the abbreviation “para.” in the citation parentheses. If the document has no page
or paragraph numbers but does have headings, use the heading of the section you are taking
information from and then give the number of the paragraph under it that contains the
information you are incorporating. The example below includes the complete heading:
Fostering Health Security.
Running Head: THE TITLE OF NO MORE THAN 50 CHARACTERS 5

According to the World Health Organisation (2010), “one of the greatest threats to
international health security arises from outbreaks of emerging and epidemic-prone diseases”
(Fostering Health Security, para. 1).

If the heading is long, shorten it and put quotation marks around it. The heading What
is the Burden of Alzheimer’s Disease in the United States? has been shortened to “What is
the Burden?” in the example below.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) have pointed out that
“Alzheimer’s disease is on of the top ten leading causes of death in the United States” (“What
is the Burden?” para. 1).

Citing a Source Cited in Another Source

If you find information about research that someone else has done, but you are unable
to track down the original research report. In the sample below, research done by Pithers is
discussed in a journal article written by Lee, and you only read Lee. Include only Lee’s
article in your References list.

A 2000 review by Pithers found little empirical research on students’ critical thinking
(as cited in Lee, 2007, p. 83).

Citing Sources with Multiple Authors

For sources with one or two authors you must give the name(s) of all authors every
time they are cited, for example: (Smith & Jones, 2004, p. 93) or Smith and Jones (2004)
found that “…” (p. 93).

For three to five authors you should give the names of all authors the first time they
are cited, e.g., (Simpson, Stahl, & Francis, 2004, p. 10). However, for subsequent citations
use the following format: (Simpson et al., 2004, p. 10).

For six or more authors you should only give the first author’s name followed by et al,
every time they are cited as here (Kallai et al., 2011, p. 121).
Running Head: THE TITLE OF NO MORE THAN 50 CHARACTERS 6

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Alzheimer’s disease. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/aging/aginginfo/alzheimers.htm

Kallai, J., Makany, T., Csatho, A., Karadi, K., Horvath, D., Kovacs-Labadi, B., . . . Jacobs, J.
W. (2007). Cognitive and affective aspects of thigmotaxis strategy in humans.
Behavioral Neuroscience, 121, 21−30.

Lee, K. (2007). Online collaborative case study learning. Journal of College Reading and
Learning, 37(2), 82-100.

Rochlitz, I. (2005). The welfare of cats. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer.

Simpson, M. L., Stahl, N. A., & Francis, M. A. (2004). Reading and learning strategies:
Recommendations for the 21st century. Journal of Developmental Education, 28(2),
2−15, 32.

Smith, F. M., & Jones, W. (2004). The college student. In C. Wood, & M. Meyer (Eds.),
Cross-cultural education (pp. 75–105). London, Canada: MacMillan.