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Running head: SAMPLE PAPER1 SAMPLE PAPER16 A Sample Paper for the Purpose of Correct Formatting Student Name Liberty University Note: Center the following information in the top half of the page: title, your name, and school name. Some professors require the course title and section, the instructor’s name, and the date; add those on the lines beneath the required title page information. Do not use contractions in formal papers—either in the title or the body of the paper (i.e., use “do not” rather than “don’t”). Titles should include no more than 12 words. Titles use upper and lowercase letters (i.e., “title case”). Note: This paper reflects the sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Last updated November 20, 2015. Per the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA; 6th edition), double-space the entire paper, except with charts or tables. Do not add any extra spacing, except with page breaks between chapters (for very long papers), between the cover and first page, and between the last page and the reference section. Use Times Roman, 12-point font. Do not use bold except for headings. Margins are set for one inch on top, bottom, and sides. Add two spaces after punctuation at the end of each sentence. The header on the cover page is different from the headers on the rest of the paper. Only the cover page header includes the words Running head (without the italics). The header is flush left but the page numbers are flush right. Make sure the header font is the same as the rest of the paper. Handouts on how to format the cover page (as well as other handouts) are available on the Online Writing Center’s webpage: http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=17176, and a YouTube video demonstration is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch? v= KUjhwGmhDrI Note: Comments inside boxes are not part of the formatting of the paper. Most citations within the body of this paper are fictional, for instructional purposes only, and will not be included in the reference list accordingly. Abstract Begin your abstract at the left margin. This is the only paragraph that should not be indented. Unless otherwise instructed, APA recommends an abstract be between 150–250 words. It should not contain any citations or direct quotes. This should be a tight, concise summary of the main points in your paper, not a step-by-step of what you plan to accomplish in your paper. Avoid phrases such as “this paper will,” and just structure your sentences to say what you want to say. The following three sentences exemplify a good abstract style: There are many similarities and differences between the codes of ethics for the ACA and the AACC. Both include similar mandates in the areas of ----, ---, and ---. But each differs significantly in the areas of ---, ---, and ---. For more detailed information, see “Writing an Abstract” at http://www.liberty.edu/ academics/graduate/ writing/?PID=12268 This is just now at 155 words, so take a moment to eyeball how brief your abstract must be. Think of your paper as a movie, and the abstract as the summary of the plot that you would share to draw people’s interest into wanting to come and see your movie. Same thing: you want to really hook and intrigue them. What you have to say is important! Still only at 221 words here; remember to try to stay under 250, unless your professor advises otherwise. Keywords: main words, primary, necessary, search terms A Sample Paper for the Purpose of Correct Formatting The title of your paper goes on the top line of the first page of the body. It should be centered, unbolded, and in title case (all major words—usually those with four+ letters—should begin with a capital letter). You can either give a brief introductory paragraph below that or go straight into a Level 1 heading. In APA format, the Introduction never has a heading (simply begin with an introductory paragraph without the word "Introduction"); see page 63 of your APA Manual (American Psychological Association [APA], 2010). As shown in the previous sentence, use brackets to denote an abbreviation within parentheses. Write out acronyms the first time mentioned, such as American Psychological Association for APA, and then use the acronym throughout the body of the paper. Parenthetical citations include the author(s) and year of publication; include the page or paragraph number if you also use a direct quote. Page numbers should be used for any printed material (books, articles, etc.), and paragraph numbers should be used in the absence of page numbers (online articles, webpages, etc.). Use p. for one page and pp. (not italicized in your paper) for more than one. Use para. for one paragraph and paras. (also not capitalized in your paper) for two or more. For example: (Owen, 2015, pp. 12–13) or (Exodus, 2012, para. 8). Basic Rules of Scholarly Writing Since most beginning students will have difficulty learning how to write papers and also format papers correctly using the sixth edition of the APA Manual (APA, 2010), this sample paper can be used as a template for inserting the correct parts. For the purpose of instruction, it will use second person (you, your), but third person (this author) must be used in student papers. First person (I, me, we, us, our) is not generally permitted in scholarly papers. Students should refrain from using first or second person unless the assignment instructions clearly permit such (as in the case of personal reflection sections or life histories). Though some written assignments will not require an abstract, understand that APA generally requires one unless otherwise stated in your assignment instructions or grading rubric. Some assignments require an outline or annotated bibliography. APA does not regulate every type of paper, including those two forms. In those cases, follow your professor’s instructions and the grading rubric for the content and format of the outline or annotations, and use standard APA formatting for all other elements (i.e., title page, header/running head, abstract, body of paper, and reference list, double-spaced, with 1” margins, and Times New Romans 12-point font). Heading Levels—Level 1 This sample paper uses primarily one level of headings (Level 1), so each heading presented herein is centered and in boldface. APA, however, has five heading levels, which will be demonstrated briefly for visual purposes. See page 62 of your APA Manual (APA, 2010) if employing more than one level. Level 1 and 2 headings are bolded and in title case — capitalize each major word (usually those with four or more letters), including hyphenated compound words. Four-Year Pilot Study on Attachment Disorders, and Self-Awareness of Pollen are examples of headings with compound words. Do not capitalize articles (a, an, the) in headings unless they begin a title or follow a colon. Level 2 Heading Level 2 headings are bolded, in title case, and left-justified. The supporting information is posed in standard paragraph form beneath it. Never use only one of any level of heading. You must use two or more of any level you use, though not every paper will require more than one level. Level 3 heading. Is bolded, indented ½”, in sentence case (only the first word should begin with a capital letter in most cases), and ends with a period. Add two spaces, then begin typing your content on the same line, as presented in this paragraph. Level 4 heading. Same as Level 3, except italicized, too. Level 5 heading. Same as Level 4, but unbolded. Despite heavy writing experience, this author has never used Level 5 headings. Annotated Bibliographies, Tables of Contents, and Outlines A few requirements in various assignments are not addressed in the APA Manual such as outlines, tables of content, and annotated bibliographies. In those cases, the professor's instructions rule … but standard formatting applies (such as header/running head, title page, body, reference list, 1" margins, double-spacing, Times New Romans 12-point font, etc.). That being said, when I organize outlines in APA format, I set my headings up in the proper levels (making sure there are at least two subheadings under each level), and then I use those to make the entries in the outline. Level 1 headings become Roman Numbers (I, II, III), Level 2 headings become capital letters (A, B, C), Level 3 headings become numbers (1, 2, 3), and Level 4 headings become lowercase letters (a, b, c). Appendices Appendices, if any, are attached after the reference list. You must refer to them in the body of your paper so that your reader knows to look there. The word “Appendix” is singular; use it to refer to individual appendices. I am attaching a sample Annotated Bibliography as a visual aid in “Appendix A.” You will see that I included the title “Appendix A” at the top of the page and formatted it in standard APA format beneath that. Crediting Your Sources Paraphrasing is rephrasing another’s idea in one’s own words. Quoting is using another’s exact words. Both need to be cited; failure to do so constitutes plagiarism. Include the author(s) and year for paraphrases and the author(s), year, and page or paragraph number for direct quotes. Section 6.04 of the APA Manual (APA, 2010) says, “When paraphrasing or referring to an idea contained in another work, you are encouraged to provide a page or paragraph number, especially when it would help an interested reader locate the relevant passage in a long or complex text” (p. 171). When naming authors in the text of the sentence itself (called a narrative citation), use the word “and” to connect them. For example, “Adams, Brown, and Captain (2001) contemplated that . . .” Use an ampersand (&) in place of the word “and” in parenthetical citations and reference lists: (Adams, Brown, & Captain, 2001). APA’s official rule is that you must cite your source every single time you refer to material you gleaned from it (APA, 2010, pp. 15-16). You can vary your sentence structure to include both narrative and parenthetical citations in order to avoid redundancy. There is, however, an