Running head: APA WRITING STYLE

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Running head APA WRITING STYLE Guidelin
es for APA Writing Style David A. Foster Western
Oregon University
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Abstract The second page of your paper should
contain the abstract. The abstract is a brief,
concise summary of your paper. The abstract
should be no longer than 120 words. According to
the APA Manual, the abstract should describe the
problem being studied, the hypothesis, the
participants (and their characteristics), how the
study was conducted (e.g., apparatus, data
collection procedures, test names), the results
(including statistical significance levels), and
the conclusions and implications.
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Guidelines for APA Writing Style The next
section should introduce your topic. Note that
the title of the paper appears at the top of this
section. Also note that the first sentence of
each paragraph should be indented 5 to 7 spaces.
All margins should be 1 inch on each page
(excluding header. Acceptable typefaces include
Times Roman or Courier in 12 point size. Use
double spacing between all lines of the
manuscript. The manuscript should be left
justified so that the right side of the paper has
ragged edges. Finally, there should only be 1
space after a period, even when the period ends a
sentence. While quite natural, we should avoid
using colloquialisms in manuscripts since they
just junk up the paper. Also, their presence
could adversely effect the instructors opinion
of your writing. Hopefully, after covering these
topics, you will be able to avoid many of the
errors contained in this paragraph. The next
section examines headings.
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HEADINGS This section describes how headings can
be used to organize your manuscript and indicate
the importance of each topic. There are five
different levels of headings. Level 1
Heading Centered Uppercase and Lowercase
Heading Level 2 Heading Centered, Underlined,
Uppercase and Lowercase Heading Level 3
Heading Flush Left, Underlined, Uppercase and
Lowercase Heading Level 4 Heading Indented,
underlined, lowercase heading with a
period. Level 5 Heading CENTERED UPPERCASE
HEADING In papers with a) 2 levels of headings,
use Levels 1 and 2, (b) 3 levels of headings use
1, 3, and 4 (c) 4 levels use 1, 2, 3, and 4 and
(d) with 5 levels use 5, 1, 2, 3, and 4. We will
use the methods section to demonstrate the
concept of headings.
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Methods Participants This paper is assuming the
use of 3 levels of headings. Consequently this
section will use levels 1, 3, and 4. The methods
section should be organized into three major
parts (Allen, M.J., 1995). The first section
should include a description of study
participants. Information typically included in
this section includes their number, how they were
selected, how they were assigned to a condition,
and various demographic characteristics. Measures
and/or Apparatus The next section describes any
special data collection materials used. This
includes brief descriptions of how you measured
each variable. If you design your own measure, it
must be described in adequate detail. Procedures
Finally, describe how the data were collected.
Provided details about informed consent,
debriefing or dehoaxing procedures used. Enough
detail must be provided so that others could
replicate the study.
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General Writing Style The active voice should be
used whenever possible. Avoid heterosexist and
racist language. Table 1 provides some examples
of how to avoid offensive language. Results This
section summarizes the data collected in your
study as well as the statistical analysis of your
data. Do NOT include individual scores or raw
data! Tables and graphs/figures should be used to
visually present the results whenever possible.
All tables and graphs should be formatted to APA
standards. Discussion In the discussion section,
provide an overview of the results of your study
Second, describe how the current findings fit
with prior research findings on the topic. Third,
talk about the limitations your study had for
generalizing the results and how can they be
overcome. Fourth, discuss what future research
needs to be conducted.
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References Foster, D. A., Caplan, R. D. (1997).
Representativeness of observed couple
interaction Couples can tell and it does make
a difference. Psychological Assessment 9 (3),
285-294. Foster, D. A., Caplan, R. D., Howe G.
W. (1997). Representativeness of observed
couple interaction Couples can tell and it
does make a difference. Psychological
Assessment 9 (3), 285-294. Allen, M. J. (1995).
Introduction to Psychological Research. Itasca,
IL F.E. Peacock Publishers Inc. Howe, G. W.,
Caplan, R. D., Foster, D., Lockshin, M.,
McGrath, C, (1995). When couples cope with job
loss A strategy for developing and testing
preventive interventions. In L. R. Murphy (Ed.)
Job Stress Interventions (pp. 139-158).
Washington, DC American Psychological
Association.
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Table 1 Avoiding Biased Language
Do not use When you can use
Ethnic labels (Hispanic) Geographical labels (Mexican Americans)
men men and women or respondents, subjects, or participants
Homosexuals gay men and lesbians
depressives people with depression
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