When writing a research paper the importance of citing the research in your work is extremely important. Many forms of formatting are used in colleges and businesses to ensure the material written in research papers is referenced properly. The MLA, (Modern Language Association), Chicago Style, and there are others. The APA (The American Psychological Association) format, according to the Purdue online writing lab, (1995-2008) the APA format is the most widely used format for online colleges and universities when writing research papers.
Basic APA set-up
The APA format is very complex and for some is difficult to learn. However, the APA format was constructed to help both the writer of the research paper as well as the reader to easily find more information if he or she is interested. The paper will contain an abstract (for large research papers) or introduction, and a conclusion. The title of the research material is italicized. The author of the material used and the year it was published must be cited next to the information used in the paper. The paper is always written in double space, Times New Roman 12 point black is the preferred font. However, Arial 12 point black is acceptable. The page layout is simple 1-inch margins and borders, allowing for headers and footers. A .5 indentation is used for the first line of a new each paragraph. The Reference page has a hanging first line, with the rest of the bibliography indented .5. Citing in the paper is important, however, you must put the reference page together properly is just as important. The references are alphabetized making sure to show author’s name, last name first, year of publication, where to find the information, and when the information was retrieved, (use the references from this article as an example).
“When editors or teachers ask you to write in “APA style,” they do not mean writing style.” Is a quote from APA.org (2008) Meaning the APA style is based more on citing and referencing a person’s research papers, or information within the paper. Research papers are filled with references from where the material the writer has taken the information. Therefore, the APA format allows the writer of the research paper to provide a consistent format for the reader to follow. In addition, the writer is able to ensure that only credible sources were used when writing the research paper, in turn the writer is also showing his or her own credibility.
References
APA.org, (2008), American Psychological Association. Retrieved August 9, 2008. From:
http://apa.org/
The Writing Lab, (1995-2008) The Owl at Purdue, Retrieved August 9, 2008. From
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
