UTT LIBRARIES

APA STYLE
FORMATTING

A Brief Guide

Revised October 2010

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UTT LIBRARIES

BRIEF GUIDE TO FORMATTING A RESEARCH PAPER USING THE APA STYLE

As part of the course requirements at tertiary level , students must submit essays or re-
search papers using a citation and formatting style which has been selected by the institution to
which they are affiliated. Once a particular style has been selected, it must be carefully followed
as it provides specific guidelines for the layout of the paper and the formatting of the references.
This document provides a brief outline of the APA style which is one of the recommended styles
of the University of Trinidad and Tobago.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Paper: Standard size 8 x 11 inches

Font: 12 point Times New Roman
Line spacing: Double spaced
Margins: 2.54 cm on all sides
Page Numbers: Number all pages consecutively beginning with the title page
Paragraphs: Indent the first line of every paragraph except the abstract.
Do not justify the document.

MAJOR PAPER SECTIONS

The research paper should include the following sections where applicable:

Title page
Table of Contents
List of Tables and Figures
Abstract
Main Body
References
Appendices
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TITLE PAGE

The actual running head must be

capitalized and should not exceed
The phrase Running head is inserted 50 characters including spacing
only on the title page. It must always and punctuation.
be positioned flush left .

Running head: SAMPLE PAPER IN APA 1

Pages must be numbered

The title should be placed
in the centre of the upper
half of the page . Do not
bold, italicize or underline.
Sample Paper
using the American Psychological
Association (APA) Referencing Style
consecutively beginning
with the title page. The
page number must always
be placed on the top right
hand side of the page

John Smith
Authors name
The University of Trinidad and Tobago

Institutional Affiliation
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ABSTRACT

Running Head to be Consecutive Page Number

included on each page

SAMPLE PAPER IN APA 2

The word
Abstract is typed
in the centre of the
upper part of the Abstract
page. Do not Do not justify
bold , italicize right margin or
hyphenate words
The abstract is a summary of the paper between at the ends of the
line.
150 an 250 words, no more than one paragraph

in length. It should be accurate, concise and

Do not indent the first
specific thereby allowing readers to quickly and
line of the abstract
precisely understand the purpose of the paper.
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THE MAIN BODY GENERAL STRUCTURE

The following sequence is followed when putting together the main body of the research paper.
The sections which will be included in your paper will depend on the nature of the research being
done.

Introduction

This section is not labeled as its location at the start of the paper is self explanatory. The title of
the research paper is placed at the top centre of the page before the opening paragraph.
The introduction sets out what the paper is about, the approaches taken and how the subject matter
is treated. It includes the hypothesis or thesis statement.

Literature review

The literature review examines research which has already been done on the topic. The purpose
is to demonstrate an awareness of your subject area, as well as show how your research may con-
tribute to this body of knowledge.

Methodology

This will vary according to the type of research. Issues treated in this section would include the
approaches used to collect the information for the research and the design of the data collection
instrument best suited for these.

Results

This involves a presentation of the results of the data collected. If the research undertaken was not
extensive then it is generally considered more useful to combine the Results section with the Dis-
cussion section.

Discussion

The findings of your research are analyzed in relation to the issues highlighted in the introduction.
Indicate whether your results support or disprove your hypothesis and what factors may have af-
fected your results.
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THE MAIN BODY first page example

Running Head Consecutive Page Number

SAMPLE PAPER IN APA 3

The main body of

Sample Paper the research paper
begins with the title
using the American Psychological which should be
centred at the top of
Association (APA) Referencing Style the page. It should
not be underlined,
italicized or put in
bold
The introductory paragraph presents the main

idea, hypothesis or thesis statement of your research

paper. Unlike the abstract, it starts with an indenta-

tion.

Sections of text are placed directly after each

other without a break; do not start a new page when

using a new heading.

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THE MAIN BODY FORMATTING ELEMENTS

Quotations

Short quotations of less than 40 words.

Include in double quotations marks as part of the sentence.

E.g.
Individuals need to make themselves more marketable by engaging in continuous profes-

sional development as it is now quite usual for employers to ask candidates at job interviews

about the steps they have taken to identify and address their own development needs. (Cottrell,

2003, p.3)

Long quotations of 40 words or more.

Include as a block while still maintaining the double spacing . Indent 5-7 spaces from the left mar-
gin in keeping with previous paragraphs. Do not enclose in quotation marks.

E.g.
In discussing the potential impact of tertiary education on students, Cottrell (2003) has

pointed out that University life and study can be very challenging to our way of seeing the

world. Many would argue that it should be and that a university education should stretch

students and make them re-evaluate their core beliefs and ways of thinking. The challenge

can be difficult to manage at first.(p.81)

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THE MAIN BODY FORMATTING ELEMENTS

Headings
APA has identified five levels of heading which can be used to organize the layout of the
research paper. These headings which must be used in sequence are :

APA Headings
LEVEL FORMAT
Centered Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
1

Left- aligned, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading

2

Indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.

3

Indented, bold, italicised, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a

4
period.
Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period
5

The number of headings used will depend on the complexity of your paper.

An example of a layout to be used in a research paper will be as follows :

Engineering in the Twentieth Century (Level 1)

The Impact of Engineering on Society (Level 2)

Urbanization. (Level 3)
Town and country planning. (Level 4)
City Layout. (Level 5)

Voice and Tone

Use the third person point of view rather than the first

The study showed that Not I found out that

Use the active voice rather than the passive voice:

The participants responded Not The responses provided by the participants...

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References

Always start the list of

references on a new page
Running Head
Consecutive Page Number

SAMPLE PAPER IN APA 4

Type the first line Type the word
in an entry flush References References in
left. Indent 5 spac- the top centre of
es if entry contin- American Psychological Association. (2010) the page. Do not
ues into another capitalize, un-
line Publication manual of the American derline or itali-
cize.
Psychological Association (6th ed.)

Washington DC: Author.

Curtin University Library. (2009) APA referencing.

Use double line Retrieved from

spacing
http://library.curtin.edu.au/local/docs/

referencing/apa.pdf
List all entries in
alphabetical order Kirszner, L. G., & Mandell, S. R. (2005). The
ignoring a, an,
the if they are the Wadsworth handbook (5th ed.) . Australia:
first words in the
citation. Thomson.

The Owl at Purdue. (2010). APA formatting and style

guide. Retrieved from

http:// owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

resource/560/01/

Further information can be obtained from UTT Libraries webpage http://www.u.tt/library .

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APPENDIX

These are generally used for supplementary material not included in the body of the research
paper for example a copy of a questionnaire or a blueprint.
Each appendix must begin on a separate page.

Running Head Consecutive Page Number

The word Appendix

is inserted at the top SAMPLE PAPER IN APA 5
centre of the page If
there is more than
one, a capital letter Appendix A Each appendix
is used to distin- must have a
guish them Survey pertaining to the proper use of information title which
must be
placed in the
top centre us-
1. Do you generally list your sources at the end of your ing upper and
research paper ? lower case.

Yes No
The body of the
text must begin
flush left. 2. Are you familiar with referencing styles?

Yes No

If yes please indicate which one.

MLA APA Chicago Harvard