In an APA style paper, a number of different components must be included in your report or assignment. Take a look at the tabs below to learn about the different components. The content below will provide you with additional information and examples.
Title Page Abstract (optional) Main Body Reference List
The title page for a student paper should include the following information:
Tips:
What is the purpose of an abstract?
An abstract is a summary of your paper. Readers should be able to quickly know what your paper is about.
Components of an Abstract
The body of your paper
If you plan on including multiple levels of headings, please refer to the APA 7th edition style manual for details related to headers. You may also refer to the "Useful Resources" tab of this guide. It is located on the blue menu bar.
References List Setup
Example: Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one's own hanging indent 0.5 in - - > incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1121-1134. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.77.6.1121
Refer to APA Citation Examples (Reference List) for examples of references/sources.
Note: Example is from the Purdue Online Writing Lab
This is the Title of My Paper
The water in the river has a lot of bacteria along the banks (Kim, 2000). According to Anderson (1981), the bacteria began to grow after the big hail storm in 1976. The big storm was created by the three little pigs because they were unable to go to the movies (Forest & Tyler, 1960).
Overview <----------------- This is the second header. It breaks up big parts in your content (use bold text)
The Beginning of the Storm <----------------- This is the third header. This is part of the main content, but is specific to the second header. (use bold text and italics)
The beginning of the storm took place in Carlsbad, NM. Carlsbad, NM is a small town in Southeast New Mexico (Tanner et al., 2010; Jones, et.al. 1955). According to Forest:
There was nothing in this small town that could have caused this rapid growth of bacteria. The only thing that may have caused it was an old
folk tale of the three little pigs. It wasn't true, they didn't huff and puff, they were actually scientists who wanted to cause trouble among the
town...and they succeeded (pp. 11-14).
Yesterday, pig number one said "let's get our lab coats!" They marched outside, and the trouble began.
Explanation of in-text examples in the main body of the paragraphs above.
(Kim, 2000) - use this format if the citation has only one (1) author and no page number (a webpage source, for example).
(Forest & Tyler, 1960) - use this format if the citation is linked to two (2) authors and has no page numbers. It may be a webpage source.
(Tanner et al., 2010; Jones, et.al. 1955) - use this in-text format if your source has three (3) or more authors.
References
Achterberg, J. (1985). Imagery in healing. Shambhala Publications.
American Psychological Association. (2017). Stress in America: The state of our nation. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2017/state-nation.pdf
Baider, L., Uziely, B., & Kaplan De-Nour, A. (1994). Progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery in cancer patients. General Hospital Psychiatry, 16(5), 340–347. https://doi.org/10.1016/0163-8343(94)90021-3
Ball, T. M., Shapiro, D. E., Monheim, C. J., & Weydert, J. A. (2003). A pilot study of the use of guided imagery for the treatment of recurrent abdominal pain in children. Clinical Pediatrics, 42(6), 527–532. https://doi.org/10.1177/000992280304200607
Bernstein, D. A., & Borkovec, T. D. (1973). Progressive relaxation training: A manual for the helping professions. Research Press.
Bottomley, A. (1996). Group cognitive behavioural therapy interventions with cancer patients: A review of the literature. European Journal of Cancer Cure, 5(3), 143–146. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2354.1996.tb00225.x
Cohen, M., & Fried, G. (2007). Comparing relaxation training and cognitive-behavioral group therapy for women with breast cancer. Research on Social Work Practice, 17(3), 313–323. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731506293741
Cunningham, A. J., & Tocco, E. K. (1989). A randomized trial of group psychoeducational therapy for cancer patients. Patient Education and Counseling, 14(2), 101–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/0738-3991(89)90046-3
Freebird Meditations. (2012, June 17). Progressive muscle relaxation guided meditation [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDZI-4udE_o