Composing A Perfect Essay In APA Format: Things You Must Know
APA format is an official writing style of the American Psychological Association, so all the students who study psychology and sometimes social sciences are assigned a few essays in this format.
General guidelines to writing an APA paper are:
- All APA papers must be double-spaced.
- The margins at the top, bottom and both sides of the paper should be at least one inch.
- There must be a page number in the top right corner of every page.
- You must have a running heading at the top left side of every page. It has to state the title of the paper (shortened).
- An APA paper must have a title page which includes your name, name of your school, and title of the essay. Please find a sample to see how the title page should be put together.
- Including a reference list is mandatory for every paper in APA format. All the sources cited in the paper must be listed alphabetically by the author’s name.
Please note that your teacher might have some additional requirements set for this kind of essays, so you need to discuss the format with him or her. Formatting mistakes will affect your final grade, so do your best to avoid them.
APA Essay Writing Tips
The following tips should make it easier for you to compose this kind of essay:
- Do some research before you decide on a topic.
- Develop a preliminary outline before you before you start a more comprehensive research.
- Don’t limit yourself when you write an initial draft.
- Ask someone to look over your work.
It’s imperative to choose a good topic, because you must be sure there is enough relevant information for you to include in your work. This will also help you to familiarize yourself with the subject, so you’ll be able to write a better outline and therefore create a stronger essay.
This will save you a lot of time, because you will know what exactly you need to look for.
However, don’t forget that no outline is set in stone if you come across some more interesting information and get a few better ideas, include this data in your notes.
At this point you shouldn’t think about the required word count. Your only consideration should be to write down all the important information you’ve managed to find. You can polish the piece and cut out all the unnecessary parts at the editing stage.
An outsider will be able to notice the mistakes that you missed and give you an honest opinion about the quality of your work.