Best way to format APA paper

Each scientific material follows some rigorous writing formats. This is mandatory for easy comprehension of the book, essay or paper that people will read.

Generally, there are 3 common styles that students, teachers or academicians are using. APA, MLA, and Chicago style are the most popular among industry experts. Yet, often, it is very hard for students to master the new one. It takes time to get familiar with a writing style and also to master it. In such cases, students usually do a lot of mistakes. If you have college peers who write A-grade essays or course works but are refusing to help you with formatting of your paper, most probably they are just getting help from professional writers. Nevertheless, mastering APA format is possible, this guide will help you to get a better understanding and deep knowledge on the most essential points.

Generally, APA, an American Psychological Association style was developed to be a rigorous standard for scientific communication. Learning and teaching the APA format essay example can be a true challenge as it comprises a lot of details. Sometimes all the rules get intimidating. This guide will disclose the easiest definition of APA, and the general mistakes people make. In the end, there will be some easy tips to consider when writing in APA style.

Related: How to Write a Personal Statement and it’s Main Aims, Effective Tips for Successful Academic Writing

Easy comprehension of APA formatting essay rules

The guidelines will help students, authors and beginning writers structure their papers. As the APA formatting style is a pretty exact standard for scientific communication, here are the simpler keys for it.

The first thing to know is that APA is a guideline for a more clear and concisely writing. The APA style is actually a set of rules. People learn to credit sources, by writing citations and references. Naturally, the rules change depending on the type or the format source.

General APA guidelines:

1. The paper must be typed and spaced on standard-sized paper, (8.5″ x 11″), with 1″ margins on all sides.
2. The font must be clear and readable. APA format essay recommends using the Times New Roman font, with 12 letters size.
3. It should be a header on every page, also known as the “running head”. Depending on the program people use, it is very easy to insert this header with simple commands. The running head is basically a shortened version of the paper’s title. It cannot exceed 50 characters. It includes spacing and punctuation as well.
4. There must be 4 major sections. Among them are: The Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, and References.
   1. The Title Page should contain a running head, title, author name, and school affiliation. It is going to help the reader understand what the paper is about and emphasize on who the author is.
   2. Abstract. The abstract is a self-contained summary of the paper. It follows the title page and should be between 150-250 words. The Abstract depends on the specific publication and the instructor need.
   3. Main Body. For a paper like an essay, it should include the essay itself. If it is about a more complex paper, the body should be broken in further sections, with theoretical and discussions parts.
   4. References. This part includes all the sources that the author has used in the paper. It is very important for the source to be cited correctly.
5. The paper should include citations in the APA format
   1. The references should begin on a new page.
   2. The references need to line in alphabetical order.
   3. The reference section should be double-spaced.
   4. All the sources cited should appear both in the text and on the reference page
   5. The exact format of each reference depends whether it is about an author, book or journal article. People should pay attention to this detail to format the source list in the right way.

Common mistakes to avoid when writing in APA format

Many of the APA format essay mistakes are due to poor planning and bad time management. But people learn from mistakes. Here are the most common ones to remember:

• Incorrect header. As it was mentioned every page should include the running header. Skipping these lines is a fundamental mistake.
• Incorrect placement of commas and periods. This is a crucial mistake, as it can make a citation completely wrong or change a phrase meaning.
• In-text citations left outside the reference page. People forget to make a corresponding reference list for in-text citations.
• Neglecting to make citations when paraphrasing.
• Being inconsistent with the citation style. Writers should decide which is the citation style they want. Mixing them up is a very common mistake.

APA formatting essay seems a bit hard to understand. But practice makes better. Once understanding its main rules and what mistakes to avoid, it’s like riding the bike. Even so, if one doesn’t want to bother himself with tough rules he can always ask for help from professional writers. Sometimes we just need to concentrate on the general idea of our essay or other kind of paper, and these thought about where to put comma or double-space make us go mad and irritated.