How to Write a Good Term Paper in APA
If a student has to cover a topic related with the field of social and psychological studies, he is obliged to arrange a term paper in APA format. American Psychological Association suggests its own style of writing which would be easier for a student and professor. The format has its own stylistic and technical peculiarities, so a student will need some extra guidelines for writing which can be found here.
Step One: Fulfill Technical Settings
It is natural that one cannot start writing the text itself without the prewriting intending of the options. First of all it is important to set 1” margins from all sides of the sheet to make the text look neater and easier for perception. Then, one should set a general view of the page marking on the headers, the page number in the upper right side of the sheet and the title of the term paper (its topic) on the upper left side. The text is supposed to be written in Times New Roman font or the font which is close to it and the size of the letter should be equal to 12.
Step Two: Prepare Correct Front Page
The front page in APA format of a term paper should look in this way - the title of topic is placed in the middle of the page; below there is students first and last names and finally there is a name of educational institution. This organization of front page differs from other formats, as it is easier and less detailed and economizes place and student’s time.
Step Three: Prepare Abstract and Keywords Sections
A student has to start every chapter of the text from a new page. The Abstract is a section which follows the front page and its aim is to provide the professor with information about research, the relevance of topic, the methodology which would be used in the paper, etc. A student should remember to prepare a brief text which would be no more than 250 words and the font size should be no more than 12. The Keywords chapter follows the Abstract and it provides a reader with the list of terms and expressions on the topic making the term paper easy for research in the database of educational institution. One should think about the selection of keywords when a term paper is written.
Step Four: Cite Sources Correctly
A student is supposed to use quotations and the results of research of famous authors who can be called the masters in their sphere of work, so when one uses a quote, he has to organize it in the right manner. First of all, a student should write author’s name and then write the year of publishing using a comma between them. When the paper is written, a student is supposed to prepare a detailed list of the works used for writing organizing the sources in the right logical alphabetic order. The source should be presented in this way: the author’s last name, first name, the year of publishing, the title and the publishing house.
