How to Key Sections of an APA Essay

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Key Sections of an APA Essay

When writing an essay in APA format, you must include certain sections to provide more meaningful and concise information to readers. These significant APA publication manual sections provide logical guidance and findings to readers, making it easier to check any information from the entire research. The key sections include the following:

  • Paper’s Title Page
  • Title Page Abstract (optional)
  • Introduction
  • Literature Review
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • References
  • Appendices (if applicable)

Title Page

The components of title page when writing an essay in APA format will contain the following components:

  • Conciseness
  • Clarity
  • Keywords
  • Formatting

Formatting Conciseness

  • Make titles short and contain relevant information. It must capture the major paper’s idea in a few words.
  • Do not write long titles

Formatting Clarity

  • Develop a clear and concise title for the page title
  • Use ideal and precise language to describe the title

Formatting Keywords

  • Use the ideal keywords to make your essay searchable in databases.

Formatting

  • Title case: Every first letter of a major word should be in Capital letters (nouns, adverbs, etc).
  • Centring: Put the title at the page centre.
  • Bolding: The title page should be in bold.
  • Spacing: The title page should be positioned 3-4 lines down from the page’s top margin.

Example:

“The Social Media Impact On Self-Confidence”

From the above title, there is clarity, conciseness, and title case. Readers can easily get the intent of the topic paper as it provides an effective summary.”

Abstract

When formatting the Abstract page in an essay, it should follow the below guidelines:

Placement: Begins on a fresh page after the title page

Heading: Centre and bolden your “Abstract” at the page’s top

Text:

  • A single paragraph without indentation.
  • An Abstract page is usually between 150-250 words long.
  • The Abstract page must summarize the essay. It must reveal everything about it, such as the question, outcomes, research methods, and conclusions.

Example:

This study revealed the social media’s impact on self-confidence. Participants (N = 150) aged 15-20 completed measures of social media use and self-confidence. Findings and outcomes showed a strong and negative impact of social media use on self-confidence scores. Additional findings revealed excessive time on social media significantly contributed to low self-confidence.

Main Body

The main body of an essay in APA format cover page will look like this:

A. Introduction

Purpose:

  • Clearly and concisely introduce the topic
  • State background information
  • Reveal the research question
  • Provide a brief outline of the APA style paper’s structure

Example:

“This study revealed the social media impact on self-confidence. Young people continue to embrace social media platforms, a development that is triggering concerns about the mental health of people. This study explores the correlation between the use of these platforms and the confidence level among youngsters. This paper’s literature review will explore those platforms and self-confidence. It will also examine the research methodology’s description, then the outcomes of the findings and discussions.”

B. Headings and Subheadings

Levels:

  • Level 1: Centered, boldface, uppercase and lowercase. Example: The Social Media Impact On Self-Confidence.
  • Level 2: Left-aligned, boldface, uppercase and lowercase letters. Example: Literature Review
  • Level 3: Indented, boldface, lowercase with a period at the end. Example: The Use of Social Media and Self-Confidence.
  • Level 4: Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase letters with a period at the end. Example: Social Comparison Theory.
  • Level 5: Indented, italicized, lowercase letters with a period at the end. Example: Impact of social comparison on self-perception.

C. In-Text Citations

  • Author-Date Method: (Author Last Name, Year). Example: (Reuben, 2023)
  • For direct quotations, Include the page number (Author’s Last Name, Year, p. xx). Example: “Previous study revealed a correlation between the use of social platforms and depression (Smith, 2023, p. 45).”

D. Writing Style

Clarity and Precision: Avoid redundancy and indirect language, and be concise. Example: Use “Several studies revealed…..” instead of “A lot of studies show…”

Objectivity: Neutrally present your information without partiality. Do not use any individual thoughts or emotional language. Example: Use “Findings revealed that social media negatively impacts….” Instead of “I think social media has more negative impacts…”

Formal Tone: Write professionally and academically throughout the text.

References

Here is an APA outline format for referencing style.

  • New Page: Always start the “references” on a new page.
  • Title Page: The title “References” must be at the page’s top in bold.
  • Spacing: Double-space all entries in the “References” list.
  • Hanging Indent: Use a hanging indent for each entry, meaning that the first line of each entry is flush left, and subsequent lines are indented.
  • Alphabetical Order: All entries must be alphabetically arranged by the first author’s last name. If a specific author has many works, chronologically order them by the date they were published. Ensure to list the earliest work.
  • Basic Format: Most references usually include the Author(s) last name and first initial. (Year). Title of work.
  • Publication information: Example, Journal Article: Author, K.Y., Author, V. T., & Author, F. E. (Year). Title of article. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), page numbers. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx.
  • Book: Author, A. A. (Year). Book title. Publisher.
  • Website: Author, A. A. (Publication date). Title of page. Retrieved from URL
  • APA citation Management Tools: Some management tools like EndNote can help you with citing your references properly. They can also help with automatic, accurate bibliographies.

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