APA Guidelines for Papers

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Definition

The following guidelines will be used in all of the papers in this course. To help you remember these guidelines you will be quizzed in intro week on various parts of APA formatting of your papers, Title Page Quiz, APA Body of a Paper Quiz, and Reference Page Quiz.

There are two types of papers in this course Reflection and Research. Each type of paper is very similar with a few differences. Below are the main differences of each paper:

1. Reflective papers are written for the purpose of conveying comments about your thoughts and feelings about the content of the subject matter and how they apply to you. If you are required to read an article, book or document, the reflective paper would not conveya factual report or summary of the article but how you feel about the material presented. Please use 1^st person to display reflection. Since the objective is to read the article and reflect on it, if the article is not mentioned in the reflection paper, points off will be taken. NO reference page needed since this is reflective.
2. Research papers are written to disseminate scholarly factual information ascertained through a review of the literature involving peer-reviewed articles and publications from evidenced-based resources. These resources should be current within five years. Please use 3rd person to write these research papers. A reference page is required.

APA Resources

The following will give you some guidelines for formatting your paper following the APA guidelines. This New APA Guidelines Sixth Edition document gives you page numbers to the APA 6th Edition referencing the specific guidelines for each section of your paper.

Here is a helpful tutorial you can watch to help you better understand how to draft an APA approved Nursing paper (located in the Intro Lesson - APA Tutorial

For more detailed information see the following resources:

• APA site
• Purdue OWL site

See this example paper to see these guidelines in action

Follow this APA Paper Checklist.docx to make sure you have included and formatted all of the required parts according to APA Formatting.

Title Page

• Page Header: Place the Running head and page number in the header. See this header and page number PDF for a step by step guide to setting up your headers.
• Running head: Title is ALL CAPS and less than 50 characters. This is flush left at the top of the title page and all subsequent pages
• Page Numbering: Start your page numbers on the title page and use the automatic functions in your word processing program; this is flush with the right side margin.
• Title, author, and school information is double-spaced and centered on upper half of page
• An author note is usually not required of students. Check with your instructor.

Download this title page example to ensure you are correctly using title page specifications.

Body

The Following is not a comprehensive list, so check the New APA Guidelines Sixth Edition document to find the correct information in the APA 6th edition.

• Margins on all sides are 1 inch.
• Double-space between all text lines; never use single-spacing or 1 ½ spacing except in tables or figures.
• Typeface and font: Times New Roman with 12-point font size.
• Indentations: use the tab key, which should be set at 5-7 spaces or ½ inch.
• Two spaces after punctuation marks at the end of a sentence.
• One space after commas, colons, and semicolons, and periods that separate parts of a reference citation and initials of personal names.
• Do not use contractions.
• Use third person: but if needed to avoid ambiguity, use a personal pronoun rather than the third person when describing steps.
• Use active versus passive voice (especially applicable for the reflection papers).
• Numbers below 10 are spelled out.
• Numbers at beginning of sentences are spelled out.
• Do not justify lines. Use the flush-left style and leave the right margin uneven.

Quotations

• Quoting means using the author's EXACT words. Citation includes (Author, date, specific page citation or paragraph number for non-paginated material).
• Quotes over 40 words must be indented with citation outside of paragraph, p. 171.
• Limit quotes over 40 words to 2 or less per 10 page paper.
• Paraphrasing means restating the author's ideas into your own words, p. 171. This is the preferred method of writing a scholarly paper. Critically think about previously written work and then write it in your own words, referencing appropriately.

In Text Citations

• Insert the author and year of publication in the text at the appropriate point

Example –  Early onset of the disease sets in by two weeks (Frank, 2003)

Frank (2003) states...

• No author initials cited in in-text citations
• Secondary sources
• Personal communications

References

• The title "References" is centered, unbolded
• Double-spaced
• Second and succeeding lines of individual reference are indented one tab (hanging indent), and in alphabetical order
• See References 6th ed (4).doc for an example

Right of Ownership:

Please remember to copy and electronically Sign and Date the following statement on the final page of your submitted paper: 


This paper is submitted as a true and accurate representation of my original work, research and writing. No part of this document is quoted, paraphrased, or the work of another individual unless cited and referenced correctly per the APA Publication Manual 6th Edition. I understand that any variance in citation or referencing can be considered academic misconduct, and subject to BYU-Idaho’s Academic Honesty policy.

Electronic Signature: ___________________________ Date: ________________