Indiana Wesleyan University

APA TEMPLATE1

APA Template

Jane Doe

Indiana Wesleyan University

Course Name & Number

Cohort Number

Instructor: Thomas Davidson

January 25, 2013

I have read and understand the plagiarism policy as outlined in the syllabus and the sections in the Student Catalog relating to the IWU Honesty/Cheating Policy. By affixing this statement to the title page of my paper, I certify that I have not cheated or plagiarized in the process of completing this assignment. If it is found that cheating and/or plagiarism did take place in the writing of this paper, I understand the possible consequences of the act/s, which could include expulsion from Indiana Wesleyan University.

APA Template

This is an APA template that students can use to write their APA formatted Journals and Research papers. Be sure to use two spaces between sentences in the narrative, but only one space between punctuation marks in reference sources on the References page. Students should double space the entire document. The student guide might indicate to single space the statement of academic honesty on the Title page. This is also acceptable. Do not double-double space between paragraphs. Tab over one tab to begin a new paragraph.

Formatting

This template is setup to use Times New Roman #12 font. Do not change the font type or color. Sample reference sources have been placed on the References page using the required hanging indent feature. The References page is setup with the hanging indent feature activated. Just begin typing in your reference source information and the document will automatically put the source in proper hanging indent form. Margins are one inch all around. Use hard page breaks between major sections of the paper (Title page, narrative, and References page) by inserting a page break at the end of the final paragraph or phrase of the section.

This is a MS Word document saved as .doc so it can be used with older versions of MS Word. To use this template the student need only to open it and replace the words on this document with their own. When finished, rename and save the newly created document.

Notice that the Running head: is different on the first page than the subsequent pages. The first few words of the title of the document is in ALL CAPS following Running head: on the first page and the “Running head:” is dropped but the title is not on subsequent pages. This is required by the APA 6th edition. Do not use superscript or hyperlinks. This document has been setup with these auto features turned off.

The APA has several different levels of headings. For most of the papers, no Abstract page is necessary. An abstract is similar to an executive summary. Abstracts are not generally required for papers under twenty (20) pages of narrative. Do not bold font the title of the paper or the heading on the References page. First level headings are centered, bolded, and in upper and lower case. For most of the short Journals written for IWU courses, no headings (other than title at beginning of narrative and References page are necessary. This is because most of the weekly journals average approximately three pages of narrative. With such short papers, headings generally do not add clarity. First level headings are included in this document for illustration.

Author-Date Method

Be sure to use the APA author-date method of citation in your paper when citing sources and list the sources in alphabetical order by the lead author’s name on the References page. Example: Criminal procedure can be viewed in two parts. The first part is everything that occurs between the police and the criminal suspect from first contact up through the indictment (Ferdico, Fradella, & Totten, 2013).

There is more than one proper way to use the author-date method of citation. Another example: According to Davidson (2012), many students have difficulty learning the APA style of writing. When quoting, also include the page number in the citation of the document. Example: “Students often have difficulty writing in the APA style” (Davidson, 2012, p. 21). Students have provided you with several supplementals and guidelines regarding when and how to cite through the IWU library website, the Student Guide, and the facilitator’s forum in BlackBoard. Be sure to review these documents for more information and guidance.

Academic Writing

Scholarly and academic writing uses a formal tone. Do not use contractions in scholarly or academic writing. Contractions are considered too informal (Not -don’t- instead use -do not- for example). Avoid the use of personal pronouns for the same reason. (Not: You should never waive your right to remain silent. Instead: One should never waive the right to remain silent). Do not attribute human qualities to non-human entities in academic writing. Example: Chapter Three in the textbook book discusses situational leadership. Books do not discuss anything. Books cannot talk. If students use the APA author date method of citation, this error can easily be avoided. Example: Robbins and Coulter (2009) discuss situational leadership in Chapter Three.

Many people have a tendency to write in the same tone and manner as speech. Be careful of misusing words such as while and feel. While is a measure of time. Example: I had to wait for the bus for a long while. Often students use the term while this way: While I agree with the author . . . This is improper. Instead revise: Although I agree with the author . . . or Even as I agree with the author . . Feel is an emotion or sense. Examples: I do not feel well. You make me feel sad when you talk like that. Often students use feel this way: I feel that supervision and management are two very distinct things. Instead revise: I believe that . . .

Summary

This document is setup in APA format. Students can save this template and replace and edit words and narrative in the same manner as editing any other MS Word document to prepare and write assignments. Students should review the provided materials with respect to writing in the APA style. Sample references are listed on the References page of the template which are setup to use hanging indents. Notice that there are special capitalization rules for sources listed on the References page. The sources listed in this document are for illustration purposes. Ordinarily, only those sources cited within the narrative are listed on the References page.

References

Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderland, L., & Brizee, A. (2010, May 5). APA general format. Retrieved from

Ferdico, J. N., Fradella, H. F., & Totten, C. D. (2013) Criminal procedure (11th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Robbins, S. P., & Coulter, M. (2009). Management (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.