HSB4UI – GRADE 12 SOCIOLOGY

Writing an Essay or Research Paper using A.P.A. Format

A.P.A is the most common form of citation used within the social sciences. This includes Sociology but is also used by other disciplines such as Psychology, Anthropology, Business, Economics and Education. You are probably most familiar with M.L.A citation as used in English and History. The two are very similar but there are some differences. If you are pursuing the social sciences at the post-secondary level, it is crucial you format your papers and research using A.P.A citation.

General Guidelines:

Any paper formatted using A.P.A needs to be typed and double spaced. Double spacing allows me to write comments on your paper; also, single spacing annoys me. Additionally, you should use a 12 point font. A.P.A recommends Times New Roman, though any legible font is acceptable. Margins should be 2.5 CM (1 Inch). Playing with margins is a dangerous game, since closing them in to make the paper look longer is easily detectable to a professional educator (teacher, professor etc.) On the other hand, shrinking them to make a longer paper look shorter is equally apparent. When in doubt, don’t touch the margin sizes. You will also need standardized margin sizes for your header.

Header:Every page of your paper needs to include a header. This goes at the top of the page, on the left side. The header is the title of your paper. It should appear outside the actual paper’s margins (I told you not to play with the margins)! Note that if your title is long, you should use a shortened form of it in the header. THE HEADER GOES ON EVERY PAGE!

The PAGE NUMBER then goes on the RIGHT SIDE OF EVERY PAGE.Please note that unlike MLA, you do not include your last name beside the page number.

An A.P.A. Paper is Generally Divided into Four Parts

1.)Title Page

The Title Page is just that; a cover page that goes over top of your essay or report. APA only requires a few things for your title page:

The header still goes in the top left hand corner of the page. However, it is preceded by the words “Running Head:” (I have no idea why they do this). Include the page number, which should be “1” on the title page.

Starting roughly 2/3 at the top of the page in the centre, write the title of your paper. TIP: if you are uncertain what you want to title your essay or paper, write it first, then give it a title after the fact.

Underneath this, double spaced, write your first initial and last name

Underneath this, write the institution you are affiliated with. In this case, it is just “Jacob Hespeler Secondary School.”

2.)Abstract

Most APA papers include an abstract. This is a summary of the findings of your research and what the paper is about. The abstract is one page in length and usually between 150 – 250 words. It often explains key ideas and questions answered in your research. Like all pages in your paper, the abstract needs to include the header at the top left side of your paper, and a page number (usually page 2). It contains the title: “Abstract” in the centre of the page.

3.)Main Body

For your purposes, this is the actual essay or research paper itself. Like all pages of the paper, it includes the header and page number at the top. The title of your essay should be centred at the top of the page. NO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS REQUIRED.

You may include subheadings within the paper to indicate the topic of each new paragraph. I only advise this if you are doing a research paper as it looks unprofessional in an essay. Each new paragraph needs to be indented one tab in.

4.)References

A references page is required at the end of your paper. It needs to start on a new page and, just like the other pages includes the header and page number. “References” is centred at the top of the page. Do not bold, underline or otherwise alter the font.

You may reference works that you consulted but did not in fact cite in the paper. This can be to your advantage as it demonstrates to the instructor that even though you did not quote much, you still did some research,

Your references should be in alphabetical order and double spaced. The first line of each entry is tabbed in once. Every subsequent line of that entry afterwards receives one tab. Every new entry is done in this fashion. The style of each entry is dependent on the type of work it is (book, magazine, movie etc.) You can use the OWL Purdue guide to citation to see how to enter each source (I have included a copy of this on the Moodle).

SAMPLE A.P.A. PAPER:

An APA formatted paper does not require a cover (nor will a cover impress me, as it just adds weight to a stack of papers – remember, Mr. Gibb is lazy). Staple your entire paper together in the top left corner.

FORMAT MATTERS – USING PROPER FORMAT IS AN EASY WAY TO GET FREE MARKS ON AN ASSIGNMENT

USING CITATIONS

You must reference your sources using proper in-text citation for APA standard papers. The good news is that APA uses a similar format to that of MLA of which you are probably most familiar with.

When using APA format, follow the author-date-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication followed by the page number used for the source should appear in the text, for example, (Gibb, 1998, p. 137). A complete reference should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

A copy of how to do proper in-text citations can be found here:

CITING WEB / INTERNET SOURCES

In today’s age, many of not most of your sources will be from the internet and can be difficult to cite in-text. APA allows you to refer to specific pages with dates if no author is given. For example:

According to at least one source, HBO’s Game of Thrones is now the most watched show on television (CableWatch, 2014).

Although some web sites will list a date, not all do. If a date is not given, it is acceptable to simply list the source as “n.d.” For example:

According to at least one source, HBO’s Game of Thrones is now the most watched show on television (CableWatch, n.d.).