Running head: SAMPLE FOR STUDENTS
Sample APA Paper for Students Interested in Learning APA Style 6th Edition
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SAMPLE FOR STUDENTS
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Abstract
The abstract should be a single paragraph in block format (without paragraph indentation), and
the appropriate length depends on the journal to which you are submitting, but they are typically
between 150 and 200 words. (Students should consult their instructor for the recommended
length of the abstract.) Section 2.04 of the APA manual (American Psychological Association
[APA], 2010) has additional information about the abstract. The abstract is important because
many journal readers first read the abstract to determine if the entire article is worth reading. The
abstract should describe all four parts of an empirical paper (i.e., Introduction, Method, Results,
and Discussion). Consider writing one or two sentences summarizing each part of a paper, and
you’ll have a nice abstract.
SAMPLE FOR STUDENTS
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Sample APA Paper for Students Interested in Learning APA Style
Before getting started you will notice some things about this paper. First, everything is
double-spaced. Second, margins are 1-inch wide on all sides. Third, there are several headings
used throughout to separate different parts of the paper; some of the headings are in bold. Fourth,
there is exactly one space after each punctuation mark (except for periods at the end of a
sentence, after which there are two spaces). Fifth, the upper left of each page has a running head
in all capital letters, and the upper right has the page number. Try to pay attention to all of these
details as you look through this paper.
Now that those details are out of the way, you should know that this first part of the paper
is called the “Introduction” section, yet it does not have a heading that actually says
“Introduction.” Instead, the title of the paper is typed at the top of the first page (be sure to center
the title, but do not put...