APA Report:

ENG 4CI

APA Report Overview:

• An APA Report is research paper on a current topic. APA stands for American Psychological Association. APA is the most common format for structuring reports at colleges.

• You should choose a topic that interests you.• First, you should ask a question.• Second, you should review the literature –

popular and scholarly – on the topic.• Third, you should analyze the literature and

come to some conclusion of your own.

APA Report Contents:

1. A running header on each page2. A title page3. An abstract (one paragraph that is an overview

of your report)4. A review of the literature: a summary of at

least one scholarly and three popular sources that deal with your topic

5. Your analysis and conclusion6. A works cited page

1. Inserting a running header in APA:

• Select View on the toolbar• Select Header and Footer on the pop-down menu• Select Insert Autotext on the Header and Footer

toolbar• Select -Page-• Write a shortened version of your report’s title to the left

of the page #• Left justify on the main toolbar• Select Close

2. Writing a Title Page:

• Elements of a Title Page: • Running header• Page # (1)• Article title • Author’s name • Author’s school affiliation • Teacher’s name• Date submitted• Choosing a Title

One of the most difficult tasks is choosing a good title. Your title should be as specific as possible. Notice the titles used in the following example:

• [Specific – good] "Should Fighting Still Be a Part of Professional Hockey?."

• [General – poor] “What is the Future of Hockey?"

Fighting in Hockey – 1

Should Fighting Still Be a Part of Hockey?

A Review of the Literature

Ima Lancer

ENG 4CIElmira District Secondary School

Ms. Culp Klassen

Sept. 21, 2011

3. Writing an Abstract:

• First, write your paper. While the abstract will be at the beginning of your paper, it should be the last section that you write.

• Keep it short. According to the APA style manual, an abstract should be no longer than 120 words. The abstract should also be written as only one paragraph.

• Structure the abstract in the same order as your paper. Begin with a brief summary of the Review of the Literature, then summarize your analysis.

*EXAMPLE ON NEXT SLIDE*

3. Example Abstract Format:

• Elements of a Title Page:• Running Header• Page Number• Title “Abstract”• One paragraph summary (does

not need to be more than 120 words/ one paragraph)

• Begin with a brief overview of the literature you have found, followed by a summary of your analysis

• Do not indent• Remember to double-space

Sample Paper – 2

Abstract:

There has always been controversy regarding beauty pageants that involve

young children. Some authors argue that there is too much emphasis on

beauty, and that beauty pageants enforce the belief that thin and sexy is the

only form of beauty in this society. Also, there is the fear that beauty

pageants may lead to eating disorders and depression. On the contrary,

some authors believe that beauty pageants help to build poise, grace and

self-esteem, and sometimes result in financial prizes. This review will

conclude with my opinion that beauty pageants exploit young children and do

more harm than good.

4. A Review of the Literature:Directly Citing Print Sources in the Report

• Summarize each article you are reading for this report (one paragraph per article)

• Direct quotations allow you to acknowledge a source within your text by providing a reference to exactly where in that source you found the information. The reader can then follow up on the complete reference in the Works Cited page at the end of your paper.

• Quotations should be incorporated in the text and enclosed with double quotation marks. Provide the author, publication year and a page number.

• Dr. Miele stated, "The placebo effect disappeared when behaviors were studied in this manner" (Miele, 1993, p. 276), but he did not clarify which behaviors were studied.

OR• He found that "the placebo effect,

which had been verified in previous studies, disappeared when [only the first group's] behaviors were studied in this manner" (Miele, 1993, p. 276).

4. A Review of the Literature:Directly Citing Electronic Sources in the Report

• For electronic sources such as Web pages, provide a reference to the author, the year and the page number (if it is a PDF document), the paragraph number, if visible, or a heading followed by the paragraph number.

• A complete reference must appear in the Works Cited page at the end of your paper.

• If quoting from an article directly, you must use quotation marks and a proper reference

• "The current system of managed care and the current approach to defining empirically supported treatments are shortsighted" (Beutler, 2000, Conclusion section, para. 1).

4. A Review of the Literature:Indirectly Citing Sources in the Report

• When using your own words to refer indirectly to another author's work, you must identify the original source.

• A complete reference must appear in the Works Cited page at the end of your paper.

• In most cases, providing the author's last name and the publication year are sufficient:

• Within a paragraph, you need not include the year in subsequent references.

• Smith (1997) compared reaction times...

OR• Smith (1997) compared

reaction times. Smith also found that...

5. Analysis and Conclusion

• In this section of your report, you draw general conclusions from the sources you have read and reported on.

• Finally, you conclude generally. This conclusion will usually involve some opinion of your own.

• Remember to double-space,

Fighting in Hockey – 8

Analysis:

The sources I researched for this review had various opinions on the

issue of fighting in professional hockey. Some believed that fighting

should be… Others were of the opinion that…

Fighting in Hockey – 9

Conclusion:

In my opinion, the NHL probably has little choice to continue to

allow fighting. While I do think they should crack down on those

players who try to seriously harm an opponent…

6. A Works Cited Page:Print Sources

6. A Works Cited Page:Electronic Sources

ExemplarTitle Page

Abstract

Intro, Article 1 & 2

Article 3 & 4

Article 5

Analysis and Conclusion