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[Title, APA 2.01]

by

[full name of the author, 2.02]

School of Education

William Jessup University

[year]

A Project Presented in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Arts in Teaching

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Dedication [OPTIONAL]

[Your text]

ii

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Preface or Acknowledgements [OPTIONAL]

[Although the body of the project is usually written in the third person, this

section, if included, is usually written in the first person (see APA 3.09, 3.20 for more

details on when to use “I”). Here you may wish to explain certain features of the Project.

It is also customary to recognize the assistance of the Graduate Coordinator and/or

members of the committee. Specific contributions by other persons or institutions should

be acknowledged, especially if financial support was received.]

iii

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables [APA 5.07-5.11+]........................................................................................vi

List of Figures [APA 5.20-5.25+].....................................................................................vii

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Project [APA 2.05]..............................................................1

Background..........................................................................................................................1

Statement of the Problem.....................................................................................................1

Purpose of the Project..........................................................................................................2

Theoretical Framework of the Project.................................................................................2

Definition of Key Terms......................................................................................................3

Summary..............................................................................................................................3

Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature.............................................................................5

Introduction..........................................................................................................................5

Sample Level One Heading.................................................................................................6

Sample Level Two Heading....................................................................................6

Summary..............................................................................................................................8

Chapter 3: Implications........................................................................................................9

Introduction..........................................................................................................................9

Implications.........................................................................................................................9

Conclusion.........................................................................................................................10

References.........................................................................................................................11

Appendix A: Title of Appendix [APA 2.13, 8.03]............................................................12iv

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[Do not type directly into the Table of Contents (TOC). It is hyperlinked to the headings

in your text and will update for you automatically. Right-click on the TOC to auto-update

(select “update field” then “update entire table”). The APA reference numbers will

disappear when you remove them in the actual text.]

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List of Tables [APA 5.07-5.11+]

Table 1. A Sample Table Showing Correct Formatting....................................................10

[See APA 5.01+ on Displaying Results in Tables, 5.19 Table Checklist]

[The List of Tables will also auto-update. Right-click on the list to auto-update (select

“update field” then “update entire table”).]

vi

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List of Figures [APA 5.20-5.25+]

Figure 1. A sample figure....................................................................................................8

[See APA 5.20+ Figures, 5.30 Figure Checklist]

[The List of Figures will also auto-update. Right-click on the list to auto-update (select “update field” then “update entire table”).]

vii

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Abstract [APA 2.04]

by

[full name of the author]

School of Education

William Jessup University

[year]

[The abstract should contain all the essential information about the project and provide

the reader with an overview. It should be written in complete sentences and include

statements of the problem, procedure or methods, results and conclusions. The abstract

should include accomplishments, the most pertinent facts and implications of the study,

and a brief explanation of the work, and should not exceed 250 words (approximately 1

½ pages in length). Mathematical formulae, citations, diagrams, footnotes, illustrative

materials, quotations, and acronyms may not be used in the abstract.]

viii

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Chapter 1: Introduction to the Project [APA 2.05]

Background

This section should be a background narrative, citing literature throughout. Your

purposes in this section are to: 1) grab your readers’ attention, 2) convey the importance

of your topic (the problem), and 3) clearly and explicitly present your argument. This is

done by synthesizing the literature into a discussion. Do not present separate article

summaries; synthesize what you have read – compare and contrast the literature and

present a unified discussion. Here you should also present any descriptive data you can

locate in secondary data sources to provide some numerical evidence of the problem

you’re discussing. Remember to include in-text citations following APA guidelines. Use

topic appropriate headings throughout your literature review to organize the discussion

for your reader.

Statement of the Problem

Here you give a clearly and concisely detailed explanation of the educational and

theoretical problem your project will address. Your problem should be of educational and

societal significance – a true problem that necessitates a solution (your argument is your

proposed solution). The problem is typically broad in nature. For example, your project

might discuss the problem of chronic absenteeism in U.S. high schools, persistent racial

achievement gaps, poor writing skills among high school graduates, or lack of access to

higher-order math content in K-12 schools. You will have introduced this problem in the

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background section. Here you discuss the problem specifically and provide in-depth

literature evidence to support it.

Purpose of the Project

Here you state and substantiate your argument, your proposed solution(s) to the

problem addressed above, and what you intend to do in the paper. Address any gaps that

exist in the literature. Discuss why you have taken on this topic and why it is important.

Argue for the necessity of a solution or different approach to the ways your topic &

problem have been discussed, researched and understood.

Theoretical Framework of the Project

The theoretical framework is the conceptual base from which your topic has

evolved. It includes the basic, historical, theoretical nature, and background of your topic.

This information is the material that under girds, and provides basic support from which

your topic emerges. Essentially you are trying to present a rational/theoretical/research-

based model for your problem and argument. The theoretical framework is the conceptual

base that bridges your problem and argument. It is core evidence for your claim/your

argument. If a reader were to respond to your argument with the question, “Why should I

believe that?”, your theoretical framework/conceptual underpinning is the answer. It is

the theory of your argument. This section will typically be 2-4 pages. Literature citations

are essential. Theorists and researchers who are famous in the field of the topic will

probably be referenced in this section.

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Definition of Key Terms

An introductory sentence should be used to transition to the definition of key

terms. The terms in this section should be terms directly related to your project that will

be used by you throughout the paper that are not common-knowledge terms. It is up to

you to define each term as you want the reader to know that term. In every case possible,

cite a source for your definition. Define all jargon for your reader to provide temporal and

cultural context and guide your reader through the argument. List the terms in

alphabetical order.

Key term 1: Definition (citation).

Key term 2: Definition (citation).

Key term 3: Definition (citation).

For example:

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP): assessments designed to

produce national and state estimates of both overall and group-specific achievement in

subjects such as reading, math, science, and history. These assessments are administered

during the 4th and 8th grade school years, and help serve as the “Nation’s Report Card”

(Condron, Tope, Steidl, & Freeman, 2013).

Summary

Present a 1-3 paragraph summary of key points included in Chapter 1. Then

present a one paragraph description of how the remainder of the paper is organized (that

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is Chapters 2 -3 and any appendices you know will be included). Note: The length of

Chapter 1 varies from project to project, but most range from 10-15 pages.

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Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature

Introduction

Write a brief introduction of 2-3 paragraphs to refresh you reader’s memory about

the problem and purpose of the project you presented in Chapter 1. Also, tell you reader

about the form Chapter 2 will take in terms of purpose, scope, and sequence/organization.

The introduction for Chapter 2 should include the titles of the main headings. [Notes:

Remember that in this chapter you are reporting on what other researchers, experts, and

theorists have already said about the subject. Therefore, for the most part, the verbs in

this chapter are past tense].

It is a skill on the part of graduate students to report on the literature in a way that

compares, contrasts, and in so doing, analyzes what is found in the literature. The purpose

of the literature review is not to simply summarize the sources read and present

information. The purpose is to synthesize and utilize the sources and information

gathered to present a convincing argument of the importance of your problem and the

validity of your argument. Synthesize your many sources into a coherent discussion. The

literature review will typically contain 2-4 strands of literature in which you present,

discuss and synthesize the research literature on the 2-4 topics the reader must understand

to substantiate your problem and validate your argument and recommendations.

The APA Publication Manual (2010) is the guideline for the format of your

project. Consistency is the law. Follow its guidelines on how to do something and do that

the same way throughout the paper. This is particularly true of chapter headings and

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subheadings. Except in rare cases, use last names only for persons noted or references in

the study and do not use position or academic titles. In most cases, paraphrase what you

want to share for your reader from what you have found in the literature. Overuse of

“directly quoted” material is to be avoided. How long should Chapter 2 be? Rarely is a

review of literature under 20 pages considered adequate.

There are 4 criteria in determining the adequacy of the review of literature: (1)

complete enough to inform and enlighten the reader, (2) clear in every regard, (3) correct

in style and accuracy, and (4) concise as possible while remaining thorough. A

considerable portion of what you find in you literature search can and will be important

parts of Chapter 1, “Background of the Study,” and Chapter 3, “Implications and

Recommendations.” Be sure to review successfully completed papers for examples to

guide the organization and writing of each chapter.

Use topic appropriate headings throughout your literature review to organize the

discussion for your reader [APA 3.02+ Headings].

Sample Level One Heading

Remember, a paragraph is a full MEAL (please see 2016 Handbook). A paragraph

has at least three sentences. In the literature review, a scholar never cites only one source

in a paragraph. The first and last sentences in a paragraph should never be a citation.

Sample Level Two Heading

A full MEAL includes all aspects of that MEAL. The main idea is always

expressed in the author’s own words. Evidence, typically in the form of reputable sources

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or logical arguments, backs up that main idea. The author provides his or her own

analysis of the literature. Finally, the last sentence always leads into the next paragraph,

section, or chapter. Effective transitions are essential to a well-written literature review.

Conclude every paragraph and section explicitly transitioning to the content coming next.

Sample level three heading. With level three, four, and five headings, you will

need to perform some manual formatting functions. First, write your heading and at least

one sentence. Then, highlight your heading and select APA level 3, 4, or 5 from the

Styles menu. Next, highlight the portion that is not part of the heading and select Body

Text from the Styles menu. If the bolding and / or italics did not disappear from the text,

you will need to manually remove them. Some versions of MS Word do not

automatically remove them for you. Finally, click on the heading to make sure it is the

correct APA level and click on the body to make sure it is on Body Text.

Sample level four heading. Please note that with APA headings zero through two,

each word in the heading is capitalized. In levels three through five the headings are

sentence cased complete with periods. Bolding and / or italics are the only thing

separating level three through five headings from the rest of the text.

Sample level five heading. It is very important that you use the correct APA level

headings from the Styles menu in your document. By using the correct Styles, the

document’s Table of Contents (TOC) will be able to automatically and accurately

populate. If you do not use the correct formatting, you will not produce an accurate

document or TOC.

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Figure 1. A sample figure. This shows correct formatting and populating of the list of Figures.

Summary

Chapter 2 should have a summary that ties together the main headings of the

chapter. Also, be sure to preview for the reader what is coming in Chapters 3.

Sample Figure

X Y Z

Dr. Herzog

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Chapter 3: Implications

Introduction

Use this section to introduce the reader to this chapter and to refresh the reader’s

memory about the project being investigated. Summarize the problem and purpose

statements. Keep this brief, concise, and to the point.

Implications

Implications are practical suggestions for addressing the issues that have been

raised in the research. These should be suggestions of what should be done. Be sure to

add, following what should be done, how it can be done. This is important! It is easy to

make suggestions as to what should be done regarding an issue; it is another thing to

suggest how it can be done. Consider implications for practice (in schools and

classrooms), policy (in educational policy and law) and research (future studies to be

done). Implications for social change should be grounded in tangible outcomes and

improvements for individuals, organizations, institutions, cultures, and/or societies: (a)

who will benefit and (b) in what way? Provide a clear and concrete statement about your

study’s contribution to social change.

Practice Implications

Use subheadings to designate and distinguish the different types of implications.

Policy Implications

Depending on your topic, policy implications may not be relevant.

Future Research

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Return to the literature and think deeply and specifically about what future research

studies should examine and what questions still need to be answered.

Table 1

A Sample Table Showing Correct APA Formatting

Column A Column B Column C Column D

Row 1

Row 2

Row 3

Row 4

Note. From “Attitudes Toward Dissertation Editors,” by W. Student, 2008, Journal of Academic Optimism, 98, p. 11. Reprinted with permission.

Conclusion

Provide a closing summary of the entire paper. It should begin with a brief

review of the project, followed by an overview of the implications and conclusions.

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References

[See APA 2.11, 6.25 Order, 6.27 Components, 6.31 Electronic, 7.0 Examples]

American Psychological Association (2010a). Publication manual of the American

Psychological Association (6th Ed). Washington DC: American Psychological

Association.

American Psychological Association (2010b). Mastering APA style: Instructor’s

resource guide (6th Ed). Washington DC: American Psychological Association.

American Psychological Association (2010c). Mastering APA style: Student's workbook

and training guide (6th Ed). Washington DC: American Psychological

Association.

Bandyopadhyay, S., Rao, A., & Sinha, B. (2011). Models for social networks with

statistical applications. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Baranov, D. (2012). Conceptual foundations of social research methods (2nd Ed.).

London, England, Paradigm Publishers.

Berman, E., Bowman, J., West, J., & Montgomery, R. (2010). Human resource

management in public service: Paradoxes, processes and problems (3rd Ed.).

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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Appendix A: Title of Appendix [APA 2.13, 8.03]

Ideally, you should refer to the appendices in the same order that they appear at

the end of the manuscript. The first, in text reference should be to Appendix A, then

Appendix B, and so forth. Page numbers may change, so just give the appendix letter.