Whenever you are assigned a college paper, you might wonder about the basic requirements for the submission. Most commonly, all the rules are explained by the professor, or you can find them with the writing guidelines. On some occasions, a student is directed to comply with the APA for a college paper. To help you understand what stays behind the APA style, we would like to share with you the main tips for you to master it and earn a good grade. Off we go!
Understanding the Profile of APA Formatting
In simple terms, it stands for citation and formatting guidelines which have been previously developed and designed by the American Psychological Association (this is where the name comes from). These guidelines can be accessed online by finding the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. They are open to the public eye for students, and professionals who require advanced writing advice.
Nowadays, by referring to this format, you can learn how to order/structure as well as format a paper prior to submitting it. It may also hint at mastering grammar.
Note, based on students’ feedback, this style for novices might be something challenging, especially when they got used to following the MLA or Chicago formats. Yet, with a bit of learning, and practicing, it can be conquered easily and in no time.
If you still lag behind others with the APA format but need to urgently submit your college paper to the professor, you can also ask for online help from a write my paper for me service with designated essay experts whom you can pay to have your college papers written for you.
Key Guidelines
Now, let’s speak of the actual guidelines concerning this common format.
First off, the paper size requirements. You should have a standard, white, inch 11 on 8.5 paper for your essays. As for the margins, let them be UP TO 1-inch on all the sides of the paper. The line spacing is doubled. No need to add any extra spacing before and after your paragraphs.
The font of your paper can be various depending on your professor’s requirements, however, the most commonly used ones are Calibri, Arial, Times New Roman. Regarding their points, limit the font to 11-12.
What about the page header? Your header should involve only the page number on the top right corner.
Please note, there are continuous advancements and updates to the APA guidelines, and some professors and educational establishments may want you to follow certain versions. So, prior to submitting your paper, do ensure to consult the expert.
How to Write Your College Paper?
Let’s start with the structure. Nowadays, everything depends on the type of paper you are assigned to. For instance, a lab report may require you to structure it differently from the case study. Yet, all the papers involve a few things in common regarding the APA style – they should have a title page, abstract, main body alongside a reference section.
- Title Page
Everything starts with the title where you present your work. There should be names of the authors, affiliations to the institution, author’s note, the name and number of the course, curator name, and due date of the assignment. It might seem a little bit complicated, however, you can simply check the examples online and refer to them.
- Abstract
It stands for a brief introduction of approximately 150 – 250 words. It is like a summary of your work, and you just introduce a reader to the topic. With this format, an abstract appears directly after the title page and it has the following components – the purpose of the work, hypotheses, method and participants info, key findings, conclusions, as well as implications.
- Main Body
Here, again everything depends on the type of paper you are assigned. If you have a lab report, you need to involve the introduction, methodology, and results sections, alongside a discussion paragraph.
- References
Finally, your format paper should contain references where you just share information on all the references you used in your work. It should be presented in a new paper. Do not forget to add only a single word – REFERENCES in the top centre of the page.
Note, the references should be double-spaced, presented by complying with the alphabetical order. All the materials from the same author should be enlisted by complying with the chronological order – from the old to the new.
Some Extra Tips
Finally, let’s hint at some working tips. Before you start writing your paper, do some research. Regardless of the required format, your topic should be interesting and non-trite. Divide your writing into several stages – research, comparison of the topic with other findings, outlining, and drafting.
Check what others are going to write about. You can discuss with other students what they find interesting for their work, so it can help you avoid the same topics.
When you proceed with the actual writing, you can also learn more about transitional words or phrases which can help to connect all your paragraphs, so that a reader won’t lose the thread of the logic.
Finally, do always remember to cite everything you borrow from the other works. College papers are ongoing thorough checkups with the plagiarism tools, and your grade depends on their readings. So, if you cannot handle it, either turn to writing professionals or learn by heart the APA rules.