An Introduction to APA Style - Douglas College

Introduction to APA Style 1
25/01/2012
/mcym
AN INTRODUCTION TO WRITING IN APA STYLE
This document provides an introduction to writing in American Psychological Association (APA)
style. All of the information in this document is contained within the sixth edition (2 nd
printing) of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. If you need
more details please refer to the APA manual available in the: Douglas College Library,
Psychology Lab, and Learning Centre.
The types of papers you will be asked to submit for grading will generally fall into 2 categories:
a literature review or an empirical study.
Literature Review
A literature review is a critical analysis of published work. The purpose of the literature review
is to: define and clarify the problem; summarise previous research by identifying trends,
similarities, differences, contradictions, gaps, and inconsistencies; and suggesting directions for
future research. A literature review consists of, at minimum:
title page
abstract
references
Organising the body of the paper into sections is at the discretion of the author: use the table
below to format headings for each section according to APA style. At minimum, Level 1
headings are required, but if two levels are needed, then use Levels 1 and 2 headings; if three
levels are needed, then use Levels 1, 2, and 3 headings, etc.
Level of heading Format
1 Centred, Boldfaced, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
2 Flush left, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
3 Indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a
period.
4 Indented, boldface, italicised, lowercase paragraph heading
ending with a period.
5 Indented, italicised, lowercase paragraph heading with a period.
Empirical Study
An empirical study is a report of original research in which an hypothesis is tested; data is
collected; and the results are presented and evaluated. An empirical study consists of, at
minimum:
title page
abstract
introduction
method
results
discussion
references
Formatting for a literature review and empirical study follows the same conventions. Because
the sections within an empirical study are more prescriptive, this document focuses upon
writing an empirical study.