APA FORMAT ESSAYS

• Introduces topic of the paper

• Includes Thesis Statement
• Introduces key arguments used to support Thesis
Statement
• Order they appear in the introduction = order they appear
INTRODUCTION in the paper
PARAGRAPH • Ideas and arguments should flow together
• Don’t make single statements that don’t relate to the ideas
around them
• Assume your reader doesn’t know anything about your
topic
• Be Clear and Concise
THESIS STATEMENT

• Key Argument of for paper

• How you will be answering the research question of the paper
• Should be target a single specific point

• Bad Example:
• “Memory has been show to be fallible and should not be relied on in our legal system.”

• Good Example:
• “Though research has shown the unreliability and inconsistency of memory, eye-witness
accounts continue to be used as evidence in courts of law.”
BODY PARAGRAPHS

• Should only contain a single idea that concerns an argument laid out in the introduction paragraph
• 3 – 7 sentences each
• If your paragraph in ¾ of a page, it is too long, split it into smaller thoughts/ideas

• Each idea requires 3 things

• Introduction(beginning)
• Introduce the idea
• 1 Sentence
• Evidence(middle)
• References and explanation of the reference
• 2-3 sentences
• Conclusion(End)
• Why was this idea important to the thesis
• 1 sentence
CONCLUSION

• 3-5 Sentences
• This is where you drive you point home
• Restate your thesis
• Restate some key arguments, in order
• 1 sentence for each point raised
• Make a final point summing up
• DO NOT ADD ANY NEW INFORMATION!!
IN TEXT CITATION

• Quotes or closely paraphrased informations with no introduction :

• (last name of Author, date of publication, page number)
• “Post-event misinformation: When exposed to misleading information, people may incorporate that
erroneous information into their existing memory of the event during the reconsolidation process”
(Meyers, 2014 p. 347)
• Quotes or close paraphrases where author is introduced:
• (Date of publication, page number)
• As Meyers wrote “…” (2014, p.347)
• When Paraphrasing or summarizing
• (Author’s last name, Date of Publication)
REFERENCE LIST/BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Books
• Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher.
• Online Scholarly Article:
• Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Online Periodical,
volume number(issue number if available). Retrieved from
https://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
• Online News Articles
• Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper. Retrieved from
https://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
ONLINE RESOURCES

• General APA Guidelines

• https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html

• Citations Generator
• http://www.citationmachine.net/
• https://scholar.google.ca/