For professional academic papers, thesis, and dissertation, the APA format is used. You can even download a tool that already has the format in it or you do manually edit your document to make APA format. Format of APA for students and professional writers are different. Mistakes in a student paper are forgivable while in a thesis or dissertation, any wrong step is not tolerated. Following is the proper guideline for changing your document into APA format.
This is the manual guide of using the latest edition of APA format which can be a source of citation and formatting the paper. Follow the steps that guide you for writing a dissertation and thesis in this format but before going into it. Let’s see what is basic editing you need to do in the document so that you don’t have to do it separately for each section and can be used for dissertation help. These are:
- Adding page numbers.
- Setting margins of all sides. Set to 1 inch.
- Add double space text in all written data, even in headings.
- Add indentation to the first line of the paragraph. Set it to 0.5 inches.
- Use any font but prefer Times New Roman, 12 sizes of it.
No, let’s study these things in each section.
APA format in the document:
- Page Header
Every page in the document has a page header which consists of the page number and text of the header. Students only need to mention the page number in the paper. For professional students such as doctoral and master students, they are advised to related text in the header as well. The text is written in block letters. The title should be short however if it is long then better to abbreviate it.
- Headings – main and sub
The heading in APA format consists of different levels. Each level is used to add different steps. For example, the level 1 heading can be used in methodology or findings. A further level of 2 and 5 are used as subheadings. You should know for which phrase which type of level will be used.
- Title of a page
For the title page, there are different writing styles for students and professional students to use. Two things are common in both cases which include the title of the paper and the last name of the author. The difference is that the student paper includes, teacher name, deadline of assignment, and name of the subject. The professional document involves the author’s note and text in the head.
- Formatting abstract
The abstract is the summary of the paper and comes after the title of the paper. It consists of more than 200 words and is written on one page. For the APA format, write the abstract word in the middle of the page and it is usually written without blank spaces and paragraphs. Below the abstract comes the page of keyword which you have to keep it italic and indented.
- Table of content
APA format is not available for the table of content because it does not involve in the paper whether it is for student or professional one. Although this section comes before the introduction.
- Formatting reference page
Reference is also formatted according to APA style. In this section, the list of citations. It involves two things, having references in APA format and includes the page of it. The APA reference involves the author’s last name, publication year, name of the title, and journal.
The page formatting requires placing the reference word at the center of the page which is bold. Under the word, come references in alphabetical order. The indentation is 0.5 inches. Left-assigned is done to the first line of reference.
- Formatting table
For formatting of the table, use bold for the word “table” and assign it number to it. Also, write the text of the table which consists of an explanation of the table within one line. The number and text should be in italic.
- Formatting figure
Similarly, the same formatting is required for the figure. Bold the figure word and add numbers and text in it. Prefer to use a vertical line in the graph. Don’t need to make it colorful. Keep it as simple as possible. Black is preferable.
