Running head: BASIC APA FORMATTING AND STYLE GUIDE …

1 Running head: BASIC APA FORMATTING AND STYLE GUIDE 1 Revised by WSU MPH on 9/22/16 BASIC APA FORMATTING and STYLE GUIDE : Wright State University Master of Public Health Program General FORMATTING A. Margins: 1-inch margins (top, bottom, left, right) B. Font STYLE and size: Times New Roman 12-point font C. Running head: should be a short title of the paper, no more than 50 characters, placed at the top left of the paper (double click on header and select Different First Page ) D. Page numbers: number each page at the top right, starting with the title page E.

2 Line spacing: double-spaced throughout entire paper: title, abstract, body (no additional line spacing before or after each paragraph), and references F. Paragraph indention (except abstract page): One-half inch set tab default (view ruler also aids in other FORMATTING issues) G. Spacing after punctuation: one space following a comma, semi-colon, and colon within a sentence, two spaces following punctuation ending a sentence (aids in readability) H. Show or hide FORMATTING marks: On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Show/Hide (aids in spacing issues) Title Page A.

3 Header should have Running head: SHORT TITLE IN ALL CAPS should be displayed on the title page ( succeeding pages should just include SHORT TITLE IN ALL CAPS). B. The title page is page one (1), placed in the top right corner in 12-point font. C. Title is approximately 12 words describing the body of work - centered in 12-point font. D. Author s name - first name, middle initial, last name - centered in 12-point font. E. Institutional affiliation is centered in 12-point font. Abstract (when required) The abstract is a one-paragraph summary, including the most important parts of the paper.

4 Typically, an abstract covers the research topic and questions, participants, methods, results, data analysis, and main conclusions. Running head: BASIC APA FORMATTING AND STYLE GUIDE 1 BASIC APA FORMATTING and STYLE GUIDE : Wright State University Master of Public Health Program John H. Doe Wright State University BASIC APA FORMATTING AND STYLE GUIDE 2 Revised by WSU MPH on 9/22/2016 A. Heading should be centered (no bold, FORMATTING , italics, underlining, or quotation marks). The abstract should be in block FORMATTING (no paragraph indention), is limited to 150-250 words, and includes keywords.

5 Body A. Title: the full title of the paper is centered on the first line (not bolded) B. Introduction: this section is not labeled and follows the title C. Subject Headings: There are five levels of heading which are demonstrated below: Tables A. Table Numbering: a ll tables should be numbered using Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, ..) B. Title: the title is italicized, title case, and should be clear and concise to explain relationships C. Spacing: use generous spacing between columns and rows and strict alignment to clarify relationships within a table D.

6 Heading: each column should be labeled with a clear, brief heading E. Lines: horizontal lines should be used for clarity (no vertical lines, color, or shading) F. Body: consistent reporting of decimal places with in the same column G. Notes: if additional information about the table is needed, this should appear in the notes sections labeled Note. The notes should be placed under the table, and each note should appear on a new line. There are three different types of notes: 1. General notes: refer to the table as a whole 2.

7 Specific notes: refer to the specific part of the table identified by a lowercase superscript letter 3. Probability notes: used to specify the p-value for the statistical test APA Headings Level Format 1 Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Headings 2 Left-aligned, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading 3 Indented, boldface, lowercase heading with a period. Continue with text like this after this 4 Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase heading with a period. Continue with text like 5 Indented, italicized, lowercase heading with a period.

8 Continue with text like this BASIC APA FORMATTING AND STYLE GUIDE 3 Revised by WSU MPH on 9/22/2016 Table 1 Mean +/- SD ACT Scores for Males and Females Tested in a One Year Period November 1, 2010 November 1, 2011 Gender Mean SD Mean SD Males Females Note. The mean score reflects the Composite Score of the ACT which ranges from 1 to 36. The Composite Score is the average of each subject test score (English, Mathematics, Reading, Science). WSU Note: Font STYLE can follow the same as Figures Figures A.

9 Figure Numbering: all figures should be numbered using Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, ..). The figure number should be left aligned, italicized, followed by a period, and placed below the figure. B. Title: the title follows the figure number on the same line. This should be sentence case and is not italicized. The title, which also serves as the caption, should be a brief, complete explanation of the figure. C. Font: a sans serif typeface such as, Helvetic, is recommended. The font size should be between 8 and 14-point D.

10 Height: the height of the figure should not exceed the top or bottom margins E. Legends: the legend should be within the border of the figure Sample Graph Figure 1. Hi and low temperatures recorded for Germantown, Ohio during the last week of 2011 using data collected from The Weather Channel, LLC 05101520253035404550 Temperature (F) Date HiLowBASIC APA FORMATTING AND STYLE GUIDE 4 Revised by WSU MPH on 9/22/2016 Note: For student papers, the American Psychological Association (2002) states that: Double-spacing is required throughout most of the manuscript.