Fillable Printable APA Format Sample Paper

APA Format Sample Paper

Running head: APA FORMAT SAMPLE PAPER 1

APA Format Sample Paper: The Great World and Other Stuff

John Doe

Spartanburg Community College

Running head: Type “Running head:” then

put abbreviated title in all uppercase

letters. Do not exceed 50 characters. Should

be flush left (p. 229)

Note: In Word, to create different header

for page one, select “different first page”

under “Header and Footer” tools.

Title and byline: Center in

upper half of the page. APA

suggests that the title be no

more than 12 words in length.

Use upper and lower case

letters. Include your name and

name of college. Check with

instructor to see if more

information (date, class, etc.) is

required ( p. 23)

Page Number: Place in upper right-

hand corner-on same line as the

running head (p. 230)

Double-space paper and

title page. Use Times New

Roman typeface and 1

inch margins (p. 41)

APA FORMAT SAMPLE PAPER 2

Abstract

An abstract is a brief summary of your paper. According to the APA manual, your abstract

should be a single paragraph in block format and between 150 and 250 words (p. 25-27; 41;

229). Your instructor will let you know if an abstract is required for your assignment.

Page header: The abbreviated title

from the running head is included

with the page # for page 2+. Put the

title flush left.

APA FORMAT SAMPLE PAPER 3

APA Format Sample Paper: The Great World and Other Stuff

The world is full of interesting trivia. For example, events in history often have strange back

stories. When Darwin sent a copy of The Origin of Species to an important British publisher, the

editor said the book would not sell. He advised Darwin to write a nice book on pigeons because,

of course, everyone likes pigeons (Bryson, 2003, p. 381). Names are also interesting. The

“Yippies” were a short lived group in the 60’s who staged some poorly planned protests

(Holloway, 2000). Even animals have strange names. For instance, a cat encyclopedia describes

a Ragdoll as a cat, not a toy (“Ragdoll,” 1997).

Not all the stories about names are believable, though. In his book, A Short History of Nearly

Everything, Bryson (2003) tells how explorers told strange tales of the “homo caudatus” or “man

with a tail” (p. 382). Just as strange are some of local laws. For example, according to one source

(James, 2003), it is illegal to walk around in high-heeled shoes in Carmel-by-the Sea, California.

Places are also interesting. One science website (Loveridge, 2004, para. 2) mentions how a

person can “see both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans on a clear day from the Republic of

Panama.” Fairy tales and nursery rhymes are particularly rich in odd information. For example,

one scholar (Honeyman, 2007) has analyzed the symbolism of gingerbread in tales such as

“Hansel and Gretel” and found that, among other things, it symbolizes temptation. This is very

interesting, considering we now live in a society where food is used for more than nourishment

and candy is advertised to parents as a way of “showing affection” to their children (Schwartz,

Chen, & Brownell, 2003, p. 207). Besides their symbolism, the origins of nursery rhymes are

also interesting. According to legend, the Man in the Moon was placed in the moon as

punishment for “collecting sticks on Sunday” (“The Man,” 2003, para. 12). So a lot of

interesting, if useless, information can be discovered in the most unlikely of places.

APA FORMAT SAMPLE PAPER 4

References

Bryson, B. (2003). A short history of nearly everything. New York, NY: Broadway Books.

Holloway, D. (2000). Yippies. In T. Pendergast & S. Pendergast (Eds.), St. James encyclopedia of popular

culture (Vol. 5, pp. 214-215). Detroit, MI: St. James Press.

Honeyman, S. (2007). Gingerbread wishes and candy (land) dreams: The lure of food in cautionary tales

of consumption. Marvels & Tales, 21, 195-216. Retrieved from http://www.langlab.wayne.edu/

MarvelsHome/Marvels_Tales.html

James, T. (2003, March). Little known foot laws. Podiatry Management, 22, 143-145. Retrieved from

http://www.podiatrym.com

Loveridge, J. (2003, October 21). The middle man. Retrieved from Reed Business Information website:

http://www.newscientist.com/lastword/article.jsp?id=lw498

The man in the moon. (2003). Retrieved from http://nurseryrhymes.allinfoabout.com

Ragdoll. (1997). In B. Fogle, (Ed.), The encyclopedia of the cat (pp. 112-113). New York, NY: D.K.

Schwartz, M., Chen, E., & Brownell, K. (2003). Trick, treat, or toy: Children are just as likely to choose

toys as candy on Halloween. Journal of Nutrition Education & Behavior, 35, 207-209.

doi:10.1016/S1499-4046(06)60335-7