Fillable Printable Sample APA Paper Format

Sample APA Paper Format

Running head: SAMPLE APA PAPER 1

Sample APA Paper

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Ivy Tech Community College - Northwest

Note: Students should also comply with documentation requirements and expectations

set by individual instructors that supplement or depart from this sample paper.

Examples include the Running head and information in addition to the Title, Byline

and College, Sub-headings, and use of Abstract.

Start the

page

numbers on

the title

page

Title

Author

College

Center this

information

from left to

right in the

upper half of

the page

*In APA the preferred

typeface is Times New

Roman in 12 font size.

Double space the entire

document including the

references page.

The running head is now flush left in

the header and is present on all pages

of the paper.

SAMPLE APA PAPER 2

Abstract

The abstract is the second page immediately after the title page. The term “Abstract”

should be centered on the page without bolding, italics, etc. The running head continues

throughout the paper and will appear top left. Abstracts vary in length but are typically

between 150 to 250 words and represent a summary of the paper. It should be accurate

and concise. The font size is the same as for the entire paper. The abstract should be one

paragraph without indentation and double-spaced. Refer to the Publication Manual of

the American Psychological Association for more detailed information.

*Note: the words “Running head” appear only on

the title page.

SAMPLE APA PAPER 3

Sample APA Paper

Approximately 14 million women in the United States are battling with the

disease anorexia nervosa (AN) which is described as “one of the least understood and

most intractable of all mental illnesses” (Schindehette, Sandler, Nelson and Seaman,

2003, p. 136). Many of the victims of this disease will battle it for the rest of their lives.

However, if AN is diagnosed early, during the teen years, it is possible to cure it with

appropriate treatment (Cooper, 2001). Therefore, adolescent women struggling with AN

need effective treatment, and today, after four decades of research, there is an increasing

number of treatment options ranging from counseling, to nutritional therapy, to

medication. Yet, some researchers and victims still advocate that there is a need for

further research in this area (Kaplan, 2002; Hendricks, 2003).

Treatments

Upon recognizing symptoms, such as strict dieting, weight loss, binge eating or

fasting, feeling dizzy, weak, and/or depressed, in addition to insomnia, family members

should seek out the advice of a health care provider. The health care provider will take a

complete medical history as well as do a physical examination (Cooper, 2001). After this

process is complete, then the doctor can begin treating the patient with AN, which may

include referrals to specialists in counseling, nutrition and other medical fields.

Counseling.

One of the more traditional forms of treatment is counseling, which is also

referred to as psychotherapy. The goal of psychotherapy is to work with the patient so

that through therapy she will be able to control her eating and maintain her body weight.

Center the title on the first

page of the text. Note that it

is in the same font size as the

paper itself and there is no

bold print, etc.

Subject headings may be used if they fit

with the style of the paper. Because the

introduction is identified by its place in

the paper, no separate heading is

needed.

When

doing an

in-text

citation for

a direct

quote,

make sure

to use the

author, year

published

and the

page

number

When

doing an

in-text

citation

for a para-

phrase,

only cite

the author

and year

Example of

citing two

authors;

separate

each with a

semi-colon

Level 2

headings are

flush left

and in

boldface

Level 1

headings are

centered

and in

boldface.

(chart, p. 62

APA

Handboook

)

SAMPLE APA PAPER 4

There are two primary types of psychotherapy, and they are individual therapy and family

therapy.

Individual Therapy. Individual therapy counsels one on one with the patient.

Sometimes there is a team of medical specialists, yet the therapy sessions are between the

patient and her doctor(s). This type of therapy has mixed results. According to an

article in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

(1999), individual therapy is superior when used in treating older adolescents and those

who have late-onset AN (Robin et al.), and a 2003 publication in The American Journal

of Psychiatry concurs with this finding (Pike, Walsh, Vitousek, Wilson and Bauer).

However, both articles’ findings state that individual therapy is not the best treatment for

young adolescents or those with early-onset AN.

Family Therapy. While individual therapy does not work well with young

adolescents or patients with early-onset AN, family therapy seems to have made

significant strides in treating this group of patients. In fact the Canadian Journal of

Psychiatry stated, “without the involvement of the parents and family as therapeutic

allies, weight gain is extremely difficult to achieve” (Geist, Heinmaa, Stephens, Davis

and Katzman, 2000). Family therapy may not only employ the assistance of parents and

other family members, it can also call on schools and friends as part of the treatment

strategy.

One such strategy is a program called the Maudsley Method. This radically new

treatment option was developed in the 1980’s at the Institute of Psychiatry and Maudsley

Hospital in London. This method “coaches parents to help their kids gain weight by

whatever means necessary—by preparing their favorite foods, with 24-hour monitoring

Note: when

there are six

or more

individual

authors, cite

the first

author’s last

name and

refer to the

others as et

The date is not

given in these

in-text

citations since

it is used in the

sentence

before the

citation

Spacing twice after punctuation marks

at the end of a sentence aids readers of

draft manuscripts.

Level 3

headings

are

indented,

boldface

and end

with a

period.

SAMPLE APA PAPER 5

to prevent purging and hours of cajoling at the dinner table” (Schindehette et al., 2003, p.

136).

An example of how involved the parents are in this treatment is seen in Abbie’s

story. Abbie, at her low point, weighed only 68 pounds at 17 years old. Usually dinner

was a struggle for the entire family as Abbie tried almost anything to avoid food. She

would literally squeeze butter out of toast and wipe it on her hands like lotion; all so she

could keep away from putting anything with caloric content into her mouth. Then

Abbie’s parents learned of the Maudsley Method and started her in it. Shortly after

starting the program, her parents had her wearing white gloves to dinner. The objective

was that the food went in its entirety into her mouth not on or under the table or massaged

into her skin. The gloves were to be clean at the end of the meal. Her parents said, “If

she slopped some milk on the table, she’d lick it up. She knew that, no matter what, she

had to eat it all” (Schindehette et al., 2003, p. 136). Overall, in this family based therapy

program the Maudsley Method, the parents are

empowered to use food as medicine and

many studies report significantly greater success with family based therapy. People

magazine (2003) reports that while the mortality rates for AN still average around 5 to 20

percent, the Maudsley Method is reporting success rates as high as 90 percent five years

after treatment was initially sought. Other studies agree that family therapy is one of the

best treatments for young adolescents and those with early-onset AN (Robin et al., 1999;

Geist et al., 2000).

Nutritional Therapy

While individual and family therapy are two of the more traditional methods of

treating AN, nutritional therapy, which is called psychoeducational therapy, is also

*In APA

set the

margins

to one

inch

Second and

subsequent

citations in

text of three

or more

authors use

first author

last name

and then et

al.

Indent 5-7

spaces, or

½ inch.

(p.229)

SAMPLE APA PAPER 6

commonly used. The aim of psychoeducation is the process of giving information about

the nature of the disease in hopes to cultivate behavioral and attitudinal changes in the

patient. Furthermore, a study has reported that family based psychoeducation produces

the same results as family therapy while costing less (Geist, et al., 2000). However, these

results may not be replicated with a group of older adolescents (Pike, et al., 2003).

Medication

Medication is another method used to treat AN. Using medication,

pharmacological therapy, to treat AN also has some promising results. According to

European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, “recent evidence suggests a role for

medication in the relapse prevention stage of the illness” (Kotler and Walsh, 2000).

Medication is commonly used along with another form of treatment, as are many of the

treatments, too. This is referred to as a multidisciplinary approach. Pharmacological

therapy uses medicines that help the patient reduce the fear of becoming fat, depression

and anxiety as well as weight gain (Cooper, 2001).

Discussion and Conclusion

While each of these treatments reports success in various groups or when

combined with other treatments, there are still individuals who do not feel that the

treatments are effective. One such person is Jennifer Hendricks who authored Slim to

None, which is a book that chronicles her daily struggle with AN. Many times

throughout the text Hendricks stated that she did not feel that the treatments she was

receiving were of any benefit. Christopher Athas, President of the American Institute of

Anorexia Nervosa, stated in the foreword of Slim to None, “There is a glaring inadequacy

SAMPLE APA PAPER 7

of the mental health system to treat and fully understand this disease” (2003, p. ix).

Eventually Jennifer lost her battle and died.

The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry also states that there is a significant need to

find “effective management that truly impacts on long-term outcome” (Kaplan, 2002, p.

236).

Overall, there are a variety of treatments ranging from individual and family

therapy, to nutritional counseling to medicine; however, after reading

through the literature, there are still too many young women like Jennifer Hendricks who

lose their battle with AN. Hopefully, the future will hold an increasing number of

women who stories are similar to that of Abbie’s.

Note that

no author is

needed in

this citation

since the

author was

referenced

in the

sentence

before the

direct quote

SAMPLE APA PAPER 8

References

Cooper, P. G. (2001). Anorexia nervosa. Clinical Reference Systems, 2001, 107.

*Geist, R., Heinmaa, M., Stephens, D., Davis, R., & Katzman, D. (2000, March).

Comparison of family therapy and family group psychoeducation. Canadian

Journal of Psychiatry, 45, 173-178. Retrieved from

http://allstate.libproxy.ivytech.edu/proxy.ivytech.edu/

Hendricks, J. (2003). Slim to none: A journey through the wasteland of anorexia

treatment. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

*Hester, J. (2003, March). Never say die. British Medical Journal, 326(7391), 719.

doi:10.1136/bmj.326.7391.719

*Kaplan, A. (2002, April). Psychological treatments for anorexia nervosa a review of

published studies and promising new directions. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry,

47(3), 235-242.

*Kotler, L. A., & Walsh, B. T. (2000). Eating disorders in children and adolescents:

Pharmacological therapies. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 9, 108-116.

Retrieved from

http://allstate.libproxy.ivytech.edu/?url=http://search.ebscohost.com

*Pike, K. M., Walsh, B. T., Vitousek, K., Wilson, G. T., & Bauer, J. (2003, November).

Cognitive behavior therapy in the posthospitalization treatment of anorexia. The

American Journal of Psychiatry, 160 (11), 2046-2049.

doi:10.1176/.ajp.160.11.2046

Note: the

running

head and

page

numbers

continue

onto the

references

page (s)

In the

reference list,

show up to

seven authors’

names. With

eight or more

authors, give

the first six

names, three

ellipses and

then add the

last author’s

name.

(p. 184)

SAMPLE APA PAPER 9

Robin, A. L., Siegel, P. T., Moye, A. W., Gilroy, M., Dennis, A. B., & Sikand, A.

(1999, December). A controlled comparison of family versus individual therapy

for adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Journal of the American Academy of Child

and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(12), 1482-1491.

*Schindehette, S., Sandler, B., Nelson, M., & Seaman, D. (2003, December 15).

Recipe for life. People, 60(24), 135-138. Retrieved from

http://allstate.libproxy.ivytech.edu/?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.gary.libproxy

.ivytech.edu.allstate.libproxy.ivytech.edu/

*On the following page are alternate citation entries for

the starred reference citations. You instructor may prefer

that you use the database name and accession number for

the library subscription databases. You must follow your

instructor’s wishes.

Even though

the in text

citation lists

only the first

author’s last

name, all six

of the authors

are shown on

the references

page.

SAMPLE APA PAPER 10

References

Geist, R., Heinmaa, M., Stephens, D., Davis, R., & Katzman, D. (2000).

Comparison of family therapy and family group psychoeducation.

Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 45, 173-178. Retrieved from Health

Source: Nursing/Academic Edition. (AN3204144)

Hester, J. (2003, March 29). Never say die. British Medical Journal, 326(7391), 719.

Retrieved from ProQuest Research Library database. (326022801)

Kotler, L. A., & Walsh, B. T. (2000). Eating disorders in children and adolescents:

Pharmacological therapies. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 9, 108-116.

Retrieved from Health Source: Nursing/Edition database. (4692132)

Pike, K. M., Walsh, B. T., Vitousek, K., Wilson, G. T., & Bauer, J. (2003, November).

Cognitive behavior therapy in the posthospitalization treatment of anorexia. The

American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(11), 2046-2049. Retrieved from ProQuest

Nursing and Allied Health Source database. (520916381)

Schindehette, S., Sandler, B., Nelson, M., & Seaman, D. (2003, December 15). Recipe

for life. People, 60(24), 135-138. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier database.

(11768263)

Reminder: these

examples are

from Ivy Tech

library

subscribed

databases. Your

instructor may

prefer that you

list the database

and accession

number and not

the url of the

database or the

doi number of

the article.