Psychology Typing Instructions
Sections of a Paper
1. | Title Page | Required | |
Elements | |||
Running Head (header) - left-justified, all caps | |||
Page Number (header) - right-justified | |||
Title - centered, bolded | |||
Author Byline - centered, one double-spaced line below title | |||
Institutional Affiliation - centered | |||
Author Note | |||
2. | Abstract | Required | |
One paragraph summary of paper; no more than 250 words | |||
Start on a new page (p. 2) | |||
Block style (no indent on 1st line) | |||
Keywords at bottom | |||
3. | Body of Paper | Required | |
Start on a new page (p. 3) | |||
Repeat title at top of 1st page - centered, bolded | |||
Section headings and sub-headings properly formatted | |||
4. | References | Required | |
Begin on a new page | |||
Page heading "Reference" at the top of the page - centered, bolded | |||
Entries alphabetized by first author last name | |||
Use hanging indent (first line of each entry left-justified, successive lines indented 0.5") | |||
List only works cited in-text | |||
5. | Supplementary Materials | Optional | |
Includes: tables, figures, appendices | |||
All tables/figures assigned a table/figure number, title, and note - appear in numerical order | |||
All appendices assigned a letter - appear in alphabetical order | |||
All supplementary materials referenced in-text |
Typing Instructions
6. | Margins | 1 inch; all must be the same size | |
7. | Line Spacing |
Double space all text (includes: title page, abstract, headings, references, quotations, figure/table notes) |
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8. | Type Size | 11-12 pt. | |
9. | Typeface | Acceptable Serif fonts: Calibri (11 pt.), Arial (11 pt.), Lucinda Sans Unicode (10 pt.) | |
Acceptable Sans Serif fonts: Times New Roman (12 pt.), Georgia (11 pt.) | |||
10. | Paragraph indents | Indent 1st line of each paragraph by 0.5" (except abstract and long quotations) | |
Keep indent uniform throughout paper | |||
11. | Justification | All paper left-justified | |
12. | Header | Appears on each page | |
Running head | |||
Left-justified | |||
All caps | |||
No longer than 50 characters | |||
Page number | |||
Right-justified | |||
Number only (do not include p/pg/pp) | |||
Begins on title page (p. 1) | |||
13. | Headings | ||
1st Level | Centered | ||
Boldface | |||
Title Case (first letter of major words capitalized) | |||
Text begins on new line, indented | |||
2nd Level | Flush left | ||
Boldface | |||
Title Case | |||
Text begins on new line, indented | |||
3rd Level | Flush left | ||
Boldface | |||
Italicized | |||
Title Case | |||
Text begins on new line, indented | |||
4th Level | Indented | ||
Boldface | |||
Title Case | |||
Ends with a period | |||
Text begins on same line as regular paragraph | |||
5th Level | Indented | ||
Boldface | |||
Italicized | |||
Title Case | |||
Ends with a period | |||
Text begins on same line as regular paragraph | |||
14. | Quotations | ||
Short | Less than 40 words | ||
Merge quotation into text | |||
Must be enclosed by quotation marks (single or double) | |||
Must include source citation with author name(s), publication date, and page numbers | |||
Long | 40 or more words | ||
Begin on new line | |||
Use block quotation formatting (every line indented 0.5" from left margin) | |||
Double-spaced | |||
End with a period, followed by source citation with author name(s), publication date, and page numbers (in parentheses) | |||
Do not use quotation marks |
Referencing Material
15. | Level of Citation | Cite a source for each fact or idea - after every sentence, if necessary | |||
It is better to over-cite than under-cite | |||||
To avoid over-citation, do not repeat the same citation if source/topic have not changed | |||||
16. | Paraphrasing | Include citation with author name(s) and date of publication | |||
Always keep name and date together. For example: Smith (1984) states . . . Some argue that . . . (Smith, 1984). |
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17. | Secondary Sources |
When citing an orginal work that is quoted in a secondary source that you have read, use the following format: Smith says that . . . (as cited in Jones, 1984, p. 324) |
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In the reference list, use the secondary source informatin (the source that you gathered the information from) | |||||
18, | Multiple Citations | If more than one work is cited at a time parenthetically, alphabetize the works by authors' last names and separate the two references by a semi-colon | |||
For example: (Jones, 2012; Smith, 1984) |
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19. | Number of Authors | Citation and reference formatting varies depending on the number of authors | |||
1-2 authors | List all authors' names every time source is cited and in the reference list | ||||
For example: Smith and Jones (2002) . . . The researchers found that . . . (Smith & Jones, 2002). |
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3+ authors | List only the first author's name and et al. on every citation | ||||
List all author names (up to 20) in the reference list | |||||
For example: Smith et al. (2002) The researchers determined that . . . (Smith et al., 2002). |
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20. | Reference List | Ensure that each reference includes the necessary elements | |||
Book | Book Chapter | Journal Article | |||
a. ALL author names (up to 20) | * | * | * | ||
b. Name of article | * | ||||
c. Name of book | * | * | |||
d. Name of chapter read | * | ||||
e. Name of journal | * | ||||
f. Journal volume number | * | ||||
g. Article/chapter page numbers | * | ||||
h. Publisher name | * | * | |||
i. Digital Object Identifiers (DIO) | * | * | * |
21. |
Order of Elements in the Reference List |
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Journal Article | Author(s), Date, Article title, Journal Name, Volume Number (Issue Nmber), Page Numbers, https://dx.doi.org/XXXXXXXXXX | |||||||
Chapter | Author(s), Date Chapter Name, Editor Name(s), Book Name, (Edition, Volume, Page numbers), Publisher Name, https://dx.doi.org/XXXXXXXXXX | |||||||
Book | Author Name(s), Date, Book Name, Publisher Name. https://dx.doi.org/XXXXXXXXXX | |||||||
22. | Capitalization | |||||||
Article and book names, Chapter titles | Capitalize first letter of first word only | |||||||
Journal Name | Title Case | |||||||
23. | MLA vs. APA Formatting | Differences between MLA and APA in references formatting | ||||||
Authors' Names | Use only the initial of the first name (and middle initial, if given) and full last name for all authors | |||||||
Order for all authors: Last name first, then first initial and middle initial | ||||||||
Article Name | No quotes around article or chapter names | |||||||
Book Chapter | All editor and page nmber information goes in parentheses | |||||||
24. |
Ampersand Use |
In parenthetical citations and references list, use the "&" symbol instead of "and." |
Punctuation
25. | Commas and periods go inside quotation marks. |
26. | Colons and semi-colons go outside quotation marks. |
27. | One space between words and other elements in a sentence including after: |
Commas Semi-colons Colons Periods |
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28. | The final period goes after the parentheses around a citation. |
For example: . . . (Jones, 1991). |
Correct Use of English
29. | Use proper, formal English. This means no slang, colloquialisms, or contractions. |
30. | Do not start sentences with "so," "because," "but," or "however." All of these words should be used in the middle of the sentence, after the verb. |
31. | Use gender-inclusive nouns and pronouns |
For example: "police officer" NOT "policeman" "people" NOT "mankind" Singular "they" rather than "he/she," "s/he," "(s)he," "he or she," etc. when gender is unknown or irrelevant |
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32. | Know the differences between these word pairs and use appropriately: |
Among & Between Affect & Effect Site & Cite |
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33. | Ensure the word that you want to use is correct to communicate your idea. Look up the word in the dictionary if you don't use it very often. |
34. | Be succinct. Do not use more words than necessary to convey an idea. |
35. | Sentences must contain a proper noun phrase (subject) and a verb phrase (predicate). |
36. | Do not run two sentences together with just a comma between them. This is called a "run-on" sentence. |
Proofreading
37. | Read your paper aloud slowly and carefully, watching for the things listed above as well as the following mistakes: |
Typographical errors (e.g., left-out transposed letters/words) Straggly type that is not aligned with the other characters Inaccurate/missing reference information Nonsensical sentences Accuracy of quotations Misspelled words |
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38. | If you find any of the above, correct them by changing the mistakes and reprinting the page involved. |