How to Properly Construct a Research
Paper
Subject: Expound on the advantages
of plastic pipe over materials in a water infrastructure.
? Frame
your paper in 2,500 to 5,000 words, following the style guidelines outlined
below.
? Entries
will be judged on vision, understanding of issues, originality and emphasis on
material solutions.
Style Guidelines
Submit your paper in the style of
the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition.
Consistent with APA style, include
four major sections in your paper: Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, and
References.
Title Page
Include the title of the paper,
the author’s name, and the institutional affiliation. Include the page header
(described above) flush left with the page number flush right at the top of the
page.
Type the title in upper- and
lowercase letters centered in the upper half of the page. Limit your title to
no more than 12 words, with no abbreviations. Double-space text on the title
page.
Abstract
Begin a new page and center the
word “Abstract” (no bold, formatting, italics, underlining, or
quotation marks).
Beginning with the next line,
write a 150- to 250-word summary of the key points of your research. (Do not
indent.) Write it in one double-spaced paragraph.
An Author’s Note is not required.
Main Body
The Main Body of the paper may
include, as outlined in the APA style guide, Introduction, Method, Results,
Discussion, Experiments, and Meta-Analyses. Construct your argument with these
or other elements.
Follow key general formatting
requirements of APA style, which include:
? Type
double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5″ x 11″) with 1″
margins on all sides, 12-pt. Times New Roman font.
? Include
a page header at the top of every page. To create a page header, insert page
numbers flush right. Then type the title of your paper in capital letters and
quotation marks in the header flush left.
Follow style guidelines in
Punctuation, Spelling, Capitalization, Italics, Abbreviations, Numbers,
Metrication, Statistical, Mathematical Copy, and Equations found in Chapter 4
of the APA style manual.
References
Place your reference listings at
the end of your paper, including each source you cite in the reference list.
Begin the references on a new page
separate from the text of the essay and label this page “References,”
centered at the top of the page.
Follow these general formatting
guidelines:
? Double-space
text.
? Indent
the second and subsequent lines of each entry one-half inch.
? Invert
last names and use initials for first names, up to six names. Use ellipses
after the sixth name.
? Alphabetize
reference list by the last name of the first author of each work.
? Order
by year of publication, starting with the earliest, of multiple articles
written by the same author.
? Capitalize
all major words in journal titles.
? Italicize
titles of longer works such as books and journals, but do not italicize,
underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as journal
articles or essays in edited collections.
Please refer to the Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition, for complete
requirements.
Also please click on this link for
a list of errors that were printed in this edition.





