The American Psychological Association (APA) is a style of writing used to create formal academic papers. Writing in an APA format requires the use of special formatting and citation rules. There are a variety of essay formats, and examples of APA format essays can be found online.
When writing in APA format, it is important to ensure the paper is double-spaced and uses a 12-point font. The essay should also use 1-inch margins on all sides. The title page should include the title, authors name, and institutions name. On the following page, the paper should include a running head that is a shortened version of the title along with the page number.
In addition to the formatting guidelines, APA includes specific rules regarding formatting citations used in the essay. In-text citations should include the authors name and the year of publication. For example, (Smith, 2020). A reference page should be included at the end of the paper that lists full information for all sources cited in the essay. The reference page should include the authors name, year of publication, title, publisher, and other relevant information.
Examples of essays written in APA format can be found in many places including online libraries, university websites, and scholarly databases. Looking at examples of APA format essays can be helpful when beginning a new paper as it provides a visual representation of how to correctly apply APA formatting rules.