Academic papers are required to be formatted according to instructions given. Therefore students are supposed to familiarize themselves with various formatting styles in place. Students should have a look at different papers formatted using different formatting styles to be familiar with them well. APA formatting style is an example of formatting styles used in academic papers. Students find it hard when it comes to formatting of essays using APA styles. This is because they do not have adequate knowledge of various writing styles.

When it comes to author’s details, it is somehow confusing as you are required to give detailed information about the author.

When using APA style we mostly focus on the author’s details, punctuation rules, journal citations and also referencing online. When it comes to author’s details, it is somehow confusing as you are required to give detailed information about the author. For instance you are supposed to write author’s first name followed by initials of the middle name and then last name. In punctuation rules, APA requires terminal punctuations followed by double spaces in the text.

Format of APA paper

When writing APA style you are supposed to use 8.5 by 11 inches paper, with Times Romans font and font size 12. Always remember to leave one inch on all sides of the paper. Every page in your APA paper should include page header at the top and page numbers on the right side. APA paper should contain four main sections namely title page, abstract, main body and reference sections.

Title page:

This should contain a running head, title of your paper, student’s name and institution name. Running head should be in the upper left corner of all pages in your paper. All pages including title page should contain a page number in upper right side. In this page, your paper title, student’s name and institution name should be double spaced and centered.

Abstract:

This is the short summary of your paper. Abstract should be last part to be written in your paper and should be written on a separate page. Abstract should not be more than 150 to 250 words; however your instructor may instruct you on the length and content of your abstract.

Main body:

This will vary depending on the type of paper you are writing. Follow instructions given when it comes to citing the main body of your paper.

Reference section:

This is where you include all materials where information was gathered from. Remember to include author’s details. For instance it is necessary to include author’s name, date of publication and the page where information was collected from.