Running head: TITLE OF YOUR PAPER 1

TITLE OF YOUR PAPER 2

Full Title of Paper (Sample)

Student Name

Course and Section

Liberty University

Abstract (Center title)

The body of your paper (3–4 pages) should contain a critical summary and a personal reflection. In the critical summary, you must include the purpose of the article/study, the hypothesis, the type of research performed, a description of the participants, an explanation of how the research was performed, and the results of the research. As you write your critique, be sure to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the article’s content and structure. Remember, analysis requires you to separate the content and concepts of a text into the main components, and then examine how these components interrelate, connect, and influence each other. In your personal reflection, you should address the following questions: Is the article beneficial to the discipline? Would you recommend it to others? Did the authors achieve their purpose? Was it well written and understandable (structure)? Again your paper should have a title page (1 page), abstract page, 3-4 pages of text and a reference page (1 page) that cites the article you critiqued. All sections of this paper should adhere to the proper APA format.

Technical writing tips:

· Keep direct quotations to a minimum (this keeps the format simple and forces the writer to think and analyze).

· Use formal language—no contractions or informal terms (“a lot,” “thing,” “hyper”).

· Use past tense to describe all research findings—the events have already happened.

· Match verbs with nouns and pronouns.

· Edit carefully for punctuation and grammatical constructions. Christians must be articulate in order to be influential and persuasive.

Full Title of Your Paper

Your critique should be double-spaced throughout on standard-sized paper (8.5” x 11”) with 1” margins on all sides. You should use 12 pt. Times New Roman font. Your paper should include three major sections/pages: the Title Page, Main Body (critical summary and your analysis/ personal reflection which includes your Christian Worldview), and Reference of source. You should discuss only the one article (do not have multiple article sources in your critique of the ONE selected article) and a connection with textbook material. Remember that the body of your paper should be 3-4 pages in length, not including the other sections.

Your title page should include a page header with the words “Running head:” (notice “head” is not capitalized and it is followed by a colon) and the title of the paper in all caps. The Running head should be flush left and the page number flush right. Remember that the page header will appear on every page of your paper. In order to have “Running head:” on just the title page and not on subsequent pages, do the following:

1. Double click in the header area (far left corner of page).

2. Under Design/Options, select Different First Page.

3. Type Running head: TITLE OF PAPER (put your title in ALL CAPS).

4. Tab to the far right margin; then go to the Header Footer group, use the pull-down menu beside Page Number, choose Current Position, and select Plain Number.

5. Close Header and Footer from the X at the far right of the toolbar.

6. Space down (Enter key) about 5 double spaces and type your full title (title case, centered, not bold), your name, course/section, and university affiliation. Each of these should be centered on separate double-spaced lines and be positioned in the center of the top half of the title page.

7. Control-Enter to create a page break and go to the second page.

8. Double-click in the header area of the second page, and type in your title (ALL CAPS) and minus Running head and the colon.

9. Tab to the far right margin, go to the Header Footer group, use the pull-down menu beside Page Number, choose Current Position, and select Plain Number. Then close Header and Footer.

Begin the body of your paper on this second page. Make sure you start with the title of your paper, in title case, centered on the top line of the page, and non-bold. Then begin your first paragraph of text, as well as every new paragraph, with the first line indented 0.5”. If you see that there is extra spacing between your title and first paragraph and then again after each paragraph, here is the solution to fix that:

Go to the Page Layout tab. Under Spacing, in the Paragraph group, set both After and Before to 0 pt. Go to the Page Setup group, and under Margins, use the pull-down menu and select Custom Options at the bottom. Make sure all 4 margins are set at 1”. Under the Layout tab, set both header and footer at 0.5”. Then go back to the Home tab.

In-Text Citations (your paper MUST have citations)

Do not forget to cite and reference EVERY piece of information you get from your sources, whether direct quotes (minimally used) or paraphrased thoughts and ideas (most often used). Each paragraph should have at least one citation. Papers cannot be accepted within citations of your source(s). If you are using the same source throughout a paragraph, you need to cite it only once, unless you use a direct quote which will need a page number (p. xx) between the ending quotation mark and the period. Your citation can go at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the paragraph.

According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners. Another way to write it: APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

Regarding in-text citations, APA style has a series of important rules on using author names as part of the author-date system. There are additional rules for citing indirect sources, electronic sources, and sources without page numbers. Be sure to reference the APA Guidelines provided in Course Content > Syllabus and Assignment Instructions.

Direct Quotations

If you are directly quoting 40 words or less from a work, you will need to enclose it in quotation marks and include the author, year of publication, and the page number (p. xxx) for the reference. Footnotes and Endnotes are not be used in APA format. Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author’s last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

According to Jones (1998), “Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time” (p. 199). Jones (1998) found “students often had difficulty using APA style” (p. 199). What implications does this have for teachers? If the author is not named in a signal phrase, place the author’s last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation. She stated, “Students often had difficulty using APA style,” (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.

Place direct quotations longer than 40 words in a free-standing block of typewritten lines, and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented a half inch (0.5 in.) from the left margin. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph(s) within the quotation an additional half inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

Jones’s (1998) study found the following:

Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for help (p. 199).

Paraphrasing Citation

If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference (author, year). Page numbers are not required, but may be included. Remember to place the period after the citation.

One other note of caution: be sure that each citation in the body of your paper has a corresponding entry in the reference list at the end of your paper. And make sure you have no entries in the reference list that are not used as a source in your paper.

Reference Page Entries

Each source entry must begin at the left margin with the author’s last name and initials followed by the year of publication in parentheses. The title of a book must be italicized and in sentence case; only the first word, the first word of a subtitle, and proper names are to be capitalized. Article titles will be in the same format but not italicized; the journal title and volume number will be italicized. Following the title of a book, you put the city, state, and publisher, not italicized. Following a journal article, you put the journal name, volume number(issue number), and page numbers. The journal name and volume number are italicized; the issue number (in parentheses) and the page numbers are not. Also note in the examples below that the page numbers stand alone; there is no p. or pp. before them.

The second and subsequent lines of every entry must be in hanging indent format. Please refer to the examples below for correct formatting for the source type you are using. Lastly, again only have ONE article source. Feel free to have your textbook and biblical sources also.

Reference Samples

American Psychiatric Association. (2009). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author (Publisher as Author)

In alphabetical order by author.

Berger, K. S. (2008). The developing person through the life span (7th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishing. (course textbook)

Bergman, P. G. (1992). Relativity. In The new encyclopedia Britannica (Vol 26, pp. 501-508). Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica (entry in an encyclopedia)

Caps International. (2000). CAPS statement of faith and ethical guidelines. Retrieved July 11, 2009, from http://www.caps.org/articles. (report from private organization available on organization website)

Claire, I. D., & Thang, A. N. (2007). Life on the mountain: I can see for miles and miles. Lynchburg: Liberty Press. (Book with 2 authors)

Feske, U. & Chambliss, D. L. (2005). Cognitive behavior analysis between mice and men. Behavioral Therapy, 26(2), 696-723. (journal article with 2 authors)

Gibbs, J. T., Smith, J. A., & Hauge, L. N. (Eds.). (2007). Pilots are people too: A collection of whines heard most from aircrew. San Francisco: Prentiss-Hall Publishers. (Edited book)

Heere, Y. U. (2009). Let’s waste a college education (2nd ed.). Lynchburg: Liberty Press. (Book with 1 author, second edition)

I am a survivor…are you? (n.d.). Retrieved July 4, 1776, from http://www.ringthebell.com/1ifby/sea/ (Stand-alone online document, no author identified, no date)

Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) (Last edited January 11, 2010). General APA guidelines. Retrieved February 5, 2010, from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource.

Rock, S. L., & Peeble, S. M. (2001). The joys of foundational living. In T. Clinton & E. Caner (Eds.). Competent Christian Counseling (Vol 1, p. 32) Denver: Mile High Publishing. (Article or chapter in an edited book)