The body of the paper begins on a new page. The first paragraph should be an introduction that presents the specific problem or issue of the paper. Because the introduction is clearly defined by its position in the paper, it is not labeled. .
Additional Information.
Heading.
There are five levels of headings. However, the authors of this guide, assume that as future authors, you will probably use two; side headings, and paragraph headings. When there are only two levels of headings are used, side headers are italicized and typed in upper and lower case letters. After a side header, you should place a hard return. The headers: title page, abstract page, first page of text are explains of side headers.
Writing Style.
Whether using a single word, thought, sentence or paragraph, writing must be orderly. Presenting ideas in an orderly manner will allow the readers to understand what you, as an author, are presenting, from the opening introduction of your paper, to concepts developed, to the conclusion. When writing the paper, make sure there is a smoothness of expression. As a writer avoid falling into the creative writing trap (e.g., using ambiguity, omitting the expected, shifting topic, tense, or person, and omitting the unexpected) and use a more professional writing style. Common problems in writing include, jargon used, wordiness, redundancy, word choice, colloquial expressions, overuse of pronouns (beginning or ending a sentence with a pronoun), and use of an editorial "we." .
Strategies to Improve Writing Style.
Incorrect grammar and sentence construction is common problems in APA writing. Verbs are direct communicators and should be active rather than passive. When writing always use the author(s) first, followed by the year of publication, and past tense form of the verb. An example would be, Zubov and Hall (2003) studied student writing samples with regard to APA format. Most authors' works are past tense, thus this tense should be reflected as such throughout the paper.
