If you are done with the writing part of the dissertation, it is time to focus on formatting before presenting the paper to the teacher. You must remember that formatting is the most important aspect of writing a dissertation and your paper does not stand any chance of success if you do not follow the guidelines regarding the formatting. According to dissertation writing services, if the dissertation guidelines are specific to APA format, you must follow them and understand what are APA style rules to do them write.
You can get the most up-to-date knowledge from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association Sixth Edition. APA style is the easiest and effective method used for formatting dissertations as the message you want to impart through your paper and there is no confusion due to the way of presentation. One thing is certain, with APA formatting; the reader will have no difficulty in reading your dissertation, concentrating on the content, and understanding what it is all about.
APA format is the official style of the American Psychological Association (APA) and is commonly used to cite sources in psychology, education, and the social sciences. The APA style originated in a 1929 article published in Psychological Bulletin that laid out the basic guidelines and later on these guidelines were eventually expanded into the APA Publication Manual.
Discussed here the top tips that can guide students on things they need to know to style their dissertation according to the APA format. You also need to know that each academic institution has its styling guidelines regarding title page, front matter, margins, tables of contents, and running headers and you must keep these guidelines in mind to complete the dissertation most successfully.
Title Page:
The title page should contain a title, author name, and school affiliation. The page should display the course number and name, the instructor’s name, and the due date of the paper. The purpose of this page is to help the readers quickly know what the dissertation paper is about and who has written it.
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Abstract:
An abstract is a summary of the paper that immediately follows the title page. According to APA format, the abstract should be no more than 100 to 200 words although this can vary depending upon the specific publication or instructor requirements.
Main Body:
The main body of the dissertation must include the actual essay itself. If you are writing a lab report, then the main body will be broken down into further sections. The four main components of a lab report include the introduction, method, results, and discussion sections.
The reference section of the dissertation will include a list of all of the sources that have been used in the paper. If you cited any piece of information anywhere in your paper, it needs to be properly referenced in this section. Any source cited in the paper needs to be included in the reference section while any source listed in your reference section must also be mentioned somewhere in your paper.
It is also necessary to include citations in the text identifying where this information was found. Such notations are called in-text citations, and APA format dictates that when citing in APA format in the text of your paper, the author’s name should be followed by the date of publication.
Page Layout And Text:
Every page in the document must be in US Letter size 8.5” x 11” with margins of at least 1” on all sides. Other than the title page and copyright, all pages of the thesis should be numbered right the way through to any appendices at the back.
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All the text should have flush-left justification so the text has a ragged, unjustified right edge. The first line of all paragraphs should be indented by 0.5”. The only exception is the first paragraph of the abstract and all the pages should be properly balanced to avoid widows and orphans and give a better appearance to the paper.
By using the APA style, students can communicate information about their ideas and experiments in a consistent format. Sticking to a consistent style allows readers to know what to look for as they read journal articles and other forms of psychological writing.
Students need to be proficient with MS Word so that they know how to apply the various APA consistently to the document and do things right. This is easy enough when they are setting up their page and headings but it might seem simple than it is and students need to focus before things get out of their hands.