How to cite your research paper in APA Format?

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College and university life is fun until you are bombarded with the task of writing multiple research papers for the subjects you have chosen. After all, research papers are the essence of what you have learned throughout the semester. writing a research paper follows a long process of gathering data then filtering out relevant material, writing the first draft and polishing it, and lastly, an error-free final draft.

But wait! Is your research paper formatted as per the citation style that your professor mentioned in the instructions? If your answer is no, then you are in big trouble. You must be wondering why? Well, you must be familiar with the phrase that the first impression is the last. Similarly, if your paper is formatted properly then you already gained the attention of the reader. On the flip side if your paper is poorly formatted then chances are you will end up with lower grades.

So will you let the chance of attaining good grades slip away from you just because you are unaware of how to cite the sources you have used in your research paper or by becoming guilty of submitting plagiarized work? Of course not.

If you are struggling to cite the sources in your research paper, then you are in the right place. Follow the below-mentioned steps to understand the APA format and citations. So, without delay let’s just get started.

Rules:

Before you jump into formatting your research paper in APA style let’s just skim through the set of guidelines below to get an insight into APA formatting basics.

• Set margins of 1 inch at both the sides of the paper.
• Always use 12pt Times New Roman
• In the case of APA 7th edition, you need to use 11 pt Times New Roman.
• Don’t forget to use double line spacing.
• Remember! insert the running head on every page in capital letters.

Every new paragraph must start with a half-inch indent.

Hmm! that seems easy. But hold your horses right there since APA formatting isn’t that simple. The above rules are for general formatting but we need to cite the sources as well that we have used in our research paper to either support our claim or to cite the idea taken from the source upon which our research paper is based. So without further ado let’s jump straight into the APA citation rules and regulations.

APA reference list

A list of references comes at the end of your research paper. The word reference appears in the center of the page and is bold. As per APA guidelines, the reference list is organized in alphabetical order. the reference entries are in double spaced and references are in hanging indent format.

APA In-text citations

This part is crucial since it is the part where you give proper credit to the author of the source that you have utilized in your research paper. All you need to do is put the author’s last name along with the publishing year of the source in round brackets and voila you have cited the text as per APA guidelines.

NOTE: Want more specific details about the reference? Well, you can use page number of the source as well from where you have taken the data. Simply write p. then add a page number and you are done.

Was that difficult? Of course not but if you are in crunch time and unable to properly format your paper then you can hire an essay writer online who can format your paper as per the instructions you gave to him or her.

You just have to find an authentic essay writing service, share details of the assignment along with instructions, and boom you will receive a well-formatted paper in no time.