Make Outline, Organize Note and Write in APA
Make a Tentative Outline
- The purpose of an outline is to help you think through your topic carefully and organize it logically before you start writing.
- A good outline is the most important step in writing a good paper. Check your outline to make sure that the points covered flow logically from one to the other. Include in your outline Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Body, Conclusion, and References. Review the sample provided in the resources section of this page.
Organize Your Notes
- Organize all the information you have gathered according to your outline.
- Critically analyze your research data.
- Using the best available sources, check for accuracy and verify that the information is factual, up-to-date, and correct.
- Opposing views will enhance the quality of your project and help shape your readers’ understanding and opinion.
- Do not include any information that is not relevant to your topic, and do not include information that you do not understand. Make sure the information that you have noted is carefully recorded and in your own words.
- Document all ideas borrowed or quotes used. As you organize your notes, include detailed bibliographical information for each cited paragraph and have it ready to transfer to your references section of your Capstone. This will ensure that your Capstone Research Project is not plagiarized.
Using the APA Writing Style
The publication manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) is the style manual of choice for the College.
APA spotlights the ideas being presented, not the manner of presentation. Manuscript structure, word choice, punctuation, graphics, and references are all chosen to move the idea forward with a minimum of distraction and a maximum of precision. To achieve this clarity of communication, publishers have developed rules of style. These rules are designed to ensure clear and consistent presentation of written material. Editorial style concerns uniform use of such elements as punctuation and abbreviations,construction of tables, selection of headings, citation of references, and presentation of statistics.
When editors or teachers ask you to write in APA Style®, they are referring to the editorial style that many of the social and behavioral sciences have adopted to present written material in the field. APA Style was first developed in 1929 by a group of social scientists who wished to establish sound standards of communication. Since that time, it has been adopted by leaders in many fields and has been used by writers around the world.
Instructional Video and Sample Papers
General Information
- What is APA Style®?
- Why is APA Style® needed?
- Why is there a specific APA Style®?
- Can you help with my research for my psychology paper?
- Do you have any sample papers that I can view?
- Does APA offer a workbook on APA Style®?
- I can’t find the example reference I need in the Publication Manual. What should I do?
- How does the APA Style® Guide to Electronic References, Sixth Edition, differ from the chapters on references in the sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association?
References
- Newspaper article
- References within parentheses
- Book with no author or editor
- E-mail communications from individuals
- Digital object identifier, or DOI
- Retrieval dates
- Page numbers
- Bibliography
- Website
- Web page with no author
- Website material with no author, year, and page numbers
- Interview
- Source in another source
- Bible or classic works
Punctuation
- Comma
- Hyphen for compound words
- Colon
- Slash mark
- Brackets
- Semicolon
- Double quotation marks
- Parentheses
Grammar and Writing Style
- Subject and verb agreement
- Dangling modifiers
- Verbs
- Linguistic devices
- Spelling
- Redundancy
- Numbers
- Abbreviations
- Subjects and participants