An Ultimate Manual On The Thesis Format: Using APA Style


The APA or the American Psychology Association is one of the most common formats used in academic writing today. The format was designed so that writers and researchers could add the most amount of value to what they write without adding too much of fuss into the paper. The best place to start the APA is to learn about a few general things or just get a properly formatted custom thesis online.

The general guidelines

The paper must be typed and it should be double spaced throughout the length of the paper. There has to be margins on every side of the paper and these margins must be an inch broad on the four sides. While there is no singular recommended font, APA encourages use of a font that is highly readable. Most researchers use the Times New Roman font for their thesis.

There must be a header at the top of every page. Some guides write this as the running head of the page. The header includes a short version of the title of the paper. You must make sure this does not exceed 50 characters, the spacing and punctuation included.

The major sections of the paper

There are generally four major sections in theses that conform to the APA format. These include the Title Page followed by the Abstract and then the Main Body and references.

  • The Title Page: The title page is the place that includes the title of the particular paper, the name of the author and the affiliation of the institution. The page header needs to be included and described above. The title page must be devoid of any other information apart from these.

  • Abstract: The abstract is the place where you state the purpose of the paper and tell readers why the paper is important. There are various ways of writing the abstract of the paper. You may choose from any one of them. The abstract does not generally run for more than a page.

  • Main Body: All that you write in the paper between the abstract and the references make up the main body of the paper. These generally start with the introduction and end at the conclusion. There is also a little section that describes the conclusion of the paper.

  • References: It is the last part of the paper and you will need to include all the resources from which you have borrowed information. Make sure to include every book referred to in the thesis.

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