Psychology Typing Instructions

Sections of a Paper

1.	Title Page	Required
		Elements
			Running Head (header) - left-justified, all caps
			Page Number (header) - right-justified
			Title - centered, bolded
			Author Byline - centered, one double-spaced line below title
			Institutional Affiliation - centered
			Author Note
2.	Abstract	Required
		One paragraph summary of paper; no more than 250 words
		Start on a new page (p. 2)
		Block style (no indent on 1st line)
		Keywords at bottom
3.	Body of Paper	Required
		Start on a new page (p. 3)
		Repeat title at top of 1st page - centered, bolded
		Section headings and sub-headings properly formatted
4.	References	Required
		Begin on a new page
		Page heading "Reference" at the top of the page - centered, bolded
		Entries alphabetized by first author last name
		Use hanging indent (first line of each entry left-justified, successive lines indented 0.5")
		List only works cited in-text
5.	Supplementary Materials	Optional
		Includes: tables, figures, appendices
		All tables/figures assigned a table/figure number, title, and note - appear in numerical order
		All appendices assigned a letter - appear in alphabetical order
		All supplementary materials referenced in-text

Typing Instructions

6.	Margins	1 inch; all must be the same size
7.	Line Spacing	Double space all text (includes: title page, abstract, headings, references, quotations, figure/table notes)
8.	Type Size	11-12 pt.
9.	Typeface	Acceptable Serif fonts: Calibri (11 pt.), Arial (11 pt.), Lucinda Sans Unicode (10 pt.)
		Acceptable Sans Serif fonts: Times New Roman (12 pt.), Georgia (11 pt.)
10.	Paragraph indents	Indent 1st line of each paragraph by 0.5" (except abstract and long quotations)
		Keep indent uniform throughout paper
11.	Justification	All paper left-justified
12.	Header	Appears on each page
		Running head
			Left-justified
			All caps
			No longer than 50 characters
		Page number
			Right-justified
			Number only (do not include p/pg/pp)
			Begins on title page (p. 1)
13.	Headings
	1st Level	Centered
		Boldface
		Title Case (first letter of major words capitalized)
		Text begins on new line, indented
	2nd Level	Flush left
		Boldface
		Title Case
		Text begins on new line, indented
	3rd Level	Flush left
		Boldface
		Italicized
		Title Case
		Text begins on new line, indented
	4th Level	Indented
		Boldface
		Title Case
		Ends with a period
		Text begins on same line as regular paragraph
	5th Level	Indented
		Boldface
		Italicized
		Title Case
		Ends with a period
		Text begins on same line as regular paragraph
14.	Quotations
	Short	Less than 40 words
		Merge quotation into text
		Must be enclosed by quotation marks (single or double)
		Must include source citation with author name(s), publication date, and page numbers
	Long	40 or more words
		Begin on new line
		Use block quotation formatting (every line indented 0.5" from left margin)
		Double-spaced
		End with a period, followed by source citation with author name(s), publication date, and page numbers (in parentheses)
		Do not use quotation marks

Referencing Material

15.	Level of Citation	Cite a source for each fact or idea - after every sentence, if necessary
		It is better to over-cite than under-cite
		To avoid over-citation, do not repeat the same citation if source/topic have not changed
16.	Paraphrasing	Include citation with author name(s) and date of publication
		Always keep name and date together. For example: Smith (1984) states . . . Some argue that . . . (Smith, 1984).
17.	Secondary Sources	When citing an orginal work that is quoted in a secondary source that you have read, use the following format: Smith says that . . . (as cited in Jones, 1984, p. 324)
		In the reference list, use the secondary source informatin (the source that you gathered the information from)
18,	Multiple Citations	If more than one work is cited at a time parenthetically, alphabetize the works by authors' last names and separate the two references by a semi-colon
		For example: (Jones, 2012; Smith, 1984)
19.	Number of Authors	Citation and reference formatting varies depending on the number of authors
	1-2 authors	List all authors' names every time source is cited and in the reference list
		For example: Smith and Jones (2002) . . . The researchers found that . . . (Smith & Jones, 2002).
	3+ authors	List only the first author's name and et al. on every citation
		List all author names (up to 20) in the reference list
		For example: Smith et al. (2002) The researchers determined that . . . (Smith et al., 2002).
20.	Reference List	Ensure that each reference includes the necessary elements
			Book	Book Chapter	Journal Article
		a. ALL author names (up to 20)	*	*	*
		b. Name of article			*
		c. Name of book	*	*
		d. Name of chapter read		*
		e. Name of journal			*
		f. Journal volume number			*
		g. Article/chapter page numbers			*
		h. Publisher name	*	*
		i. Digital Object Identifiers (DIO)	*	*	*

21.	Order of Elements in the Reference List
		Journal Article	Author(s), Date, Article title, Journal Name, Volume Number (Issue Nmber), Page Numbers, https://dx.doi.org/XXXXXXXXXX
		Chapter	Author(s), Date Chapter Name, Editor Name(s), Book Name, (Edition, Volume, Page numbers), Publisher Name, https://dx.doi.org/XXXXXXXXXX
		Book	Author Name(s), Date, Book Name, Publisher Name. https://dx.doi.org/XXXXXXXXXX
22.	Capitalization
	Article and book names, Chapter titles	Capitalize first letter of first word only
	Journal Name	Title Case
23.	MLA vs. APA Formatting	Differences between MLA and APA in references formatting
		Authors' Names	Use only the initial of the first name (and middle initial, if given) and full last name for all authors
			Order for all authors: Last name first, then first initial and middle initial
		Article Name	No quotes around article or chapter names
		Book Chapter	All editor and page nmber information goes in parentheses
24.	Ampersand Use	In parenthetical citations and references list, use the "&" symbol instead of "and."

Punctuation

25.	Commas and periods go inside quotation marks.
26.	Colons and semi-colons go outside quotation marks.
27.	One space between words and other elements in a sentence including after:
	Commas Semi-colons Colons Periods
28.	The final period goes after the parentheses around a citation.
	For example: . . . (Jones, 1991).

Correct Use of English

29.	Use proper, formal English. This means no slang, colloquialisms, or contractions.
30.	Do not start sentences with "so," "because," "but," or "however." All of these words should be used in the middle of the sentence, after the verb.
31.	Use gender-inclusive nouns and pronouns
	For example: "police officer" NOT "policeman" "people" NOT "mankind" Singular "they" rather than "he/she," "s/he," "(s)he," "he or she," etc. when gender is unknown or irrelevant
32.	Know the differences between these word pairs and use appropriately:
	Among & Between Affect & Effect Site & Cite
33.	Ensure the word that you want to use is correct to communicate your idea. Look up the word in the dictionary if you don't use it very often.
34.	Be succinct. Do not use more words than necessary to convey an idea.
35.	Sentences must contain a proper noun phrase (subject) and a verb phrase (predicate).
36.	Do not run two sentences together with just a comma between them. This is called a "run-on" sentence.

Proofreading

37.

Read your paper aloud slowly and carefully, watching for the things listed above as well as the following mistakes:

Typographical errors (e.g., left-out transposed letters/words)

Straggly type that is not aligned with the other characters

Inaccurate/missing reference information

Nonsensical sentences

Accuracy of quotations

Misspelled words

38.

If you find any of the above, correct them by changing the mistakes and reprinting the page involved.