Writing a Scientific paper in APA style Format: Page Setup References Headings Main Body In-Text Citations Abstract Title Page http://www.cobbk12.org/Wheeler/Library/research/APAGuide.pdf http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx

Centered, Bold, Uppercase and Lowercase Page Setup Margins should be 1” around the page The font should be 12 pt. throughout the entire paper including headings and titles The paper should be double-spaced with no extra spaces between paragraphs or sections Serif font (such as Times New Roman) should be used for the text and a Sans Serif font should be used to label diagrams and charts Headings Level A (main) headings should be Centered, Bold, Uppercase and Lowercase Level B (sub) headings should be Aligned left, Bold, Uppercase and Lowercase Level C (paragraph) headings should be Indented, bold, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period. home

In-Text Citations Basic Format (Author, year) home

**A running head is a shortened version of your full title Title Page Running Head and page number – right justified – Title capitalization Appears on EVERY page The words “ Running Head:” with the running head all in caps – left justified **A running head is a shortened version of your full title (max. – 50 characters) Full title centered Author(s) Affiliation (school) home

Abstract Poor Abstract Good Abstract The abstract gets its own page (page 2) Your abstract should be one paragraph, with a maximum of 125 words, which summarizes the purpose, methods, results and conclusions of the paper. It is the last section of your paper that gets written Examples: Poor Abstract Good Abstract home

home Good Abstract A Poorly Written Abstract   Article Title: Elements of an Optimal Experience Abstract This paper presents and assesses a framework for an engineering capstone design program. We explain how student preparation, project selection, and instructor mentorship are the three key elements that must be addressed before the capstone experience is ready for the students. Next, we describe a way to administer and execute the capstone design experience including design workshops and lead engineers. We describe the importance in assessing the capstone design experience and report recent assessment results of our framework. We comment specifically on what students thought were the most important aspects of their experience in engineering capstone design and provide quantitative insight into what parts of the framework are most important. Critique: This abstract begins well with a concise statement of the objectives of the paper, but then wanders from good technical writing style from there. The abstract is written in the first person (e.g. “We explain…”, “We discuss…”, “We comment…”, etc.). No results are presented. This poorly written abstract describes only the organization of the paper. Example: “Next, we describe… We comment specifically on what students thought were the most important aspects of their experience in engineering capstone design…” Instead, the abstract should summarize the actual results and how they were obtained. “A statistical analysis was performed on answers to survey questions posed to students enrolled in a capstone design course at Georgia Tech. The analysis showed that students thought the most important aspects of their experience in engineering capstone design were quality of the instructor and quantity of student/instructor interaction time.” home Good Abstract

A Well Written Abstract   Article Title: Women Engineers in Kuwait: Perception of Gender Bias Authors: P.A. Koushi, H.A. Al-Sanad, and A.M. Larkin of Kuwait University Abstract The greatest obstacle to the development of policies for the curtailment of gender bias is lack of information on the scope and effects of the problem. This study represents an attempt to quantify attitudes toward gender bias among profession women engineers working in the State of Kuwait. The major findings that emerged were as follows: a) Since 1970, Kuwait has witnessed an enormous growth rate in the participation of women in higher education. b) With respect to the job-related factors of salary scale, professional treatment, responsibility, benefits, and vacation, a clear majority (68%) of the professional Kuwaiti women engineers surveyed expressed a feeling of equality with or even superiority to their male counterparts. c) The one job-related factor in which significant gender bias was found to be in operation was that of promotion to upper management positions. In this criterion, the women engineers surveyed felt “less than equal” to their male colleagues. Critique: This abstract begins with a succinct statement of the problem and the objective of the paper. Overall results are clearly presented. home Poor Abstract

Main Body Discussion Results Methods Introduction home back

Main Body Introduction This section discusses the results and conclusions of previously published studies, to help explain why the current study is of scientific interest.  The Introduction is organized to move from general information to specific information.  This background must be summarized succinctly, but it should not be itemized. Take care not to go too far afield in providing background information; limit the introduction to studies that relate directly to the present study. Emphasize your specific contribution to the topic.  The last sentences of the introduction should be a statement of objectives and a statement of hypotheses.  This will be a good transition to the next section, Methods, in which you will explain how you proceeded to meet your objectives and test your hypotheses. For example, you might write the following: "Our objective was to determine if the relationship between legumes and nitrogen-fixing bacteria is species-specific. We hypothesized that legumes would grow best when infected by the same Rhizobium species that it occurs with in the field." home

Main Body Methods This section provides all the details necessary for another scientist to duplicate your work.   It should be a narrative of the steps you took in your experiment or study, not a list of instructions such as you might find in a cookbook. You should assume that the other scientist has the same basic skills that you have, but does not know the specific details of your experiment. For example, it is unnecessary to write: "We poured N-free fertilizer solution into a graduated cylinder until the bottom of the meniscus was at the 30 ml line. We poured the fertilizer onto the top of the soil in a pot and then repeated this procedure 24 times." Rather, you would assume that the scientist knows how to measure and add liquids to pots and write: "30 ml of N-free fertilizer was added to each of 24 pots.“ It should be written in the past tense No results should ever be placed in the Methods section it should strictly be procedures in paragraph form Be sure to include any specialized equipment used. home

Main Body Results This section presents the results of the experiment but does not attempt to interpret their meaning The data should be summarized in text and be presented in tables and figures (graphs) Number all tables and figures separately beginning with 1 (i.e. Table 1, Table 2, Figure 1, etc.). Do not attempt to evaluate the results in this section. Report only what you found; hold all discussion of the significance of the results for the Discussion section. You must refer in the text to each figure (graph) or table you include in your paper.   Only use a figure (graph) when the data lend themselves to a good visual representation.  Avoid using figures that show too many variables or trends at once, because they can be hard to understand. home

Main Body Discussion In this section, you are free to explain what the results mean or why they differ from what other workers have found.  You should interpret your results in light of other published results, by adding additional information from sources you cited in the Introduction section as well as by introducing new sources. Make sure you provide accurate citations.  Relate your discussion back to the objectives and questions you raised in the Introduction section. However, do not simply re-state the objectives. Make statements that synthesize all the evidence (including previous work and the current work).  Do not make statements that are too broad:  Suggest future directions for research, new methods, explanations for deviations from previously published results, etc.  End with a one-sentence summary of your conclusion, emphasizing why it is relevant. home

References The References page should be a list of all the sources you used. If a source is not cited in the text, than it should not be included in the references page. Should be in alphabetical order by author’s last name All entries should start on the left margin. All other lines should be indented. This is called a hanging indent You may omit any elements (author, date, etc.) that are not available. If the publication date is not given, use the abbreviation (n.d.). However, if a page fails to list more than one or two of these items, you should avoid using it as a scholarly resource. home