General Research (Callahan Library): Formatting Papers

The following websites explain paraphrasing and summarizing. These sites include examples of proper ways to paraphrase.

This APA Student Paper Template will get you started quickly with your APA (7th ed.) paper! 

Just click File>Make a copy to rename and edit the Google document.

Many thanks to the Librarians at the McEntegart Library for creating and sharing this template.

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The formats for you paper will depend on which style you are required to use. Always verify with your professor which style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc) is used in that class.

There are standard conventions to bear in mind when preparing your report, but remember to always consult with the current edition of the applicable style guide.

• Use only good quality white paper (8 1/2 X 11 inches)

• Use 1 inch margins all around

• Double space throughout the paper including quotations

  • For APA and MLA double space everything including notes, and lists of Works Cited (MLA) or References (APA). 

  • For Chicago double space between bibliography entries but single space within each one

• Use an easy, readable font and size (Times Roman, point size 12 is recommended)

• Use page numbers in the upper right-hand corner

• Indent the first line of each paragraph

• Citation Lists

  • Begin lists of Works Cited (MLA), References (APA) and Bibliography (Chicago) on a new page

  • Center the heading

  • Alphabetize entries by author's last name.

  • Each entry for MLA and APA should begin with a hanging indent

Quick Reference Guides & Posters

• APA 7th ed. Common Reference Examples Guide
  Guide from the APA website listing commonly used reference examples based on the 7th edition of the APA style. 
• Chicago Quick Reference
  Quick reference poster with basic CMS guidelines. The Purdue OWL CMS NB Classroom Poster was developed by Megan Lancaster for the Purdue Professional Writing - Editing and Publishing class, English 515, in spring 2011.

Citation Resource Websites:

• Purdue OWL: Research and Citation Resources
  From the Online Writing Lab (OWL) of Purdue University

• University of Wisconsin Madison Writing Center
  From the Writing Center of University of Wisconsin-Madison, this guide gives examples for APSA, APA, Chicago, CBE and MLA.

Tutorial:

• Basics of APA 7th edition
  From the American Psychological Association

Citing Business Sources:

APA 7th ed. citation for business sources.

This document is the result of a grassroots effort undertaken by several business librarians in early summer 2020, simply to try to provide examples for a variety of business sources and save the time of other business librarians in generating sample citations for their campus communities. 
The organizer did correspond with APA’s official style experts for direction on several questions, but this document is not officially authored by APA in any way. 

This extensive business citation guide was created by business librarians from across the country.
Schemm, N., Dellenbach, M., Grisham, Z., Hageman, M., Tingle, N., Trowbridge, M., & Wheatley, A. (2020). APA 7th ed. citation for business sources.