APA Format Papers

At a minimum, students should 
	a. actively consult the APA manual regarding format, and do
		no assume that this paper substitutes for the manual
	b. read the paper on which the experiment is based
	c. understand that a good paper is one that is well written,
		as well as one that follows format
	d. follow the honor code, including elements of the code
		explicitly noted in the syllabus
	

Below appear the relative weights assigned to each section of the paper. 

Title Page (5 points)
	The title page should be APA format, with a concise descriptive
title, appropriate running head, author name and affiliation.


Abstract (7 pts)
	The abstract should be APA format and well written.  At a minimum,
a good abstract includes an opening statement about the topic, information
concerning the hypotheses and theoretical rationale, brief note of
methodology, major results, and implications.


Introduction (14 pts)
	The introduction should be APA format and well written. Good
organization and argument flow are crucial aspects of the introduction. 
Ideally, it moves from a broad area of interest to the specific
hypotheses.  The theoretical rationale and past empirical support are
integral parts of an introduction.  The introduction should end with a
clear description of the hypotheses.


Method (25 pts)

	The primary goal of the method section is to provide a concise yet
complete description of the study methodology.  Typically, reporting the
procedures in chronological order and in active voice enhance the
readability of the method section.  The section needs to include
information about the participants, descriptions of the materials, and any
pretesting that occurred.  Readers should be able to ascertain the
independent and dependent variables from the procedure (Look at the
empirical articles. They rarely, if ever, say "The independent variable
was the..." Even so, the variables are discernable from the text).  As
always, APA format is required

Results (20 pts)
	
	The APA format results section needs to indicate clearly what the
researchers did and did not find, and how the results relate to
hypotheses. At a minimum, the section includes a clear description of the
analyses,  appropriate and clear inferences based on the inferential
statistics (e.g., F ratios), and reporting of descriptive statistics in
tables, text, or graphic form.


Discussion (14 pts)

	A well written discussion explores the implications of the results
for previous empirical and theoretical work.  The first paragraph of the
results section should recap the findings as they relate to the
hypotheses.  Subsequent paragraphs may explore how the results compare to
other empirical work (typically not covered in the introduction) or
implications for theory or practice.  A running tally of all possible
problems or implications does not constitute a good discussion. Instead,
two or three points should be considered with care.  As with the
introduction, argument flow and organization are important. 

References (5 pts)

	APA format referencing should be used throughout the paper, and in
this section.

Overall technical writing (10 pts)

	The remaining points of the paper are reserved for technical
aspects of the writing.  The APA manuals DOES comment upon technical
writing, and poorly written papers would be unlikely to be accepted for
publication in a first, second, or third tier journal.	Papers should
evidence active voice, appropriate grammar, correct spelling, and the
like.