Introduction

This checklist is adapted from the APA Style website, and their Student Paper Checklist. Please note that this is a shortened version of the APA’s checklist. A link to the full checklist can be found at the end of this section.

Formatting

• Use the same font and font size throughout the essay or assignment.
• Double-space the entire essay or assignment, including the reference list. Do not add extra lines before or after headings or between paragraphs.
• Use 1 inch margins on all sides.
• Add page numbers in the top right corned of every page, including the title page. The title page is page 1.
• Place pages in the following order: title page, text, and references.
• Start the text on a new page after the title page.
• Start references on a new page after the text.

Title Page

• Title: Write the title in the upper half of the title page (three or four lines from the top margin), centered and in bold. Make sure that it captures the main point of your work. Capitalize the title. Add a blank line after the title and before your name.
  Author: Write your full name, centered on its own line, after the blank line and title.
• Affiliation: Add the name of the school, centered on their own line after your name (e.g.: Loyalist College).
• Course: Add the name and number of the course, centered on its own line after the affiliation. It should match the format given on course materials.
• Instructor: Add the instructor’s name, centered on a new line after the course information.
• Due Date: Include the month, day, and year that the assignment or essay is due (e.g.: September 20, 2023), centered on a new line after the instructor name. Spell out the month and write the full year.
• Compare your title page against a sample student title page to check your work.

Text Format

• Repeat the paper title on the first line of the first page of text (page 2), centered and in bold.
• Begin the text right after the title. Use left-justified paragraphs, with the first line of every paragraph indented. Do not use the heading “Introduction”.
• If the essay or assignment is long, or if they are required by the instructor, use headings to divide the text into sections – but do not add a heading for the introduction.

Writing Style and Grammar

• Check for wordiness and redundancy.
• Vary sentence length. Break up paragraphs longer than one double-spaced page into shorter paragraphs.
• Use transitions to smoothly connect sentences, paragraphs, and ideas.
• Use a professional tone and professional language. Do not use jargon, contractions, slang, or creative literary language.
• Use verb tenses consistently across sentences and paragraphs.
• Describe past research in the past or present tense (e.g.: “Researchers found” or “Researchers have found,” not “Researchers find”).
• Use the active voice as much as possible.
• Make sure verbs agree in number with their subjects.

Bias-Free and Inclusive Language

• Check your work for bias. Describe all people with dignity and respect using the language they use to describe themselves.

Punctuation

• Avoid overloading sentences with punctuation marks. Split too-long sentences into multiple shorter sentences.
• Use one space after a period or other punctuation mark at the end of a sentence.

In-Text Citations

• Cite only the resources you read and ideas you incorporated into your essay or assignment.
• Include all sources cited in the text in the reference list. The exception to this is personal communications.
• Match the spelling of author names and the publication year in the in-text citations to the corresponding reference list entries.
• Limit the use of direct quotations. Paraphrase sources in your own words whenever possible.
• Always cite words and ideas that are not your own. Do not repeat the same citation in every sentence when the source and topic do not change; this is over-citation.
• Write author–date citations using either narrative or parenthetical in-text citations.
• Format author names according to how many authors the work has.
• When citing multiple works in parentheses, place the citations in alphabetical order and separate them with semicolons: (Davis, 2023; Joo et al., 2017; Swann & Gould, 2021).

Quoting and Paraphrasing

• When citing a quotation, include the author, year, and page number or other location information.
• Use the short quotation format for quotation of less than 40 words. Make sure that the citation appears before the period that ends the sentence:
  • Sentence “quotation” (Author, year, p. X).
  • Author (year) stated “quotation” (p. X).
• Use the block quotation format for quotations of 40 words or more.

Reference List

• Start the reference list on a new page after the text.
• Write the label “References” at the top of the page, centered and in bold.
• Double-space all references, both within and between entries, and apply a hanging indent (first line flush left, subsequent lines indented by 0.5 in.). Use the paragraph-formatting function of word-processing program to achieve the hanging indent.
• Make sure all reference entries have a corresponding in-text citation. If they do not, add citations or delete references.
• Put references in alphabetical order.
• Use the reference list examples to create a reference list entry for the type of resource being cited
• Make sure that titles in reference list entries are in sentence case, e.g.: The role of the nurse educator in Canada, not The Role of the Nurse Educator in Canada.
• Double-check the format of authors, dates, titles, sources, DOIs, and URLs in reference list entries.

Sources

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association: The official guide to APA style. (7th ed.).

American Psychological Association. (2023). Student paper checklist (beginner’s version). APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/in-text-citation-checklist.pdf