APA Style Content and Organization
The following defects are among the most common, according to the APA manual, in poorly written research papers:
Parts of the Manuscript Abstract After the title page, begin with the abstract. An abstract is a brief, comprehensive summary of the article. It allows readers to quickly survey the contents of your article, and is used by information services to index articles. A well-prepared abstract, which could be the most important paragraph in your paper, should be dense with information, but also readable and well organized. In addition, an abstract must be accurate, self-contained, concise, specific, nonevaluative (don't include your opinions or commentary), and coherent. Use the present tense to describe results that will continue to be applicable to your field, and the past tense to describe specific variables or tests you performed. For example, you could say "participants tend to perform better on tests in their own environments," (present tense) but "All participants were given fifteen minutes to perform the task" (past tense). Begin your abstract with the most important information; this may be the purpose or thesis, or the results and conclusions. Don't include more than four or five important concepts or conclusions, and don't exceed 960 characters (about 120 words). To conserve space, you should use digits for all numbers (except those which begin a sentence), abbreviate when possible (although you should explain any abbreviations the readers may be unfamiliar with when you use them the first time), and use the active voice (see "General Writing Style," above). What to include in an abstract of a report of an empirical study (one based on evidence): - the problem under investigation (in one sentence, if possible) - description of the subjects (age, sex, number, special conditions) - the experimental method (data gathering procedures, test names, any drugs used, etc.) - the findings - conclusions and applications or implications (what did you learn, and how can others use that information?) Example of an abstract: Abstract The reading level, vocabulary recognition, and overall reading habits of 68 third, fourth, and fifth grade students were investigated. Of special concern was determining the relationship between the amount of SSR (Silent Sustained Reading) time allotted these students and the increase in their reading level and vocabulary recognition. Additionally, the study sought to determine if increased free reading time, with the students choosing their own reading materials, would develop a greater tendency to read in their free time away from school. The results indicated that after six months of monitoring, 72% of the students scored higher on standardized reading tests than students whose SSR time was not increased, and that 41% of the subjects ' parents noticed a marked increase in the amount of reading the students engaged in on their own time. The findings are congruent with the current theory calling for more unstructured reading time, and more free choice concerning reading material. Introduction Your introduction should present the specific problem under investigation and describe the research strategy. You should also mention any previous research in the area, and theoretical implications of the study. It is safe to assume your reader has some background in the area you are studying, so do not include an exhaustive review of the literature. If the issue you are discussing is somewhat controversial, it is fine to mention that there is some disagreement among the experts, but do not go into great detail. After you have introduced the problem and discussed the background briefly, tell the reader what you did. Do this in the final paragraph of your introduction. The introduction should be no more than two paragraphs. Because the introduction is clearly identified by its position in the article, it is not labeled. Example of first paragraph of an introduction: A growing body of research has examined the correlation between free reading and development of reading skills. With the acceptance of Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) in the past 15 years, and the diminishing focus on vocabulary drills, some disagreement has surfaced among teachers, parents, and reading specialists. Much of the research in the field (e.g. Hampton, 1991; Morrisey, 1994; Craig & Burster, 1995) supports the theory that, left to read without the threat of subsequent testing, young readers will experience a spontaneous growth in word recognition and boost their reading vocabulary. Others (McDermott, 1989; Shields, 1994; Commons & Prentiss, 1996) maintain that without testing and planned introduction of new vocabulary, children may simply "skip over" unfamiliar words and phrases, requiring exposure to any particular unfamiliar word at least 20 times before its meaning becomes clear to them. Example of following paragraphs of introduction: In this study, I attempted to discover three things: how free choice and unstructured reading opportunities affected third and fourth grade students' attitudes about reading; if free reading had an impact on the students' vocabulary, including determining if recognition of new words improved with greater amounts of free reading time, and, if so, how many times a particular reader needed to encounter a particular word in context before its meaning was understood; and how the anticipation of pre- and post-reading vocabulary tests affected vocabulary recognition. (This paragraph, written in the past tense, describes what the author did.) |