A step-by-step guide for creating and formatting APA Style

15 Apr 2022 by Christina Hamilton

 Are you one of those students who struggle when it comes to writing in-text citations? Do you find it irritating to format your paper in accordance with a certain referencing style? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, you are like most of the college students who start panicking at the mere word of reference. Welcome to the club. I used to write my papers and submit them without bothering to format tables and figures in accordance with the referencing style. When it started affecting my grades, I asked an online writing specialist to write my essay in a way that matches APA referencing style. That approach saved my life until I mustered the emotional energy to format my papers without needing outside help.

 

When I was in my first semester at a new university, I used to feel very overconfident about being a bright student throughout my academic career. I believed that university education would be a child’s play for me. I was not entirely wrong in my belief; however, referencing became my pet peeve.

APA referencing style can be a piece of cake for you if you spend some time learning the basics. Trust me on it. However, an essay writer is always there to help you with it. Now that you are on this blog, this shows that you are eager to learn about APA referencing style no matter how much you have it. After all, it is an academic requirement. Do not fret, this blog will give you some easy-peasy tips that you can use as a guide to writing your paper. Let’s get started.

Tables and figures are important parts of a research paper. They inform the reader about the statistical findings of the research study. A table tends to present information in a very concise manner. A table is mostly composed of tables as well as rows. On the other hand, a figure can be regarded as an image or a photograph or even a bar chart. Now, let’s dive into the world of formatting a table and a figure according to APA referencing style.

A table in APA referencing style can vary in size. It mostly depends on the length of the data you are going to present in your research paper. However, APA provides general guidelines so that you can refer to them while formatting your table. A table usually occupies a single page in a research paper. Following are the basic rules for formatting a table in this referencing style:

The number of the table has to be written in bold.

The title of the table has to be written below the table number. This brief title would be written in title case and italics.

Vertical lines would be omitted from the table.

Horizontal lines are allowed; however, they would only be included where necessary.

The notes relevant to the data presented in the table would be written at the bottom of the table.

A figure is used along with the text in APA referencing style. Each figure tends to take the space of a complete single page in a research paper. In a research paper, a figure is usually inclusive of a visual presentation of numerical data. A figure can take the form of an image, flowchart, or diagram. Following are a few rules that can come in handy while you format your paper in accordance with APA referencing style:

The number of the figure would be written in bold right above the figure.

Under the number of the figure, the title of the figure would be written.

The notes pertinent to the image, flowchart, or diagram would be written at the bottom of the figure.

The design of the figure should be as simple as possible. Avoid using colors very often. You certainly do not want to make your figure look like a unicorn or a rainbow just because you want to make it more appealing.

APA has recommended an Ariel font with a size range of 8 to 14 points for an image. On the other hand, if the figure happens to be a photograph, the figure would not need much formatting other than an appropriate size and resolution. It would just be a photograph with a caption at the bottom of the photograph.

Now that you are quite familiar with the basic rules of formatting a table as well as a figure while keeping APA formatting style in perspective, you can sit down to write your paper. You can even look for an online essay writing service in order to further help you in learning a formal academic writing style. Nice idea? Right.

Life can become a lot easier for a college or university student if he takes the help of a professional writer. When you enter a college or university, you usually have other obligations and extracurricular activities to take care of as well. At that point, you struggle with the management of your time.

You certainly do not want your grades to be affected but you do not also want to miss all the fun you can have while you are in your college or university years. A plethora of online writing services are available that can match you with a suitable writer. So, what are you waiting for? Go and find a writer for you and make your life less stressful and overwhelming.

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