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Political Science Research Guide

This guide was designed to assist students with research for Political Sciences courses at GCC.

UPDATED: Video Tutorials on APA 7th. ed.

UPDATED: APA Basics and Sample Student Papers

This American Psychological Association tutorial introduces students to APA Style, including formatting papers, citing sources, and references.

TITLE PAGE

For student papers, the first page of an APA style paper is the title page. This should include in order:

  • Title of paper, capitalized. For example: Branching Paths: A Novel Teacher Evaluation Model for Faculty Development
  • Author's name and institution or school
  • Course number and name. For example: ENGL 105
  • Instructor name. For example: Dr./Instructor James Khachikian
  • Assignment due date. For example: December 12, 2021

ABSTRACT

After the title page, APA style student papers include the abstract. An abstract is the summary of the paper and the main ideas presented. The abstract page should be numbered and have the same running header. The page should have the Abstract, in bold font centered on the page. The abstract text should be in an accessible font like 12-point Times News Roman. It should be followed by Keywords, italicized. The keywords should be the main ideas from your paper.

HEADERS 

APA style papers must use specific formatting for headers. Each level of headers must be followed as outlined below.

Level

Format

1

Centered, Bold, Title Case Heading

Text begins as a new paragraph.

 

2

Flush Left, Bold, Title Case Heading

Indented text begins as a new paragraph.

 

3

Flush Left, Bold Italic, Title Case Heading

Indented text begins as a new paragraph.

 

4

Indented, Bold, Title Case Heading, Ending With a Period. Text begins on the same line and continues as a regular paragraph.

 

5

Indented, Bold Italic, Title Case Heading, Ending With a Period. Text begins on the same line and continues.

Chart from the APA Headings website.

UPDATED: GCC Library's Guide to APA Style

This 2-page guide has been updated and is also available in print in the Library. There is now only one guide that replaces the older guides. A separate guide for print and electronic resources is no longer needed. 

UPDATED: APA Style Guide from OWL Purdue & Other Resources

From Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL)

UPDATED: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition

This manual is the authority on the APA Style. The GCC Library has 2 copies of this book. One is available for checkout. The other is located at the Research Help Desk (cannot be checked out, but always available for use in the Library. Ask for it at the Research Help Desk).

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