Creative Writing

Creative Writing

According to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), An abstract is “a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the article; it allows readers to survey the contents of an article quickly and, like a title, it enables persons interested in the document to retrieve it from abstracting and indexing databases” (2010, p. 25). The first line of the abstract is not indented. An abstract may range from 150 to 250 words (APA, 2010). Because an abstract is not always required for student papers, adhere to your instructor’s requirements.
WRITING STYLE AND MECHANICS 3
Quotations: All quotations require a page number or paragraph number.
Indent the first line of each paragraph using the tab key. The tab key is usually set at five to seven spaces or one-half inch.
Writing Style and Mechanics
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) began as a journal article in 1929. That article reported results from a meeting of scholars “to establish a simple set of procedures, or style rules, that would codify the many components of scientific writing to increase the ease of reading comprehension” (APA, 2010, p. xiii). Today the Publication Manual is in its sixth edition, and the APA style described in it is a widely recognized standard for scholarly or professional writing in the social sciences. Although the style guide is designed to prepare manuscripts for publication, many universities and health care journals have adopted its use as a guide to achieve uniformity and consistency (Cuddy, 2002). Writing in the style prescribed by the Publication Manual can be a daunting experience for students. As with any new skill, “practice makes perfect” (S. Proofreader, personal communication, June 28, 2004). Points of APA style most often used by undergraduate and graduate students are listed below. However, keep in mind that this sample paper is a guide and should not be considered as a replacement for the Publication...