A Sample APA Research Paper

For more on APA format, see section A in the Quick Format Guide.

In “Sex Offender Lists: A Never-Ending Punishment,” Jenny Lidington explores the intention of the sex offender registry and its many functional problems. Her scholarly approach is designed to help readers grasp the complexities of a difficult societal issue that often generates strong feelings. Notice how thoughtfully she tackles the topic: defining terms, making distinctions, reviewing history, tracing consequences, distinguishing differences, and establishing the basis for her questions. Her paper illustrates APA paper format and the APA conventions for citing and listing sources. The marginal annotations explain APA formatting and citation guidelines, as well as point out effective research writing practices. Although this sample paper is presented for easy reading in a textbook, your paper should use the type style and size that APA suggests: Times New Roman font, 12-point size. Set one-inch margins on all four sides, double-space all the lines, and turn off automatic hyphenation. Use your software’s Help feature or visit the campus computer lab for assistance setting up this format for your file.

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