This is a useful example that not only discusses the use of APA style but exemplifies it as well. Creative and fun.
Making Love With a Keyboard in APA Style
Pat English
Northern Illinois University
1 January 2001
Abstract
I was initially shy and uncomfortable with the prospect of becoming intimate; however, with some kind instruction, a little practice, and a bit of playful experimentation, I gradually discovered that a computer can be a versatile and creative partner willing to indulge most of my writing fantasies. With Tandy's careful guidance, I learned the APA paper format, and now I competently wield my floppy disk wherever I go.
Outline
I. My frustration from operating manually
A. My initial selfconsciousness
B. My introduction to explicit magazines
II. Taking the next step: Experimenting
A. Learning to overcome inhibitions
B. Meeting Tandy
1. Confessing my inadequacy
2. Receiving reassurance
C. Learning WordPerfect and the APA's paper format
III. Reviewing some major points of APA paper format
IV. Expanding my horizons
Making Love With a Keyboard in APA Style
I clearly remember when we first met. For months I had overheard others swapping colorful stories about how they had spent enjoyable hours with it and how it had "produced" just what they asked for (every time!); but initially all I did was watch in silent envy as these same people rushed into class, flushed and breathless, with pages and pages of splendid, eyecatching details describing their encounters. Of course, it was difficult to miss their sneers and patronizing smirks when they then turned toward me and saw the splotchy, unrefined results of my "manual" work. "For crying out loud, Pat," I recall my professor saying with some exasperation, "when are you going to stop doing everything by hand?" I wilted in my chair, bemused and frustrated.
Experimenting
A day or so later, while my dorm room reverberated with the monotonous staccato of my determined punches and jabs at my manual machine, I was interrupted by a hissing sound as something thin and slick swished across the tile under my door. Massaging the callouses on my hands, I stood up to find that on the floor, glinting suggestively from the sultry glow of my desk lamp, was a glossy issue of ComputerEase. Learning to Overcome Inhibitions
This was my first experience with an adult magazine devoted to people like myself who are too conventional or simply too afraid to cross the line from manual tedium to creative electronics. But it was enough. After my first exposure to photographs of the sleek Tandy, surrounded by all manner of colorful and provocative software, to the heady capabilities of Zenith, and, I must admit, to the exciting alternatives offered by Texas Instruments, I could barely contain my desire to make a visit to that vaunted Shack where, I had heard, new patrons like myself were shamelessly solicited to indulge our whims with the real thing. And who would have guessed what a difference that would make! Indeed, until someone troubled to introduce us, I was shy and uncomfortable with the prospect of becoming intimate; however, with some kind instruction, a little practice, and a bit of playful experimentation, I gradually discovered that a computer can be a versatile and creative partner willing to indulge all (well, almost all) of my writing fantasies.
In the past, for example, I had meticulously and laboriously strained to recreate papers in the APA documentation style by manipulating my manual monolith with great and plodding care. I would pore over others' works, memorize what I could, and wind up twisting my carriage almost out of its sockets before I got things right. Ultimately, my paper was covered with embarrassing smears and unsightly smudges. Only rarely was I able to dress my ideas with the style and visual appeal that seemed to come naturally to other writers.1 Meeting Tandy
But then Tandy, booted in WordPerfect and glowing a tantalizing liquid blue, smiled kindly upon my uneasiness and adopted me as an apprentice. Finally, my hunger for flair, for panache, and especially for format, was sated. In less than an hour, Tandy's careful supervision had elevated me from novitiate to expert.
I remember beginning by telling Tandy of my previous frustration. "I've read manuals on APA style documentation," I said. "Johnson's The Bedford Guide to the Research Process (239286), and Carter and Skates' The Rinehart Handbook for Writers (495512); but whenever I try to type a paper following the same format, I create a sloppy mess."
Tandy's response was reassuring, soothing: _Relax. Give your hands a break. Let me do some of the work._
I took a deep breath, feeling a profound release from years of pentup tension. No more sneers, I imagined. No more smirks. Learning WordPerfect and the APA's Paper Format
_Begin by keeping two things in mind,_ Tandy continued. _From start to finish, the paper should be doublespaced, with the exception of your references, which should be singlespaced with a doublespace between them. This means two spaces follow the title, where the text begins, and it should continue as such until you reach your reference list._
"Doublespace everything except the references, which are singlespaced and have doublespaces between them," I repeated.
_And don't be afraid._
I smiled sheepishly, my fingers tentatively exploring Tandy's keyboard.
"Experiment," I said.
It was one of the most pleasurable hours of my life.
When I finally left Tandy's company, I felt cocky, invigorated, and dripping with confidence. So many new possibilities had been offered‹so many alternatives! I exulted!
Reviewing Some Major Points about APA Paper Format
In my mind, I ran over some of the key points regarding the APA documentation style: doublespace everything except references (Johnson 31314; Carter and Skates 527); capitalize the first letter only of key words in my title, and don't underline the title or put it in quotes (Johnson 299; Carter and Skates 520); create a separate title page with the title, my name, the school's name, and the date‹in that order (Johnson 299); put a key word from the title and the page number in the top right corner (Johnson 300; indent quotes of five or more lines long five spaces (Johnson 303; Carter and Skates 523); separate the paper into headings and subheadings which clearly reflect changes in direction of thought (Johnson 30111); place footnotes at the end of a paper (Johnson 312); create a References page, not a Bibliography page (Johnson 31314; Carter and Skates 527); alphabetize references by last name or, lacking that, by the first key word in the title (Johnson 31314; Carter and Skates 527); and be sure to study the APA format guide in the APA Style Sheet or in one of the textbooks (Johnson 23958; Carter and Skates 495502). Doing these things should produce a paper much like this one‹though it will be up to the professor whether or not there should be an abstract, an outline, whether papers should or should not be flush against the right margin, and whether there is or is not a need for footnotes and a References page. Most of these additional pages are required for English 104 and 105 classes, not English 103.
Of course, the best rules of thumb are to ask, and look it up.
But then, enough about doing things with one's hands.
Broadening My Horizons
I have discovered since beginning my relationship with Tandy that my affairs with other computers have improved considerably. Of course, it was with some guilt that I first admitted to Tandy that I was interfacing with someone else; but ours had always been an open, understanding friendship driven by little bits of love‹and perhaps I needn't even have reminded Tandy that these days I would be foolish to insert my disk just anywhere.
Footnotes
1 For sample papers in APA format, see Jean M. Carroll's "The Causes and Treatment of Agoraphobia" (Johnson 299314), and Stewart R. Morgan's "Discrimination in Japanese Business" (Carter and Skates 5207).
References
Carter, Bonnie, and Craig Skates. The Rinehart Handbook for Writers. 2nd ed. Fort Worth: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1990.
Johnson, Jean. The Bedford Guide to the Research Process.
Boston: St. Martin's Press, 1992.
FILE: V-4-1