Tricks on how to write an APA format essay

It can be difficult if you are used to writing an essay in a particular format or style and your teacher or professor gives you a new assignment but in a different format. Let's say that a particular teacher wants you to write in the APA format and you've been used to using the MLA format. Remember that these formats are simply a set of rules or requirements. In fact you don't really need much understanding, rather a knowledge of what is required.

So when it comes to tips or ideas on how to write an APA format essay, the secret is to make sure you know all the requirements. They are easy to find. Your school or college will almost certainly have samples of APA format essays and there are most certainly dozens if not hundreds of websites which preach the doctrine of this type of writing.

Make yourself a one-page list

This is probably the best tip you can receive. Carry with you a single page on which you have written down the basic requirements of the APA format essay. It's easy to carry in your wallet or purse or pasted on the inside cover of your folder. You don't have to go online and look up the rules and regulations every time you have to create your APA format essay. And the more often you write in this format, the easier it will be for you to know what is required.

Here are the basic requirements.

• Always use double spacing or when typing your essay.
• Always have a running header on the top left hand corner of every page.
• Always have a page number in the top right-hand corner of every page.
• Always have a separate title page which includes the title, your name and school and possibly your teacher's name and the date.
• You must have a separate reference list at the end of your paper and cite the references in the required manner.

The crazy part about the marking of so many essays by students who don't do as well as they should lies in the fact that they write well but fail to stick to the rules and regulations. It is so easy to set up your paper with a title page, with a reference page and with the text in between. It does not take a great deal of time and effort to meet the requirements of the APA format.

Depending on the software you are using, it is very easy to set the margins and spacing and the headings and page numbers. Take your time and get it right the first time and all subsequent essays using the APA format will be easy to follow.