Brief directions on how to cite dissertation in APA style

If you are aspiring to pursue a course in the sociology or education field, make sure you learn how to cite dissertation APA and the relevant paper format. This style is different from other academic formats and you might take a while to get used to it. But learning the style is paramount whether you are a first-year student in Psychology or in your final year of Master’s degree in Education.

Definition

APA stands for American Psychological Association. You may be very familiar with this writing style if you are a student of Psychology or any social science. New students in these fields who were accustomed to other styles find it hard adjusting to APA. So, there is a need for grasping he basics that will make your academic life easier when citing dissertation APA

As a general rule of thumb, a paper has 4 major parts namely:

  1. Title Page
    This part consists of a running head, the subject matter or the dissertation topic, name of the student, and the school’s name. The significance of a title page is to inform the reader what the project is all about and the person who wrote it.
  2. The abstract
    This is a short synopsis of the thesis which comes immediately after the title page. APA rules stipulate that it should not exceed 250 words or go below 150 words. However, this may differ depending on the instructor’s directives or publication requirements.
  3. The main body
    The six major chapters of a dissertation are the introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussions, and conclusion.
  4. References
    Unlike other styles that use ‘cited works’, APA style contains a reference list page that outlines all sources applied in thesis. Anything that has been cited in between texts must be reflected on this part and any source listed on this page must appear in the paper.

How to handle references in APA cite dissertation

  • The reference list is a separate page ant the title (references) must be centered at the page top
  • Entries follow an alphabetical order
  • The initial reference need to be flushed on the left. The subsequent lines are indented
  • Double spacing is required after every sentence and the entire section
  • All titles of journals, newspapers, books, and magazines must be italicized

Are you challenged by an APA paper? You can make use of online citation machines which are free. These tools can make your work easier but be sure to double check your work to see that you apply the latest guidelines.