APA references consist of four main elements: author, date, title, and source. Author information is inverted: last name followed by initials, separated by periods. Up to 20 authors can be listed, with first 19 plus ellipsis for more. Organizations as authors should be listed in full without abbreviations
APA Style Manual was introduced in 1929 as a standard for scientific writing. Current version (APA 7th) was published in 2019. Style guides simplify formatting and ensure uniform text presentation
Reference list appears at paper's end, labeled "References" centered. All text should be double-spaced with hanging indentation. References page must be separate from text, centered without quotation marks
Introduction should grab reader's attention and explain study's purpose. Background should clearly state what is known and identify gaps in knowledge. Objective should be clearly stated and use same formulation throughout paper. Introduction should be around 1-1.5 pages long
Cover sheet includes name, experiment title, date, teacher, and class information. Abstract summarizes all report content and should be written last. Introduction explains theory and background research. Objective section states experiment purpose and hypothesis if applicable. Procedure section details experiment steps clearly and includes diagrams
Materials and methods section follows literature review in research papers. Section should describe research procedures and experimental details. Structure varies by discipline, best learned from published papers