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Example Student Paper Template (centered, bolded, omit colon)

Start with an introduction to your paper. Do not use a header for the introduction. It will speak for itself. This is your chance to grab the reader’s attention, and make the reader excited to read on. Discuss the topics you will address in the paper, being careful not to give away the punch line too soon. It’s a great idea to introduce topic with a little research. Don’t go too crazy on the research just introduce the research. The introduction paragraph should not be longer than one-half page. The American Psychological Association (APA) format requires knowledge and skill in concise, clear written communication (APA, 2020). This APA format is taken from the 7th ed. APA book (2020), which is the required format for Denver College of Nursing (DCN). The last sentence of the introduction should highlight the paper and tell the reader what to expect. For example: This paper will explain how to successfully structure a student paper using APA formatting. Implementing this as your final sentence will lead the reader forward eagerly (APA, 2020, pp. 75-76).

General Paper Format (Level 1 heading, omit colon)

Professional Paragraphs (Level 2 heading, omit colon)

Your paper should have a title page, introduction paragraph, body, concluding paragraph, and reference page. The minimum length of your professional paper does not count the title page and the reference page (APA, 2020, pp. 61-67).
Do not use an abstract, author note, or running header for student papers. A professional paragraph should not be too short, too long, fragmented, or choppy (APA, 2020, p. 115). Each paragraph needs five-space tab indenting. Your paper must be consistently double spaced. Use
Times New Roman, 12-point font with one-inch margins on all sides. Every page, including the title and reference page, requires a page number to the top right corner in the header section of the page (APA, 2020, pp. 44-47).

Paragraph Headings

Organize your paper content using the rubric and project description. Paragraph headings are required to organize and separate paper requirements. Level 1 and Level 2 headings will break up your paper into readable sections. You may use both Level 1 and Level 2, or just Level 1 to organize your paper. You may not use Level 2 without first using Level 1 headings. Level 1 heading is centered, while Level 2 is far left justified. Both headings are bolded and fragmented. It is not a sentence, so do not use punctuation at the end of your heading, such as a colon or period and do not underline the heading (APA, 2020, pp. 47-49).

Grammar and Mechanics

Correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, spacing, and sentence structure are also essential components of scholarly writing. Always spell check your paper prior to submission. If you use singular pronouns, you need to use singular nouns. Additionally, avoid singular and pleural in the same paragraph. Refer to yourself in third person and in active voice. “This writer instructed” should be used in academic writing. Reflection papers and opinion papers can be written in first person, “I instructed the patients” if assignment specifies this tense (APA, 2020, pp. 117-125).

Numbers

Spell out numbers one through nine. Use “numerals to express numbers 10 and above” (APA, 2020, pp. 178-179). There are exceptions to this rule. You may use numbers that precede a unit of measurement, such as 5-mg dose or 3 cm wound. You may use numbers to represent statistical or mathematical functions, such as 0.33 of the sample or 3 times as many. Use “numbers to represent time, dates, ages, scores, and points on a scale,” such as 5 days, 12:30 a.m., 2-year-olds, or $5 compensation (APA, 2020, pp. 178-179). Use a number after a noun, such as year 1, or grade 4.

Academic Integrity

Plagiarism

If you use a resource in your writing (in any way), and do not cite it with a proper citation this is considered plagiarism. This includes self-plagiarism, so if you have written a paper for a previous course you would have to cite your work as a prior submission or re-write the paper (APA, 2020, 254-257). At DCN, the use of chatGPT, or similar artificial intelligence (AI) programs, for any submitted assignment is a violation of academic integrity and is considered plagiarism. Penalties for the use of AI to generate your assignments may include a written warning with possible disciplinary action, including dismissal from the course.

Similarity

Unicheck is a similarity software used by DCN. When you submit your student paper, it will automatically run through the Unicheck software. This software will generate a similarity report showing possible plagiarism. It will give you a color code once the software has completed its cycle. Click on that color code and the report will generate. Review that report and make sure all items highlighted for similarity are updated with in-text citations for paraphrase, summary, or direct quote. Once you provide a citation, re-submit the paper and Unicheck will generate a new report with a lower score. Keep doing this until the score is < 24%. If you properly cite your sources, you will not flag for high similarity. Your instructor will give you more information on Unicheck and accessing your similarity report.

Evidence-Based Writing

It is vital for professional student papers at this level of education to follow strict 7th ed. APA format (2020). This is very different than Modern Language Association (MLA) format many have used in prior institutions. DCN requires your primary sources to be reliable. This starts with picking a reliable and professional source. A reliable source is one that has been written within the past five years or less. For secondary or supportive sources, they can be older than five years as long as you meet the minimum primary sources required for your paper. Peer reviewed journal articles are considered the most scholarly and respected sources. Webpage articles must be research-based, reliable, scholarly, and professional in nature. For your paper to be professional, research needs to be cited in your text throughout. Your paper should be rich in research, proven both by using quotations as well as paraphrasing or summarizing. Your professional opinion should tie it all together using complex thinking (APA, 2020, p. 253-278).

In-Text Citations

In-text citations proving research in your writing is the core to success with student papers. In-text citations will prove to the reader that your paper is reliable. There are two types of in-text citations. The parenthetical in-text citation goes at the end of the sentence (Johnson & Smith, 2023). Note the use of punctuation. The period goes
after the parenthetical in-text citation. The narrative in-text citation is written within the sentence. According to Johnson and Smith (2023), write a narrative citation like this. Note the difference in the use of the ampersand (&) with the parenthetical citation vs. narrative citation (APA, 2020, 262-263).

Paraphrasing or Summarizing a Source

There are many different ways of formatting, but I recommend keep it simple. Format your in-text citations different ways for variety. If your article doesn’t show an author and the organization or agency is the author, format it like this (Mayo Clinic, 2023). For two authors, format like this (Johnson & Smith). For more than two authors, format your in-text citation like this (Mason et al., 2023) or According to Mason et al. (2023)… If your resource does not list a year, you may use n.d. like this (Mason et al., n.d.). There are many more ways to format citations located in the 7th ed. APA book that you can dig into (APA, 2020, pp. 269-270).

Quoting a Source

Approximately 20% of your in-text citations may be a direct quote taken from a reliable source. The remainder 80% of your in-text citations may be paraphrased or summarized into your own words. For all quotes, a paragraph or a page number is required. “You can put your author, organization, or agency, year, and paragraph or page number at the end of your sentence like this” (Johnson & Smith, 2023, p. 2). If your source does not have a distinct page number, start at the top of your article and count down to the paragraph you found your quote and use the paragraph number like this (Johnson & Smith, 2023, para. 2). See this and other examples of how to format quotes in the APA book (pp. 269-272).

Block Quotation

If your quote is 40 or more words, you must put it in a freestanding block of text and omit the quotation marks. Start a block quotation on a new line and indent the block using a five-space tab from the left margin.

A long quotation does not require quotation marks as the indenting identifies it as a quote. This quote will also require consistent double spacing with the citation at the end of the paragraph. As a general rule, avoid long quotes but sometimes the material is just too good to pass up. As for all quotes, you will need a para. or p. # to show where you obtained this information.

A block quotation may contain 2 indented paragraphs, although it is not recommended. If you add a second paragraph, indent the second paragraph a five-space tab. For block quotes, please note the period goes
before the in-text citation. (APA, 2020, pp. 272-273)

Reference Page

The reference page starts on a separate page and keeps consistent double spacing. Use a Level 1 heading to write the word references, bolded and centered on the page and omit a colon. All references listed must be used in-text throughout the paper. If you don’t cite your source in-text, you may be flagged for plagiarism. References must be listed in alphabetical order and use hanging indent format. That means the first line is flush to the 1-inch margin, while the remaining lines are indented 0.5. Consult appendix below for step-by-step directions to properly set the hanging indent feature. If you manually set the reference hanging indent format, you risk losing format when uploading the assignment for grading (APA, 2020, p. 303). Some sources are considered unreliable or unstable. In this case, you would use retrieved on dates to show when you used the article in case the author updates it (APA, 2020, p. 290). Make sure your weblinks are not broken and do not use a period at the end of a weblink (APA, 2020, pp. 298-300).

Retrieval Dates