Content and Organization of a Manuscript

Quality of Content:

Regardless of the quality of writing, an effective publication must have an important message. In other words, the content of a paper is more important than the presentation of it. Prior to beginning any writing, you should ask yourself "Is this information worth sharing in a written report?" If the answer is "yes," you can proceed. If the answer is "no," you need to reconsider your thesis, topic or idea.

Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism:

Following APA Ethics Code Standard 8.11, you must not claim the words and ideas of others as your own; you must give credit to the original author. With this in mind, all your writing should follow the following guidelines:

• Use quotation marks when directly quoting or using the exact words of another person or article
  • Direct quotations should be followed by author name, publication year and page number of the quotation
• Use an in-text citation to indicate every time you have paraphrased the thoughts, words or ideas of another person
  • In-text citations for paraphrased materials should include the author name and publication year

Characteristics of Articles:

There are a number of different types of articles depending on the purpose and target audience. In general, articles fall into one of the following types:

• Reports of empirical studies
• Review articles
• Theoretical articles
• Methodological articles
• Case studies

Regardless of the type of article, before you begin writing you must carefully consider the length, headings and tone of the manuscript.

Parts of a Manuscript: 

Most manuscripts (empirical articles) will include the following components:

• Title page
• • Title
  • • Title should be fully explanatory
    • Do not use abbreviations
    • Should be 10-12 words
  • Author's name and affiliation
  • Running head
  • • Abbreviated version of the title
    • Maximum of 50 characters

See Psychbytes for detailed information on how to create a title page.

• Author note
• • Provides necessary contact information for additional information

• Abstract
• • A brief, comprehensive summary of the paper
  • Should be accurate, self-contained, concise, specific, nonevaluative, coherent and readable
  • Block paragraph (do not indent) with the title "Abstract" centered above
  • Single paragraph; typically 150 to 250 words

See Psychbytes for detailed information on how to create an abstract.

• Introduction
• • This section is NOT labeled "introduction"
  • Starts with a paragraph description of the importance of the problem and theoretical implications
  • Include a background literature review to establish a context for the paper
  • State the purpose and rationale for the current paper

See Psychbytes for detailed information on how to format your introduction.

• Method
• • Highlight subsections for participants, materials and procedures
  • Center the title "Method" before the start of the section

• Results
• • Summarizes the data and statistical analysis
  • Center the title "Results" before the start of the section 

• Discussion
• • Exploration of the evaluation and interpretation of findings
  • Center the title "Discussion" before the start of the section

• References
• • Only include those articles directly cited within the paper
  • Center the title "References" before the start of the section
  • Double space page; use hanging indents

See Psychbytes for detailed information on how to format your reference page. In addition, review the relevant Psychbytes modules for information on how to cite various sources. If you are unable to find the information you need, see Landmark's Citation Machine for assistance with your reference list (if you need assistance using Landmark's Citation Machine, see Psychbytes).

• Footnote
• • Used to provide additional content, context or to provide copyright permissions 

• Appendix
• • Additional information that helps readers to understand or evaluate the article
  • Generally brief and easily presented in print format
  • Labeled "Appendix" (or, in the case of multiple appedices, "Appendix A", "Appendix B", etc)
  • Begin each appendix on a separate page
  • Title with "Appendix" (and the relevant letter) centered at the top of each page

• Supplemental materials
• • Web-based, online supplemental files that are more appropriate as a direct download than as a print copy
  • Should be included as a link to web-based resources that are in a format that is widely accessible 

For a sample paper in the appropriate format, see page 41 of the APA Publication Manual.