According to the American Psychological Association (APA) formatting guidelines, a research paper should be organized into sections and presented in a specific way.
The title page should include the title of the paper, the author's name and institutional affiliation, and a running head (a shortened version of the title) on the top of the page.
The abstract is a summary of the main points of the paper and should be placed on a separate page after the title page. It should be a single paragraph that is between 150 and 250 words in length.
The main body of the paper should be divided into sections with headings that reflect the main points of the paper. The main sections of the paper should be Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion. Other sections, such as a literature review or theoretical framework, may also be included as needed.
Each section should be clearly labeled and should follow a logical order. The introduction should provide an overview of the research question and the purpose of the study. The method section should describe the participants, materials, and procedures used in the study. The results section should present the findings of the study in a clear and concise manner. The discussion section should interpret the results and discuss their implications.
All sources cited in the paper should be listed in the reference section, which should be placed at the end of the paper. The reference list should be in alphabetical order and should follow the APA style for formatting.
In addition to these basic sections, APA formatting guidelines also specify the use of specific font, spacing, and margin sizes, as well as the use of headings and subheadings to organize the content of the paper. It is important to adhere to these guidelines in order to present a professional and well-organized research paper.