1. Maintain your tense. Past tense is preferred. When using pronouns (he, she, they) use 1st person, such as I or we.
Example of error frequently seen: I drove up in her front yard. She comes running out of the house.
2. Refrain from using contractions, such as don’t and can’t. Do not use jargon (street talk), clichés (hotter than a cat on a hot tin roof), abbreviations or acronyms (FBI, BOP). Abbreviations may be used after they have first been spelled out. Example: I worked for the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
Then, you may use that abbreviate in the body of the paper.
3. The text should be left justified, double-spaced, with one inch margins on all 4 sides.
4. All papers should include a title page (according to the APA format) and a reference page.
5. Use 12 point type and Times New Roman font.
6. Pages should be numbered according to the APA 7th ed. format.
7. Indent paragraphs 5 spaces. Maintain double-spacing throughout the entire paper. Do not double space between paragraphs.
8. Do not use headings.
9. Do not use bold type, do not underline, and do not use italics or all caps. Emphasis should be expressed through the words you choose, not through gimmicks.
10. If you use quotes, follow APA guidelines on referencing. Try NOT to quote. Give credit on your References page to EVERY source you used. Cite the sources, according to the APA format, throughout the body of the paper. Do not hand in your paper until you have run spell-check, or another spelling program on it. Spelling matters! Correct punctuation matters, too!
