The formatting of your paper is very important. Why? Because it is the first impression the professor/reader gets of your work. You do not want your paper to appear sloppy, or as it you waited until the last minute, or as if you did not take the time to pay attention to detail. Before you start typing your paper, please make sure that the following formatting settings are in place:

• Microsoft Word Document
• 1-inch (72 points) Margins all around
• The overall indentation should be set left and right at a 0 pt, while the first line of the paragraph at 18 points, tabs should also be set at 18 points (however, in cases of using extended large direct quotes the tab should be at 36 points)
• Do not justify the paper since that causes spacing issues. Always align the paper to the left
• Times New Roman font
• 12-Point font
• Double-spaced (Sometimes word documents are automatically defaulted to have extra spacing. In order to make sure this is not the case, click on Page layout, and in the spacing section make sure that the before and after are set to 0 point)

Include page numbers. In addition, to the above formatting guidelines, when writing your paper keep the following in mind:

• Avoid using contractions and first person in formal writing (i.e., in all of the papers you will submit for my course)
• A proper paragraph should include at least 3 sentences
• Make sure you do not have run-on paragraphs: a paragraph should never be over a page long
• Make sure to use proper citations. If citing a chapter from an edited, make sure to give credit to the proper author and not the editors. That is, use the APA citation for a chapter in an edited text.
• The paper should also be formatted with proper headings and subheadings i.e., Introduction, Discussion etc.
• Do not include tables and figures in text as they mess up the formatting of the paper. If you are going to employ a table or figure to illustrate a point, do so in an appendix.