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Running head: MAXIMUM 50 CHARACTERS
[Title, APA 2.01]
by
[full name of the author, 2.02]
School of Education
William Jessup University
[year]
A Project Presented in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts in Teaching
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Dedication [OPTIONAL]
[Your text]
ii
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Preface or Acknowledgements [OPTIONAL]
[Although the body of the project is usually written in the third person, this
section, if included, is usually written in the first person (see APA 3.09, 3.20 for more
details on when to use “I”). Here you may wish to explain certain features of the Project.
It is also customary to recognize the assistance of the Graduate Coordinator and/or
members of the committee. Specific contributions by other persons or institutions should
be acknowledged, especially if financial support was received.]
iii
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Tables [APA 5.07-5.11+]........................................................................................vi
List of Figures [APA 5.20-5.25+].....................................................................................vii
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Project [APA 2.05]..............................................................1
Background..........................................................................................................................1
Statement of the Problem.....................................................................................................1
Purpose of the Project..........................................................................................................2
Theoretical Framework of the Project.................................................................................2
Definition of Key Terms......................................................................................................3
Summary..............................................................................................................................3
Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature.............................................................................5
Introduction..........................................................................................................................5
Sample Level One Heading.................................................................................................6
Sample Level Two Heading....................................................................................6
Summary..............................................................................................................................8
Chapter 3: Implications........................................................................................................9
Introduction..........................................................................................................................9
Implications.........................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................10
References.........................................................................................................................11
Appendix A: Title of Appendix [APA 2.13, 8.03]............................................................12iv
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[Do not type directly into the Table of Contents (TOC). It is hyperlinked to the headings
in your text and will update for you automatically. Right-click on the TOC to auto-update
(select “update field” then “update entire table”). The APA reference numbers will
disappear when you remove them in the actual text.]
v
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List of Tables [APA 5.07-5.11+]
Table 1. A Sample Table Showing Correct Formatting....................................................10
[See APA 5.01+ on Displaying Results in Tables, 5.19 Table Checklist]
[The List of Tables will also auto-update. Right-click on the list to auto-update (select
“update field” then “update entire table”).]
vi
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List of Figures [APA 5.20-5.25+]
Figure 1. A sample figure....................................................................................................8
[See APA 5.20+ Figures, 5.30 Figure Checklist]
[The List of Figures will also auto-update. Right-click on the list to auto-update (select “update field” then “update entire table”).]
vii
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Abstract [APA 2.04]
by
[full name of the author]
School of Education
William Jessup University
[year]
[The abstract should contain all the essential information about the project and provide
the reader with an overview. It should be written in complete sentences and include
statements of the problem, procedure or methods, results and conclusions. The abstract
should include accomplishments, the most pertinent facts and implications of the study,
and a brief explanation of the work, and should not exceed 250 words (approximately 1
½ pages in length). Mathematical formulae, citations, diagrams, footnotes, illustrative
materials, quotations, and acronyms may not be used in the abstract.]
viii
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Chapter 1: Introduction to the Project [APA 2.05]
Background
This section should be a background narrative, citing literature throughout. Your
purposes in this section are to: 1) grab your readers’ attention, 2) convey the importance
of your topic (the problem), and 3) clearly and explicitly present your argument. This is
done by synthesizing the literature into a discussion. Do not present separate article
summaries; synthesize what you have read – compare and contrast the literature and
present a unified discussion. Here you should also present any descriptive data you can
locate in secondary data sources to provide some numerical evidence of the problem
you’re discussing. Remember to include in-text citations following APA guidelines. Use
topic appropriate headings throughout your literature review to organize the discussion
for your reader.
Statement of the Problem
Here you give a clearly and concisely detailed explanation of the educational and
theoretical problem your project will address. Your problem should be of educational and
societal significance – a true problem that necessitates a solution (your argument is your
proposed solution). The problem is typically broad in nature. For example, your project
might discuss the problem of chronic absenteeism in U.S. high schools, persistent racial
achievement gaps, poor writing skills among high school graduates, or lack of access to
higher-order math content in K-12 schools. You will have introduced this problem in the
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background section. Here you discuss the problem specifically and provide in-depth
literature evidence to support it.
Purpose of the Project
Here you state and substantiate your argument, your proposed solution(s) to the
problem addressed above, and what you intend to do in the paper. Address any gaps that
exist in the literature. Discuss why you have taken on this topic and why it is important.
Argue for the necessity of a solution or different approach to the ways your topic &
problem have been discussed, researched and understood.
Theoretical Framework of the Project
The theoretical framework is the conceptual base from which your topic has
evolved. It includes the basic, historical, theoretical nature, and background of your topic.
This information is the material that under girds, and provides basic support from which
your topic emerges. Essentially you are trying to present a rational/theoretical/research-
based model for your problem and argument. The theoretical framework is the conceptual
base that bridges your problem and argument. It is core evidence for your claim/your
argument. If a reader were to respond to your argument with the question, “Why should I
believe that?”, your theoretical framework/conceptual underpinning is the answer. It is
the theory of your argument. This section will typically be 2-4 pages. Literature citations
are essential. Theorists and researchers who are famous in the field of the topic will
probably be referenced in this section.
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Definition of Key Terms
An introductory sentence should be used to transition to the definition of key
terms. The terms in this section should be terms directly related to your project that will
be used by you throughout the paper that are not common-knowledge terms. It is up to
you to define each term as you want the reader to know that term. In every case possible,
cite a source for your definition. Define all jargon for your reader to provide temporal and
cultural context and guide your reader through the argument. List the terms in
alphabetical order.
Key term 1: Definition (citation).
Key term 2: Definition (citation).
Key term 3: Definition (citation).
For example:
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP): assessments designed to
produce national and state estimates of both overall and group-specific achievement in
subjects such as reading, math, science, and history. These assessments are administered
during the 4th and 8th grade school years, and help serve as the “Nation’s Report Card”
(Condron, Tope, Steidl, & Freeman, 2013).
Summary
Present a 1-3 paragraph summary of key points included in Chapter 1. Then
present a one paragraph description of how the remainder of the paper is organized (that
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is Chapters 2 -3 and any appendices you know will be included). Note: The length of
Chapter 1 varies from project to project, but most range from 10-15 pages.
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Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature
Introduction
Write a brief introduction of 2-3 paragraphs to refresh you reader’s memory about
the problem and purpose of the project you presented in Chapter 1. Also, tell you reader
about the form Chapter 2 will take in terms of purpose, scope, and sequence/organization.
The introduction for Chapter 2 should include the titles of the main headings. [Notes:
Remember that in this chapter you are reporting on what other researchers, experts, and
theorists have already said about the subject. Therefore, for the most part, the verbs in
this chapter are past tense].
It is a skill on the part of graduate students to report on the literature in a way that
compares, contrasts, and in so doing, analyzes what is found in the literature. The purpose
of the literature review is not to simply summarize the sources read and present
information. The purpose is to synthesize and utilize the sources and information
gathered to present a convincing argument of the importance of your problem and the
validity of your argument. Synthesize your many sources into a coherent discussion. The
literature review will typically contain 2-4 strands of literature in which you present,
discuss and synthesize the research literature on the 2-4 topics the reader must understand
to substantiate your problem and validate your argument and recommendations.
The APA Publication Manual (2010) is the guideline for the format of your
project. Consistency is the law. Follow its guidelines on how to do something and do that
the same way throughout the paper. This is particularly true of chapter headings and
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subheadings. Except in rare cases, use last names only for persons noted or references in
the study and do not use position or academic titles. In most cases, paraphrase what you
want to share for your reader from what you have found in the literature. Overuse of
“directly quoted” material is to be avoided. How long should Chapter 2 be? Rarely is a
review of literature under 20 pages considered adequate.
There are 4 criteria in determining the adequacy of the review of literature: (1)
complete enough to inform and enlighten the reader, (2) clear in every regard, (3) correct
in style and accuracy, and (4) concise as possible while remaining thorough. A
considerable portion of what you find in you literature search can and will be important
parts of Chapter 1, “Background of the Study,” and Chapter 3, “Implications and
Recommendations.” Be sure to review successfully completed papers for examples to
guide the organization and writing of each chapter.
Use topic appropriate headings throughout your literature review to organize the
discussion for your reader [APA 3.02+ Headings].
Sample Level One Heading
Remember, a paragraph is a full MEAL (please see 2016 Handbook). A paragraph
has at least three sentences. In the literature review, a scholar never cites only one source
in a paragraph. The first and last sentences in a paragraph should never be a citation.
Sample Level Two Heading
A full MEAL includes all aspects of that MEAL. The main idea is always
expressed in the author’s own words. Evidence, typically in the form of reputable sources
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or logical arguments, backs up that main idea. The author provides his or her own
analysis of the literature. Finally, the last sentence always leads into the next paragraph,
section, or chapter. Effective transitions are essential to a well-written literature review.
Conclude every paragraph and section explicitly transitioning to the content coming next.
Sample level three heading. With level three, four, and five headings, you will
need to perform some manual formatting functions. First, write your heading and at least
one sentence. Then, highlight your heading and select APA level 3, 4, or 5 from the
Styles menu. Next, highlight the portion that is not part of the heading and select Body
Text from the Styles menu. If the bolding and / or italics did not disappear from the text,
you will need to manually remove them. Some versions of MS Word do not
automatically remove them for you. Finally, click on the heading to make sure it is the
correct APA level and click on the body to make sure it is on Body Text.
Sample level four heading. Please note that with APA headings zero through two,
each word in the heading is capitalized. In levels three through five the headings are
sentence cased complete with periods. Bolding and / or italics are the only thing
separating level three through five headings from the rest of the text.
Sample level five heading. It is very important that you use the correct APA level
headings from the Styles menu in your document. By using the correct Styles, the
document’s Table of Contents (TOC) will be able to automatically and accurately
populate. If you do not use the correct formatting, you will not produce an accurate
document or TOC.
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Figure 1. A sample figure. This shows correct formatting and populating of the list of Figures.
Summary
Chapter 2 should have a summary that ties together the main headings of the
chapter. Also, be sure to preview for the reader what is coming in Chapters 3.
Sample Figure
X Y Z
Dr. Herzog
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Chapter 3: Implications
Introduction
Use this section to introduce the reader to this chapter and to refresh the reader’s
memory about the project being investigated. Summarize the problem and purpose
statements. Keep this brief, concise, and to the point.
Implications
Implications are practical suggestions for addressing the issues that have been
raised in the research. These should be suggestions of what should be done. Be sure to
add, following what should be done, how it can be done. This is important! It is easy to
make suggestions as to what should be done regarding an issue; it is another thing to
suggest how it can be done. Consider implications for practice (in schools and
classrooms), policy (in educational policy and law) and research (future studies to be
done). Implications for social change should be grounded in tangible outcomes and
improvements for individuals, organizations, institutions, cultures, and/or societies: (a)
who will benefit and (b) in what way? Provide a clear and concrete statement about your
study’s contribution to social change.
Practice Implications
Use subheadings to designate and distinguish the different types of implications.
Policy Implications
Depending on your topic, policy implications may not be relevant.
Future Research
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Return to the literature and think deeply and specifically about what future research
studies should examine and what questions still need to be answered.
Table 1
A Sample Table Showing Correct APA Formatting
Column A Column B Column C Column D
Row 1
Row 2
Row 3
Row 4
Note. From “Attitudes Toward Dissertation Editors,” by W. Student, 2008, Journal of Academic Optimism, 98, p. 11. Reprinted with permission.
Conclusion
Provide a closing summary of the entire paper. It should begin with a brief
review of the project, followed by an overview of the implications and conclusions.
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References
[See APA 2.11, 6.25 Order, 6.27 Components, 6.31 Electronic, 7.0 Examples]
American Psychological Association (2010a). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th Ed). Washington DC: American Psychological
Association.
American Psychological Association (2010b). Mastering APA style: Instructor’s
resource guide (6th Ed). Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
American Psychological Association (2010c). Mastering APA style: Student's workbook
and training guide (6th Ed). Washington DC: American Psychological
Association.
Bandyopadhyay, S., Rao, A., & Sinha, B. (2011). Models for social networks with
statistical applications. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Baranov, D. (2012). Conceptual foundations of social research methods (2nd Ed.).
London, England, Paradigm Publishers.
Berman, E., Bowman, J., West, J., & Montgomery, R. (2010). Human resource
management in public service: Paradoxes, processes and problems (3rd Ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
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Appendix A: Title of Appendix [APA 2.13, 8.03]
Ideally, you should refer to the appendices in the same order that they appear at
the end of the manuscript. The first, in text reference should be to Appendix A, then
Appendix B, and so forth. Page numbers may change, so just give the appendix letter.