Triple click your mouse anywhere in this paragraph to replace this text with your introduction. Often the most important paragraph in the entire essay, the introduction grabs the reader's attention-sometimes a difficult task for academic writing. When writing an introduction, some approaches are best avoided. Avoid starting sentences with "The purpose of this essay is . . ." or "In this essay I will . . ." or any similar flat announcement of your intention or topic. Read more about writing academic essays.
Level One Heading

Replace the level one heading with the words for your heading. The heading must be in bold font. Headings are a necessary part of helping your audience track the sub-topics discussed in the body of the essay or report.

Be sure to indent the first line of each paragraph between five and seven spaces by pressing the Tab key one time on the keyboard. In addition, remember to double space the entire paper using the double space functionality in Word. This template is already formatted for double spacing. Read more about formatting using Microsoft Word.

In addition, keep in mind an academic essay should contain at least five paragraphs, which includes the introduction (introductory paragraph), the body (which is generally at least 3 paragraphs), and the conclusion (generally one paragraph). Most well-developed paragraphs contain at least 3-5 sentences, one of which is the topic sentence. Limit each body paragraph to one sub-topic.
Level Two Heading

Replace the level two heading with the words for your heading. The heading must be in bold font. Read more about APA headings on the APA Style Blog.