Note to students: This is an example of a paper formatted to generally align with APA manuscript standards. It is offered as one example approach to formatting professional papers. Other formatting conventions are also acceptable. The point is for you to follow a manuscript format that is consistent and professional. The JWMI intends for you to focus on learning course topics rather than being preoccupied with manuscript formatting details. Having a template to follow should make formatting your papers easier.

Title of Paper
Author’s Name
Jack Welch Management Institute
Professor’s Name
Course Number
Date
Abstract
Following generally accepted rules for preparing manuscripts will help students confidently structure professional papers. This manuscript provides a basic layout for students to apply in this program and in their professional writing. The approach is based upon the sixth edition of the APA guidelines (2009). The topics of general formatting, the introduction, section headings, quotations, citations, conclusion, and references are discussed. The APA guidelines define an abstract as a single paragraph, without indentation, that summarizes the key points of the manuscript. The purpose of the abstract is to provide the reader with a brief summary of the paper, such as this abstract. The total length should not exceed 120 words, with each sentence written concisely.

Introduction Learning to write in a recognized professional format, such as APA, will help students achieve effective academic and professional writing. Using an established manuscript format is more efficient for the author and the reader, leading to more effective communication. According to a College Board (2004) survey of 120 major American corporations, “in today’s workplace writing is a threshold skill for hiring and promotion among salaried (i.e., professional) employees” (p. 3). Thus, excellent writing is one of the most important objectives of a business education. To help students achieve this professional advantage, the Jack Welch Management Institute requires all students to develop a professional writing style. The following sections discuss and are examples of the basics of one commonly used manuscript style, APA. Note that this manuscript format does not include all details of APA.
General Manuscript Format The body of the paper should have one inch margins and use a 12 pt. font that is easy to read, such as Times New Roman. To aid ease of reading, double space throughout the paper. Align the manuscript flush left, resulting in an uneven right margin. Indent paragraphs five to seven spaces. Page numbers are one inch from the top right edge of the paper. Page numbers are not required for short papers, yet useful for longer ones.

Headings

Begin each major section of the paper with the topic heading in bold font, centered at the top of the page. The body of the text is typically divided into subsections as shown in this template. Usually these subsections represent the primary elements suggested by the assignment. In fact, one of the first steps in organizing a paper is to determine the section topics that fully address the assignment. Sharing section topics with the professor is one way to assure the assignment is comprehensively addressed and eliminate uncertainty regarding requirements. Using sections in the body of a is not only an excellent organizational approach, doing so helps the reader understand the flow of reasoning. The title of this section, “Headings,” is the first level of APA manuscript heading. Below is an example of a second level heading.

Subsections

Sections can be divided into subsections. An example is a Method section of a research paper being divided into Participants, Materials, and Procedure subsections. It is unlikely that a paper will require more than the two levels. However, if needed, the third level should look like the heading shown below. Heading Level 3. Begin text on this line.

Citations and References

All sources applied in a paper must be cited on a separate “References” page at the end of the paper. It is not included in the page count. Within the body of the paper, when concepts from specific sources are used, a citation containing the author’s last name and year of publication within parentheses indicates the cited source; for example, (Welch, 2005). The author’s last name corresponds with the entry on the References page, allowing readers to look up the source of the citation. We do not recommend the use of footnotes. All citations should be placed in the body of the document. An example of a References page is located at the end of this template. References are listed in alphabetical order. Do not list references that are not applied. Note that APA uses the "hanging indent" style for references. One easy way to do this is to type each reference without worrying about the hanging indent. When finished, select (highlight) all the references and then open the Citations and Bibliography dialog box in Word. Select APA. If available, in the Indentation area, under Special, choose Hanging and then a distance for the indentation.
Course Lectures and Media Application of course materials is required in papers and discussions. For discussions, informal or formal citations are acceptable. For example: • "As noted in our first lecture..." • Or, (Week 3, Lecture 1) or (W3, L1) • If material is from another course, indicate the course number and as much information as recollected, (JWIxxx, Week 3, Video) For papers, use formal citations and references as follows.

• If the material is from the current course: (Week 3, Lecture 1) • If the material is from another course: (JWIxxx, Week 3, Lecture 1), or as much as recollected

For the reference section in a paper, simply list JWIxxx, Week 3, Lecture 1, with the lecture title,

as appropriate. References are not required in discussions unless the material is found outside of

the course content.

Quotations

Originality is an important aspect of graduate writing. To ensure original thinking, “quoting should be done only sparingly; be sure that you have a good reason to include a direct quotation when you decide to do so” (Quoting, Paraphrasing, n.d.). Notice the placement of the quotation marks, citation, and final punctuation after the citation. Guidelines for quotations are based upon the length of the quote. Quotes with fewer than 40 words are quoted directly in the sentence. The in-text citation for a direct quote must include the author(s), year, and page number. See the example for the indented quote below. Quotations longer than 40 words follow different guidelines. Include these quotes in an indented block. Start long quotes on a new line and indent five spaces from the left margin. Also, double-space the lines and omit quotation marks. If more than one paragraph is quoted, indent the first line of additional paragraphs by .5 inch. Include a reference citation after the closing punctuation. (Bowman, 2012, p. 1)

Conclusion (and/or Recommendation) This manuscript style template is offered as a possible template for papers and discussion posts. A consistent and professional formatting of papers is expected, rather than adherence to every detail of APA or other manuscript format. A basic tutorial can be found at http://flash1r.apa.org/apastyle/basics/index.htm. A sample paper applying the complete APA manuscript style can be found at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/20090212013008_560.pdf. Happy writing!
References
American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) Washington, DC: Author.
Beck, B. E. (1999, July). Style and modern writing [Special issue]. Prose Magazine, 126, 96-134.
Bowman, A.K. (2012). Personal communication.
College Board (September 2004). Writing: A ticket to work or a ticket out. Retrieved from http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/writingcom/writing-ticket-to-work.pdf
Gode, S. M., Orman, T. P., & Carey, R. (1967). Writers and writing. New York: Lucerne Publishing.
MacDonald, S. E. (1993). Words. In The new encyclopedia Britannica (vol. 38, pp. 745-758). Chicago: Forty-One Publishing.
Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing (n.d.). Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/563/01/
Reference List: Electronic Sources (n.d.). Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10
Wilson, J. C. (2001). Scientific research papers. In Stewart, J. H. (Ed.), Research papers that work (pp. 123-256). New York: Lucerne Publishing.
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Appendix Place supporting and bulky groups of information in the appendixes. If you have multiple groups of information, create multiple appendixes. Label each appendix with a capital letter, e.g.—Appendix A, Appendix B, Appendix C, etc.
Table 1
Simple example of a table
|Column heading |Column heading |Column heading |
|Table body |Table body |Table body |
|Table body |Table body |Table body |
|Table body |Table body |Table body |
|Table notes | | |

Figure Captions
Figure 1. Figure example of a cycle diagram.

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All figures are placed at the end of the paper.

Any figure captions in previous sections correspond to this section.

This is an example of a figure.