Report Spacing
Formal or informal reports must be single-spaced. There is one extra space between paragraphs as shown in Figure 11.
How to Single Space an Informal or Formal Report
To make your informal or formal report follow proper APA spacing guidelines, your report must be single-spaced, block left-aligned. To ensure your assignment is block left-aligned, under the “Home” tab (A), click the “No Spacing” button (B). Next, click the spacing button (C) under the “Home” tab, and then click the “1.0” button (D) from the spacing drop-down menu, as shown in Figure 10.
Formal & Informal Report Paragraphs
All paragraphs are block left aligned, and there is one extra space between paragraphs. Paragraphs are not indented. See figure 11 for an example.
Formal Report Parts & Order
Unless otherwise stated by your Confederation College professor, organize your formal report in the order outlined in Figure 12.
Headings Within a Report
In any academic assignment where you will require headings, like a formal or informal report, you must use proper APA heading formats, as listed and illustrated in Figure 13. If you are writing an informal or formal report, your mandatory report components, except for the Introduction, will use the first level heading format listed in Figure 13.
Formatting Graphics & Tables Within an Assignment
Graphics effectively communicate a lot of information using a visual representation of the data. Graphics must always communicate information related to the assignment topic. When incorporating a graphic into your assignment, whether you create a graphic or the graphic is taken from a secondary source, you must follow APA formatting and, if applicable, citation guidelines.
Graphic / Table Placement
Unless you have been instructed to put graphics and tables into an appendix, all graphics and tables placed in the body of the assignment must be left-aligned and flush with the left margin. If a table runs onto a second page, you must repeat the headings on the second page.
Graphic / Table Placement Format
Once you have left-aligned your graphic, input one, double-spaced line above the “Figure # line” and below the “Figure Note / Table Note” text box to separate the graphic from the written content before and after it, as shown in Figure 13. The graphic / table should be positioned as close to the callout paragraph as possible.
Callout
You should never input a graphic/table into your paper without first addressing and discussing it, which is commonly referred to as the “callout”. Because final editing and formatting of your paper can change the layout of your assignment, never say, “the table below” or “the table on page 5” in a callout. See the callout in Figure 14 for an example.
Figure Number (for any graphic or image except for a table)
Every graphic must be labelled appropriately with a figure number. The first graphic that appears in an assignment is labelled Figure 1, the second graphic that appears in an assignment is Figure 2, and so on.
Figure Number Format
Once you have pasted the graphic into your paper and determined its position number, type the Figure # in bold font, above the graphic. Left align the Figure # line to the left margin of the page. Input a double-spaced blank line between the previous paragraph and the Figure # line, as shown in Figure 15.
Table Number (for tables only)
Every table you input into your paper must be labelled appropriately with a table number. Table numbers are determined by the table’s position in the paper in relation to other tables’ positions. For example, the first table that appears in an assignment is labelled Table 1, the second table that appears in an assignment is Table 2, and so on.
Table Number Format
Once you have pasted the table into your paper and determined its position number, type the Table # in bold font, above the table. Left align the Table # line to the left margin of the page. Input a double-spaced blank line between the previous paragraph and the Table # line, as shown in Figure 15.
Graphic and Table Titles
You must give all graphics and tables a title. The title should be short and should concisely reflect the topic of the information presented in the graphic / table.
Graphic and Table Title Format
The graphic / table title is located one double-spaced line below the “Figure #” or “Table #” line, and one single-spaced line above the graphic or table. The title must be written in title case and in italic font, as shown in Figure 15.
General Graphic and Table Notes
A general table note explains or provides more details about information listed in the table / graphic that may need explaining. For example, the definition of a special symbol or an explanation of an uncommon abbreviation would be located in a table/graphic note.
Mandatory Graphic and Table Notes
A graphic / table note is mandatory if you have taken or adapted a graphic from a secondary source. Rather than an in-text citation, a taken or adapted graphic must have a copyright attribution statement written in the graphic note or table note section, as shown in Figure 13.
The format of the copyright attribution depends on the type of source you have taken or adapted the graphic from, so you will need to use Table 1 to correctly format the copyright notation. A graphic is considered “taken” if you have cut and pasted the graphic, exactly as it was printed in the original source, into the text of your paper. A graphic is considered “adapted” if you have re-created the graphic using your own word processor, or if you have modified the graphic and/or the information within it in any way.
A permission statement, as shown in Table 1, is not needed as long as you are using the graphic for an educational purpose, you will not be making a profit by using the graphic, and you give full credit to the original author using a copyright notation and reference entry.
Please note that all taken graphics must have a matching reference entry on the References page; a copyright notation does not replace the need to have a reference entry.
How to Create a Graphic / Table Note Area. In Microsoft Word, click the “Insert” tab. Next, click the “Text Box” button, and then click the “Draw Text Box” button. Using your cursor, drag and draw a box under the graphic that you have inserted into your paper. Ensure that the text box is the same width as the graphic. Place the text box immediately under the graphic. How to Format a General Note In the graphic/table note area, type “Note.”, in italics. After the period, write the explanation using non-italicized font.
[1]All examples are being written from a student perspective, where permission would not be needed because the purpose of using the graphic is considered “fair use”. [1] (American Psychological Association, 2020, Table 8.4)