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Sample APA Research Paper
Sample Title Page
Place manuscript page headers one-half inch from the top. Put five spaces between the page header and the page number.

Running on Empty

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Full title, authors, and school name are centered on the page, typed in uppercase and lowercase.

Running on Empty: The Effects of Food Deprivation on Concentration and Perseverance Thomas Delancy andAdam Solberg Dordt College

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Sample Abstract
Running on Empty Abstract This study examined the effects of short-term food deprivation on two
The abstract summarizes the problem, participants, hypotheses, methods used, results, and conclusions.

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cognitive abilities—concentration and perseverance. Undergraduate students (N-51) were tested on both a concentration task and a perseverancetask after one of three levels of food deprivation: none, 12 hours, or 24 hours. We predicted that food deprivation would impair both concentration scores and perseverance time. Food deprivation had no significant effect on concentration scores, which is consistent with recent research on the effects of food deprivation (Green et al., 1995; Green et al., 1997). However, participants in the12-hour deprivation group spent significantly less time on the perseverance task than those in both the control and 24-hour deprivation groups, suggesting that short-term deprivation may affect some aspects of cognition and not others.

An APA Research Paper Model
Thomas Delancy and Adam Solberg wrote the following research paper for a psychology class. As you review their paper, read the side notesand examine the following: ● The use and documentation of their numerous sources. ● The background they provide before getting into their own study results. ● The scientific language used when reporting their results.

Center the title one inch from the top. Double-space throughout.

Running on Empty Running on Empty: The Effects of Food Deprivation on Concentration and Perseverance

3Many things interrupt people’s ability to focus on a task: distractions, headaches, noisy environments, and even psychological disorders. To some extent, people can control the environmental factors that make it difficult to focus. However, what about internal factors, such as an empty stomach? Can people increase their ability to focus simply by eating regularly? One theory that prompted researchon how food intake affects the average person was the glucostatic theory. Several researchers in the 1940s and 1950s suggested that the brain regulates food intake in order to maintain a blood-glucose set point. The idea was that people become hungry when their blood-glucose levels drop significantly below their set point and that they become satisfied after eating, when their blood-glucose levelsreturn to that set point. This theory seemed logical because glucose is the brain’s primary fuel (Pinel, 2000). The earliest investigation of the general effects of food deprivation found that long-term food deprivation (36 hours and longer) was associated with sluggishness, depression, irritability, reduced heart rate, and inability to concentrate (Keys, Brozek,

The introduction states thetopic and the main questions to be explored.

The researchers supply background information by discussing past research on the topic.

Extensive referencing establishes support for the discussion.

Henschel, Mickelsen, & Taylor, 1950). Another study found that fasting for several days produced muscular weakness, irritability, and apathy or depression (Kollar, Slater, Palmer, Docter, & Mandell,1964). Since that time, research has focused mainly on how nutrition affects cognition. However, as Green, Elliman, and Rogers (1995) point out, the effects of food deprivation on cognition have received comparatively less attention in recent years.

Running on Empty The relatively sparse research on food deprivation has left room for

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further research. First, much of the research has...