SDC: does an APA formatted paper need an abstract?

[originalamyj]

Daughter is taking SDC’s Cognitive Psych. She has to write an 800-1200 word essay on a book that explores theories in cog psych. It is assigned as APA. But since it’s a book report and not a research paper, does it need an abstract? The assignment calls for works cited but doesn’t mention the abstract. Does anyone have any experience with this?

[lacussucceed]

Mostly the APA style they mention is about the referencing of the sources.
Also, please carefully read the rubrics and follow that.
I think that way she'll be fine either way, with or without abstract.

[Merlin]

Daughter is taking SDC’s Cognitive Psych. She has to write an 800-1200 word essay on a book that explores theories in cog psych. It is assigned as APA. But since it’s a book report and not a research paper, does it need an abstract? The assignment calls for works cited but doesn’t mention the abstract. Does anyone have any experience with this?

I took several psychology courses from SDC, though not cognitive psych specifically, and I didn't include an abstract because it wasn't listed as a requirement. None of the papers were returned. In fact, as far as I know, none of the papers at SDC require an abstract. If they do, it should be specified in the rubric or instructions somewhere.

When the courses talk about APA format, they are predominately referring to the citation format and references/works cited. They also want the papers to be formatted in academic style (12-point serif font, 1-inch margins, double spacing, etc). I'm not sure that they actually care about the running head, but I always included it to be safe.

[cookderosa]

Checking with my son- he told me he has never done an abstract either. Word count + references = all good grades so far.

[jsh1138]

No. APA is my preferred format and unless it asks you for one in the rubric you don't need it