How Complicated Are Research Papers in APA Format?
Research papers are not complicated generally. However, for some students research may be complicated, yes, and formatting can be tricky, but the outline of the paper itself and how it is put together is rather straightforward. This may seem like an odd thing to say, because a lot of research is fantastically complicated with all these things going on, and many people see it that way. This is mere illusion, however, because the underlying structure of a research paper can be broken down and viewed in a simple way. Even APA format looks like a mess at first, but there are a few things, that you need to keep in mind to write an APA essay.
APA format is more or less straightforward. The works cited can be a mess, but that will be covered in a second. The basics are using a normal sized standard font, times new roman 12 point works fine for this. Lines should be double-spaced, with no extra line breaks in between paragraphs. Margins should be one inch on each side. There is often a header, depending on the paper. These are all easy things to set up in any word processor. Works cited may look daunting, with different formats for each media a source could be in, but if you look at an APA format guide it will walk you through how to set this up. Any piece of information you lack can just be left blank.
As for research papers, do not worry so much. Research is sometimes complicated by subject manner, and if you write about quantum mechanics, you will find that anything but simple! However, research is straightforward, you just find a source that has information that you want to acquire, use that information to see what next bit of information you think you need, and find a source that talks about that. As you go, take the facts you need, that is all you need to worry about.
Paper writing itself is not complicated either, you just write the paper. I know that sounds pedantic, but that is all there is too it. Write an outline, get your facts in rough order they should appear, and write them in your own words with transitions between them. This is not terribly difficult, so you should just follow this method, and you will be fine. If you are having problems, just check your outline, because what is written there is all you need to include in your essay.