Formatting an APA Paper
APA Style requires writers to do the following:
- Use 8.5″ x 11″ paper, double-spaced, with 1″ margins.
- While Times New Roman is not required, it is recommended. Otherwise, a clear font that is readable must be used.
- The APA 7th Edition Manual lists the following fonts and sizes: 11pt Calibri, 11pt Arial, 10pt Lucida Sans Unicode, 12pt Times New Roman, 11pt Georgia, or normal 10pt Computer Modern.)
- Use the third-person perspective. (Avoid words like: I, You, We, Our, Us, etc. and instead use They, Them, Their, etc.)
- Use the first-person perspective when discussing research conducted by yourself. Even when discussing your own experiments and research, avoid using “we” unless it is specifically referring to yourself and the group of researchers that were involved in the study.
- Use the active voice. Use the past tense.
- Each paper will also require a Title Page.
The 7th Edition updated their requirements for Title pages. Please read the Title Page section to see what changes have been made.
Note: There are now two different paper formats that APA 7th Edition defines: Student and Professional. Please make sure you check with your professor to see which style they are utilizing in class.
There are six essential elements that are included on the title page for a student paper. These elements are the paper title, the student’s affiliation (school, place of work), the course number and title, the name of the teacher, the date the paper is due. The title page also requires a page number in the upper right corner.
The major elements on the page are centered and appear about 1/4 of the way down the page. New to this edition, your title is in bold and there is an extra double space between it and the other elements listed above.
The title page has different header than the Student version. In the older editions of APA, the title page had a unique header, but in the 7th edition, this has been changed and the same header will appear on each and every page of your paper.
On the title page in the header, a shortened version of the title of your paper (50 characters or less) in all capital letters is displayed. This shortened version of your title does not have to contain the same words or be in the same order as the fully title, but it must convey the same meaning. The running head is left-aligned in the header while the page number appears on the right.
The next part of the title page is where your paper’s title, your name, and your institution are placed. This information is centered on the upper half of your page. When typing your title, use upper and lower case letters. The recommendation is that your title remains less than 12 words long, though this is not a requirement. Do not abbreviate words in your title. The title of your paper can take up more than one line. New to this edition, your title will appear in bold lettering.
After the title, the author of the paper will state their name. Titles and degree are not needed (i.e., Dr., Mr., Sir, Ph.D., M.D., etc.), however, middle initials are encouraged.
Below the author’s name, the institute is listed. The institute is where the author conducted research on the topic discussed in the paper.
Author(s) Note
The Author Note is an element that will appear on the title page of a professionally published APA document. The purpose of this area is to give readers extra information about who wrote the paper, where there research was conducted or registered through, disclaimers and statements that include conflicts of interest, contact information, and research funders/sponsors. Student papers will not include an Author Note. (APA 7th Edition, Section 2.7)
The Abstract of your paper is an unbiased summary of the topic discussed and conclusions made about the topic. This appears on its own page after the title page of the paper (page 2 of the document).
Note: The Abstract is not always required for an instructor’s assignment. Make sure you are aware of the assignment requirements.
The Abstract is short and should not be longer than three-quarters of a page (250 words). The abstract’s first paragraph will not be indented. Following paragraphs will be indented normally (0.5″ from the margin).
At the end of the Abstract, keywords are often listed so that published works that are placed in a database can be found with ease. When writing out the keywords make sure that they are their own paragraph and the word “Keywords” (italicized) prefaces a comma-separated list of words. See the APA Style Sample Papers on the Writing Center Moodle for an example of an Abstract.
When beginning the body of the paper, start a new page. Centered at the top of the page will be the paper’s title as it appears on your title page. Under the title, left-aligned, the introduction of your paper will start. Remember to indent (1/2 inch) the first line of each new paragraph as you write your paper. No addition spacing is recommended or required after the title of the paper and the start of the introduction.
The body of the paper will include your introduction, research, methods, results, and conclusions. Remember to continue using double-spacing. Headings can be used to separate topics or sections of your APA Style paper. To see examples of heading and how they will look in your paper, see the APA Style Sample Paper on Moodle.
Need an Example?
Click the link below to download an example APA essay that utilizes APA formatting rules, in-text citations, and has a References page.