APA Guide

What Should Be Included on the Title Page?

The title page includes Title of the Paper, Page Number, Title of the Paper, Title of the Author(s), instructor's name, course number and institutional affiliation.

You can find a more in depth description of the requirements for the title page on the APA.org website.

You can also find an example of a formatted title page here.

How to Add Page Numbers

To insert page numbers in Microsoft Word:

          1. Place your cursor to the right of the running head and press the Tab button on your keyboard twice. 

          2. Click the "Insert" tab in the top menu. 

          3. Select Page Number, then "Current Position," and choose Plain Number from the options. 

          4.  On the second page, Select Page Number, then "Current Position," choose Plain Number from the

               options. The page number will show up with a consecutive number in every page in the header.

          5. Remember to change the font size and style of headers to 12pt. Times New Roman font.

Headings also help structure the paper.

The more complex your paper the more levels of headings you will use.

• Always start anew with Level 1 headings.
• Avoid over-using them (number of headings, and number of heading levels).
• Avoid headings with numbers or letters.

See page 62-63 of the manual for more information.

Format your references page using the Paragraph Settings option.

• Begin with References centered at the top of the page (no underlining or italics).
• Arrange references in alphabetical order by the author's last name, and then in order by date.
• Double space between and within references.
• Have a hanging indent at the second line of each reference.

To format your entries with a hanging indent:

Create your list of references

Select/Highlight all of the text 

Right-click on the selection

Choose Paragraph in the menu.

Choose Hanging under the "Special" option.

All subsequent reference entries will have a hanging indent.

Below are some important updates made to the 7th edition of the APA style Guide.

• Student papers no longer require a running header
• Title Page has been simplified for student papers.
• Use one space after a period at the end of a sentence unless an instructor or publisher dictates otherwise.
• All sources with three authors or more are now attributed using the name of the first author followed by “et al.”
• The label “Retrieved from” no longer needs to come before URLs in an APA website citation. 
• The location of a source’s publisher is no longer needed.
• The format of an ebook (e.g., Kindle, Nook, etc.) is no longer needed in citations.
• The manual advises writers to use “they” for a person whose gender is unknown or irrelevant.