The American Psychological Association, or the APA, is the governing body for the APA Style. The APA Style was created in 1929 with the intent of standardizing scientific writing.
APA style is used for a variety of fields, but mostly the social sciences, like psychology, anthropology, and sociology.
Purdue Online Writing Lab - APA Guide
The Purdue Online Writing Lab, or the Purdue OWL, has everything you need to know about APA.
This is the official APA website with guides on formatting for APA.
We have a copy of the 7th Edition APA Style Guide in the library. You cannot take it home, but you can come into the library and use it. It is very helpful when you're confused about specific parts of APA.
When writing a paper using APA style, use the following formatting guidelines:
Fonts: The preferred font of APA is Times New Roman 12 pt.
Margins: Margins should be 1 inch on all sides.
Page Numbers: Page numbers should be placed in the document header, flush right.
Spacing: The entire document should be double-spaced.
Page Breaks: There should be page breaks (i.e., start a new page) at the Introduction and the References.
Justification: All paragraphs should be indented at 0.5". Keep the body of paragraphs flush left and the right margin uneven/ragged.
Sample Papers: Take a look at these sample papers provided by APA.org
See “Formatting Tables and Figures” section on pages 127-150 in the APA manual for exceptions.
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.
Example APA Title Page from the APA website
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.
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Level 1 heading
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Centered, Boldface, and Title Case Heading The text follows as a new indented paragraph.
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Level 2 heading
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Flush Left, Boldface, and Title Case Heading The text follows as a new indented paragraph.
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Level 3 heading
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Indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period. Immediately followed by the text.
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Level 4 heading
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Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period. Immediately followed by the text.
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Level 5 heading
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Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period. Immediately followed by the text.
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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.
APA Seventh Edition - How to Format your Paper in APA Style in 2023 - Smart Student
This video, made by Chelsea Seburn of Smart Student on YouTube, explains the basics of formatting your paper in APA seventh edition. The video goes through general APA formatting, title page setup, main body and section headings, references, and APA grammar rules to follow.
In-Text Citations Made Easy: APA 7th Edition Format - Smart Student