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APA Style (7th ed.): Citation Guide

Formatting a Paper in APA

APA Basic Formatting Rules for Student Papers

The following guidelines are the basic formatting rules outlined in the APA Publication Manual 7th edition. If your instructor sets different requirements, always use your instructor's guidelines first.

Font:

  • clearly legible, regular-sized font
  • recommendations: 12pt Times New Roman, 11pt Arial, 11pt Calibri, 10pt Lucida Sans Unicode, 11pt Georgia

Spacing:

  • double spaced throughout all parts of the paper including title, headings, and footnotes
  • 1-inch margins on all sides
  • Indent the first line of each paragraph by 1/2-inch (tab)
  • left-justified for the body of the paper

Running Head & Page Numbers:

  • not required to include shortened version of the title for student papers- unless requested by your instructor
  • include the page number in the top right corner of all pages

APA Title Page for Student Papers

The following guidelines are the basic formatting rules outlined in the APA Publication Manual 7th edition. If your instructor sets different requirements, always use your instructor's guidelines first.

Page Number:

  • include the page number in the top right margin. (It will be 1 for the Title Page. Continue numbering throughout the paper and References page.)

Heading about a 1/3 of the way down the page:

  • Paper Title: bold, centered
  • Author: your name
  • Institutional Affiliation: Lone Star College- Online
  • Course: your course number and the name of the course (ex. PSYC 2301: General Psychology)
  • Instructor: your instructor's name (ex- Prof. Jane Smith)
  • Due Date: Month day, year format (ex- January 1, 2024)

APA Headings within the Body of the Paper

The following guidelines are the basic formatting rules outlined in the APA Publication Manual 7th edition. If your instructor sets different requirements, always use your instructor's guidelines first.

Paper Title:

  • include on the first line of the first page of the body of your paper
  • bold and centered

Headings and Sub-headings (use when needed)

  • APA uses a hierarchy of five levels for headings within the paper
  • use only the number of headings needed
    • short paper may not need headings at all
Level Format
1

Centered, Bold, Title Case Heading

Text begins as a new paragraph.
2

Flush Left, Bold, Title Case Heading

Text begins as a new paragraph.
3

Flush Left, Bold Italic, Title Case Heading

Text begins as a new paragraph.
4

          Indented, Bold, Title Case Heading, Ending With a Period. Text beings on the same line and continues as a regular paragraph.
5

          Indented, Bold,

Italic, Title Case Heading, Ending With a Period. Text beings on the same line and continues as a regular paragraph.

 

References Page Formatting

The following guidelines are the basic formatting rules outlined in the APA Publication Manual 7th edition. If your instructor sets different requirements, always use your instructor's guidelines first.

General:

  • needs to start on a new page following the end of your paper
  • include the title References centered on the first line of the page
  • everything after the title is left-justified

Citations:

  • listed in alphabetical order by the first part of the citation (usually the author)

Spacing:

  • double spaced throughout all parts
  • 1-inch margins on all sides
  • Each citation should have a hanging indent- or it should start at the left margin and then have all lines after it indented by 1/2-inch

APA Paper Visual Guide

Click on the information circles for tips on how to use Microsoft Word to format your paper in APA Style.