34 Formatting Your Paper in APA

 American Psychological Association (APA)

The American Psychological Association, established in 1892, is “the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States” with approximately 117,000 members (“American Psychological Association”).  The American Psychological Association created their style guide in 1929 and is most often used in the social sciences, such as psychology, education, and linguistics. Scholars in English rarely use APA; however, scholars in the field of Composition and Rhetoric do. For more help with APA please visit the OWL of Purdue’s APA Guide. 

 

Your APA paper should always use Times New Roman, 12 point font, and one-inch margins. The entire manuscript should also be double spaced.

 

Formatting the Title Page (page 1)

To format the title page, follow the proceeding steps:

  1. Insert the “Running head: ABBREVIATED TITLE” and page # in the right hand corner on page one.
  2. Scroll down to the center of the page and center the following:
    • Your Name
    • Title of Your Paper
      • Use title caps
      • No quotation marks, italics, underline, etc.
    • University Affiliation

 

An image of an APA title page
Figure 1: Example of an APA title page

 

Formatting the Abstract Page (page 2)

Follow the steps listed below to format the abstract page:

  1. Create a new page. This page should include the header (i.e. the abbreviated title of your work) without the words “Running head.”
  2. Center the word “Abstract” with no bold, underline, or quotation marks.
  3. Hit enter and do not indent. Write a short (150-250 words) summary of your paper.

 

An image of an APA abstract page
Figure 2: Example of an APA abstract page

Formatting the Beginning of Your Written Content (page 3)

To start the body of your text follow the proceeding steps:

  1. Create a new page. This page (and all those that follow) should also include the header without the words “Running head.”
  2. At the top of the new page, center and write the full title of your work. Do not use bold, underline or quotation marks. After the title, hit enter once, indent your paragraph ½ inch, and begin writing.

 

Levels 1-3 Headings

APA uses various levels of headings to distinguish sections in an essay. According to the OWL of Purdue, “[t]he levels are organized by levels of subordination, and each section of the paper should start with the highest level of heading.” The highest level of heading is 1 and the lowest is 5. However, in this section, only levels 1 through 3 are discussed.

 

Level 1 Heading

  • Level 1 Heading (Centered, Bolded, Title Caps)
  • Shows the section title (e.g. Literature Review, Methods, Results, Implications)

 

An image that shows how Heading 1 will appear in an APA paper
Figure 3: Image of Heading 1 example

 

Level 2 Heading

  • Level 2 Heading (Left-Justified, Bolded, Title Caps)
  • Shows subsection titles (e.g. main ideas/topics)

 

An image that shows how Heading 2 will appear in an essay
Figure 4: Image of Heading 2 example

 

Level 3 Heading

  • Level 3 Heading (Indented, bold, lower-case, period)
  • Shows subsections of subsections (e.g. sub-topics of topics)

 

An image that shows how Heading 3 will appear in an essay
Figure 5: Image of Heading 3 example

 

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The Muse: Misunderstandings and Their Remedies Copyright © by Eric Detweiler; Paul Evans; Amy Fant; Amy Harris-Aber; Nich Krause; Caroline LaPlue; Candie Moonshower; Kate Pantelides; and Jennifer Wilson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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