apa style research article assignment

A step-by-step guide for creating and formatting APA Style student papers

The start of the semester is the perfect time to learn how to create and format APA Style student papers. This article walks through the formatting steps needed to create an APA Style student paper, starting with a basic setup that applies to the entire paper (margins, font, line spacing, paragraph alignment and indentation, and page headers). It then covers formatting for the major sections of a student paper: the title page, the text, tables and figures, and the reference list. Finally, it concludes by describing how to organize student papers and ways to improve their quality and presentation.

The guidelines for student paper setup are described and shown using annotated diagrams in the Student Paper Setup Guide (PDF, 3.40MB) and the A Step-by-Step Guide to APA Style Student Papers webinar . Chapter 1 of the Concise Guide to APA Style and Chapter 2 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association describe the elements, format, and organization for student papers. Tables and figures are covered in Chapter 7 of both books. Information on paper format and tables and figures and a full sample student paper are also available on the APA Style website.

Basic setup

The guidelines for basic setup apply to the entire paper. Perform these steps when you first open your document, and then you do not have to worry about them again while writing your paper. Because these are general aspects of paper formatting, they apply to all APA Style papers, student or professional. Students should always check with their assigning instructor or institution for specific guidelines for their papers, which may be different than or in addition to APA Style guidelines.

Seventh edition APA Style was designed with modern word-processing programs in mind. Most default settings in programs such as Academic Writer, Microsoft Word, and Google Docs already comply with APA Style. This means that, for most paper elements, you do not have to make any changes to the default settings of your word-processing program. However, you may need to make a few adjustments before you begin writing.

Use 1-in. margins on all sides of the page (top, bottom, left, and right). This is usually how papers are automatically set.

Use a legible font. The default font of your word-processing program is acceptable. Many sans serif and serif fonts can be used in APA Style, including 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, 12-point Times New Roman, and 11-point Georgia. You can also use other fonts described on the font page of the website.

Line spacing

Double-space the entire paper including the title page, block quotations, and the reference list. This is something you usually must set using the paragraph function of your word-processing program. But once you do, you will not have to change the spacing for the entirety of your paper–just double-space everything. Do not add blank lines before or after headings. Do not add extra spacing between paragraphs. For paper sections with different line spacing, see the line spacing page.

Paragraph alignment and indentation

Align all paragraphs of text in the body of your paper to the left margin. Leave the right margin ragged. Do not use full justification. Indent the first line of every paragraph of text 0.5-in. using the tab key or the paragraph-formatting function of your word-processing program. For paper sections with different alignment and indentation, see the paragraph alignment and indentation page.

Page numbers

Put a page number in the top right of every page header , including the title page, starting with page number 1. Use the automatic page-numbering function of your word-processing program to insert the page number in the top right corner; do not type the page numbers manually. The page number is the same font and font size as the text of your paper. Student papers do not require a running head on any page, unless specifically requested by the instructor.

Title page setup

Title page elements.

APA Style has two title page formats: student and professional (for details, see title page setup ). Unless instructed otherwise, students should use the student title page format and include the following elements, in the order listed, on the title page:

• Paper title.
• Name of each author (also known as the byline).
• Affiliation for each author.
• Course number and name.
• Instructor name.
• Assignment due date.
• Page number 1 in the top right corner of the page header.

The format for the byline depends on whether the paper has one author, two authors, or three or more authors.

• When the paper has one author, write the name on its own line (e.g., Jasmine C. Hernandez).
• When the paper has two authors, write the names on the same line and separate them with the word “and” (e.g., Upton J. Wang and Natalia Dominguez).
• When the paper has three or more authors, separate the names with commas and include “and” before the final author’s name (e.g., Malia Mohamed, Jaylen T. Brown, and Nia L. Ball).

Students have an academic affiliation, which identities where they studied when the paper was written. Because students working together on a paper are usually in the same class, they will have one shared affiliation. The affiliation consists of the name of the department and the name of the college or university, separated by a comma (e.g., Department of Psychology, George Mason University). The department is that of the course to which the paper is being submitted, which may be different than the department of the student’s major. Do not include the location unless it is part of the institution’s name.

Write the course number and name and the instructor name as shown on institutional materials (e.g., the syllabus). The course number and name are often separated by a colon (e.g., PST-4510: History and Systems Psychology). Write the assignment due date in the month, date, and year format used in your country (e.g., Sept. 10, 2020).

Title page line spacing

Double-space the whole title page. Place the paper title three or four lines down from the top of the page. Add an extra double-spaced blank like between the paper title and the byline. Then, list the other title page elements on separate lines, without extra lines in between.

Title page alignment

Center all title page elements (except the right-aligned page number in the header).

Title page font

Write the title page using the same font and font size as the rest of your paper. Bold the paper title. Use standard font (i.e., no bold, no italics) for all other title page elements.

Text elements

Repeat the paper title at the top of the first page of text. Begin the paper with an introduction to provide background on the topic, cite related studies, and contextualize the paper. Use descriptive headings to identify other sections as needed (e.g., Method, Results, Discussion for quantitative research papers). Sections and headings vary depending on the paper type and its complexity. Text can include tables and figures, block quotations, headings, and footnotes.

Text line spacing

Double-space all text, including headings and section labels, paragraphs of text, and block quotations.

Text alignment

Center the paper title on the first line of the text. Indent the first line of all paragraphs 0.5-in.

Left-align the text. Leave the right margin ragged.

Block quotation alignment

Indent the whole block quotation 0.5-in. from the left margin. Double-space the block quotation, the same as other body text. Find more information on the quotations page.

Use the same font throughout the entire paper. Write body text in standard (nonbold, nonitalic) font. Bold only headings and section labels. Use italics sparingly, for instance, to highlight a key term on first use (for more information, see the italics page).

Headings format

For detailed guidance on formatting headings, including headings in the introduction of a paper, see the headings page and the headings in sample papers .

• Alignment: Center Level 1 headings. Left-align Level 2 and Level 3 headings. Indent Level 4 and Level 5 headings like a regular paragraph.
• Font: Boldface all headings. Also italicize Level 3 and Level 5 headings. Create heading styles using your word-processing program (built into AcademicWriter, available for Word via the sample papers on the APA Style website).

Tables and figures setup

Tables and figures are only included in student papers if needed for the assignment. Tables and figures share the same elements and layout. See the website for sample tables and sample figures .

Table elements

Tables include the following four elements: 

• Body (rows and columns)
• Note (optional if needed to explain elements in the table)

Figure elements

Figures include the following four elements: 

• Image (chart, graph, etc.)
• Note (optional if needed to explain elements in the figure)

Table line spacing

Double-space the table number and title. Single-, 1.5-, or double-space the table body (adjust as needed for readability). Double-space the table note.

Figure line spacing

Double-space the figure number and title. The default settings for spacing in figure images is usually acceptable (but adjust the spacing as needed for readability). Double-space the figure note.

Table alignment

Left-align the table number and title. Center column headings. Left-align the table itself and left-align the leftmost (stub) column. Center data in the table body if it is short or left-align the data if it is long. Left-align the table note.

Figure alignment

Left-align the figure number and title. Left-align the whole figure image. The default alignment of the program in which you created your figure is usually acceptable for axis titles and data labels. Left-align the figure note.

Bold the table number. Italicize the table title. Use the same font and font size in the table body as the text of your paper. Italicize the word “Note” at the start of the table note. Write the note in the same font and font size as the text of your paper.

Figure font

Bold the figure number. Italicize the figure title. Use a sans serif font (e.g., Calibri, Arial) in the figure image in a size between 8 to 14 points. Italicize the word “Note” at the start of the figure note. Write the note in the same font and font size as the text of your paper.

Placement of tables and figures

There are two options for the placement of tables and figures in an APA Style paper. The first option is to place all tables and figures on separate pages after the reference list. The second option is to embed each table and figure within the text after its first callout. This guide describes options for the placement of tables and figures embedded in the text. If your instructor requires tables and figures to be placed at the end of the paper, see the table and figure guidelines and the sample professional paper .

Call out (mention) the table or figure in the text before embedding it (e.g., write “see Figure 1” or “Table 1 presents”). You can place the table or figure after the callout either at the bottom of the page, at the top of the next page, or by itself on the next page. Avoid placing tables and figures in the middle of the page.

Embedding at the bottom of the page

Include a callout to the table or figure in the text before that table or figure. Add a blank double-spaced line between the text and the table or figure at the bottom of the page.

Embedding at the top of the page

Include a callout to the table in the text on the previous page before that table or figure. The table or figure then appears at the top of the next page. Add a blank double-spaced line between the end of the table or figure and the text that follows.

Embedding on its own page

Embed long tables or large figures on their own page if needed. The text continues on the next page.

Reference list setup

Reference list elements.

The reference list consists of the “References” section label and the alphabetical list of references. View reference examples on the APA Style website. Consult Chapter 10 in both the Concise Guide and Publication Manual for even more examples.

Reference list line spacing

Start the reference list at the top of a new page after the text. Double-space the entire reference list (both within and between entries).

Reference list alignment

Center the “References” label. Apply a hanging indent of 0.5-in. to all reference list entries. Create the hanging indent using your word-processing program; do not manually hit the enter and tab keys.

Reference list font

Bold the “References” label at the top of the first page of references. Use italics within reference list entries on either the title (e.g., webpages, books, reports) or on the source (e.g., journal articles, edited book chapters).

Final checks

Check page order.

• Start each section on a new page.
• Arrange pages in the following order:
• Title page (page 1).
• Text (starts on page 2).
• Reference list (starts on a new page after the text).

Check headings

• Check that headings accurately reflect the content in each section.
• Start each main section with a Level 1 heading.
• Use Level 2 headings for subsections of the introduction.
• Use the same level of heading for sections of equal importance.
• Avoid having only one subsection within a section (have two or more, or none).

Check assignment instructions

• Remember that instructors’ guidelines supersede APA Style.
• Students should check their assignment guidelines or rubric for specific content to include in their papers and to make sure they are meeting assignment requirements.

Tips for better writing

• Ask for feedback on your paper from a classmate, writing center tutor, or instructor.
• Budget time to implement suggestions.
• Use spell-check and grammar-check to identify potential errors, and then manually check those flagged.
• Proofread the paper by reading it slowly and carefully aloud to yourself.
• Consult your university writing center if you need extra help.

About the author

Undergraduate student resources

APA (7th Edition) Referencing Guide

• Information for EndNote Users
• Authors - Numbers, Rules and Formatting
• In-Text Citations
• Reference List
• Books & eBooks
• Book chapters
• Journal Articles
• Conference Papers
• Newspaper Articles
• Web Pages & Documents
• Specialised Health Databases
• Using Visual Works in Assignments & Class Presentations
• Using Visual Works in Theses and Publications
• Using Tables in Assignments & Class Presentations
• Custom Textbooks & Books of Readings
• ABS AND AIHW
• Videos (YouTube), Podcasts & Webinars
• Blog Posts and Social Media
• First Nations Works
• Dictionary and Encyclopedia Entries
• Personal Communication
• Theses and Dissertations
• Film / TV / DVD
• Miscellaneous (Generic Reference)
• AI software

APA 7th examples and templates

Apa formatting tips, thesis formatting, tables and figures, acknowledgements and disclaimers.

• What If...?
• Other Guides
• EscAPA7de - the APA escape room
• One Minute Video Series (APA)

You can view the samples here:

• APA Style Sample Papers From the official APA Style and Grammar Guidelines

Quick formatting notes taken from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 7th edition

Use the same font throughout the text of your paper, including the title and any headings. APA lists the following options (p. 44):

• Sans serif fonts such as 11-point Calibri, 11 point-Arial, 10-point Lucida,
• Serif fonts such as 12-point Times new Roman, 11-point Georgia or 10-point Computer Modern.

(A serif font is one that has caps and tails - or "wiggly bits" - on it, like Times New Roman . The font used throughout this guide is a sans serif [without serif] font). You may want to check with your lecturer to see if they have a preference.

In addition APA suggests these fonts for the following circumstances:

• Within figures, use a sans serif font between 8 and 14 points.
• When presenting computer code, use a monospace font such as 10-point Lucida Console or 10-point Courier New.
• Footnotes: a 10-point font with single line spacing.

Line Spacing:

"Double-space the entire paper, including the title page, abstract, text, headings, block quotations, reference list, table and figure notes, and appendices, with the following exceptions:" (p. 45)

• Table and figures: Words within tables and figures may be single-, one-and-a-half- or double-spaced depending on what you decide creates the best presentation.
• Footnotes: Footnotes appearing at the bottom of the page to which they refer may be single-spaced and formatted with the default settings on your word processing program i.e. Word.
• Equations: You may triple- or quadruple-space before and after equations.

"Use 1 in. (2.54 cm) margins on all sides (top, bottom, left, and right) of the page." If your subject outline or lecturer has requested specific margins (for example, 3cm on the left side), use those.

"Align the text to the left and leave the right margin uneven ('ragged'). Do not use full justification, which adjusts the spacing between words to make all lines the same length (flush with the margins).  Do not manually divide words at the end of a line" (p. 45).

Do not break hyphenated words. Do not manually break long DOIs or URLs.

Indentations:

"Indent the first line of every paragraph... for consistency, use the tab key... the default settings in most word-processing programs are acceptable. The remaining lines of the paragraph should be left-aligned." (p. 45)

Exceptions to the paragraph indentation requirements are as follows:

• Title pages to be centred.
• The first line of abstracts are left aligned (not indented).
• Block quotes are indented 1.27 cm (0.5 in). The first paragraph of a block quote is not indented further. Only the first line of the second and subsequent paragraphs (if there are any) are indented a further 1.27 cm (0.5 in). (see What if...Long quote  in this LibGuide)
• Level 1 headings, including appendix titles, are centred. Level 2 and Level 3 headings are left aligned..
• Table and figure captions, notes etc. are flush left.

Page numbers:

Page numbers should be flush right in the header of each page. Use the automatic page numbering function in Word to insert page numbers in the top right-hand corner. The title page is page number 1.

Reference List:

• Start the reference list on a new page after the text but before any appendices.
• Label the reference list References  (bold, centred, capitalised).
• Double-space all references.
• Use a hanging indent on all references (first line is flush left, the second and any subsequent lines are indented 1.27 cm (0.5 in). To apply a hanging indent in Word, highlight all of your references and press Ctrl + T  on a PC, or  Command (⌘) + T  on a Mac.

Level 1 Heading - Centered, Bold, Title Case

Text begins as a new paragraph i.e. first line indented...

Level 2 Heading - Flush Left, Bold, Title Case

Level 3 Heading - Flush Left, Bold, Italic, Title Case

Level 4 Heading Indented, Bold, Title Case Heading, Ending With a Full Stop. Text begins on the same line...

Level 5 Heading, Bold, Italic, Title Case Heading, Ending with a Full Stop.  Text begins on the same line...

Please note : Any formatting requirements specified in the subject outline or any other document or web page supplied to the students by the lecturers should be followed instead of these guidelines.

What is an appendix?

Appendices contain matter that belongs with your paper, rather than in it.

For example, an appendix might contain

• the survey questions or scales you used for your research,
• detailed description of data that was referred to in your paper,
• long lists that are too unweildy to be given in the paper,
• correspondence recieved from the company you are analysing,
• copies of documents being discussed (if required),

You may be asked to include certain details or documents in appendices, or you may chose to use an appendix to illustrate details that would be inappropriate or distracting in the body of your text, but are still worth presenting to the readers of your paper.

Each topic should have its own appendix. For example, if you have a survey that you gave to participants and an assessment tool which was used to analyse the results of that survey, they should be in different appendices. However, if you are including a number of responses to that survey, do not put each response in a separate appendix, but group them together in one appendix as they belong together.

How do you format an appendix?

Appendices go at the very end of your paper , after your reference list. (If you are using footnotes, tables or figures, then the end of your paper will follow this pattern: reference list, footnotes, tables, figures, appendices).

Each appendix starts on a separate page. If you have only one appendix, it is simply labelled "Appendix". If you have more than one, they are given letters: "Appendix A", "Appendix B", "Appendix C", etc.

The label for your appendix (which is just "Appendix" or "Appendix A" - do not put anything else with it), like your refrerence list, is placed at the top of the page, centered and in bold , beginning with a capital letter.

You then give a title for your appendix, centered and in bold , on the next line.

Use title case for the appendix label and title.

The first paragraph of your appendix is not indented (it is flush with the left margin), but all other paragraphs follow the normal pattern of indenting the first line. Use double line spacing, just like you would for the body of your paper.

How do I refer to my appendices in my paper?

In your paper, when you mention information that will be included or expanded upon in your appendices, you refer to the appendix by its label and capitalise the letters that are capitalised in the label:

Questions in the survey were designed to illicit reflective responses (see Appendix A).

As the consent form in Appendix B illustrates...

How do I use references in my appendices?

Appendices are considered to be part of your paper for the purpose of referencing. Any in-text citations used in your appendix should be formatted exactly the same way you would format it in the body of your paper, and the references cited in your appendices will go in your reference list (they do not go in a special section of your reference list, but are treated like normal references).

If you have included reproduced matter in your appendices, treat them like an image or a table that has been copied or adapted. Place the information for the source in the notes under the reproduced matter (a full copyright acknowledgement for theses or works being published, or the shorter version used at JCU for assignments), and put the reference in the reference list.

• Thesis Formatting Guide Our Library Guide offers some advice on formatting a thesis for JCU higher degrees.
• Setting up a table in APA 7th
• Setting up a figure in APA 7th

If you are required to include an acknowledgement or disclaimer (for example, a statement of whether any part of your assignment was generated by AI, or if any part of your assignment was re-used, with permission, from a previous assignment), this should go in an author note .

The author note is placed on the bottom half of the title page, so if you are using an author note, you will need to use a title page. Place the section title Author Note in centre and in bold. Align the paragraph text as per a normal paragraph, beginning with an indent. See the second image on this page for an example of where to place the author note: Title Page Setup .

The APA Publication Manual lists several paragraphs that could be included in an author note, and specifies the order in which they should appear. For a student assignment, you will probably only require a paragraph or sentence on disclosures and acknowledgements.

An example author note for a student paper could be:

Author Note

This paper was prepared using Bing Copilot to assist with research and ChatGPT to assist with formatting the reference list. No generative AI software was used to create any part of the submitted text.

No generative AI software was used to create any part of this assignment.

• If the use of generative AI was permitted for drafting or developing parts of your assignment, you will need to include a description in the methodology section of your paper specifying what software was used, what it was used for and to what extent.
• If your subject outline has a specific disclaimer to use, use that wording in your author's note.
• If the use of generative AI software is permitted, you will still need to review the material produced by the software for suitability and accuracy, as the author of the paper is ultimately responsible for all of the content.
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APA 7th Edition: Download/Edit APA Paper Template

• Download/Edit APA Paper Template
• Abstract Page
• APA Paper Section Headings
• Cite a YouTube Video or Website
• Missing Information from Source
• Reference Page
• Sample APA Paper
• APA Step by Step Guide
• APA Format Checklist
• Citation Generators

Monroe College & APA Style

Monroe college uses  apa 7 style guidelines for all student papers. , you can download our detailed apa 7 formatting tutorial here ., if your instructor's directions conflict with any apa rules, follow the instructor's directions., apa 7th edition template.

• APA 7 Student Paper Template (.docx) Download this 7th-edition template, and use it to format your APA-style Research Paper. Simply download and save a new copy of the document and paste the contents of your paper into the appropriate fields within the template.
• APA 7 Paper Template WITH ABSTRACT This version of the template includes the ABSTRACT page. Ask your instructor whether the Abstract is required for your paper.
• APA 7 Student Paper Template PDF

A Monroe College Research Guide

                 THIS RESEARCH OR "LIBGUIDE" WAS PRODUCED BY THE LIBRARIANS OF MONROE COLLEGE                    

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• Last Updated: Jun 25, 2024 3:55 PM
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APA Style 7th Edition

• Advertisements
• Books & eBooks
• Book Reviews
• Class Notes, Class Lectures and Presentations
• Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
• Government Documents
• Images, Charts, Graphs, Maps & Tables
• Journal Articles
• Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Personal Communication (Interviews & Emails)
• Social Media
• Videos & DVDs
• What is a DOI?
• When Creating Digital Assignments
• When Information is Missing
• Works Cited in Another Source
• In-Text Citation Components
• Paraphrasing
• Paper Formatting
• Citation Basics
• Reference List and Sample Papers
• Annotated Bibliography
• Academic Writer
• Plagiarism & Citations

Sample Paper & Reference List

• APA Sample Paper Template This sample paper includes a title page, sample assignment page and references list in APA format. It can be used as a template to set up your assignment.
• APA 7th Edition Student Sample Paper This example from Idaho State University presents guidelines for student papers following the American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual 7th edition.
• Student APA 7th Edition Sample Paper Example of student APA 7th edition paper with notations from Antioch University Writing Center.
• APA Headings If your instructor requires you to use APA style headings and sub-headings, this document will show you how they work. This sample demonstrates and describes how to use different levels of headings in APA format.
• APA Sample Paper Template - with Appendix If you are adding an appendix to your paper there are a few rules to follow that comply with APA guidelines: The Appendix appears after the References list If you have more than one appendix you would name the first appendix Appendix A, the second Appendix B, etc. The appendices should appear in the order that the information is mentioned in your essay Each appendix begins on a new page

APA End of Paper Checklist

• End of Paper Checklist Finished your assignment? Use this checklist to be sure you haven't missed any information needed for APA style.

Quick Rules for an APA Reference List

Your research paper ends with a list of all the sources cited in the text of the paper. Here are nine quick rules for this Reference list.

• Start a new page for your Reference list. Centre the title, References, at the top of the page.
• Double-space the list.
• Start the first line of each reference at the left margin; indent each subsequent line five spaces (a hanging indent).
• Put your list in alphabetical order. Alphabetize the list by the first word in the reference. In most cases, the first word will be the author’s last name. Where the author is unknown, alphabetize by the first word in the title, ignoring the words a, an, the.
• For each author, give the last name followed by a comma and the first (and middle, if listed) initials followed by periods.
• Italicize the titles of these works: books, audiovisual material, internet documents and newspapers, and the title and volume number of journals and magazines.
• Do not italicize titles of most parts of works, such as: articles from newspapers, magazines, or journals / essays, poems, short stories or chapter titles from a book / chapters or sections of an Internet document.
• In titles of non-periodicals (books, videotapes, websites, reports, poems, essays, chapters, etc), capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, and all proper nouns (names of people, places, organizations, nationalities).
• If a web source (not from the library) is not a stable archived version, or you are unsure whether it is stable, include a statement of the accessed date before the link.
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APA Style: Basics

The concise apa handbook: apa 7th edition.

This guide is intended to help you cite sources in APA style, avoid plagiarism, learn what APA style is and includes, find examples  of APA style, lead you to campus resources that can help you cite sources in APA, and more.

Please note that the information provided on these pages is intended to be a guideline, not expert advice . If you need additional assistance citing sources in APA beyond what is provided here, speak to your professor or contact the Wolak Learning Center This link opens in a new window (Campus Students) or Academic Support Center This link opens in a new window (Online Students) for additional help.

Navigate through this guide by using the tabs to the left and visit the Citing Your Sources guide for more information.

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

In-Text Citations: The Basics

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Note:  This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style  can be found here .

Reference citations in text are covered on pages 261-268 of the Publication Manual. What follows are some general guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay.

Note:  On pages 117-118, the Publication Manual suggests that authors of research papers should use the past tense or present perfect tense for signal phrases that occur in the literature review and procedure descriptions (for example, Jones (1998)  found  or Jones (1998)  has found ...). Contexts other than traditionally-structured research writing may permit the simple present tense (for example, Jones (1998)  finds ).

APA Citation Basics

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). One complete reference for each source should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

If you are referring to an idea from another work but  NOT  directly quoting the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in your in-text reference.

On the other hand, if you are directly quoting or borrowing from another work, you should include the page number at the end of the parenthetical citation. Use the abbreviation “p.” (for one page) or “pp.” (for multiple pages) before listing the page number(s). Use an en dash for page ranges. For example, you might write (Jones, 1998, p. 199) or (Jones, 1998, pp. 199–201). This information is reiterated below.

Regardless of how they are referenced, all sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

In-text citation capitalization, quotes, and italics/underlining

• Always capitalize proper nouns, including author names and initials: D. Jones.
• If you refer to the title of a source within your paper, capitalize all words that are four letters long or greater within the title of a source:  Permanence and Change . Exceptions apply to short words that are verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs:  Writing New Media ,  There Is Nothing Left to Lose .

( Note:  in your References list, only the first word of a title will be capitalized:  Writing new media .)

• When capitalizing titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound word:  Natural-Born Cyborgs .
• Capitalize the first word after a dash or colon: "Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock's  Vertigo ."
• If the title of the work is italicized in your reference list, italicize it and use title case capitalization in the text:  The Closing of the American Mind ;  The Wizard of Oz ;  Friends .
• If the title of the work is not italicized in your reference list, use double quotation marks and title case capitalization (even though the reference list uses sentence case): "Multimedia Narration: Constructing Possible Worlds;" "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry."

Short quotations

If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference (preceded by "p." for a single page and “pp.” for a span of multiple pages, with the page numbers separated by an en dash).

You can introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

If you do not include the author’s name in the text of the sentence, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.

Long quotations

Place direct quotations that are 40 words or longer in a free-standing block of typewritten lines and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout, but do not add an extra blank line before or after it. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

Because block quotation formatting is difficult for us to replicate in the OWL's content management system, we have simply provided a screenshot of a generic example below.

Formatting example for block quotations in APA 7 style.

Quotations from sources without pages

Direct quotations from sources that do not contain pages should not reference a page number. Instead, you may reference another logical identifying element: a paragraph, a chapter number, a section number, a table number, or something else. Older works (like religious texts) can also incorporate special location identifiers like verse numbers. In short: pick a substitute for page numbers that makes sense for your source.

Summary or paraphrase

If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference and may omit the page numbers. APA guidelines, however, do encourage including a page range for a summary or paraphrase when it will help the reader find the information in a longer work. 

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• APA Title Page (7th edition) | Template for Students & Professionals

APA Title Page (7th edition) | Template for Students & Professionals

Published on November 6, 2020 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on January 17, 2024.

APA provides different guidelines for student and professional papers. The student version of the APA title page should include the following information (double spaced and centered):

Paper title

• Author name
• Department and university name
• Course number and name
• Instructor name
• Due date of the assignment

The professional title page also includes an author note (flushed left), but not a course name, instructor name, or due date.

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Table of contents

Title page example (student and professional version), institutional affiliation, course information, author note, page header, including an image on the title page.

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Write an informative, striking title that summarizes the topic of your paper. Try to keep the title focused and use relevant keywords.

Place the title three or four lines down from the top of the paper. Center align and bold it. Don’t forget to use title case capitalization (capitalize the first letter of each word, except small words such as articles and short prepositions).

Write the author’s name under the paper title (leave a blank line in between). Give their full names (first name, middle initial(s) and last name), but don’t include titles (Dr., Prof.) or degrees (Ph.D., MSc).

Multiple authors on the title page

List the authors in order of their contribution. If there are two authors, separate their names with the word “and”, like this:

If there are more than two authors, separate their names with a comma. Only write “and” before the last author, like this:

Write the author’s affiliation on the next line under the author names. Students should specify the department and institution where they’re attending school. Professional researchers should specify the department and institution where they conducted their research.

Multiple authors with different affiliations

Use superscript numbers on the author line to indicate which institution they’re affiliated with. Don’t use superscript numbers if all authors are affiliated with the same institution (and department).

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On a student title page, provide information about the course. List the following information on separate (double spaced) lines under the author’s affiliation:

• Instructor(s)
• Assignment’s due date

For professional papers, you may include an author note. This note may contain the author’s ORCID iD, affiliation changes, disclosures of conflicts of interest, brief acknowledgments, and contact information (in that specific order). Present this information in separate paragraphs.

Place the author note on the bottom half of the page. Center the label “Author note” and apply bold styling. The paragraphs in the author note are left-aligned. The first line of each new paragraph is indented.

For more information about formatting the author note, see section 2.7 of the APA Publication Manual.

For a student title page, the page header consists of just a page number in the top-right corner. There is no need for a running head (as was the case in APA 6th edition).

A professional title page does have a running head. The running head is an abbreviated version of the paper title in all capital letters. The maximum length is 50 characters (counting spaces).

Images are not usually included on an APA title page, and APA does not provide any guidelines for doing so. It’s usually viewed as unprofessional to include an image, since the title page is there to provide information, not for decoration.

If you do decide to include an image on your title page, make sure to check whether you need permission from the creator of the image. Include a note directly underneath the image acknowledging where it comes from, beginning with the word “ Note .” (italicized and followed by a period):

• If you found the image online or in another source, include a citation and copyright attribution .
• If it’s an image you created yourself (e.g., a photograph you took, an infographic you designed), explain this (e.g., “Photograph taken by the author.”).

Don’t give the image a label, title, or number. Only images within the text itself are labeled as figures .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Streefkerk, R. (2024, January 17). APA Title Page (7th edition) | Template for Students & Professionals. Scribbr. Retrieved July 2, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/apa-title-page/

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