I'm sure you know APA has a specific format for academic papers, that's what brought you here! This video will follow the 7th edition guidelines in google docs, if you're using word, don't worry! It's a very similar set-up.
Wait, are you looking for the 6th edition guidelines? Then check out this video instead! If you're in a rush, we also have a free APA format template for both word and google docs!
Alright, let's dive right in. Hi, I'm Jessica from Scribbr, here to help you achieve your academic goals. What's new in the 7th edition, is that APA now has different guidelines for student papers and for professional papers intended for publication.
This video will mainly focus on the format for student papers, but you can check out the article here for instructions on how to format a professional paper. Cool, now let's set up the basics. These formatting guidelines are applied throughout your paper, so it's nice to have it already in place.
Set page margins to 1 inch by clicking file, page setup, 1 inch on all sides. Now click line spacing, select double-space for all text, including headings. Choose an accessible font, for example, times new roman 12 or Arial 11.
Let's set up the page header, which is on the top of each page. In an APA Style paper, every page has a header, including the title page. For a student paper, all you need to include in the header is the page number.
Click on the top of the page to open the header, click insert, page numbers, and choose right align. For a professional paper, you should also include a running head by entering the paper title in all caps, like this. But for now, we will focus on the student format.
The first page of your paper is the title page. For a student paper, include these elements on the title page, in this order: First, your paper title in bold then after a blank line, the author's name Your university and department name course number and name instructor name and the due date of the assignment All of the elements are center-aligned, with title case capitalization, and around 3-4 enters down from the start of the page. Next is the abstract.
This is a 150–250 word summary of your paper. An abstract is usually required in professional papers, but it’s rare to include one in student papers except for theses and dissertations. More about writing the abstract in this video, let's focus on the formatting.
At the top of the page, write the section label “Abstract” in bold and centered. The contents of the abstract appear directly under the label. Unlike regular paragraphs, the first line is not indented.
Abstracts are usually written as a single paragraph without headings or blank lines. At the bottom, indent the line, and italicize the label "keywords:", followed by 3-5 relevant keywords in lower case letters, unless they are proper nouns, and separated by commas. There's no period at the end.
Moving onto the body text. Make sure to indent the first sentence of a new paragraph by pulling the ruler half an inch, APA style headings are used to divide your paper into chapters and sections. Use title case capitalization for all your headings.
Level 1 headings are for main sections, like methods or results. This heading is centered and bold. Now for your subheadings: Level 2 is left-aligned and bold.
Level 3 is also left-aligned, bold, AND italicized. Indent level 4, bold, and add a final period. The text then begins immediately after this period.
Level 5 is the same as heading 4, but also in italics Throughout the body text, remember to properly cite your sources with APA in-text citations. After your body section, but before any appendices, don't forget to include the reference page! Here you list all the sources you’ve cited in your paper.
On a new page, center and bold the section label "References". The reference entries are placed directly below the section label. You can easily create and save these references with the Scribbr Citation Generator.
Then all you have to do is copy and paste the entire list – it’s already sorted in alphabetical order. Format the references with hanging indents like this. Pull the arrow on the ruler to half an inch, and the rectangle back to 0.
We have a more in-depth video on formatting the reference page, click here! That covers all the basics you need to know for APA paper formatting! We have an entire playlist that goes into more depth on the 7th edition of APA style, you should watch it too!
See you there!
