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Citations: APA Paper Format

Information on why and how to cite your sources using APA & MLA. Includes links to useful tools and tutorials, as well as other citation styles.

APA Style Manual

A copy of this book is also available at the Help Desk.

APA Style Blog

Purdue Owl: APA

Click on the link above to be taken to the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University. The OWL has information on how to format your papers, craft your citations, and provides tutorials on how to do everything in between. 

How to Set Up APA Essay Format

Writing Your Paper: APA

Things to know before you begin:

  • Font: Times New Roman 
  • Font Size: 12 point 
  • Margins:  1 inch
  • Paragraphs: All paragraphs (except the Abstract) should be indented.
  • Spacing: All of the text in your paper should be double-spaced.


Typical APA style papers have four main sections:

  1. Title Page
  2. Abstract
  3. Main Body
  4. References

See the boxes below for a breakdown of how each portion should be formatted.

Sample Paper: APA

The APA Publication Manual, 7th Edition specifies different formatting conventions for student and professional papers (i.e., papers written for credit in a course and papers intended for scholarly publication). These differences mostly extend to the title page and running head. Crucially, citation practices do not differ between the two styles of paper.

Title Page: APA

Put the paper's title in all caps, shortened to 50 characters or less, and right-justified in the header as the "running head". Center in the top half of the page the full title on one line, your name on the next line, and finally your affiliation (school) on the third line. These are double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font.

Abstract: APA

 

Center the word "Abstract" on the page. The unindented paragraph summarizes the paper, including what it is about, what it explains, any findings, and conclusion.

Main Body: APA

 

Insert page numbers starting with page 1, right-justified on each page. Center the paper title above the first paragraph in the body of the document.

 

References: APA

References go on a new page with the word "References" centered at the top of the body of the document. References are alphabetized and have a .5 inch hanging indentation.

How to Create a Hanging Indent

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