Providing students with original papers since 2003 Writing guide
Use this guide to assemble an APA 7 student paper page by page. It covers the layout rules students use most, shows corrected examples, and identifies older APA 6 practices that should no longer appear in a current paper.
APA 7 student papers use 1-inch margins, an approved readable font, double spacing, page numbers, and 0.5-inch paragraph indents. The title page lists the paper title, author, affiliation, course, instructor, and due date. Cite sources in text and include matching entries on an alphabetized reference list with hanging indents.
Set 1-inch margins on all four sides and double-space the entire paper, including the title page, block quotations, and reference list. Set paragraph spacing before and after to 0 points so the software does not insert extra gaps.
APA 7 permits several fonts: 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode, 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Georgia, and 10-point Computer Modern. Use one font consistently unless a figure or special symbol requires another.
Align body text to the left rather than justifying it. Indent the first line of each body paragraph by 0.5 inch. Put the page number at the top right of every page, including the title page. A student paper normally has no running head unless the instructor requests one directly.
The student title page is page 1. Place the page number at the top right. Position the paper title three or four lines below the top margin, center it, make it bold, and use title case. If the title has a subtitle, place the subtitle on the next double-spaced line.
Leave one double-spaced blank line after the title. Then center the author name, departmental and institutional affiliation, course number and name, instructor, and assignment due date. Keep these lines double-spaced and in regular, nonbold type.
A correctly arranged example is: 1 [top right] Effects of Screen Time on Adolescent Sleep Jordan Lee Department of Psychology, North Valley University PSY 240: Developmental Psychology Dr. Elena Garcia October 18, 2025
APA headings show how sections fit inside one another. They are not selected simply to make one heading look more prominent. For example, Method and Results can be Level 1 headings, while Participants and Procedure are Level 2 subsections under Method.
Most student papers need only Levels 1 and 2 because they have major sections and one layer of subsections. Use Levels 3 through 5 only when a section needs further subdivision. Do not skip from Level 1 to Level 3.
Do not number headings unless the assignment specifically requires numbering. On the first body page, repeat the full paper title in bold and centered form. Begin the opening paragraph below it without adding an Introduction heading.
A parenthetical citation places the author and year inside parentheses: Sleep duration declined during the semester (Garcia & Lee, 2023). A narrative citation places the author in the sentence and the year in parentheses: Garcia and Lee (2023) reported that sleep duration declined.
Use an ampersand between two authors inside parentheses, as in (Garcia & Lee, 2023). Spell out and in narrative text: Garcia and Lee (2023). For a work with three or more authors, use the first author’s surname followed by et al. from the first citation: (Patel et al., 2022) or Patel et al. (2022).
A direct quotation also needs a page or other precise locator. For example: Morris (2021) wrote that the checklist “reduced uncertainty during final paper preparation” (p. 84). If the source has no page numbers, use a paragraph number when available, such as (Morris, 2021, para. 6).
A quotation of 40 words or more begins on a new line as a block quotation. Indent the entire block 0.5 inch from the left margin, keep it double-spaced, and omit quotation marks. Do not add a first-line indent unless the quoted material itself begins a new paragraph.
For a parenthetical citation, place the citation after the block’s final punctuation. The following fictional passage contains exactly 40 words and is used only to demonstrate the layout: Students reported that the checklist reduced uncertainty during final paper preparation. They checked page numbers, title-page details, heading levels, in-text citations, and reference entries in a fixed sequence, rather than trying to remember every formatting rule while proofreading the paper. (Morris, 2021, p. 84)
A quotation of fewer than 40 words remains within the paragraph and uses quotation marks. For example: Morris (2021) found that the checklist “reduced uncertainty during final paper preparation” (p. 84).
Start the reference list on a new page. Center and bold the heading References. Double-space every entry without adding blank lines between entries. Use a 0.5-inch hanging indent: the first line is flush left, and every later line in the same entry is indented.
Every reference entry has four basic elements: author, date, title, and source. In this illustrative journal entry, Nguyen and Brooks are the authors, 2023 is the date, the article title is the title element, and the journal, volume, issue, pages, and DOI form the source element: Nguyen, T. L., & Brooks, A. J. (2023). Sleep quality and test performance among nursing students. *Journal of Nursing Education, 62*(4), 210–218. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
Alphabetize entries by the surname of the first author. Spell out organizational authors and alphabetize them as written. If there is no author, move the title into the author position and alphabetize by the first significant word, ignoring A, An, or The. Do not number the entries or arrange them in the order they appear in the paper.
Page 1 is the student title page. Begin the body on page 2 unless the instructor requires an abstract. If an abstract is required, place it on page 2 and begin the body on the next page. Start References on a new page after the body.
At the top of the first body page, repeat the paper title in centered bold type. Start the opening paragraph on the next double-spaced line. The title performs the role of the opening heading, so an additional heading named Introduction is usually unnecessary.
Weak page 2: The body begins with a bold Introduction heading, but the paper title is not repeated. Strong page 2: The centered bold paper title appears first, followed by the opening paragraph; the first Level 1 heading appears only when the paper moves to its next major section.
Each pair shows a common APA slip, followed by the seventh-edition form.
Page setup
Weak The paper uses 1.25-inch margins, mixed fonts, extra paragraph spacing, and no page number on the title page.
Stronger The paper uses 1-inch margins, one approved font throughout, double spacing with 0-point paragraph spacing, and page numbers beginning on page 1.
APA page setup should be consistent across the title page, body, block quotations, and reference list.
Student title page
Weak The title page includes “Running head:” and the author’s university but leaves out the course, instructor, and due date.
Stronger The title page has page number 1, a centered bold title, author, departmental affiliation, course, instructor, and due date.
A student title page uses course information instead of the running head and author note found in a professional paper.
Heading hierarchy
Weak The writer uses Level 1 for Method, skips Level 2, and formats Participants as Level 3 because italics look better.
Stronger Method is a centered bold Level 1 heading, and Participants is a flush-left bold Level 2 heading beneath it.
APA heading levels represent nesting. They must be used in sequence rather than selected for appearance.
Three-author citation
Weak The first APA 7 citation is written as (Patel, Green, & Ross, 2022).
Stronger The first and later citations are written as (Patel et al., 2022).
APA 7 uses et al. from the first citation for works with three or more authors.
Block quotation
Weak A 45-word quotation is kept inside the paragraph with quotation marks and single spacing.
Stronger The quotation begins on a new line, is indented 0.5 inch throughout, remains double-spaced, and has no quotation marks.
APA treats quotations of 40 words or more as block quotations.
Journal reference
Weak Nguyen, T. L. and Brooks, A. J. (2023). “Sleep Quality and Test Performance Among Nursing Students.” Journal of Nursing Education, Vol. 62, No. 4, pp. 210–218. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx
Stronger Nguyen, T. L., & Brooks, A. J. (2023). Sleep quality and test performance among nursing students. *Journal of Nursing Education, 62*(4), 210–218. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
APA uses an ampersand in the author element, sentence case for article titles, no quotation marks around the title, and DOI links in URL form.
Use 1-inch margins, an approved font, double spacing, page numbers, and 0.5-inch paragraph indents. Add an APA student title page, use hierarchical headings, cite sources by author and year, and finish with an alphabetized reference list.
A typical APA 7 student paper has a title page, a body beginning with the repeated paper title, clear bold headings, author-date citations, and a References page. All main pages are double-spaced with 1-inch margins and page numbers at the top right.
No. APA uses author-date citations, such as (Lee, 2023), and a References page. MLA usually uses author-page citations, such as (Lee 42), and a Works Cited page. Both commonly use double spacing and 1-inch margins.
APA format is the paper, citation, and reference system developed by the American Psychological Association. APA 7 is the current edition used in psychology, education, nursing, social sciences, and many related courses unless an instructor specifies another style.
No. Include an abstract only when the instructor or assignment requires one. If required, place it on a separate page after the title page, with the centered bold heading Abstract and a single unindented summary paragraph.
Usually not. An APA 7 student paper normally has only the page number at the top right. Professional papers use a shortened running head at the top left, but the old “Running head:” label is no longer used.
For a work with three or more authors, use the first author’s surname followed by et al. in every in-text citation, including the first. The reference entry follows a different rule and can list up to 20 authors.
The References page is part of the paper and continues the page numbering. Whether it counts toward an assignment’s required length depends on the instructor; many word-count or page requirements apply only to the main text.