How to Format a Research Paper in APA 7th Edition

APA style, published by the American Psychological Association, is the standard format for research papers in psychology, nursing, education, social work, business and many other social and health sciences.

The current version is the 7th edition, published in 2019, and it changed several familiar rules: student papers no longer need a running head, publisher locations are gone from book references, and "et al." is used from the first citation for works with three or more authors.

This guide covers every part of an APA research paper in the order you build it, with examples and a checklist at the end. Where your instructor's requirements differ from APA, follow your instructor; APA itself says so.

Page Setup

Title Page: Student vs Professional

Most coursework uses the student format unless your instructor or program asks for professional format, which is common for theses, dissertations and manuscripts for publication.

The Abstract

Student papers do not need an abstract unless your instructor requires one. When included, it goes on page two, with the label "Abstract" in bold and centered, followed by a single paragraph of no more than 250 words, not indented.

Summarize the purpose, method, key results and conclusion. Keywords, if required, go on a new line beneath it: the label "Keywords:" in italics, indented, followed by three to five keywords.

What the First Page Looks Like

After the title page (and the abstract, if required), the body begins on a new page. At the top, repeat the full paper title, centered and in bold. The introduction starts on the next line, with its first line indented, and no "Introduction" heading. The page number sits in the top right corner.

Everything is double-spaced, with no extra space between paragraphs or before headings. If you use Word, set this up once in a template: margins, font, double spacing, 0.5-inch first-line indent and page numbers, and save it for every APA paper you write.

Heading Levels

Do not label the introduction "Introduction"; the paper title at the top of page one serves as its heading. Use levels in order, and use at least two sub-sections under a heading if you use any.

Structure of an Empirical Paper

Research papers that report a study usually follow the IMRaD structure: Introduction (problem, literature, hypotheses), Method (participants, materials, procedure, analysis), Results, and Discussion.

Literature reviews and theoretical papers instead organize the body by theme with headings of your choosing. Either way, end with References, then any tables, figures or appendices your instructor wants placed at the end rather than in the text.

In-Text Citations

Quotations of 40 words or more are formatted as block quotations: indented 0.5 inch, no quotation marks, with the citation after the final punctuation.

Quoting, Paraphrasing and Secondary Sources

APA favors paraphrasing over quotation in most social science writing. Quote only when the exact wording matters, such as a definition or a striking phrase, and include a page or paragraph number. Paraphrases need a citation too; page numbers are encouraged but not required.

Sample Paragraph with Citations

The paragraph synthesizes several sources, uses parenthetical citations in the correct formats for one, two and three or more authors, orders multiple citations alphabetically, and ends with a critical point about the evidence, which is what markers look for beyond formatting.

Reference List Examples

Start the reference list on a new page with the bold, centered label "References". Order entries alphabetically by first author's surname, use a 0.5-inch hanging indent, keep double spacing, and use sentence case for article and book titles. Present DOIs as https://doi.org/ links.

More Reference Types

Tables and Figures

Number tables and figures in the order they are mentioned (Table 1, Figure 1). Above each, place the number in bold and, on the next line, the title in italic title case. Use horizontal lines only in tables, and place notes (general, specific, probability) below.

Refer to every table and figure in the text, and either embed them after the paragraph where first mentioned or place them after the references, as your instructor prefers.

Numbers, Abbreviations and Bias-Free Language

• Use words for numbers below 10 and numerals for 10 and above, with exceptions: numerals for statistics, percentages, ages, times, measurements and numbers in tables.
• Define an abbreviation at first use and use it consistently afterwards; avoid abbreviating terms you use only once or twice.
• Use the singular "they" for a person whose pronoun is unknown or who uses they.
• Prefer specific, respectful descriptions: "people with diabetes" or "diabetic patients" according to the community's preference, "older adults" rather than "the elderly".

Common APA Mistakes

• Using a running head on a student paper (not required in the 7th edition).
• Including the publisher location in book references (removed in the 7th edition).
• Writing out all authors in the first in-text citation for three or more authors; use "et al." from the first citation.
• Title case for article titles in the reference list; APA uses sentence case.
• Labeling the introduction "Introduction".
• Single spacing the reference list.
• Citations that do not match the reference list.

APA Submission Checklist

• Title page in student or professional format as required.
• 1-inch margins, consistent font, double spacing, page numbers top right.
• Paper title repeated in bold at the top of page one.
• Headings follow APA levels in order.
• Every in-text citation matches a reference entry, and vice versa.
• References alphabetized, hanging indent, DOIs as links, sentence-case titles.
• Tables and figures numbered, titled and referred to in the text.
• Instructor requirements checked where they differ from APA.

Setting up APA Formatting in Word

Most APA errors come from fighting Word's defaults. Set up the formatting once: in the Normal style, choose your font and size, set line spacing to double and spacing before and after paragraphs to zero, and add a 0.5-inch first-line indent.

Insert page numbers in the header, top right. For the reference list, create a style with a 0.5-inch hanging indent. Then build heading styles that match the APA levels, so your headings stay consistent and Word can generate a table of contents for longer papers.