Use 12-point Times New Roman font (or another APA-approved serif font) and double-space the entire paper
Set 1-inch margins on all sides
Include a running head only if your instructor requires it (student papers typically do not include a running head)
Create a title page with:
Paper title
Author name
Institutional affiliation
Course name and number (if required)
Instructor name (if required)
Due date (month day, year)
Use page numbers in the top right corner on every page
Format headings (if needed):
Centered, bold, Title Case for Level 1
Left-aligned, bold, Title Case for Level 2
Left-aligned, bold italic, Title Case for Level 3
Use in-text citations with author and year:
Parenthetical: (LastName, Year)
Narrative: LastName (Year)
For direct quotes, include page number:
(LastName, Year, p. #)
If no page number: use paragraph number (LastName, Year, para. #)
Cite multiple authors correctly:
2 authors: (LastName & LastName, Year)
3+ authors: (LastName et al., Year)
For group authors, use the full name in the first citation if required by your source type, then abbreviate if appropriate
Format the reference list on a new page titled “References” (centered, bold, not italicized)
Use hanging indents in the reference list (first line flush left; subsequent lines indented)
Alphabetize references by the first author’s last name
Use APA reference format for common source types:
Book:
LastName, A. A. (Year). *Title of book*. Publisher.
Journal article:
LastName, A. A., & LastName, B. B. (Year). Title of article. *Title of Journal, volume*(issue), page–page. https://doi.org/xxxx
Website (no DOI):
LastName, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL
Website (with DOI):
LastName, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. https://doi.org/xxxx
Report:
Organization Name. (Year). *Title of report*. Publisher. URL
Dissertation/Thesis:
LastName, A. A. (Year). *Title of dissertation/thesis* (Doctoral dissertation/Master’s thesis). Institution. URL
Format DOIs as a URL: https://doi.org/xxxxx
Use sentence case for article and book titles in references (capitalize only the first word and proper nouns)
Use italics for journal titles and volume numbers (journal: *Journal Title, volume*)
Do not italicize the issue number in journal references
Ensure every in-text citation has a matching entry in the reference list and vice versa