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Understanding APA Format

If you’re writing academically, chances are you’ve been tasked with writing a paper that follows APA style. Although there’s a learning curve involved with adhering to APA style, it’s possible to learn the basics so you can turn in your assignments.

What Is APA Style?

APA is the official academic style of the American Psychological Association. This style was created in 1929 when a group of professionals worked together to devise a set of style rules for scientific writing as a means of making these documents easier to read and understand.

If an assignment indicates APA style, you will need to adhere to these style rules. These guidelines ensure that your document is consistent and uniform with elements such as punctuation, headings and subheadings, abbreviations, numbers, tables and figures and citations.

Main Sections of a Document

APA style dictates the format of the main sections of a document.

The title page includes a running head, the author’s name and the school.

The abstract is a succinct summary of the document. APA style dictates that abstracts be no more than 250 words, although some instructors give leeway regarding the length.

The main body of the document is the text of the essay or report. Some reports are divided into separate sections.

Your reference section follows the body. It includes a list of references you cited in your document.

How to Reference APA Style

In-text citations appear within the text, identifying any information you cite. APA format for in-text citations includes the author’s name and the date of the publication.

The reference page always begins on a new page with the title “References” centered at the top. Include all entries in alphabetical order, and each entry’s first line begins at the left margin, and additional lines are indented. Place titles of newspapers, magazines, journals and books in italics, and double-space the reference section.

Double-check that all of your sources appear as both in-text citations and in the reference section.

Use an APA Sample Paper

An APA style example can be helpful if you’re learning this style and trying to apply it to a writing assignment. Many schools and universities maintain resource web pages with APA samples to show students how to follow this style.

More APA Tips

If you’re struggling with creating APA citations and references, use a citation machine to check your work. You simply fill in the citation and click a button, and the tool tells you if you made any errors.

Consider hiring an academic editor to check your work after you finish writing. The editor can find and correct errors to make sure your document adheres to APA.

Sample Papers

This page contains sample papers formatted in seventh edition APA Style. The sample papers show the format that authors should use to submit a manuscript for publication in a professional journal and that students should use to submit a paper to an instructor for a course assignment. You can download the Word files to use as templates and edit them as needed for the purposes of your own papers.

Most guidelines in the Publication Manual apply to both professional manuscripts and student papers. However, there are specific guidelines for professional papers versus student papers, including professional and student title page formats. All authors should check with the person or entity to whom they are submitting their paper (e.g., publisher or instructor) for guidelines that are different from or in addition to those specified by APA Style.

Sample papers from the Publication Manual

The following two sample papers were published in annotated form in the Publication Manual and are reproduced here as PDFs for your ease of use. The annotations draw attention to content and formatting and provide the relevant sections of the Publication Manual (7th ed.) to consult for more information.

We also offer these sample papers in Microsoft Word (.docx) format with the annotations as comments to the text.

Finally, we offer these sample papers in Microsoft Word (.docx) format without the annotations.

Sample professional paper templates by paper type

These sample papers demonstrate APA Style formatting standards for different professional paper types. Professional papers can contain many different elements depending on the nature of the work. Authors seeking publication should refer to the journal’s instructions for authors or manuscript submission guidelines for specific requirements and/or sections to include.

This guidance is new to the 7th edition.

Related handouts

Other instructional aids

Sample student paper templates by paper type

These sample papers demonstrate APA Style formatting standards for different student paper types. Students may write the same types of papers as professional authors (e.g., quantitative studies, literature reviews) or other types of papers for course assignments (e.g., reaction or response papers, discussion posts), dissertations, and theses.

APA does not set formal requirements for the nature or contents of an APA Style student paper. Students should follow the guidelines and requirements of their instructor, department, and/or institution when writing papers. For instance, an abstract and keywords are not required for APA Style student papers, although an instructor may request them in student papers that are longer or more complex. Specific questions about a paper being written for a course assignment should be directed to the instructor or institution assigning the paper.

Sample papers in real life

Although published articles differ in format from manuscripts submitted for publication or student papers (e.g., different line spacing, font, margins, and column format), articles published in APA journals provide excellent demonstrations of APA Style in action.

APA journals began publishing papers in seventh edition APA Style in 2020. Professional authors should check the author submission guidelines for the journal to which they want to submit their paper for any journal-specific style requirements.

Credits for sample professional paper templates

Quantitative professional paper template: Adapted from “Fake News, Fast and Slow: Deliberation Reduces Belief in False (but Not True) News Headlines,” by B. Bago, D. G. Rand, and G. Pennycook, 2020, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General , 149 (8), pp. 1608–1613 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000729 ). Copyright 2020 by the American Psychological Association.

Qualitative professional paper template: Adapted from “‘My Smartphone Is an Extension of Myself’: A Holistic Qualitative Exploration of the Impact of Using a Smartphone,” by L. J. Harkin and D. Kuss, 2020, Psychology of Popular Media , 10 (1), pp. 28–38 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000278 ). Copyright 2020 by the American Psychological Association.

Mixed methods professional paper template: Adapted from “‘I Am a Change Agent’: A Mixed Methods Analysis of Students’ Social Justice Value Orientation in an Undergraduate Community Psychology Course,” by D. X. Henderson, A. T. Majors, and M. Wright, 2019, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology , 7 (1), 68–80. ( https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000171 ). Copyright 2019 by the American Psychological Association.

Literature review professional paper template: Adapted from “Rethinking Emotions in the Context of Infants’ Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Interest and Positive Emotions,” by S. I. Hammond and J. K. Drummond, 2019, Developmental Psychology , 55 (9), pp. 1882–1888 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000685 ). Copyright 2019 by the American Psychological Association.

Review professional paper template: Adapted from “Joining the Conversation: Teaching Students to Think and Communicate Like Scholars,” by E. L. Parks, 2022, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology , 8 (1), pp. 70–78 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000193 ). Copyright 2020 by the American Psychological Association.

Credits for sample student paper templates

These papers came from real students who gave their permission to have them edited and posted by APA.

From the APA Style blog

Who needs an author note? You … maybe

Professional papers intended for submission to a journal must always include an author note. Student papers do not typically include an author note.

Purdue Online Writing Lab College of Liberal Arts

General Format

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Note: This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style can be found here .

Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in APA.

You can also watch our APA vidcast series on the Purdue OWL YouTube Channel .

General APA Guidelines

Your essay should be typed and double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11"), with 1" margins on all sides. Include a page header (also known as the “ running head ”) at the top of every page. For a professional paper, this includes your paper title and the page number. For a student paper, this only includes the page number. To create a page header/running head , insert page numbers flush right. Then type "TITLE OF YOUR PAPER" in the header flush left using all capital letters. The running head is a shortened version of your paper's title and cannot exceed 50 characters including spacing and punctuation.

The 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual requires that the chosen font be accessible (i.e., legible) to all readers and that it be used consistently throughout the paper. It acknowledges that many font choices are legitimate, and it advises writers to check with their publishers, instructors, or institutions for guidance in cases of uncertainty.

While the APA Manual does not specify a single font or set of fonts for professional writing, it does recommend a few fonts that are widely available. These include sans serif fonts such as 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, and 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode as well as serif fonts such as 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Georgia, 10-point Computer Modern.

Major Paper Sections

Your essay should include four major sections: the Title Page , Abstract , Main Body , and References .

Note: APA 7 provides slightly different directions for formatting the title pages of professional papers (e.g., those intended for scholarly publication) and student papers (e.g., those turned in for credit in a high school or college course).

The title page should contain the title of the paper, the author's name , and the institutional affiliation . A professional paper should also include the author note . A student paper should also include the course number and name , instructor name , and assignment due date .

Type your title in upper and lowercase letters centered in the upper half of the page. The title should be centered and written in boldface. APA recommends that your title be focused and succinct and that it should not contain abbreviations or words that serve no purpose. Your title may take up one or two lines. All text on the title page, and throughout your paper, should be double-spaced.

Beneath the title, type the author's name : first name, middle initial(s), and last name. Do not use titles (Dr.) or degrees (PhD).

Beneath the author's name, type the institutional affiliation , which should indicate the location where the author(s) conducted the research.

A professional paper should include the author note beneath the institutional affiliation, in the bottom half of the title page. This should be divided up into several paragraphs, with any paragraphs that are not relevant omitted. The first paragraph should include the author’s name, the symbol for the ORCID iD, and the URL for the ORCID iD. Any authors who do not have an ORCID iD should be omitted. The second paragraph should show any change in affiliation or any deaths of the authors. The third paragraph should include any disclosures or acknowledgements, such as study registration, open practices and data sharing, disclosure of related reports and conflicts of interest, and acknowledgement of financial support and other assistance. The fourth paragraph should include contact information for the corresponding author.

A student paper should not include an author note.

Note again that page headers/page numbers (described above for professional and student papers) also appear at the top of the title page. In other words, a professional paper's title page will include the title of the paper flush left in all capitals and the page number flush right, while a student paper will only contain the page number flush right.

Student APA title page

This image shows the title page for a student APA seventh edition paper.

Title page for a student paper in APA 7 style.

Professional paper APA title page

This image shows the title page for a professional APA seventh edition paper.

Title page for a professional paper in APA 7 style.

Begin a new page. Your abstract page should already include the page header (described above). On the first line of the abstract page, center and bold the word “Abstract” (no italics, underlining, or quotation marks).

Beginning with the next line, write a concise summary of the key points of your research. (Do not indent.) Your abstract should contain at least your research topic, research questions, participants, methods, results, data analysis, and conclusions. You may also include possible implications of your research and future work you see connected with your findings. Your abstract should be a single paragraph, double-spaced. Your abstract should typically be no more than 250 words.

You may also want to list keywords from your paper in your abstract. To do this, indent as you would if you were starting a new paragraph, type Keywords: (italicized), and then list your keywords. Listing your keywords will help researchers find your work in databases.

Abstracts are common in scholarly journal articles and are not typically required for student papers unless advised by an instructor. If you are unsure whether or not your work requires an abstract, consult your instructor for further guidance.

APA Abstract Page

Abstract page for a student paper in APA 7 style.

Please see our Sample APA Paper resource to see an example of an APA paper. You may also visit our Additional Resources page for more examples of APA papers.

How to Cite the Purdue OWL in APA

Individual resources.

The page template for the new OWL site does not include contributors' names or the page's last edited date. However, select pages still include this information.

In the absence of contributor/edit date information, treat the page as a source with a group author and use the abbreviation "n.d." for "no date":

Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.). Title of resource. Purdue Online Writing Lab. http://Web address for OWL resource

Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.). General Writing FAQs. Purdue Online Writing Lab. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/general_writing_faqs.html

The generic APA citation for OWL pages, which includes author/edit date information, is this:

Contributors' names. (Last edited date). Title of resource . Site Name. http://Web address for OWL resource

APA Style (7th ed.)

Format Your Paper

Download and use the editable templates for student papers below: .

Or, view the directions for specific sections below:

Order of sections (section 2.17).

Margins & Page Numbers (sections 2.22-2.24)

Text Format (section 2.19)

Tables and Figures In-Text (chapter 7)

Title Page (section 2.3)

Body (section 2.11)

Headings (section 2.26-2.27)

an illustration of the headings -- same detail as is given directly above this image

Quotations (sections 8.26-8.33)

References (section 2.12)

Begins on a new page following the text of your paper and includes complete citations for the resources you've used in your writing.

Appendices with Tables, Figures, & Illustrations (section 2.14, and chapter 7)

Annotated Bibliography

Double-space the entire bibliography. give each entry a hanging indent. in the following annotation, indent the entire paragraph a half inch from the left margin and give the first line of each paragraph a half inch indent. see the template document at the top of this page..

Check with your professor for the length of the annotation and which elements you should evaluate.

These elements are optional, if your professor or field requires them, but they are not required for student papers:

Abstract (section 2.9).

Running Head (section 2.8 )

APA Help (7th Ed)

Apa paper template, more templates & checklists, apa sample papers, paper sections, references: title formats, videos: format your paper, figures & tables.

Format Your Paper

Article Title

Book & E-book Title

example : Student cheating and plagiarism in the Internet era: A wake-up call

Dissertation / Theses Title

example : On the fourfold root of the principle of sufficient reason

Report & Technical Paper Title

example : How do we read? Let’s count the ways: Comparing digital, audio, and print-only readers

Periodical (Journal, Magazine, Newspaper) Title

Website & Webpage Title

example : Foods that can cause food poisoning

Work of Art Title

example : Girl with a pearl earring

Italics only apply to:

Content adapted from University of Maryland Global Campus, "APA 7th Edition Citation Examples: Titles" .

APA 7: Basic Page Formatting

APA 7: Header Formatting

APA 7: Title Page Formatting

APA 7: Abstract Formatting

APA 7: References Page Formatting

APA 7: Annotated Bibliography Formatting

APA 7: Headings on a Complex Table

Table Elements: Label and sequential number ('Table 1') is at the top, left in bold and capital letters. Directly underneath is the table title, capitalized and italicized ('Descriptive Statistics and Correlations for Study Variables'). Directly underneath is the table body. Underneath this are the footnotes from the table.

Figure or Table?

Figure & Table Placement

Table Formatting: Label, Title, & Body

Adjusting Your Table Formatting

APA Formatting and Style (7th ed.) for Student Papers

APA 7th ed. Fillable Word Template and Sample Paper

Referencing and formatting with APA 7th ed. (STA): APA References

Apa references, apa in-text citations, apa formatting, about this guide.

This page provides resources to assist with citing and referencing sources in APA 7th ed.

APA Style by the American Psychological Association is the referencing style that the UWI thesis guide states should be used by students in the School of Education (SoE), Faculty of Humanities and Education, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus.

All SoE UWISTA students from 2022-2023 onward are to use APA Style 7th. ed.

EndNote 20 - Reference Management Software

EndNote 20 by Shamin Renwick Last Updated Nov 10, 2022 94 views this year

Additional Resources APA 7th ed. References

Other Citation Styles - UWI LibGuides

APA Style 7th ed. References

These handouts for APA 7th ed. prepared by the Librarian, Dr Shamin Renwick, at the School of Education Library (SoEL).

APA 7th ed. was released in July 2019.

Reference list example in APA 7th ed style

Date - In-text Citation Format

Introducing the APA 7th edition

References in APA 7th ed.

In-text Citation in APA 7th ed.

APA style: 7th ed.

Comparison of APA 6th and 7th manuals

Missing Elements in a Reference (Section 9.4, p. 284 of the Manual)

Abbreviations in APA references

Source: APA 7the ed. Manual, pp. 306-307

See Handout from APA Style.

APA Style 6th ed. References

How to alphabetize "a," "an," and "the" in APA Style References

How to alphabetize insignificant words in APA

Contents of this page

In-Text Citations

APA Overview

Citing and referencing are required in academic works, to support credibility, provide evidence and demonstrate scholarship.

For online resources – Consider the format of the source, that is, is it a book, journal article, etc. to determine which reference format to use. Use the webpage format as a last resort.

For UWI theses, the in-text citation and reference style is consistent with APA reference style.

The UWI Theses guide formatting guidelines override APA formatting guidelines where relevant.

APA 7 In-Text Citations

Click on the link above to find the relevant section below.

- Usually composed of ‘author’ and ‘date’ e.g., (Walcott, 1987)

- Can be in parenthetical (i.e., in brackets) format e.g., ….(Naipaul, 1975)

OR as part of the text, i.e., narrative format. e.g., … as proposed by Smith (1980)….

- When you are paraphrasing, the page numbers do not need to be included in the in-text citation.

- For multiple in-text citations in the parenthetical formal, list references in alphabetical order. [Alphabetical order not needed in narrative form in-text citations]

– e.g., (Brown, 2020; Maraj, 2019; Williams, 2020)

- Same first author with 3 or more authors

- e.g., …Smith, Singh, et al. (2020) and Smith, Jones, et al. (2020).

- Same author, same year

- e.g., Smith (2009a) and Smith (2009b)

- Authors with the same surname

- e.g., J. D. Smith (1988) and C. H. Smith (2001) verified that...

- Secondary citations

- e.g., … showed in the study (Bendz et al., 1990, as cited in Olson et al., 2004).

Bendz et al. (1990, as cited in Olson et al., 2004) showed …

{The item that you used is listed in the references in this case Olson et al.}

- For quotations, must include page nos.

- e.g., (Smith et al., 2015, p. 1054)

{ note the full stop after al. and space between p. and the number }

- For a webpage and a direct quote online, cite the paragraph number in the in-text citation

- e.g., (Ministry of Health, 2009, para. 1)

- Block quotations (40 words or more) - do not need quotation marks or italics.

- Start on a new line and indent the block 1 cm (1/2 inch) from the left margin. Cite the source in parentheses after the quotation’s final punctuation or cite the author and year in your sentence before the quotation, concluding with the page number/s.

- e.g., ....... high stakes. (Smith, 2020, p. 10)

(regarding student assignments)

APA 7th formatting

APA 7th heading levels

APA 7th cover page format

Formatting changes from APA 6th to 7th

APA tables and figures

APA preferred spelling

Hyphenation in APA

About this page

This page provides information on the formatting of student papers according to APA 7th edition.

- Use the info on this page for regular assignments.

For Research Projects or Theses, please use the UWI Thesis Guide .

- Guidelines in the Thesis Guide override those recommended in the APA style manual.

For Professional papers for publications , the guidelines are slightly different. Check the Manual.

Sentence Style or Headline Style

Whereas titles of articles and books in references, table headings, and figure notes are written in sentence style, headline style is recommended for in-text titles, all heading levels, paper headlines, periodical titles, figure titles, and table titles (as well as journal titles in references).

Sentence style or sentence case is where most words are going to be lowercase except for:

Headline style (title case) is where major words are capitalized while minor words are lowercase.

In addition, the following words should be capitalized under title case:

Heading Levels (Table 2.3, page 48, APA Publication Manual)

Create or customise your headings style in MS Word

APA Tenses and Thesis and Projects

APA Formatting Guidelines

For example, Calibri or Arial, 11-point or Times New Roman or Georgia 12-point

Left align text, only

Do NOT divide words/hyphenate at end of line

Use only one space after a period at the end of a sentence

No running head in student papers

Short Quotes - < 40 words

Include quotation in the sentence using double quotation marks.

E.g., Internationally, the middle class could rise “from 1.8 billion people to 3.2 billion by 2020 and to 4.9 billion by 2030” (Kharas 2010, 27).

Long Quotes - > 40 words

E.g.,

Though many people rely on search engines to find information, Noble (2017) acknowledges that

online search can oversimplify complex phenomena. The results, ranked by algorithms treated as trade secrets by Google, are divorced from context and lack guidance on their veracity or reliability. Search results feign impartiality and objectivity, even as they fail to provide essential information and knowledge we need: knowledge traditionally acquired through teachers, professors, books, history, and experience. (para 3)

Quote within a Quotation

Use single quotation marks for the inner quote and double quotation marks for the main quote.

E.g., Harry said, "When you go home say 'hello' to your mom".

Student Assignment Cover Page

The following is an example of a cover page for a student assignment. Do find out if your lecturer has a specific format. If not you can use a similar format to the one below. Add elements not stated there if you wish. Use double-space and bold the title.

Changes from APA 6th to APA 7th edition

- No Running Head at the top of the page for student papers

- There are changes in Heading Levels 3 to 5

- Increased flexibility in font options

APA - Preferred spelling

Source: https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/spelling-hyphenation/preferred-spellings

APA Hyphenation

Use hyphens to prevent temporary compounds from being misread. For example, if a compound adjective appears before a noun, use a hyphen (e.g., decision-making behavior, high-anxiety group). If the compound adjective appears after the noun, a hyphen is usually unnecessary (e.g., behavior related to decision making, group with high anxiety).

Source: https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/spelling-hyphenation/hyphenation

Additional APA Style Resources

Changing quotations

School of education library (soel) links.

School of Education Library Staff

Click here for Library staff contact info.

Humanities Division - Alma Jordan Library

Humanities Research Guide by Karen Eccles Last Updated Sep 27, 2021 132 views this year

School of Education Library

Services and Resources of the School of Education Library

This LibGuide was created to assist the students and staff of the School of Education of the Faculty of Humanities and Education, UWI STA and the wider UWI cross-campus community to find, retrieve and select useful resources to assist in their research and to support their studies.

The SoE Library is located on the ground floor of the School of Education building at Agostini Street, St. Augustine Campus.

The Services of the LIbrary include, among many others:

Click to see the SoEL website for more info, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, PInterest. Check out our YouTube Channel.

Online Chat in real time is offered on the SoE Library Website from 2 - 8 pm (Mon-Fri, not on Public Holidays). Offline messages are possible, as well, on the same chat box.

Librarian, SoE LIbrary

Essay Examples

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Home / Citation Guides / APA / How to Write a Paper in APA Essay Format

How to Write a Paper in APA Essay Format

Published Date: October 13, 2017

APA (American Psychological Association) style is a method of formatting often used by students today.

If you are writing a research paper or a Cause & Effect essay , you’re more than likely going to use APA style.

The current APA essay format guidelines come from the 6th Edition of the APA Manual.

As always, check with the official publication in order to make sure you are following the most recent and up-to-date recommendations.

You can do that here at the APA official site .

APA essays should be type-written on standard white paper, 8.5 x 11”.

Margins should be 1” on all sides (left, right, top and bottom).

Text should be double-spaced and the font typically recommended for use is Times New Roman, 12 pt. size.

The entire paper should be double-spaced throughout . There should be no sections of the essay that are single-spaced.

The essay should have a running header that appears on the front page and includes a page number on the right-hand side of the paper in the upper margin and the essay’s title (or portion of the title if it is long) in ALL CAPS on the left-hand side. For example:

APA formatting typically requires one to include a title page and abstract as well.

The title page is formatted like this:

The running header appears at the top of the title page with the page number on the right.

The title page should be followed by the Abstract.

The Abstract provides a brief 150-200 word summary of the paper. The title “Abstract” should be centered at the top of the page.

The summary itself should be flush with the left-hand margin.

The Abstract should give a brief overview of the paper . For most research papers, it will be where the author identifies the subject of the paper, the purpose, the method used to obtain data, the method for how the data was analyzed, the findings, and any conclusions or recommendations that were made.

Immediately following the summary should come a list of keywords that best summarize the paper’s topic.

In the example provided below, you can see that the term Keywords is italicized and indented five spaces to the right. The keywords follow in lower case letters and are individually separated by a comma.

After the Abstract, the paper itself should begin on the next page.

Body of the Paper

The first paragraph of your paper will be your introduction.

It requires no heading and should provide simply some background to your topic.

It should be followed by the body of the paper, and you will want to use headings and sub-headings to differentiate these parts.

Headings in APA

Level 1 headings serve as main section headings.

Level 2 headings serve as sub-section headings, and so on.

For example, here is what the headings and sub-headings of a paper might look like:

Problems with QE (Level 1)

Asset Inflation (Level 2)

Artificially Low Interest Rates (Level 2)

Low-Yield in Bonds. (Level 3)

Fund Managers Chasing Yield. (Level 3)

Outcome (Level 1)

Market Irregularities (Level 2)

Historical Patterns. (Level 3)

Meanings of trends. (Level 4)

Meaning lost. (Level 4)

Current “Patterns”. (Level 3)

Increased Risk (Level 2)

An actual example of how headings might be used in APA can be seen here below:

In-text citations should be included anytime you are writing a research paper. (For more information on how to write a research paper, see our example ).

In APA, in-text citations are very simple: include the author(s)’ last name, followed by the year of publication, and the page number on which the source material is located.

If you are using Internet sources for references, see this citation guide on how to cite websites in APA .

Here is an example of how the standard APA citation method will appear in your paper: Just as African-American churches are making an impact in cities around the country where communities are torn by racial tension and violence, so too did African-American churches rally to the cause in the middle of the 20th century to face and address the same issues (Dagan, 2015). Notice that no page number is given in the parenthetical citation. That is because no direct quote was used.

When no direct quote is used, the in-text citation simply requires the author’s name and the date of publication.

If the author’s name is given in the sentence, a parenthetical citation giving the year of publication is all that is needed.

For example: Dagan (2005) notes that just as black churches are making an impact in cities around the country where communities are torn by racial tension and violence, so too did black churches rally to the cause in the middle of the 20th century to face and address the same issues. Here is an example of when to use page numbers in the in-text citation: Donovan (2013) states that in emergencies, it is okay for people “to use force as this is sometimes all they have” (p. 48). If the author’s name is not given, but the quote is still used, it would look like this: In some cases, when there is no other option, it is acceptable for individuals “to use force as this is sometimes all they have” (Donovan, 2013, p. 48). In instances where more than one author is associated with a source, you may list all the names and couple them with an “&” symbol at the end. For example: Beyond practicing empty rhetoric, the majority of them have no idea what they are doing or saying (Garrison, Fuller & Marle, 2017). If the source has multiple authors, once it has been cited in the document, the citation may be abbreviated the next time it is used by inserting “et al.” for the authors’ names following the first author. For example: As Garrison et al. (2017) have shown, the typical politician is simply clueless when it comes to the matter of efficiency. Or: No matter how many times it is argued, the only logical answer is always the same: career politicians are there to collect a pay check—not to make the country better in any meaningful way (Garrison et al., 2017). For more information on how to apply APA style to citations, see Purdue OWL .

APA uses a References page to list all the sources used in a paper. They should be listed alphabetically.

Journal articles should include the author(s)’ name, publication year, title of the article, title of the journal, volume number and issue number, and page numbers. Here are some examples:

Akinsomi, O., Kola, K., Ndlovu, T. & Motloung, M. (2016). The performance of the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment compliant listed property firms in South Africa. Journal of Property Investment & Finance , 34 (1), pp. 3-26.

Calhoun-Brown, A. (2000). Upon this rock: The black church, nonviolence, and the Civil Rights Movement. PS: Political Science and Politics, 33 (2), pp. 168-174.

Notice that titles of journals are not capitalized . Titles of journals are capitalized. Proper names are also capitalized in article titles.

Only the first words of book titles are capitalized—the rest of the title should be in lower case. However, like the title of a journal, the title of a book should be italicized. For example:

Jones, E. M. (2000). Libido dominandi: Sexual liberation and political control . South Bend, IN: St. Augustine’s Press.

Kraft, R. (2016). Welcome to the jungle: The art of navigating life’s hairiest situations . New York, NY: Ricardo Press.

For sources obtained from the Internet, the title of the article and a link to the page is typically all that’s needed.

Website sources will be referenced like this:

Blanchard, J. (2014). Did you know? Fourteen facts on sled hockey. Retrieved from https://www.teamusa.org/us-paralympics/features/2014/february/11/fourteen-facts-sled-hockey

Conran, P. (2014). Busan 2014 review: Parallel means well but lacks drive. Retrieved from http://www.modernkoreancinema.com/2014/10/busan-2014-review-parallel-means-well.html

APA essay format is easy to use and apply once the guidelines are understood.

The most important thing to remember when using APA style is the formatting method: title page, abstract, and body of the paper—that’s the basic set-up.

Everything should be double-spaced.

A running header should be included on every page along with the page number.

The introduction does not require a heading.

According to APA, 6th Ed., Level 1 Headings should be centered and bolded. Level 2 should be flush left and bolded. Level 3 should be indented and bolded.

In-text citations should include the author’s name and year of publication. A page number should be provided as well if the reference includes a direct quote.

The Abstract should serve as a brief overview of the paper and state the subject of the paper, the purpose, the method used to obtain data, how the data was analyzed, what the findings were, and what conclusions or recommendations were made. It should be very concise at about 150-200 words.

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APA Format Quick Guide

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Note to students using Grammarly: See this resource on Grammarly's Place in the Writing Process

APA-7 delineates two versions: the student version and the professional version. Formatting elements except the title page, running head, and abstract are the same across both versions. All undergraduate students at Liberty University must use the student version and all graduate and doctoral students must use the professional version.

Undergraduate Students

Sample APA-7 paper for Undergraduate Students

Apa-7 template for undergraduate students, graduate & doctoral students.

Sample APA-7 paper for Graduate & Doctoral Students

Apa-7 template for graduate & doctoral students, helpful resources, comprehensive apa-7 reference list, apa-7 references to legal materials (bluebook), broad overview of the changes between apa-6 and apa-7, comparison chart of apa-6 and apa-7, references comparisons between apa-6 and apa-7, sample annotated bibliography for undergraduate students, sample annotated bibliography for graduate/doctoral students, choosing appropriate resources for academic papers.

Video Tutorial links

See the respective sample paper and template for your level of study (i.e., undergraduate or graduate/professional).

In-Text Citations

Discussion Board Posts

Discussion board posts at Liberty University are designed to mimic active classroom discussion among students (and sometimes the professor). As such, though the content within them should be semi-formal and provide credit to sources, when a student refers to content from another student’s discussion board comments, only a mild referral to the other student’s name and which post that content originated from is necessary. For example, as Mark stated in his initial thread , xyz. Or as Charlotte stated in her response to Marienne , xyz. (No underlining would be used in the actual sentence used, of course). This is the only exception permitted to “personal communications” and applies only within course discussion board replies in that class.

Special Rule Regarding Repeat Citations APA-7 allows writers to cite their source only once per paragraph, provided the reader can discern where the other sentence(s) derived from. This requires specific structuring. For example: Owen (2020) claimed that “foxes can fly” (p. 17). She detailed their nocturnal habits. Her research gave critical insight into this population. In each of the second and third sentences above, the sentences were structured in such a way that the content clearly refers back to Owen’s work. In the case of Bible verses, it is easy for the reader to understand that subsequent citations of those came from whichever Bible version was cited earlier in that paragraph. For any subsequent verses cited in a paragraph that already has a full Bible citation, you can just use the verse itself. In each new paragraph (or if you change versions in the same paragraph), you will need to include the full citation. For example: God calls each of us to witness to others to “make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel” ( New American Standard Version Bible , 1971/1995, Ephesians 6:19-20). Mark 13:10 and Matthew 28:19 command us to preach to all nations and make disciples… There is no need to add the Bible version in that second sentence because the reader knows both of those verses refer to the same version of the Bible cited in the previous sentence.

Liberty University Class Lectures

Since the purpose and function of APA references is to ensure the reader has sufficient information to be able to locate the original source if necessary, include course details and credit Liberty University when referencing class lectures and PowerPoint presentations since the URL does not provide sufficient locator details itself. Italicize the name of the lecture itself. If the course has multiple lectures per week, you can include the week and lecture numbers; otherwise omit those elements. If you have a direct URL, use that (see the Peters reference below); otherwise use the URL to Liberty University’s Canvas homepage (the reference on the left below). If the date is provided (see the Peters reference below), use that; otherwise use the year and semester that you took the course in (the reference on the left below):

When no presenter is named in the video itself, name Liberty University in the author’s position :

Liberty University. (2021, Spring). BIOL 102: Human biology. Week one, lecture two: Name of class lecture . https://canvas.liberty.edu

When a presenter is provided, name that person in the author’s position and include Liberty University in the publisher’s position after the name of the lecture:

Peters, C. (2012). COUN 506, Week one, lecture two: Defining integration: Key concepts . Liberty University. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/definingintegration-keyconcepts/id427907777?i=1000092371727

Annotated Bibliographies

Sample annotation.

Note that in a stand-alone Annotated Bibliography assignment, students would include the appropriate title page relative to their grade level; graduate and doctoral students would also include a running head on all pages as required for their grade levels.

IMAGES

Title Page Setup
Setting Up the APA Reference Page
APA Style
How to format your paper in APA style in 2023
50 Best APA Research Paper Template
Apa 7 Format Paper Template in 2021

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APA Referencing

COMMENTS

Understanding APA Format
If you’re writing academically, chances are you’ve been tasked with writing a paper that follows APA style. Although there’s a learning curve involved with adhering to APA style, it’s possible to learn the basics so you can turn in your ass...
How Do You Write an Article Review in APA Format?
To write an article review in APA format, start by formatting the citation of the article. Read through the article and identify the standard APA sections, such as the abstract, introduction, method, study and results. An APA article ends w...
How Do You Write a Memorandum Using the APA Format?
To write a memorandum in APA format, write a header, opening, summary or discussion, and closing segment following the general guidelines for business writing. Each segment takes up a certain portion of the memo and includes short headings ...
Sample papers
These sample papers formatted in seventh edition APA Style show the format that authors should use to submit a manuscript for publication in a professional
APA Sample Paper
The equivalent APA 7 page can be found here. Media File: APA Sample Paper. Cite your source automatically in MLA or APA format.
APA Sample Paper
Note: The APA Publication Manual, 7th Edition specifies different formatting conventions for student and professional papers (i.e., papers written for credit in
General Format
Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in APA. Cite your source automatically in APA. Website
Format Your Paper
This is an APA format template document in Google Docs. ... A Microsoft Word document formatted correctly according to APA 7th edition.
Format Your Paper
italicize · Capitalize first word of title, subtitle, proper nouns · example: How do we read? Let's count the ways: Comparing digital, audio, and
APA Formatting and Style (7th ed.) for Student Papers
APA Formatting and Style (7th ed.) ... Our APA sample paper shows you how to format the main parts of a basic research paper.
Referencing and formatting with APA 7th ed. (STA): APA References
SoELib: APA 7th ed - Examples of References. How to do in-text citations and references in APA 7th ed. -updated Dec 10, 2022.
How to Write a Paper in APA Essay Format (Updated for 2022)
If the author's name is given in the sentence, a parenthetical citation giving the year of publication is all that is needed. For example: Dagan
APA Style Essay Format 2023 (Word)
APA Style Essay Format 2023 covers setting up your Word document in APA style 7th edition. Download a free APA essay template.
APA Format Quick Guide
Any quotation longer than 39 words should be made into a freestanding “block” of text, with no quotation marks (see Liberty University OWC's sample APA papers