Subject Guides: APA Style Guide: 7th Edition: Formatting: Title Page, Body, References

Formatting: Title Page, Body, References

The document may be written using one of the following fonts:
- Sans serif such as 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, or 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode
- Serif such as 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Georgia, or 10-point Computer Modern
The margins must be 1-inch on all sides of each page
The document and reference page must be double spaced
Page numbers must be on each page in the top right corner, including the title page
Student papers do not include a running head unless requested by the instructor or institution
The first sentence of each paragraph must be indented 0.5 inches
References must appear on a separate page at the end of the document
The reference list must be in alphabetical order by the author's last name
When multiple works by the same author are used as references, arrange them by year of publication, listing the earliest first
Hanging indents are required if a reference is more than one line in length. Click below for instructions on setting up hanging indents

Click here to access sample papers formatted in APA style

The image on this page is from the APA Style Guide online

The reference list on this page is from the APA Style Guide online

Setting the line spacing to double (2.0):

There are different ways to set your document to double space.

These short instructions will show you one way of accomplishing the task:

From the "Home" tab, in the "Paragraph" group, click on the "Line and Paragraph Spacing" icon.
Select 2.0 from the drop down menu to set your document to double space.
Now click on "Remove Space After Paragraph".
Type away!

Inserting page numbers to the top right corner of a document:

1- From the "Insert" tab, in the "Header and Footer" group , click on "Page Number" to expand the drop down menu.

2- Select the top right corner option from the "Top of Page" drop down menu.

3- Close the "Header and Footer".

4- Done!

Creating a hanging indent for the References page:

1- Insert a Page Break between the body of your paper and the References page:

Click on the "Insert" tab.
In the "Pages" group (located on the far right on the ribbon) click on "Page Break".

2- From the "Home" tab, in the "Paragraph" group, click on the arrow located in the bottom right corner to open a dialogue box.

3- In the "Indentation" section, go to "Special" and select "Hanging". The default setting for a hanging indent is 0.5 inches or 1.27 cm which meets the APA citation style requirements.

Et voilà!