An APA-formatted paper follows a particular set of style guidelines. From margins and spacing to required sections and more, you will find everything you need to put together a proper, well-formatted APA paper. Note: These are general APA guidelines. Your instructor's guidelines may differ. Always check.
General formatting guidelines
- Font: APA recommends 11-pt Calibri, 11-pt Arial, 10-pt Lucida Sans Unicode, 12-pt Times New Roman, or 11-pt Georgia. Use the same font throughout.
- Margins: Set one-inch margins on all four sides.
- Italics: Italicize titles of all major works, e.g., titles of books, periodicals, movies, music albums, video games, and TV series.
- Spacing: Double-space all lines in the body of the paper and in the separate reference page.
- Indentation: Indent paragraphs by half an inch.
- Pagination: Set page numbers sequentially, starting with "1" on the title page.
Cover page
- Page number
- Title of paper
- Your name
- Your school name
Body of the paper
- Write solid, organized paragraphs that are supported by research, where necessary.
- Document research with proper in-text citations.
- Use a concise, professional tone.
- Meet the required word count.
- Proofread, proofread, proofread.
Reference page
- Set off on a separate page within the same document (following the end of the body, use the page break function or hit enter until you reach a clean page).
- List a complete reference entry for each in-text citation (except Personal Communications).
- Use a half inch hanging indent for any reference with more than two lines. For help, refer to Microsoft's page on how to create a hanging indent.
- Organize reference entries alphabetically.
| apa_paper_format_checklist.pdf |
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Here is a finished, downloadable APA sample paper with formatting guidelines. There are variations to the APA format. Always check with your instructor.
Here is a finished, downloadable APA sample paper with formatting guidelines. There are variations to the APA format. Always check with your instructor.
| apa_finished_sample_paper.pdf |
