APA Style and Formatting Guide for Academic Papers

Most professors expect that the layout or format for your written assignments will be
clear, concise, and consistent. We recommend that you consult your course syllabus or
professor for the format preferred or required in your course. If no format guidelines are
specified or available, the following information provides one basic document format,
abridged from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed.
(2009), published by the American Psychological Association.

• Title Page: APA style requires a title page. The title, author, and institution are centered
in the upper half of the page.
• Margins: All margins — top, bottom, left, and right — are set to 1” throughout the paper.

Header:
Running head Header: Page
An abbreviated title, Number
known as the run- All pages in the
ning head, is placed paper, including
flush left in the the title page,
header on each page are numbered
of the document. consecutively in
However, the words the upper right-
“Running head:” only hand corner of
appear on the cover the header, 0.5”
page. The shortened from the top and
form of the title flush with the
stands alone in the right margin.
header on
subsequent pages.

Spacing
The paper is double
spaced throughout,
including the title Font
page, all quotations, Acceptable fonts
notes, and the refer- are Times New
ences page. Roman, 12 pt. or
Courier New, 12
pt.
 • Main Body Text: APA style requires an abstract, though your professor may not. If an
abstract is required, it is put on page two of the paper, with the main body starting on
page three. An abstract is a brief summary of your paper.

Title Punctuation/
The title appears Spacing
PUNISHMENT AND DUE PROCESS 2
again at the top of APA requires two
the first page of spaces after all
body text. punctuation, in-
cluding periods,
question marks,
and exclamation
points.

Spacing
The paper is double
spaced throughout,
including the title Parenthetical
page, all quotes, Citations
notes, and refer- APA-style citations
ences pages. should have all of
the authors, publi-
cation date, and
page number.

Margins Font
All margins — top, Acceptable fonts
bottom, left, and are either 12 pt.
right — are set to Times New Roman
1” throughout the or 12 pt. Courier
paper. New.

Last modified 8/11/11