APA Style for Writing: Paper Formatting

A paper formatted according APA Style must:

• be typed on letter-sized (8.5" x 11") paper
• have 1" margins (the space between the text and the edge of paper) all around the text
• be double-spaced
• have a legible, size 12 font (APA recommends Times New Roman, but fonts like Verdana and Trebuchet are more legible for people with visual disabilities)
• include a page header (see below)
• have the first line of each new paragraph indented .5"
• include at least three major sections:
  • title page (see below)
  • main body
  • references list (see References tab above)

Your title page must be comprised of:

• A header (see above)
• The full title of your paper in title case
• Your name as well as the names of any co-authors
• The name of your college
• Your title, author names and affiliations should all be centered in the upper half of the page

Here is a sample title page:

Your header should appear at the top of every page of your paper and it should include a shortened, all-capital-letter version of your title (flush left) and a page number (flush right). On your title page, the title portion of your header should look like this:

Running head: TITLE OF YOUR PAPER

Here is a sample version of a title page header:

For every page after your title page, just include the shortened title, not the "Running head" part.