Online Learning Support

APA papers include a coversheet and references page in an easy-to-follow order. For professional papers, it also includes an abstract. This FAQ covers the student paper. The library provides an APA Student Sample Paper Template as a Microsoft Word download.

Fonts

Use Times New Roman 12 pt font. or another acceptable font. Double-space the entire paper. Include a cover sheet, the body of the paper, and a references page. 

Headers

In APA student style paper the header is the same on every page and includes only the page number aligned on the right. The APA style web site has information about headers for professional papers. 

Cover Page

The paper's title page includes the title of the paper, bolded and centered, on the top half of the page. Skip a few lines and follow this up with your name, the name of the school, the name of the course, the professor's name, and the due date.

Body of the Paper

Make sure the paper is double-spaced and left-aligned. Paragraphs should be indented on the first line.

If headings are needed in the paper, center main section headings and left-align first-level subheadings. Keep the headings in the same font as the rest of the paper, double-space them, and bold them. The APA website lists up to five different heading levels.

References

All works that are used in the paper and identified by a parenthetical reference require a listing in the References page so that the reader can verify or locate the original source. Follow the basic format outlined below to create your References page.

• Double-space the entire references page
• Start your references page on a new page at the end of your paper, number the page consecutively, and use the same font style and size as the rest of the paper
• Center and bold the title References one inch from the top of the page.
• Arrange entries alphabetically
• Use a hanging indent (begin each entry flush with the left margin and indent all following lines by half an inch)
• Do not number the entries

Please contact one of our Librarians in person or through our Ask a Librarian if you have questions.