Order of APA Style Student Paper
Arrange the paper in the following order:
- Title Page (page 1)
- Text of the paper (start on a new page after the title page)
- Reference page (start on a new page after the text of the paper)
Page Header
- Page numbers should be flushed right on every page (including the title page)
- Do not include running head on the first page
- Do not type page numbers manually, instead use the page numbering function provided by the software to automatically insert page numbers into the paper
- Do not include the title of the paper or the author's name in the header
Font
- Use the same font throughout the paper
- The following fonts are acceptable
San Serif fonts
- Calibri (11-point font)
- Ariel (11-point font)
- Lucida Sans Unicode (10-point font)
Serif fonts
- Times New Roman (12-point font)
- Georgia (11-point font)
Line Spacing
- Double space the entire paper
- The title page is double spaced with an additional double spaced line included between the title and author byline
- Do not add extra spaces after paragraphs or any heading found in the text of the paper
Margins
- Use 1 inch margins on all sides throughout the paper
- This is the default setting for most word processing software including MS Word
Paragraph Indention and Alignment
- Use the tab key to indent the first line of each paragraph (0.5 inches)
- All other lines of the paragraph should be left aligned
- Do not use full justification, instead allow the right side of each line of the paragraph to flow unevenly
- Do not manually divide words or use any computer software hyphenation functions
For more information see Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 7th edition - Chapter 2 Paper Elements and Format pages 43-46 (Available at the UNT Dallas Library)
