Setting up APA format in Microsoft Word takes about 10 minutes once you know which settings to change. The process involves adjusting your margins, font, spacing, header, and title page to match APA 7th edition guidelines. Here’s how to do it step by step.
Set Margins, Font, and Spacing
Start with the three foundational settings that apply to your entire document. Go to the Layout tab and set all four margins (top, bottom, left, right) to 1 inch. Word’s default “Normal” margins are already 1 inch, so you may not need to change anything, but it’s worth confirming under Layout > Margins > Normal.
APA 7th edition accepts several fonts. The most common choices are 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Calibri, or 11-point Arial. Select your entire document with Ctrl+A (Cmd+A on Mac), then set your font and size from the Home tab.
Next, set your line spacing to double. With all text still selected, go to Home > Line Spacing (the icon with up-and-down arrows) and choose 2.0. To remove any extra space Word adds between paragraphs, go to Layout > Spacing and set both “Before” and “After” to 0 pt. All text on every page, including the title page and references, should be double-spaced with no additional gaps between paragraphs.
Add Page Numbers and the Running Head
APA requires a page number in the top-right corner of every page, starting with 1 on the title page. Go to Insert > Page Number > Top of Page, and select the right-aligned option. Word will place you inside the header area. Make sure the number appears flush right.
If you’re writing a student paper, page numbers are all you need in the header. A running head (the abbreviated title in all caps) is only required for professional papers, such as manuscripts submitted for publication. Your instructor may specifically request one, but the APA default for student work is page numbers only.
To add a running head for a professional paper, stay in the header area and type your abbreviated title in all-capital letters on the left side of the header, across from the page number. The running head must be 50 characters or fewer, including spaces. It appears in the same format on every page. Do not include the label “Running head:” before it, as that convention was dropped in the 7th edition.
Build the Title Page
The title page is page 1. What you include depends on whether you’re formatting a student paper or a professional paper.
Student Title Page
Place the paper title three to four lines down from the top of the page. Center it, bold it, and use title case (capitalize major words). One double-spaced blank line below the title, type your full name (no titles or degrees), centered. On the next line, center your institutional affiliation: the department name and school name separated by a comma. Below that, on successive double-spaced lines, center the course number and name, the instructor’s name, and the assignment due date.
The result is a block of centered text in the upper half of the page: title, name, affiliation, course, instructor, and date, all double-spaced.
Professional Title Page
A professional title page includes the paper title (centered, bold, title case), the author’s name, and the institutional affiliation where the research was conducted. In the bottom half of the page, add an author note: center and bold the label “Author Note,” then write its paragraphs left-aligned. The author note covers ORCID information, affiliation changes, disclosures, and contact details. Professional papers also include the running head in the header on every page.
Set Up Paragraph Indentation
Body paragraphs in APA format use a half-inch first-line indent. Rather than pressing Tab before every paragraph, set this automatically. Place your cursor in the body of your document, go to Home > Paragraph settings (click the small arrow in the bottom-right corner of the Paragraph group). Under “Special,” choose “First line” and set it to 0.5 inches. This indents the first line of every new paragraph without affecting headings or the title page.
To keep your title page and headings from being indented, you can either apply the indent setting only to your body text or manually remove the indent from centered elements. The easiest approach is to write your title page first without the indent, then select the rest of the document and apply the first-line indent from the paragraph settings.
Format Headings by Level
APA uses up to five heading levels to organize sections. Most student papers only need the first two or three. Here’s how each one looks:
- Level 1: Centered, bold, title case. Text starts as a new paragraph on the next line.
- Level 2: Flush left, bold, title case. Text starts as a new paragraph on the next line.
- Level 3: Flush left, bold italic, title case. Text starts as a new paragraph on the next line.
- Level 4: Indented half an inch, bold, title case, ending with a period. Text continues on the same line.
- Level 5: Indented half an inch, bold italic, title case, ending with a period. Text continues on the same line.
You can format these manually each time, or save yourself effort by modifying Word’s built-in heading styles. Right-click “Heading 1” in the Styles gallery on the Home tab, choose “Modify,” and set it to your APA font, bold, centered, with the same double spacing and 0 pt before/after spacing. Repeat for Heading 2 (flush left, bold) and so on. Once configured, you can apply the correct formatting with a single click.
Insert In-Text Citations
Word has a built-in citation tool that can handle APA formatting. Go to the References tab and look at the Citations & Bibliography group. From the Style dropdown, select “APA” (Word includes APA as a built-in option). Then click “Insert Citation” > “Add New Source.” A dialog box will appear where you can enter the author, title, year, and other details. Word generates the parenthetical citation and stores the source for your reference list.
One important note: verify that Word’s APA style matches current 7th edition requirements. Microsoft periodically updates its citation styles, but formatting details can lag behind. For critical papers, compare Word’s output against the APA guidelines. If something looks off, you can manually edit the citation or use a dedicated reference manager like Zotero or Mendeley, both of which integrate with Word and offer regularly updated APA 7th edition styles.
Create the References Page
Your reference list goes on a new page at the end of the paper. Press Ctrl+Enter to insert a page break, then center and bold the word “References” at the top (this is a Level 1 heading). Do not underline or italicize it.
If you used Word’s citation tool, you can auto-generate the list. Place your cursor below the “References” heading, go to References > Bibliography, and select “Insert Bibliography.” Word will pull in every source you cited and format the entries.
Each reference entry should use a hanging indent: the first line is flush left, and subsequent lines are indented half an inch. To set this, select all your references, open the Paragraph settings dialog, and under “Special” choose “Hanging” at 0.5 inches. Keep everything double-spaced with no extra space between entries.
Save an APA Template for Future Use
Once you’ve configured all these settings, save the file as a Word template so you don’t have to repeat the process. Go to File > Save As, and from the file type dropdown choose “Word Template (.dotx).” Give it a name like “APA 7th Template.” The next time you need an APA paper, open the template and start writing with all your formatting already in place.
Alternatively, Word’s built-in template library includes APA templates. Go to File > New, search “APA,” and browse what’s available. These can be a quick starting point, though you should verify the settings match current 7th edition rules before relying on them.