APA format is a set of writing and citation rules created by the American Psychological Association, now in its 7th edition. It standardizes how academic papers look, how sources are cited in the text, and how the reference list at the end is organized. If you’re writing a paper for a college course in psychology, education, nursing, business, or the social sciences, your instructor is almost certainly asking you to follow these rules.
What APA Format Controls
APA format covers three main areas: page layout (margins, fonts, spacing), in-text citations (how you credit sources within your sentences), and the reference list (the detailed source list at the end of your paper). It also specifies how to structure your title page, headings, and the order of sections. The current standard is described in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition, published in 2019.
Page Layout Rules
The formatting basics are straightforward. Use 1-inch margins on all four sides of the page. Double-space the entire paper, including block quotations and the reference list. Do not add blank lines before or after headings, and do not add extra spacing between paragraphs.
Several fonts are acceptable: 12-point Times New Roman, 12-point Aptos, 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, and 11-point Georgia all work. Whatever font you choose, use it consistently throughout the paper. If you just stick with the default font in your word processor, that’s fine too.
Page numbers go in the top right corner of every page, starting with the title page as page 1. Use your word processor’s automatic page-numbering function rather than typing the numbers manually. Student papers do not need a running head (that shortened title that appears at the top of every page in published journal articles). Running heads are only required for professional manuscripts being submitted for publication.
Title Page Setup
Student papers and professional papers have different title page requirements. For a student paper, the title page includes the paper’s title, your name, your school, the course number and name, your instructor’s name and preferred title, and the assignment due date. If your instructor gives you specific title page instructions, follow those instead.
Professional papers submitted for publication include the paper’s title, each author’s name and institutional affiliation, an optional author note, and a running head that carries through the rest of the manuscript.
How In-Text Citations Work
APA uses the author-date method. Every time you reference someone else’s idea, finding, or words, you include the author’s last name and the year of publication. You can do this two ways.
A parenthetical citation places the information in parentheses at the end of the sentence: “Students often struggle with citation formatting on their first attempt (Jones, 1998).” A narrative citation weaves the author’s name into the sentence itself: “According to Jones (1998), students often struggle with citation formatting on their first attempt.”
When you directly quote someone’s exact words, you also need a page number. Use “p.” for a single page or “pp.” for a range. A direct quote might look like this: Jones (1998) noted that “students often had difficulty using APA style” (p. 199). When you paraphrase, putting an idea into your own words, you still need the author and year but can skip the page number.
Building the Reference List
The reference list appears on its own page at the end of your paper, titled “References,” centered at the top. Every source you cited in the text gets a full entry here, and every entry here should correspond to an in-text citation. Entries are listed alphabetically by the first author’s last name.
Each reference follows a specific template depending on the source type, but most entries share four core elements: author, date, title, and source (the journal, publisher, or website where it lives). A journal article entry, for example, includes the author’s last name and initials, the year in parentheses, the article title, the journal name in italics, the volume number, page range, and a DOI (a permanent digital link) when one is available. A book entry swaps the journal details for the publisher name.
For web sources, the format depends on where the content appeared. Articles from news websites like CNN or Reuters use a webpage format that includes the author, date, article title, site name, and the URL. Articles from newspaper websites like The New York Times use a newspaper article format instead. The distinction matters because APA treats periodical publications differently from standalone web content.
Headings and Paper Structure
APA defines five levels of headings to help organize your paper. Most student papers only use the first two or three. Level 1 headings are centered and bold. Level 2 headings are left-aligned and bold. Level 3 headings are left-aligned, bold, and italicized. These headings replace the need for Roman numeral outlines and help readers navigate longer papers.
A typical student paper flows in this order: title page, body of the paper (with headings as needed), and reference list. Longer or more formal papers might also include an abstract (a 150- to 250-word summary on its own page after the title page) and appendices after the reference list.
Where to Use APA Format
APA format is the default in psychology, sociology, education, nursing, criminology, linguistics, business, and most social science fields. If you’re writing for a humanities course, you’ll likely use MLA format instead, and history papers typically follow Chicago style. When in doubt, check your assignment guidelines or ask your instructor which style they expect. The formatting rules are strict enough that mixing up styles can cost you points, so it’s worth confirming before you start writing.