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Formatting an APA title page
The title page is a requirement for all APA papers. The primary role of the title page is to present just that: the title. But that’s only the beginning of what is actually required for a properly formatted APA title page. This is the first chance a writer has to truly engage with the reader.
For students, the title page also lets people know which class, professor, and institution the text was written for. For professional authors, the title page is an opportunity to share any affiliations or conflicts of interest that might be present.
APA Style recognizes two different ways to format a title page. One is for student papers and the other is for professional papers. This guide will examine the difference and provide real-life examples of both.
The information provided below comes from the 7 th edition of the APA’s Publication Manual . You can read more about title page elements in Sections 2.1 – 2.8.
Here’s a run-through of everything this page includes:
The difference between a professional title page and a student title page in APA
Elements of an apa style title page, apa formatting title page example, conclusion: formatting a title page in apa 7.
Both student and professional title pages require a title, author, and an affiliation. Both types of title page also require the same basic formatting, including 1-inch indentations on all sides and a page number in the top right corner.
The primary difference is that professional title pages also require an author note and a running head. However, some professors do ask that you provide some of these elements in student papers. It’s a good idea to know how to format them just in case.
Student title page APA
An APA title page for any paper being submitted for a class, degree, or thesis is all about the basics. Here are the elements that should be included in a student title page :
- Title of your paper
- Byline (author or authors)
- Affiliation (department and university)
- Course name and course number
- Instructor name
Page number
Your professor or institution might have their own formatting requirements. When writing a paper for a class, the first rule is to always pay attention to the instructions.
Professional title page APA
A professional title page skips the class info and due date, but it includes:
- Affiliation (division and/or organization)
- Author note
- Running head
The author note and running head are generally only required for professional papers. However, some professors might ask that you include one or both of them. Be sure to check the assignment instructions before submitting.
The title of your paper is really important. This is where the author needs to simultaneously inform and engage the reader without being overly wordy.
An effective title will:
- Engage the reader
- Concisely explain the main topic of research
- Concisely explain any relevant variables or theoretical issues
The paper title should be placed three or four lines down from the top margin of the page. It should be presented in bold, title case, and centered on the page.
Author/Byline
The correct way to display the author’s name is first name, middle initial, and last name. The most important thing is to prevent the possibility of mistaken identity. After all, there are a lot of papers published every year, and it’s possible that someone else has the same name as you do.
For all author bylines in APA, all licenses and degrees are omitted (e.g., Dr., Professor, PhD, RN, etc.).
If your paper has multiple authors, then they should all be listed in the same way, in order of their contributions. All authors should be on the same line, unless more lines are required.
Here’s an example of a properly formatted byline for a paper with two authors:
Cassandra M. Berkman and Wilhelm K. Jackson
Affiliation
The affiliation element is where you identify the place where the work was conducted or who it was conducted for. This is almost always a university or institution. In some cases, there are multiple affiliations for one author, or multiple authors with different affiliations.
Academic affiliations
Academic affiliations include schools, universities, and teaching hospitals. The affiliation line should include the specific department followed by the name of the institution. There is no need to include a location for academic affiliations.
Here is an example of what a basic academic affiliation line should look like:
Department of Psychology, Colorado State University
Non-academic affiliations
Non-academic affiliations are anything that isn’t a school or university, which could be a hospital, laboratory, or just about any type of organization. The affiliation line for a non-academic organization should include the department or division, followed by the name and location of the organization. All elements should be separated by commas.
Here’s how it looks when put to use:
Vidant Health, Greenville, NC, United States
Course number and name (Student only)
Use the course number and course name as they appear on official university materials. Examples:
- ENG 204: Modern English Literature
- PSYC 2301: Research Methodology
Instructor name (Student papers only)
It’s important that you display your instructor’s name in their preferred way. With academics who have multiple degrees and positions, this isn’t something that you should guess at.
It is generally safe to use the course syllabus to see how they prefer to be listed. For example, some use the word “Professor” as their prefix, and many will have PhD, RN, or other type of professional designation.
Due date (Student papers only)
The due date should be presented in the day, month, and year format that is standard to your country.
The page number goes at the top right-hand side of the paper. This is one of the only elements that appears on every single page.
You can add running page numbers to your paper by double-clicking the header portion of the document or clicking the “Insert” tab. It will automatically insert page numbers into the rest of the document.
Author note (Professional papers only)
The author note is usually only required for professional papers. This is where additional data, disclaimers, conflicts of interest, and statements about funding are placed. In some cases, the author statement can be several pages long.
The author note is generally split into four paragraphs, including:
- ORCID iD (a scientific/academic author ID)
- Changes of Affiliation
- Disclosures and Acknowledgments
- Contact Information
Section 2.7 of the Publication Manual has even more information on how to structure these elements for a professional paper.
Running Head (Professional papers only)
While some student papers might require a running head, this is something that is typically only for papers being submitted for publication. This is an abbreviated version of your title that appears at the top of every page to help readers identify it. The running title is particularly useful especially in print versions of journals and publications.
The running head does not have to use the same words as they appear in your title. Instead, try to re-work your paper’s main idea into a shortened form.
For example, if your paper’s title is:
“A Mystery of Style: Exploring the Formatting Mechanics of the Running Head According to APA Style 7th Edition”
Then your abbreviated title can be something like:
“RUNNING HEAD IN APA 7”
“FORMATTING THE RUNNING HEAD”
The idea is to convey only the most important aspects of your title. The running head should be entered in the page header, flush left against the margin, and presented in all-capital letters.
The APA suggests a maximum length of 50 characters (including spaces and punctuation) for a running head. If your title is already 50 characters and under, then you can use the whole thing as the running head.
Next, let’s have a look at an example of what a real APA title page looks like when it’s all put together.
Student title page formatting example
Professional title page formatting example
All papers written according to APA Style should have a properly formatted title page. Making sure that the title page elements are accurate and informative will help people access your work. It is also the first opportunity that you have as the author to establish credibility and engage the reader.
For more information on the basic elements of an APA paper, check out Chapter 2 of the Publication Manual or our guide on APA format .
Published October 28, 2020.
APA Formatting Guide
APA Formatting
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- Sample Paper
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An APA title page provides the details of the paper, such as the title of the paper, author name, and author affiliation. APA title pages have two formats—one for professional papers and one for student papers.
The elements to be added on the title page of a professional paper (in order of appearance) are:
- Page number and running head: These elements appear in the header section. The page number appears at the top-right corner, whereas the running head appears at the top-left corner. If the title is too long, the running head is shortened to less than 50 characters.
- Title of the paper: It provides information about the paper. It is aligned center and set in bold.
- Names of the authors: It gives the names of the contributors to the paper and is aligned center.
- Affiliations of the authors: It gives the department and university details of the authors.
- Author note: It gives extra information about the authors.
In a student paper, the following details are included on the title page:
- Page number: This appears in the top-right corner of the header section.
- Title of the paper: It gives the reader an idea of the information in the paper. It appears in title case and bold. It is center-aligned.
- Names of the authors: The names of the contributors are added here. This field is also called the by-line.
- Affiliations of the authors: It includes the names of the authors’ departments and universities.
- Name of the course: The name of the course for which the paper is written is included in this field.
- Name of the instructor: Unlike the professional paper, the instructor’s name is included in a student paper.
- Due date of the assignment: The due date of the assignment is added here. The format is “Month Day, Year” (e.g., August 22, 2017).
The title page information for APA is different for a professional paper and a student paper. As a student, you need to include the following details in the same order on the title page of your student paper.
- Page number: This appears in the header section. Set the page number in the top-right corner of the header.
- Title of the paper: Set it in title case and bold. Align it to the center.
- Names of the authors: Provide the names of the contributors. This field is also called the by-line.
- Affiliations of the authors: Include your department and university name.
- Name of the course: Provide the name of the course and course number for which the paper is written.
- Name of the instructor: Add the instructor’s name. There is no rigid rule on how to set the instructor’s name. You can set it according to the instructor’s preference.
- Due date of the assignment: Add the due date of the assignment. The format should be “Month Day, Year” (e.g., August 23, 2021).
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APA Headings and Subheadings | With Sample Paper
Published on November 7, 2020 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on October 24, 2022.
Headings and subheadings provide structure to a document. They signal what each section is about and allow for easy navigation of the document.
APA headings have five possible levels. Each heading level is formatted differently.
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Table of contents
Additional guidelines for apa headings, how many heading levels should you use, when to use which apa heading level, section labels vs headings, sample paper with apa headings, using heading styles in word or google docs.
As well as the heading styles, there are some other guidelines to keep in mind:
- Double-space all text, including the headings.
- Use the same font for headings and body text (e.g., Times New Roman 12pt.).
- Don’t label headings with numbers or letters.
- Don’t add extra “enters” above or below headings.
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Depending on the length and complexity of your paper, you may not use all five heading levels. In fact, shorter student papers may have no headings at all.
It’s also perfectly fine for some sections in your paper to go as deep as five levels, where others use only heading level 1.
Heading level 1 is used for main sections like “ Methods ”, “ Results ”, and “ Discussion ”. There is no “ Introduction ” heading at the beginning of your paper because the first paragraphs are understood to be introductory.
Heading level 2 is used for subsections under level 1. For example, under “Methods” (level 1) you may have subsections for “Sampling Method” and “Data Analysis” (level 2). This continues all the way down to heading level 5.
Always use at least two subheadings or none at all. If there is just one subheading, the top-level heading is sufficient.
In addition to regular headings, APA works with “section labels” for specific parts of the paper. They’re similar to headings but are formatted differently. Section labels are placed on a separate line at the top of a new page in bold and centered.
Use section labels for the following sections in an APA formatted paper :
- Author note
- Paper title
- Reference page
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Instead of formatting every heading individually, you can use the “Styles” feature in Word or Google Docs. This allows you to save the styling and apply it with just a click.
The first time you use APA Style, you need to update the default heading styles to reflect the APA heading guidelines. Click here for the instructions for Microsoft Word and Google Docs .
An added benefit of using the “Styles” feature is that you can automatically generate a table of contents .
Cite this Scribbr article
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Streefkerk, R. (2022, October 24). APA Headings and Subheadings | With Sample Paper. Scribbr. Retrieved April 2, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/apa-headings/
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Note: The APA Publication Manual, 7 th Edition specifies different formatting conventions for student and professional papers (i.e., papers written for credit in a course and papers intended for scholarly publication). These differences mostly extend to the title page and running head. Crucially, citation practices do not differ between the two styles of paper.
However, for your convenience, we have provided two versions of our APA 7 sample paper below: one in student style and one in professional style.
Note: For accessibility purposes, we have used "Track Changes" to make comments along the margins of these samples. Those authored by [AF] denote explanations of formatting and [AWC] denote directions for writing and citing in APA 7.
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- APA Style - 7th edition
- Specific Rules for Authors & Titles
APA Style - 7th edition: Specific Rules for Authors & Titles
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Rules for writing titles.
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There are certain things to keep in mind when writing the author's name according to APA style. Authors may be individual people, multiple people, groups (institutions or organizations), or a combination of people and groups.
- You must include all the authors up to 20 for individual items. For example, if you are using an article that has 19 authors you must list them all out on your reference page.
- Use initials for the first and middle names of authors. Use one space between initials.
- All names are inverted (last name, first initial).
- Do not hyphenate a name unless it is hyphenated on the item.
- Separate the author's names with a comma and use the ampersand symbol "&" before the last author listed.
- Spell out the name of any organization that is listed as an author.
- If there is no author listed, the item title moves in front of the publication date and is used.
An item that you use may have an editor instead of an author or in the case of audiovisual materials a writer or director.
- For editors follow the same rules above and put the abbreviation (Ed.) or (Eds.) behind the name(s).
- For audiovisual materials follow the same rules as above and put the specialized role (Writer) (Director) behind the name.
Zhang, Y. H. (one author)
Arnec, A., & Lavbic, D. (two authors)
Kent State University (organization as author)
Barr, M. J. (Ed.). (1 editor)
Powell, R. R., & Westbrook, L. (Eds.). (2 editors)
here are certain things to keep in mind when writing a title according to APA style.
- Book titles are italicized and written using sentence case (only the first word of a title, subtitle, or proper noun are capitalized).
- Book chapter titles are written using sentence case and are not italicized.
- Journal titles are italicized and written using title case (all the important words are capitalized).
- Article titles are written using sentence case and are not italicized.
- Webpages and websites are italicized and written using sentence case.
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (book title, American Psychological Association is a proper noun so it is capitalized)
Student perspective of plagiarism (book chapter title)
Internet plagiarism in higher education: Tendencies, trigging factors and reasons among teacher candidates (article title, Tendencies is the first word of a sub-title so it is capitalized)
Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education (journal title)
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APA provides a student title page guide (PDF, 199KB) to assist students in creating their title pages. Student title page The student title page includes the paper title, author names (the byline), author affiliation, course number and name for which the paper is being submitted, instructor name, assignment due date, and page number, as shown ...
The student version of the APA title page should include the following information (double spaced and centered): Paper title. Author name. Department and university name. Course number and name. Instructor name. Due date of the assignment. The professional title page also includes an author note (flushed left), but not a course name, instructor ...
An APA title page provides the details of the paper, such as the title of the paper, author name, and author affiliation. APA title pages have two formats—one for professional papers and one for student papers. The elements to be added on the title page of a professional paper (in order of appearance) are:
General APA Guidelines. Your essay should be typed and double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11"), with 1" margins on all sides. Include a page header (also known as the “running head”) at the top of every page. For a professional paper, this includes your paper title and the page number. For a student paper, this only includes the ...
Throughout your paper, you need to apply the following APA format guidelines: Set page margins to 1 inch on all sides. Double-space all text, including headings. Indent the first line of every paragraph 0.5 inches. Use an accessible font (e.g., Times New Roman 12pt., Arial 11pt., or Georgia 11pt.).
Headings and subheadings provide structure to a document. They signal what each section. is about and allow for easy navigation of the document. APA headings have five possible levels. Each heading level is formatted differently. Note: Title case simply means that you should capitalize the first word, words with four or more letters, and all ...
Crucially, citation practices do not differ between the two styles of paper. However, for your convenience, we have provided two versions of our APA 7 sample paper below: one in student style and one in professional style. Note: For accessibility purposes, we have used "Track Changes" to make comments along the margins of these samples.
Use initials for the first and middle names of authors. Use one space between initials. All names are inverted (last name, first initial). Do not hyphenate a name unless it is hyphenated on the item. Separate the author's names with a comma and use the ampersand symbol "&" before the last author listed. Spell out the name of any organization ...