How many heading levels should you use?ĭepending on the length and complexity of your paper, you may not use all five heading levels. Instructions from your supervisor or university always overrule the APA guidelines. Note: In longer documents, such as dissertations, you might be required to number your headings. Don’t add extra “enters” above or below headings.Don’t label headings with numbers or letters.Use the same font for headings and body text (e.g., Times New Roman 12pt.).Double-space all text, including the headings.Using heading styles in Word or Google DocsĪs well as the heading styles, there are some other guidelines to keep in mind:.How many heading levels should you use?.Running heads should be a shortened version of the paper title.
APA FORMAT PAPER HEADINGS PROFESSIONAL
For professional papers, place the page number in the top right margin and the running head in the top left margin of every page of the paper.For student papers, include only the page number in the top right margin of every page of the paper.The first paragraph following this heading should be typed on the same line as the heading. Capitalize only the first letter of the first word in the heading and of proper nouns. The fifth level of heading is italicized, indented five spaces from the left, and followed by a period. The first paragraph following this heading should be typed on the same line as the headin The fourth level of heading is bolded, italicized, indented five spaces from the left, and followed by a period. The third level of heading is bolded, indented five spaces from the left, and followed by a period.
The paragraph text should be typed on the following line and indented five spaces from the left. The second level of heading is bolded and situated flush left, and the first letter of each word in the heading is capitalized. The first level of heading is bolded and centered, and the first letter of each word in the heading is capitalized.
Note that while the example features headings titled “First Level,” “Second Level,” and so on, each heading in your paper should be named according to the section it describes. How are the five levels of APA-style headings formatted?įormat each of the five levels of APA-style headings as demonstrated in the example below. There are no extra lines or spaces between paragraphs and headings. Note that all paragraphs of the main body, including those that fall under subsections of a larger section, still maintain the pattern of indentation, use Times New Roman font, 12 pt., and are double-spaced. Any subsections that fall under the major sections are formatted with the next level of heading.
APA FORMAT PAPER HEADINGS FULL
However, keep in mind that the Introduction section, which is preceded by the full title of the paper, should be presented in plain type. Major sections of the paper’s main body, including the Method, Results, and Discussion sections, should always be formatted with the first level of heading. Starting with the first level of heading, the subsections of the paper should progressively use the next level(s) of heading without skipping any levels. Notice how sections contain at least two smaller subsections in the example below: APA headings and subheadings refers to the rules for formatting sections of documents in the 7th Edition of the American Psychological Association’s Publication Manual.Ī research paper written in APA style should be organized into sections and subsections using the five levels of APA headings.