APA style guide: APA style page formatting

Your teachers expect to receive papers that are properly formatted and laid out. Use the following guidelines when setting up your paper. It is easiest if you use the correct settings from the beginning; otherwise you will have to go back and reformat your paper.

Overall page layout:

• One inch margins on sides, top and bottom.
• Use a clear, readable font (e.g. 12-pt Times New Roman).
• Double-space all text, including headings, quotations, references, and figure captions.
• Include a page number on each page, in the upper right corner.
• Use a running head only if required by your instructor or publisher.
• Ask your teacher if it is ok to print two-sided.

Cover page:

• Title of the paper, centered in the upper half of the page (bolded).
• Author's name (first/middle initial(s)/last), centered and double-spaced below the title.
• Affiliation (e.g. university or institution), centered below the author’s name.
• Course number and name, instructor name, and assignment due date, each centered and double-spaced below affiliation.
• Page number in the upper right corner.
• Use Times or Times New Roman 12 pt font for the title page. Do not try to make your cover page decorative by using bold, underline, or creative fonts.
• Do not put a page number on the cover page, and do not count it as part of the total page count.

Assemble your paper in the following order:

• Cover page (title page).
• Abstract (if required), headed with “Abstract” (centered, bold).
• Main body, including:
  • Introduction (no heading; begins right after the abstract).
  • Subheadings as appropriate (formatted according to APA heading guidelines).
• References page (start on a new page, titled “References”).
• Appendices, tables, and figures (if used; each starts on a new page).

Names and numbers:

• Use full names of people and agencies/legislation the first time you use them. For agencies, include the acronym in parentheses after the full name when first used, e.g. Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA).
• After the first time you can refer to people by their last name or agencies/bills by their acronyms for the rest of the paper.
• Use authors' last names and initials in reference list (e.g., Smith, J. A.).
• When mentioning numbers:
  • Use numerals for numbers 10 and above.
  • Spell out numbers zero through nine (except in references, tables, or when paired with units of measurement).
  • Always use numerals for dates, ages, times, and other exact measurements.

In-text Citations: 

• All citations use the author-date format: (Author, Year) or Author (Year).
• For direct quotes, include the page number: (Author, Year, p. xx).
• If citing multiple works, separate with semicolons: (Smith, 2020; Jones, 2018).
• For works with two authors: (Smith & Jones, 2020).
• For three or more authors: (Smith et al., 2020).
• Each in-text citation must match an entry in the reference list.

Reference Page:

• Start on a new page, titled “References” (centered, bold).
• Entries are double-spaced, with a hanging indent (second and subsequent lines indented).
• List entries alphabetically by the surname of the first author.
• Use an ampersand (&) before the last author's name in the reference list.
• List up to 20 authors in the reference; for more than 20, list the first 19, add an ellipsis, and then the last author.
• Use the following general formats:
  • Journal Article: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Article title. Journal Name, volume(issue), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyyy
  • Book: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work: Subtitle. Publisher.
  • Webpage: Author, A. A. (Year, Month day). Webpage title. Site Name. URL

Watch out for these common errors:

• Forgetting to include the correct elements in each reference entry (author, year, title, source).
• Mismatched in-text citations and reference list entries.
• Incorrect use of “et al.” for three or more authors on first use in in-text citations.
• Not using double spacing or the correct font throughout the document.
• Failing to apply a hanging indent on the reference page.
• Using hyperlinks that are not accessible or incomplete.
• Incorrect placement or omission of page numbers.
• Don't put "Works Cited" or "Bibliography" at the top of your references - those are MLA or Chicago Style.

Overall, all citations should include information that will allow the reader to identify and locate a source. This generally includes the following: Author, Title, and Publication Information (publisher, date, URL, etc.) You should be looking for and providing all the above information that is available to you to allow your reader to track your sources. Use the tabs above to see specific source citation formats and examples. 

The library subscribes to NoodleTools, a citation management tool. You can get to it in one of two ways:

1. Go to your Menlo gmail and click on the 9-box "waffle" menu. Scroll down to NoodleTools. 

2. Go to the NoodleTools home page and log in with Google using your Menlo Gmail username and password.