The American Psychological Association (APA) Style is a set of rules for citing sources and formatting papers. The purpose of this guide is to serve as a ready reference tool for formatting your papers and citations in APA Style.

In general, APA Style is used in the Social Sciences. Check with your teacher to be sure you are using the correct Style.
Below is a Reading & Writing Center APA Citation Guide Video from Rockland Community College.

APA Style: Format Your Paper
General Format

  • Margin: One inch on all sides
  • Font size: 12 point
  • Typeface: Times New Roman
  • Spacing: Double-space throughout the entire paper
  • Alignment: Flush left, uneven on right
  • Indentation: Use the tab key, or indent 5-7 spaces the first line of every paragraph
  • Pagination: Page numbers in page header flush right starting with the title page
  • Running head: A brief title–not to exceed 50 characters–of your paper in all caps (different from Title Page)
  • Order: Title page, abstract, body of text, references

Title Page:

  • Running head: abbreviated title with all capital letters, in page header, flush left
    • Example: Running head: TITLE OF YOUR PAPER
  • Title: centered in the upper half of the page, upper & lower case
  • Author name (byline): new line under the title, upper & lower case
  • Institutional affiliation: after author on a new line, upper & lower case

Abstract:

  • One paragraph, comprehensive summary of the paper, starts on page 2, no more than 120 words.

Body of Text:

  • Begins on page 3, usually starting with an Introduction.

 

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email