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This video will demonstrate how to set up the title page in Google Docs.
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In APA Style, the cover sheet is called a title page. Follow the guidelines of your instructor when determining the proper format for your title page. Unless instructed otherwise, include the following elements:
For APA 7th edition, running heads are only required for professional papers that are being submitted for publication. Please see Section 2.3 for more information or review the APA Style blog’s Student Title Page Guide . The video below by Academic Support walks you through how to format your paper. Here is an example of a student title page in APA style:
This information is intended to be a guideline, not expert advice. Always speak to your instructor about citation styles and paper formats for your course.
For help with citations and more, visit Academic Support. To access Academic Support, visit your Brightspace course and select Tutoring and Mentoring from the Academic Support pulldown menu. Then, select 24/7 Drop-In Tutoring from the top navigation menu.
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Here is some information you should know when formatting your cover page:
Running head: THE TITLE OF YOUR WORK GOES HERE Page Number
Title of Your Work
Your First and Last Name
The Institution You Are Affiliated With
Course Number and Title
Professor or Instructor’s Name
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The 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual provides important formatting guidelines that you need to follow. In this article, we’ll tell you how to properly format an APA header, cover page, abstract, and reference page in your research paper.
Note that we’ll be looking at the formatting guidelines provided by the 7th edition of the APA Style guide, commonly referred to as APA 7. This edition came out in October 2019, replacing the 6th edition that dated back to 2009.
Make sure your APA-style paper is perfectly formatted. Learn more
The APA format is used while writing academic literature such as research papers, essays, and theses. It is provided by the American Psychological Association (APA) as a style guide and is used commonly in the fields of behavioral and social sciences.
The APA formatting guidelines are described in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , APA’s official style guide. It is widely used by other scientific journals in its entirety or with some variations to publish research articles and papers.
Universities and colleges also use the APA format, so students need to adhere to the formatting guidelines while writing a college paper or essay. As we’ll see in an update given by the APA 7 format, the style guidelines are often a bit relaxed for college students.
The APA Manual lays down a standard set of guidelines that remove colloquial usage and bias from academic writing. Since all researchers follow common rules of writing and formatting, it becomes easy for everyone to read and understand scientific papers.
Plus, the APA formatting style is primarily known for its directness and simplicity. By ensuring a logical flow in a research paper or journal article, the APA format helps the reader focus on the content of the document.
So the simple answer to this question is, we use APA formatting for research papers because it reduces confusion and improves clarity. It brings uniformity to scientific writing and enables the reader to comprehend academic documents with ease.
The APA Style format is used by researchers and students to write research papers, journal articles, college papers, and dissertations. You can also use the APA Style in textbooks, websites, PowerPoint presentations, or conference posters.
While the style guide can be used to write academic papers in any discipline, it is mostly used in the following disciplines:
There are some general APA formatting rules you need to follow throughout your paper. Here are the most important style guidelines from the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual:
APA recommends the following fonts:
Guidelines regarding page formatting appear in the second chapter of the APA Publication Manual. The general structure for research papers under the APA format includes a title page, abstract, text, and references.
College students don’t have the compulsion to add an abstract in their paper, but the particular university guidelines provide the final say on this matter. An APA Style paper usually follows this order:
Aside from these major sections of your paper, we’ll also take a look at how to format APA headers, headings, and subheadings.
The cover page, also called the title page, is the first page in an APA Style paper or essay. This page isn’t absolutely necessary for college students, but some universities may ask their students to include it. Ask your instructor for clarification on whether you should include the cover page in your paper.
The APA 7 cover page has slight variations for student papers and professional papers. Student papers should include details of their course and college, while professional papers include an author note.
The title page in an APA Style student paper should include the following elements:
The APA cover page in a professional paper includes:
According to the APA 7th edition, the title page should be formatted as follows:
There are no strict rules regarding the length of titles under the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual. But the style guide does recommend that the title shouldn’t be more than 12 words in length.
It’s also recommended to keep the title concise and to the point, so you should remove any extra words. Here’s an example of an ideal APA title:
A Focused Analysis of the Patterns of Migration Between England and Colombia
Migration Patterns Between England and Colombia
So, make sure you keep the title short and focused, and ensure that it includes the main search term for your paper. Keywords are important!
The APA page header appears within the top margin of the page. It consists of a page number and a running head, but student papers don’t have to include the running head.
So, the APA header for a student paper only contains the page number. For professional papers, the header consists of both the running head and page number.
A running head is a shortened version of your title. If the title is already short, you can place the whole title in the running head. But if your title is long, you need to cut out the extra words and use only the most important words in the running head.
Title: Examining the Wealth of Religious Figures: A Global Study of How Economics, Faith, and Language Intersect
Running head: WEALTH OF RELIGIOUS FIGURES
While the APA running head isn’t a compulsion for student papers, some course instructors or universities may ask you to include it. So it’s always a good idea to get clarity on the paper format from your course instructor.
These are the formatting guidelines for an APA header:
Any word processing program like Google Docs or Word has the header feature that allows you to customize your header. Use this feature to create the running head and page number for your APA header.
Apply the same formatting to all pages in your APA Style paper, as the header appears on every page.
APA headings and subheadings are important to organize your text and improve your paper’s readability. An APA style paper has five possible levels of headings. You can use them to order your content into relevant sections.
These are the APA format guidelines for headings and subheadings in your paper:
An abstract is a one-paragraph summary of a research paper, about 150–250 words in length. It contains the objective or problem statement of the paper and includes information on the research methods, results, and conclusions of your research.
An abstract tells the reader what they’ll find in the paper and helps them decide whether or not they should read it. So, your abstract should be well-written. But more importantly, it needs to be formatted according to the APA format guidelines.
The APA abstract page must adhere to specific formatting requirements for indentation, spacing, section label, page margins, font type, and running head. The APA abstract must be formatted as follows:
An APA abstract isn’t required in student papers, but it is necessary in professional papers.
Aside from the general guidelines we saw above, there aren’t any specific APA format guidelines for the body of your paper. In case of an essay, the body will be your essay itself. If you’re writing a lab report, then the main body will be divided into different sections.
In a research paper, the body is divided into introduction, method, results, discussion, and references. Each of these sections begin on a new page, with a section label that is in bold and center.
These are the APA formatting guidelines for your text:
Also called the reference list, this is where all the cited sources in the paper are listed. The citations differ for each source type. The APA reference page as a whole also has specific APA formatting guidelines.
Mention the section label “References” in bold and center at the top of the page. Start the entries in the next line, flush left. Here are the formatting guidelines for an APA reference page:
The APA provides different format guidelines for specific document types such as articles, journals, and websites. For a detailed study of how to cite sources and include them in the APA reference page, visit this article .
Using graphics is a great way to communicate important data in your paper. But in an APA Style paper, there are certain rules you need to follow for inserting tables and figures.
Although they present information differently, the APA style guide has similar formatting rules for them. Tables and figures under the 7th edition of the Publication Manual are labeled with numbers followed by titles. Under the graphic, you may also add a note.
APA formatting guidelines help you create clean and clear graphics with no unnecessary flourish. So keep in mind that you should include graphical elements only when they are necessary for better comprehension.
Here is how you can create a properly formatted table under the APA guidelines:
Rather than using the spacebar to type your data, use the table feature of Google Docs or Word to create an APA Style table in your paper.
For an APA formatted paper, any graphical representation aside from a table is classified as a figure. This includes charts, graphs, pie charts, drawings, maps, or any other visual infographics.
Follow these rules to properly format your APA figures:
Number your tables and figures in the order they appear in your APA Style paper. You can add three types of notes under your table or figure to explain a point not covered in the graphic itself.
Hopefully, this article will help you format your APA Style paper perfectly. After formatting your research paper, if you still have doubts, you can consider taking our research paper editing services . We not only ensure proper formatting but also correct any grammatical, word choice, and sentence errors.
Here are some other articles that you might find interesting:
What are the benefits of apa formatting, what does et. al. mean in apa formatting, what is the difference between mla and apa formatting, should i add the apa header on the cover page, what are the changes in apa 7.
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Two or three things would finish up the basic formatting: 1. The Cover Page header needs the words Running head: before the title. Also, the cover page should be in the same Times New Roman (or Arial) 12pt font. (I’ve seen some pretty fancy cover pages LOL). 2. The abstract cannot be more than 250 words (no less than 150 words) 3. Information in the main body should be broken down by layers of headings to tell the reader what they will find in each section.
Overall good advice in succinct bullet points, however. I appreciate you doing this. APA is a thorn in the side of my students (I teach Psychology).
Hey, Kathryn! Thanks for your words of encouragement. The points you have mentioned are indeed crucial to finishing up the basic APA formatting. We hope our blog continues to help you and your students. Keep coming back for more!
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Your title page should follow all of the rules outlined in the Basic Formatting tab. In addition, it should be centered in the upper-half of the page. It must include the following information (and your instructor might prefer you to add more):
See the example below (click it to view a larger version):
An abstract is a brief summary of what your paper is all about. Your instructor may or may not require you to include an abstract, so ask them. If they do require an abstract, find out how long they would like it to be. Generally, an abstract is 150 to 250 words long. It is recommended that you write the abstract after you have written your paper. It's a good idea when you're first setting up your document, to include a placeholder page for the abstract on the 2nd page (after the title page).
Your abstract page should follow all of the rules outlined in the Basic Formatting tab. Left-align, but do not hit the tab key or indent in any way at the beginning of the abstract. The word "Abstract" should be bolded and centered at the top of the page.
See the example below (click it to view larger):
Title Page Components
In the past APA didn’t really pay much attention to student papers, but in APA7 they have been explicit about how to create that perfect paper (it’s a simplified professional paper). In this blog post we’re just going to look at cover pages for an assignment.
No Running Head
A running head has never been required at Bank Street, although many students have placed then in their assignments and Integrated Master’s Projects (IMPs).
Sample Cover Page
Making Books in the Elementary Classroom
John Student
Childhood General Education: Bank Street College of Education
EDUC 500-B1: Child Development
Janet Instructor
March 18, 2020
As always double space everything.
Posted on 21st June 2018
By Cite This For Me
A title or cover page is exactly what you’d imagine—it’s the very front page of your academic essay or paper, which includes important information about your work. The function of a title or cover page is that it allows the reader to identify your work at a glance, but it can also help your assignments to look neater and more professionally put-together. Additionally, it provides a handy buffer against any finger smudges and will protect your work from whatever might be lurking at the bottom of your school bag!
Title or cover pages are common in work that’s formatted using the APA style rules, although you may also need to include them when following other popular formatting styles such as MLA or Chicago. If you’re unsure as to whether you need to create a title page, check with your teacher, tutor, or college advisor.
Failing to include a title page if required could give a negative first impression to whoever is reading your work. It could even cause you to lose marks for presentation, so don’t be tempted to skip this simple formatting task that should only take a few minutes to complete.
If you’ve been instructed to use APA style formatting then it’s likely that your tutor is expecting to see a title page including the following information:
For example:
The above information should be centered (with the exception of the running head) and double-spaced, in Times New Roman font, size 12. See an APA example below:
Title or cover pages are less common when following the MLA style of formatting. Instead, your tutor might prefer you to include a header with the required information at the top left of the first page of your assignment. These usually look like this:
The above header should sit under a one-inch top margin, to the left of the page. It should be double-spaced and in a legible font (Times New Roman is a safe choice), size 12. The title of your essay should follow, centered, with the body of your work commencing underneath. In addition, every page should have a right-aligned header with the author’s last name and the page number.
If you do need to make up a cover page, however, you would set out the above information, plus the title/subtitle of your assignment and the name of your institution, centered and presented over a full page.
When it comes to creating a correctly formatted and professional-looking title page, we’ve got you covered!
The title page (also known as a cover page) in APA style looks like this:
They include the following elements :
Note: Elements 2-7 are centered in the top half of the title page. Also note that there is an extra line between the title of the paper and the rest of the information on the title page.
All APA papers have one-inch margins (default setting in Microsoft Word) and are double spaced. Select one of six approved fonts:
Rasmussen has a template you can use in APA Guide in the APA Quick Start Tool Kit . Take a moment to watch the companion video before using the template the first time.
Check out our APA formatted sample paper for more tips and hints!
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COMMENTS
Follow the guidelines described next to format each element of the student title page. Place the title three to four lines down from the top of the title page. Center it and type it in bold font. Capitalize major words of the title. Place the main title and any subtitle on separate double-spaced lines if desired.
In APA Style (7th edition), the cover page, or title page, should include: A running head (professional papers only) and page number. The title of the paper. The name of the author (s) The institutional affiliation. An author note; optional (professional papers only) A student paper should also include course information.
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 ...
Title Page Content. student title page includes the following elements: title of the paper. author(s) ° include the full names of all authors of the paper; use the form first name, middle initial, last name (e.g., Betsy R. Klein) ° if two authors, separate with the word "and". (e.g., Ainsley E. Baum and Lucy K. Reid)
Indent the first line of every paragraph of text 0.5 in. using the tab key or the paragraph-formatting function of your word-processing program. Page numbers: Put a page number in the top right corner of every page, including the title page or cover page, which is page 1. Student papers do not require a running head on any page.
Title of the paper: three to four lines down from the top of the title page, centered and in bold for APA 7 (APA 6 does not have a title in bold). Name of each author: include a double-spaced blank line between the paper title and the author names. Affiliation for each author: give the name of the institution at which the research was carried out.
The title page (also known as the cover page) is the front page of your paper. It should contain: The running head, a header at the top of the page. The first page number. The title of the paper; Your name; The institution for which you writing. Running head. The running head should be in the top-left corner of the page in uppercase. It should ...
When creating the Title Page, professional and student papers have slightly different rules for APA. We'll cover the rules that apply to both types first. You'll need to include the course number and name, the name of the professor, and the date your assignment is due. All of this should be done line by line beneath the name of your school.
Leave a double-spaced line after the title. Should be centered. Two authors: add the word and between the names. Three or more authors: add a comma between the names; add the word and before the final name. 3. Author Affiliation. Include your college or university and the relevant department name.
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.
The title page includes the following elements: Page number, Paper title, Author, Author Affiliation, Course, Instructor, and Due Date. Remember, your instructor can include other requirements for your assignment. Refer to their instructions carefully. Your title page and paper is double-spaced. Use 1-inch margins.
An APA title page must include: A running head (including page number) The title of your paper (one or two lines long) The full name of the author (s) Your university or institution. Additional information, such as a course number or an author's note, should be placed on a separate line below the institution. APA title page template.
Follow the guidelines of your instructor when determining the proper format for your title page. Unless instructed otherwise, include the following elements: Title of the paper in bold. Author name. University Affiliation. Course number and name. Instructor name. Due date. Page number (top right).
Here is some information you should know when formatting your cover page: You need to include your running head and page number at the top of your page throughout your entire work. The title of your writing. This must be less than 50 characters, spaces and punctuation included; if not, then you need to shorten the title, according to APA ...
Here are the most important style guidelines from the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual: Use a standard-sized paper (8.5″ x 11″). Set margins of 1 inch on all sides. Add a page header ("running head") at the top of every page. Keep the running head short (50 characters). Mention the page number on every page.
The Title Page. Your title page should follow all of the rules outlined in the Basic Formatting tab. In addition, it should be centered in the upper-half of the page. It must include the following information (and your instructor might prefer you to add more): The full title of your paper in title case. Your name (First Last)
The title page is always number 1. Make the title short and clear. Start 3-4 lines from the top of the page. APA7 suggests a title of no more than 12 words. Capitalize any word 4 letters or more in the title. Student's name. Add program + Bank Street College of Education. Instructor full name. Add the date the assignment is due.
A separate title page is required for all APA Styled papers. Students should first check with their instructors regarding what is required for their title page, but typically it is: title of the paper, name of the author, course name and number, instructor name, assignment due date and page number in the top right-hand corner.
This video walks students through formatting a cover page in Microsoft Word for the student version of APA 7th Edition.
In addition, every page should have a right-aligned header with the author's last name and the page number. See an MLA example below: If you do need to make up a cover page, however, you would set out the above information, plus the title/subtitle of your assignment and the name of your institution, centered and presented over a full page.
Answer. The title page (also known as a cover page) in APA style looks like this: They include the following elements: Date the assignment is due (Note: For CBE courses please use the assignment submission date.) Note: Elements 2-7 are centered in the top half of the title page. Also note that there is an extra line between the title of the ...