How to Format a Paper in APA 7 Step by Step (2026)

Your argument might be excellent, but a single formatting error can knock marks off before a professor reads a word. APA 7 — the American Psychological Association’s seventh edition, published in 2019 and still the standard in 2026 — has specific rules for everything from the width of your margins to the exact way a heading on page four should look. This guide walks you through how to format a paper in APA in nine numbered steps you can work through tonight, with a concrete example at every stage.

One important note upfront: APA 7 introduced a formal split between student papers (course assignments, dissertations) and professional papers (manuscripts submitted to journals). Most rules are the same, but the title page and running head differ. This guide focuses on student papers and flags professional-only rules where relevant.

Step 1: Set Up Your Page Layout

Open your word processor and make these four settings before you type a single word. Getting them right first means you will never have to reformat a finished draft.

Margins

Set all four margins — top, bottom, left, right — to 1 inch (2.54 cm). In Microsoft Word: Layout → Margins → Normal. In Google Docs: File → Page setup → Margins, enter 1 for each side.

Font

APA 7 accepts any accessible, consistently applied font. The most commonly accepted options are:

• Times New Roman, 12pt — the default expected by most instructors
• Calibri, 11pt
• Arial, 11pt
• Georgia, 11pt
• Lucida Sans Unicode, 10pt

Pick one and stick with it throughout — including headings, captions, and the reference list. Never mix fonts in the same document.

Line spacing

Double-space everything — including the title page, abstract, body text, block quotations, reference list, table notes, and appendices. There are no single-spaced or 1.5-spaced sections anywhere in an APA paper.

Paragraph indentation

Indent the first line of every body paragraph 0.5 inches. Use the paragraph-indent setting in your word processor, not the Tab key — it is more reliable. The only paragraphs that do not get a first-line indent are the abstract and block quotations.

Paper size

Standard US Letter (8.5 × 11 inches / 21.59 × 27.94 cm). If you are submitting in a country that uses A4, check whether your institution requires Letter or A4.

Step 2: Build the Title Page

The student title page in APA 7 contains six elements, all centered in the upper half of the page. They appear in this exact order, all double-spaced:

1. Paper title — bold, title case, placed three or four lines down from the top margin. If the title runs to two lines, both lines are centered.
2. Author name(s) — first name, middle initial (if used), last name. Do not include titles or degrees (no “Dr.” or “PhD”).
3. Institutional affiliation — department name, then university name on separate lines. Example: Department of Psychology / University of Edinburgh.
4. Course number and name — as listed in the course catalog. Example: PSYC 3301: Research Methods.
5. Instructor name — include the title they prefer: Professor Alicia Nwosu or Dr. James Hartley.
6. Assignment due date — spelled out in full. Example: March 20, 2026.

No horizontal rules, decorative elements, or images belong on an APA title page. Keep it clean.

Step 3: Configure the Header and Page Numbers

This is where APA 7 differs most visibly from APA 6. Many students still add a running head to student papers out of habit — you no longer need to.

Student papers

Insert a page number in the top-right corner of the header, starting with 1 on the title page. That is all. There is no running head unless your instructor explicitly asks for one.

In Word: Insert → Header → Blank → delete placeholder text → insert page number → align right. Make sure “Different First Page” is unchecked so the number appears on page 1.

Professional papers only

If you are submitting a manuscript for publication, you must also include a running head: an abbreviated title in ALL CAPITALS, no more than 50 characters (including spaces), flush left. It appears on every page in the same format. Example: SOCIAL MEDIA AND ACADEMIC PROCRASTINATION — with the page number right-aligned on the same line.

Step 4: Write (or Skip) the Abstract

Abstracts are required for many research reports and theses but are optional for most course papers. Check your assignment brief. If your instructor does not ask for one, skip this section entirely.

When required, the abstract appears on page 2 (its own page). Format it like this:

• Heading: Abstract — centered, bold, no italics.
• Single paragraph, no first-line indent.
• Maximum 250 words.
• Cover: research question, method, key findings, and conclusion.
• Optional: add a Keywords line one line below — indent 0.5 inches, the word Keywords: in italics, followed by three to five lowercase terms separated by commas.

Step 5: Use the Five Heading Levels Correctly

APA 7 uses five heading levels organised hierarchically. You do not need to use all five in every paper — use only as many levels as your structure requires, starting with Level 1. Here is the complete formatting for each level:

Most undergraduate essays need only Levels 1 and 2. A dissertation methods chapter might use Levels 1, 2, and 3. Do not skip levels — if you are using Level 3, you must have a Level 2 in the same section.

Step 6: Format In-Text Citations

Every source you quote, paraphrase, or summarise needs an in-text citation pointing to the full entry in your reference list. APA 7 uses the author-date format. Here are the main patterns:

One author

Parenthetical: The study confirmed a significant correlation (Nguyen, 2024).
Narrative: Nguyen (2024) found a significant correlation.

Two authors

Always list both, connected by an ampersand (&) inside parentheses, or “and” in narrative text.
Parenthetical: (Kim & Patel, 2023)
Narrative: Kim and Patel (2023) argued…

Three or more authors

APA 7 uses et al. from the very first citation — even the first time you mention this source. This is one of the key changes from APA 6.
Example: (Morrison et al., 2022)

No author

Use a shortened version of the title in title case, in quotation marks for articles or italics for books.
Example: (“Anxiety Disorders,” 2023) or (Diagnostic Manual, 2022)

Direct quotation

Always include the page number (or paragraph number for paginated sources).
Example: “Procrastination is not a time-management problem” (Steel, 2020, p. 45).
Narrative: Steel (2020) argues that “procrastination is not a time-management problem” (p. 45).

Block quotations (40+ words)

When a direct quote reaches 40 words or more, format it as a block quotation: indent the entire passage 0.5 inches from the left margin, remove the quotation marks, and place the citation in parentheses after the final punctuation mark. The citation itself has no period after it.

For full guidance on citing online and digital sources, see the dedicated guide on how to cite a website in APA 7.

Step 7: Build the Reference List

The reference list begins on a new page immediately after the body of your paper. Follow these rules precisely:

• Heading: References — centered, bold, on the first line of the page.
• Alphabetical order by the author’s last name.
• Double-spaced throughout — no extra space between entries.
• Hanging indent: the first line of each entry is flush with the left margin; every subsequent line indents 0.5 inches.
• Use sentence case for article and chapter titles (only capitalise the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns).
• Italicise book titles, journal names, and volume numbers.
• Include a DOI as a hyperlink (https://doi.org/…) where available. No period after a URL or DOI.

Journal article

Book

Website / online article

Up to 20 authors are now listed in full before using an ellipsis in APA 7 — a significant expansion from the six-author limit in APA 6. For sources with 21 or more authors, list the first 19, add an ellipsis (…), then the final author’s name.

Comparing citation styles? See the MLA 9 complete format guide and the Harvard referencing guide for 2026 to understand where the systems differ.

For a deeper dive into every source type with copy-paste examples, the complete APA citation format reference on Tesify covers books, chapters, datasets, social media posts, and more.

Step 8: Format Tables and Figures

Tables and figures follow the same structural logic in APA 7 — number, then title, then content, then note.

Tables

1. Table number (e.g., Table 1) — bold, above the table, flush left.
2. Table title — italicised, title case, immediately below the number, flush left.
3. The table body itself — no vertical lines; horizontal lines only above and below the header row and at the bottom of the table.
4. Note — if needed, flush left below the table. Begin with Note. in italics, then a general note, then specific notes (marked a, b, c), then probability notes. Example: Note. Data drawn from the 2024 campus survey (n = 312).

Figures

1. Figure number (e.g., Figure 1) — bold, above the figure, flush left.
2. Figure title — italicised, title case, immediately below the number.
3. The image or graph itself.
4. Note — same format as table notes; use this to credit adapted or reprinted images.

Tables and figures can be placed either within the text (immediately after the paragraph that first mentions them) or on separate pages after the reference list — follow your instructor’s preference.

Step 9: Run the Final Pre-Submission Checklist

Before you submit, work through this list line by line:

If your paper includes an original argument or research question that you are still refining, working on that before formatting saves you from restructuring headings later. The guide on how to write a strong introduction step by step walks through structuring the opening section of your paper — useful to do before you lock in your Level 1 headings.

Formatting is one layer of academic integrity. Accurate citation is the other: even a correctly formatted reference list can contain plagiarism if the paraphrasing is too close to the source. See the full guide on how to avoid plagiarism in 2026 for strategies that protect your work.

Frequently Asked Questions