Last modified March 15, 2011
The purpose of this document is to provide a common core of elements of APA style that
all members of an academic department can adopt as minimal standards for any assignment
that specifies APA style. This Web document is itself not a model of APA style.
I. General Document Guidelines
:
A.
Margins: One inch on all sides (top, bottom, left, right)
B.
Font Size and Type: 12
–
pt. Times New Roman font
C.
Line Spacing: Double
–
space throughout the paper, including the title page, abstract,
body of the document,
references, appendixes, footnotes, tables, and figures.
D.
Spacing after Punctuation: Space once after commas, colons, and semicolons within
sentences. Insert two spaces after punctuation marks that end sentences.
E.
Alignment: Flush left (creating uneven
right margin)
F.
Paragraph Indentation: 5
–
7 spaces
G.
Page numbers
: The page number appears one inch from the right edge of the paper on
the first line of every page.
H.
Running Head: The running head is a short title that appears at the top of the pages o
f
a paper or published article. The running head is typed flush left at the top of all pages.
The running head should not exceed 50 characters, including punctuation and spacing.
Using most word processors, the running head and page number can be inserted
into a
header, which then automatically appears on all pages.
I
I
.
Active voice:
As a general rule, use the active voice rather than the passive voice. For
example, use “We predicted that …” rather than “It was predicted that …”
III.
Order of Pages
: Title P
age, Abstract, Body, References, Footnotes, Tables, Figures,
Appendixes
IV
. Title Page