General Format

General format for papers written in APA style is covered in the first chapter of the Publication Manual, starting on page ten. What follows are some general guidelines for formatting. For more information about how to format a manuscript, see the many links in our additional resources section.

What should my paper look like?

• Your paper should be typed and double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5 X 11 inches).
• The margins of your paper should be set to 1 inch on all sides.
• Your paper should include a title page.
• Your paper should include a running manuscript head in the upper right hand corner of each page that offers a short version of the title and a page number.
• The pages of your paper should be numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page, as part of the manuscript header in the upper right corner of each page.
• There should also only be one space after punctuation marks such as a period. This allows editors to conserve space in their journals.

What sections should I include in my paper?

There are standard sections that are used to organize your paper. Which sections you use will depend on your particular writing project. Your paper should include whatever sections are appropriate for that type of writing, each of which should begin on a separate page (except where noted).

Standard sections for some of the more common types of papers are discussed below. If your paper type is not included in this list, follow the general guidelines, consult your teacher, or consult the Publication Manual.

Literature Review

Generally, when you are asked to write a paper for a class, this is what your professor has in mind. A literature review is just your summary of what the scientific literature says about your specific topic or question. How long this should be and how many sources you will need will vary from course to course and instructor to instructor. Our sample literature review provides an example of a literature review written for an undergraduate course at Purdue University.

A literature review contains the following sections:

• title page
• introduction section
• list of references

Some instructors may also want you to write an abstract for a literature review, so be sure to check. Annotated bibliography writers can visit APA Format for Annotated Bibliographies for information about writing annotated bibliographies in APA style.

Experimental Report

When you have designed and conducted an experiment, you need to write up your paper using a structure that is more complex than that used for just a literature review.

This structure follows the scientific method and makes your paper easier to follow. You need to tell the reader:

1. why the topic is important (covered in your introduction)
2. what the problem is (also covered in your introduction)
3. what you did to try to solve the problem (covered in your methods section)
4. what you found (covered in your results section)
5. what you think your findings mean (covered in your discussion section)
   

An experimental report includes the following sections:

• title page
• abstract
• introduction
• method
• results
• discussion
• references
• appendixes (if necessary)
• tables and/or figures (if necessary)

Make sure to check the guidelines for your assignment or any guidelines that have been given to you by an editor.

Other Papers

If your paper is not a literature review nor an experimental report, make sure that you follow the guidelines for the assignment or the editorial guidelines given to you by the journal, and include as many sections as you think are applicable to presenting your material. Annotated bibliography writers might also want to visit APA Format for Annotated Bibliographies.

More Resources

For more about formatting an APA style paper, consult the publication manual, visit APA Style Essentials, or view a Sample APA Report or a APA Simulated Journal Article. Annotated bibliography writers might want to visit APA Format for Annotated Bibliographies. (Additional formatting resources, including Microsoft Word templates, are available in our additional resources section.)