The format used for the APA 7th edition is an author/date system. As a result, in-text references for sources from books, articles, journals and web documents must consist of the author(s) surname and the year of publication. Round brackets are used for this type of referencing.

What is the format for the APA 7th edition?

Order of Sections – This section of the paper must have the following:
- Title page – This must have the title of the paper, the author’s full name, the name of the university and department, the class, instructor’s full name and the date of the paper.
- The body of this section must have an introduction, literature review or background, a discussion of the main points and the conclusion.
- References must be clearly stated.
- Appendices must be stated and include any tables and figures used in the paper.
Margins and Page Numbers
- The margins used must be 1 inch from the two sides, top and bottom of the page.
- All paragraphs must be left aligned with the right edge ragged, it should not be “right justified”.
- The first line of each paragraph must be indented ½ inch from the left margin
- Page numbers must be ½ inch from the top of each page and flush with the right margin, including the title page.
Text Format
- Use one of the below highly readable fonts as stated.
  - 12-point Times New Roman
  - 11-point Calibri
  - 11-point Arial
  - 10-point Lucinda Sans Unicode
  - 11-point Georgia
- All text must be left aligned and double spaced.
- Ensure active voice is used.
- Limit the amount of technical jargon used.
- Do not include periods after web addresses or DOI in the Reference List
Tables and Figures
- Table and figures must be labelled numerically. For example, Table 1, Table 2, etc.
- Each table column must have a heading and separate lines should only be used when absolutely necessary.
- The tables and figures must be designed so that it can be easily interpreted on its own, i.e., a reference is not needed to understand the surrounding text.
- Notes, if needed, must be placed below the tables and figures.
Title Page
- Commence with the title of the paper, your full name, the name of the class and the name of the university/ college.
- Ensure that the title of the paper is 12 words or less. Be sure to summarize the paper’s main idea.
- Do not use abbreviations and periods.
- Do not use italics or underline any of the words.
- Do not use bold, all capital letters or quotation marks.
- Center the words of the page horizontally in the top half of the page.
Body
- Indent the text in the first line of the paragraph by ½ inch from the left.
- Use double-spacing for the lines.
- In the event that no Abstract is used, include at the top of the first page the title of the paper in bold font, centered and in Sentence Case Capitalization.
- Make sure to include the background or literature review, introduction, discussion section and conclusion.
- State the names of long organizations with the abbreviation in parenthesis. Following this, you can use the abbreviation.
- Use the name of numbers from one to nine and then use the number for numbers 10 and higher. For example, one, two, 10, 11, etc.
- Use numbers for units of measurement in tables to represent statistical and mathematical functions, times and dates.
Headings
- Level 1 must be centered, bold font and in Title Case.
- Level 2 must be left aligned, bold and in Title Case.
- Level 3 must be left aligned, in bold italics and Title Case.
- Level 4 must be indented ½ inch, bold, in Title Case and end with a period, followed by the required text.
- Level 5 must be ½ inch indented, in bold italics and Title Case with a period at the end. The required text follows next.
Quotations
- In-text quotations must have quotation marks and be short with no more than 40 words.
- Quotes that are longer than 40 words must be double-spaced, indented ½ inch from the margin on the left and should not have quotation marks.
- Quotes from an original source that have more than two paragraphs must have the first line indented ½ inch from the margin on the left.
- If you need to omit a section from a quote, use an ellipsis (…). However, if you need to omit a section at the end of a quote, you should use four periods (….)
References – This must always be done on a fresh page after the content of the paper and have full citations for all the resources used in the paper.
- The heading “Reference” must be center- aligned and bold in the uppermost section of your page.
- Use double spacing and hanging indents where the first line of the sentence is on the left margin and all subsequent lines must be ½ inch indented and left aligned.
- Authors’ names must be listed as last name followed by first name initial and then middle initial. For example, Wilson, A.S.
- The list must be sorted in an alphabetized format using the first author’s last name of each citation.
- Only the first word, the first word after the colon or em dash and proper nouns should be capitalized.
- The second word in a hyphenated compound should not be capitalized.
- Titles of papers should not have quotation marks.
Appendices with Table, Figures and Illustrations
- These should only be included if needed to aid the reader evaluate, understand or duplicate the study or argument.
- Each appendix should be on a new page and left aligned.
- Texts in the first paragraph should not be indented, however, the rest must be indented.
- If there is a single appendix, it should be labelled “Appendix”.
- If there are more than one, they should be labelled as “Appendix A”, “Appendix B”, etc. in order of how they are stated in the paper.
- Figures and tables must be labelled numerically and described within the text of the appendix. For example, If Appendix B has two tables, they should be labelled as Table 1 or Table B1 and Table B2.
- Each column of a table must have its own heading and separate lines must only be used when necessary.
- Notes, if required, must be placed below the figures and tables.
Annotated Bibliography
- Each entry must have a hanging indent.
- Use double spacing.
- In the following annotation, the entire paragraph should be indented ½ inch from the left of the margin and the first line must be ½ inch indented.
- Consult with your professor about which elements are to be evaluated and the annotation length.
Annotated Bibliography
- Each entry must have a hanging indent.
- Use double spacing.
- In the following annotation, the entire paragraph should be indented ½ inch from the left of the margin and the first line must be ½ inch indented.
- Consult with your professor about which elements are to be evaluated and the annotation length.

The below elements are not required for student papers and are optional to include if required by the professor or your field.

Abstract
- This should be done on its own, new page.
- The heading “Abstract” must be center-aligned and the first line of the text should not be indented.
- The main points and the purpose of the paper must be summarized in 150-250 words.
- Abbreviations and acronyms used in the paper must be defined.
Running Head
- The title of the paper must be shortened to 50 characters or less, including spaces and punctuation.
- Left align the running head in the top margin with the page number right aligned.
- Include the shortened title of the paper in all caps at the top of every page.

For additional information, here are some questions that are frequently asked about the APA 7th edition format.

1. How can you cite in APA 7th edition format?

APA 7th edition uses an author and date system that is enclosed in brackets. For example, (Wilson & Decker, 2018)

2. What is the best way to cite a journal in APA 7th edition format?

When citing in-text references from a journal, include the quote in quotation marks along with the author(s) name(s), the year and the page number in brackets.

For example, “Green tea is the most consumed tea in the world.” (Bishop, 2018, p.24) or Bishop (2018) states that “green tea is the most consumed tea in the world.” (p.24)

For the reference list, you should list it as the author(s) name(s), year, title of paper, journal title in italics, volume in italics, issue, pages and DOI.

An example is of this is, Bishop, C. (2018). Green tea consumption and its benefits. Journal of Good Health. 16(32), 12-16. https://doi.org/10.1234