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APA Sample Paper
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Note: This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style can be found here .
Media Files: APA Sample Student Paper , APA Sample Professional Paper
This resource is enhanced by Acrobat PDF files. Download the free Acrobat Reader
Note: The APA Publication Manual, 7 th Edition specifies different formatting conventions for student and professional papers (i.e., papers written for credit in a course and papers intended for scholarly publication). These differences mostly extend to the title page and running head. Crucially, citation practices do not differ between the two styles of paper.
However, for your convenience, we have provided two versions of our APA 7 sample paper below: one in student style and one in professional style.
Note: For accessibility purposes, we have used "Track Changes" to make comments along the margins of these samples. Those authored by [AF] denote explanations of formatting and [AWC] denote directions for writing and citing in APA 7.
APA 7 Student Paper:
Apa 7 professional paper:.
APA Style (7th ed.): Citation Guide
- Getting Started with APA
Formatting a Paper in APA
Apa paper visual guide.
- Citing Sources in APA
- APA Citation Examples
- Other APA Resources
- Citation Guides Homepage
Sample Student Paper
- Sample APA Paper
Ask A Librarian
- Paper Formatting
- Headings within the Paper
- References Page
APA Basic Formatting Rules for Student Papers
The following guidelines are the basic formatting rules outlined in the APA Publication Manual 7th edition. If your instructor sets different requirements, always use your instructor's guidelines first.
- clearly legible, regular-sized font
- recommendations: 12pt Times New Roman, 11pt Arial, 11pt Calibri, 10pt Lucida Sans Unicode, 11pt Georgia
- double spaced throughout all parts of the paper including title, headings, and footnotes
- 1-inch margins on all sides
- Indent the first line of each paragraph by 1/2-inch (tab)
- left-justified for the body of the paper
Running Head & Page Numbers:
- not required to include shortened version of the title for student papers- unless requested by your instructor
- include the page number in the top right corner of all pages
APA Title Page for Student Papers
Page number:.
- include the page number in the top right margin. (It will be 1 for the Title Page. Continue numbering throughout the paper and References page.)
Heading about a 1/3 of the way down the page:
- Paper Title : bold, centered
- Author : your name
- Institutional Affiliation : Lone Star College- Online
- Course : your course number and the name of the course (ex. PSYC 2301: General Psychology)
- Instructor : your instructor's name (ex- Prof. Jane Smith)
- Due Date: Month day, year format (ex- January 1, 2024)
APA Headings within the Body of the Paper
Paper title:.
- include on the first line of the first page of the body of your paper
- bold and centered
Headings and Sub-headings (use when needed)
- APA uses a hierarchy of five levels for headings within the paper
- short paper may not need headings at all
References Page Formatting
The following guidelines are the basic formatting rules outlined in the APA Publication Manual 7th edition. If your instructor sets different requirements, always use your instructor's guidelines first.
- needs to start on a new page following the end of your paper
- include the title References centered on the first line of the page
- everything after the title is left-justified
- listed in alphabetical order by the first part of the citation (usually the author)
- double spaced throughout all parts
- Each citation should have a hanging indent- or it should start at the left margin and then have all lines after it indented by 1/2-inch
Click on the information circles for tips on how to use Microsoft Word to format your paper in APA Style.
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- Last Updated: Nov 5, 2024 4:50 PM
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COMMENTS
APA Citation Basics. When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). One complete reference for each source should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.
Resources on using in-text citations in APA style. The Basics General guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay Author/Authors ... Basic guidelines for formatting the reference list at the end of a standard APA research paper Author/Authors Rules for handling works by a single author or multiple authors that apply to all APA ...
They correspond to a full reference entry at the end of your paper. APA in-text citations consist of the author's last name and publication year. When citing a specific part of a source, also include a page number or range, for example (Parker, 2020, p. 67) or (Johnson, 2017, pp. 39-41). Generate accurate APA citations with Scribbr
Media Files: APA Sample Student Paper , APA Sample Professional Paper This resource is enhanced by Acrobat PDF files. Download the free Acrobat Reader. Note: The APA Publication Manual, 7 th Edition specifies different formatting conventions for student and professional papers (i.e., papers written for credit in a course and papers intended for scholarly publication).
This article focuses on paper formatting. Generate accurate APA citations with Scribbr. Throughout your paper, you need to apply the following APA format guidelines: Set page margins to 1 inch on all sides. Double-space all text, including headings. Indent the first line of every paragraph 0.5 inches.
APA Style is widely used by students, researchers, and professionals in the social and behavioral sciences. Scribbr's APA Citation Generator automatically generates accurate references and in-text citations for free.. This citation guide outlines the most important citation guidelines from the 7th edition APA Publication Manual (2020). Scribbr also offers free guides for the older APA 6th ...
For most papers, cite one or two of the most representative sources for each key point. Literature review papers, however, typically include a more exhaustive list of references. Provide appropriate credit to the source (e.g., by using an in-text citation) whenever you do the following: paraphrase (i.e., state in your own words) the ideas of others
APA Style provides guidelines to help writers determine the appropriate level of citation and how to avoid plagiarism and self-plagiarism. We also provide specific guidance for in-text citation, including formats for interviews, classroom and intranet sources, and personal communications; in-text citations in general; and paraphrases and direct quotations.
APA Style uses the author-date citation system, in which a brief in-text citation directs readers to a full reference list entry.The in-text citation appears within the body of the paper (or in a table, figure, footnote, or appendix) and briefly identifies the cited work by its author and date of publication.
APA Basic Formatting Rules for Student Papers. The following guidelines are the basic formatting rules outlined in the APA Publication Manual 7th edition. If your instructor sets different requirements, always use your instructor's guidelines first. Font: clearly legible, regular-sized font;