Running head: ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 1
Title of Paper: Subtitle of Paper, 12 words Maximum in Total
Yourname Yoursurname
Universidad de La Sabana
Author Note
Yourname Yoursurname, Departamento de Lenguas y Culturas Extranjeras, Universidad
de La Sabana.
Yourname Yoursurname is now at the Faculty of English, University of Cambridge.
This research was supported in part by a grant from Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems.
Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to Your Name, Departmento
de Lenguas y Culturas Extranjeras, Campus Universitario del Puente del Común, Km. 7,
Autopista Norte de Bogotá, Chía, Cundinamarca, Colombia. Email: [email protected].
ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 2
Abstract
The first line of the abstract is not indented. The APA style manual specifies that an abstract
should contain between 150 and 250 words; however, requirements can vary from journal to
journal (and, in the case of student papers for course work, from course to course). Structure the
abstract in the same order as your paper. Thus, for an IMRAD-type paper reporting empirical
research, begin with a brief summary of the introductory section, and then continue on with
summaries of the Method, Results, and Discussion sections. Ensure you know how papers
published in your target journal are structured (if they different from APA style), and look at
abstracts (if any) that can serve you as models. In an essay assignment for a course, do likewise;
for example, summarize the introductory section (including the main thesis) in a few sentences,
then summarize the discussion of the from the body of essay, and finished with a few sentences
that summarize the wider significance of the conclusion.
Keywords: writing, template, sixth, edition, APA format
ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 3
Full Title of Paper Repeated Here Exactly As It Appears on the Title Page
This is the beginning of the introduction section, but do not give it a first-level
“Introduction” heading. This section is headed only by the full title of the paper even though
other subsequent sections begin with headings like “”, “”, and “Error: Reference source not
found”.
Heading Level 2
First-level sections can have subsections with headings, though there is no point in going
overboard with this in a journal-length (i.e. perhaps 4000-8000 word) paper.
Heading level 3. Third-level headings are supposed to be indented, in bold, in “sentence
case”, and terminate with a period after which the body text of the section begins immediately
(and not on the next line), as shown here. To achieve this, you type your heading text as if it
were the first sentence, then select it (including the period, but not the following space), and
finally select “Heading 3” from the styles menu. Third-level headings created in this way do not
appear in Word’s Navigation pane or as PDF bookmarks, and are not available as cross-
references, but they do appear in Word’s auto-generated tables of contents (though one is
unlikely to need a TOC in a journal article or course essay). Alternatively, it may be simpler to
just avoid third-level headings.
Heading level 4. Fourth-level headings are supposed to be indented, in bold-italic, in
“sentence case”, and terminate with a period after which the body text of the section begins
immediately. In this way, they are similar to third-level headings, and the same technique can be
used with them: you type your heading text as if it were the first sentence, then select it
(including the period, but not the following space), and finally select “Heading 4” from the styles
menu. As with third-level headings, fourth-level headings created in this way do not appear in
ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 4
Word’s Navigation pane or as PDF bookmarks, and are not available as cross-references, but
they do appear in Word’s auto-generated tables of contents (though one is unlikely to need a
TOC in a journal article or course essay). However, there are many good reasons to avoid fourth-
level headings.
Heading level 5. Fifth-level headings are supposed to be indented, in italic, in “sentence
case”, and terminate with a period after which the body text of the section begins immediately.
Again, in this way, these are similar to third-level headings, and the same technique can be used
with them: you type your heading text as if it were the first sentence, then select it (including the
period, but not the following space), and finally select “Heading 5” from the styles menu. As
with third-level headings, fifth-level headings created in this way do not appear in Word’s
Navigation pane or as PDF bookmarks, and are not available as cross-references, but they do
appear in Word’s auto-generated tables of contents (though one is unlikely to need a TOC in a
journal article or course essay). Seriously, though: fifth-level headings in a journal article or
course essay?
ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 5
Method
After the introduction section, subsequent first-level sections are headed by first-level
headings as shown. Obviously, if one is not writing an IMRAD-style empirical research paper,
first-level headings other than “”, “”, and “
Error: Reference source not found” may be appropriate.
According to the APA style guide, quotations that are 40 words or more should be
formatted as block quotations, which are formatted differently than shorter in-text quotations:
Block quotations start on their own line and are indented 0.5 inches in their entirety.
Block quotations are not surrounded by any quotation marks. The punctuation at the end
of the block quotation goes before the citation. The ending citation is included on the last
line of the block quotation. (p. 123)
The text after the block quotation begins on its own line, with no indentation (unless you are
really beginning a new paragraph in the sense of beginning discussion of a new idea).
Subsequent paragraphs start with a normal indentation.
ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 6
Results
Data in a table that would require only two or fewer columns and rows should be
presented in the text. More complex data is better presented in tabular format. Although APA-
style tables can be a bit tricky, Table 1 provides an example that could be used as a template. Use
Microsoft Word’s “Insert Caption” function to create auto-numbered table/figure headings. This
also allows the use of Microsoft Word’s “Cross-reference” feature to insert auto-numbered
references to tables/figures in the main text (as exemplified in this section).
Table 1
Title of the Table in “Sentence Case”
Header
Subhead Column Head 1 Column Head 2 Column Head 3
Row 1 123 456 789
Row 2 456 789 123
Row 3 789 123 456
Row 4 123 456 789
Note. If necessary, a table can have a note. The most common kind of note, a general note,
explains, qualifies, or provides information about the table as a whole; e.g. it could explain
abbreviations, symbols, etc. See the APA manual for information about specific and
probability notes, as well as specific types of tables, such as ANOVA and regression tables.
Note that, for clarity, a special paragraph style (“Normal (space above)”, which adds 18
points of white space above the text), rather than extra paragraph breaks, is used to help separate
ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 7
the text in this paragraph from the preceding element (though the APA manual does not seem to
rule on this matter).
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Discussion
Ensure that a caption with the figure number and title appear below the figure itself, as
shown in Figure 1. Use Microsoft Word’s “Insert Caption” function to create auto-numbered
table/figure headings. This also allows the use of Microsoft Word’s “Cross-reference” feature to
insert auto-numbered references to tables/figures in the main text (as exemplified in this section).
Figure 1. Title of the Figure Appears in "Sentence Case".
Note that, for clarity, a special paragraph style (“Normal (space above)”, which adds 18
points of white space above the text), rather than extra paragraph breaks, is used to help separate
the text in this paragraph from the preceding element (though the APA manual does not seem to
rule on this matter). Technically, the figure label of the form “Figure X” should appear in italics,
and the rest of the caption in roman. This is difficult to achieve in Microsoft Word except by
hand (as has been done here). It may not be worth bothering about this until a final version,
ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 9
otherwise ready for submission, has been prepared (and, possibly, not even then, depending on
how picky the editors are).
Some journals require tables and figures to be included in separate files or at the end of
the paper—especially if they are traditional journals that may be laying out articles for printed
publication (which many higher-ranking indexed journals are). Strict APA style places all Tables
after the References (and after any Endnotes) and all Figures after the Tables, in headed sections
of their own, though this may not be necessary for your target journal. Check the requirements of
your target journal.
There must be a page break before the References section.
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References
Author1, A. A., Author2, B. B., & Author3, C. C. (YYYY). Title of article: Capital letter also for
subtitle. Title of Periodical, V(I), ##-##.
Author, A. A., & Author2, B. B. (YYYY). Title of article: Capital letter also for subtitle. Title of
Journal, V(I), ##-##. doi:0000000/000000000000
Author, A. A., & Author2, B. B. (YYYY). Title of article: Capital letter also for subtitle. Title of
Online Periodical, V(I), ##-##. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
Author, A. A. (YYYY). Title of book: Capital letter also for subtitle. City,
USStateAbbreviation/Country: Publisher.
Author, A. A. (YYYY). Title of book in edition other than the first: Capital letter also for
subtitle (#th ed.). City, USStateAbbreviation/Country: Publisher.
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (YYYY). Title of chapter/section: Capital letter also for subtitle.
In A. A. Editor1 & B. B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book: Capital letter also for subtitle (pp.
##-##). City, USStateAbbreviation/Country: Publisher.
Editor1, A. A., & Editor2, B. B. (Eds.). (YYYY). Title of edited book: Capital letter also for
subtitle. City, USStateAbbreviation/Country: Publisher.
Corporate Author Has No Commas. Title of report: Capital letter also for subtitle (Report Series
Name ##). City, USStateAbbreviation/Country: Publisher.
Author, A. A. (YYYY). Title of online report: Capital letter also for subtitle. Retrieved from the
Name of the Issuing Organization website: http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
Author, A. A. (YYYY). Title of dissertation or thesis: Capital letter also for subtitle
(Unpublished doctoral thesis). Name of University, City, USStateAbbreviation/Country.
Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 11
Appendix
Appendices are placed after the References section, and each appendix must start on a
new page. Appendices are optional but sometimes useful. If a paper has only one appendix, it
should be labeled simply “Appendix”, as shown. For papers with multiple appendices, they are
labelled Appendix A, Appendix B, Appendix C, etc. If one table makes up an entire appendix,
the Appendix title replaces both the table number and title.
In the event that you use footnotes, place the footnote reference number after punctuation
(preferably, after the period at the end of the sentence as shown here).1 However, do not place
footnote reference numbers after a dash—like these em-dashes—but wait for a comma, colon,
semi-colon, or period.2
1 The APA manual strongly discourages the use of footnotes/endnotes, but does allow
them for the provision of additional content that supplements or amplifies substantive
information in the text or to acknowledge copyright permission status. Footnotes appear at the
bottom of the page in 12-point double-spaced type.
2 Alternatively, endnotes can be placed in a separate section after the References but
before any table/figure sections and/or appendices. Seriously, footnotes are better though.