First-Year English FAQs
WHAT IS CORRECT APA MANUSCRIPT FORM--PAGING,
MARGINS, ETC?
by Kathy McLain, M.A.
Unlike MLA, where the rules for preparing manuscripts are the same for manuscripts that will be submitted for publication and manuscripts that are submitted as student papers, in APA there are some rules that apply to papers that will be submitted for publication and other less formal rules for papers that will be submitted by students to their instructors as a final copy. APA allows instructors and departments in the social sciences to dictate specific format in these areas. The following are general guidelines. Where options are offered, you would be wise to check with your specific instructor on this or any other question regarding manuscript format. Also page references have been provided to pages in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, fifth edition, should you have additional questions regarding format.
Paper
Printing on a Computer
Margins
Line Spacing
Paragraph Indention
Long Quote Indention
Page Numbers
Titles
Headings and Subheadings
Capitalization
Use one side of 8 1/2 x 11 inch heavy white bond paper. ( p.284/5.01)
PRINTING ON A COMPUTER
Use a high quality printer.
Choose a standard easily readable 12 point typeface.
(p. 285/5.02)
Use a typeface that is similar to Times Roman or Courier.
Use italics for the following (pp. 100-101):
* titles of books, periodicals, and microfilm
publications
* genera, species, and varieties
* introduction of a new, technical, or
key term or label
* letter, word, or phrase cited as a
linguistic example
* words that could be misread
* letters used as statistical symbols
or algebraic variables
* some test scores and scales
* periodical volume numbers in reference
lists
* anchors of a scale
If you are using a typewriter instead of a word-processing program with an italics function, underline the text to be italicized.
Margins should be one inch top, bottom, right, and left of every page. (p. 286)
Type no more than twenty-seven lines of text on an 8 1/2 x 11 in. page with 1 inch margins. (p. 287)
Do not right justify the right margin. Leave the left margin flush left and leave the right margin uneven ("ragged") in manuscripts to be submitted for publication. (p. 287)
With the instructor's permission and in student papers that will not be submitted for publication, you may use right justification. (p. 325)
Double-space between all lines of the manuscript, after every line in the title, headings, footnotes, quotations, references, figure captions, and all parts of tables. You may apply triple- or quadruple-spacing immediately before and after a displayed equation. In documents intended for publication, never use single-spacing or one-and-a-half spacing. (p. 286)
With the instructor's permission, student papers may make the following changes in line spacing (p. 326):
* single spacing
can be used for tables, titles and headings, figure captions, references
(but double-spacing
is required between references), footnotes, and long quotations.
* triple- or quadruple-spacing can be used after chapter titles, before
major subheadings, before footnotes, and before and after tables.
When using a word processor, indent text paragraphs using the tab key. The default setting on most tab keys is acceptable. The indent should be approximately five to seven spaces on a typewriter. On most word processors when using a 12-point typeface, five to seven spaces translates to approximately one half an inch. (p. 289)
Type the abstract as a single block paragraph on a new page with no paragraph indention.
Quotations of 40 or more words are displayed in a double-spaced block of typewritten lines with no quotation marks. Indent the entire block quotation five to seven spaces (approximately one-half an inch on word processors) from the left margin (or use the tab default used for paragraphs indentions) without the usual opening paragraph. (p. 292)
For block quotation of more than one paragraph, indent the first line of the second and additional paragraphs an additional five to seven spaces from the new margin.
Page numbers in APA format consist of two parts: an abbreviation of the title using the first two or three words and the sequential Arabic page number. Begin numbering on the title page with Arabic numerals:
Example: Individual Differences 1
All pages of text starting with the title page through references and appendices are numbered using this format.
Page numbers in APA format are placed one half inch from the top of the page and one inch from the right margin.
Use the "header" command on your word processing software to type the page numbers outside the one inch margins.
The title page in APA format consists of three parts: the page header (see page numbers), the running head, and the paper information section.
1. The Page Header
The page header is the same header that appears on all other pages of text. It
is really the page number and consists of two parts: an abbreviation
of the title using the first two or three words and the sequential Arabic
page number. Begin numbering on the title page with Arabic numerals:
Example: Individual Differences 1
Page numbers in APA format are placed one half of
an inch from the top of the page and one inch from the right
margin.
Use the "header" command on your word processing
software to type the page numbers outside the one inch margins.
2. The Running Head
The running head is an abbreviated title that is placed at the top of each
page if the article is published. This running head is typed
flush left margin at the top of the title page below the manuscript
header at approximately one inch from the top of the page. The
header is typed all in uppercase letters. Do not
exceed 50 characters, including punctuation and spaces. If your
paper is not being published, your instructor may allow you to leave
off the running head on the title page.
Your paper's title might be "Individual Differences in Bimodal Processing and Text Recall." To create the running head, abbreviate the title and change the format to all upper case letters. Your running head would be placed one inch from the top of the paper and would read "Running head: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN BIMODAL PROCESSING."
3. The Paper Information Section
The paper information section is centered in the middle of the title page. This
information section consists of the title, the byline, and institutional
affiliation.
The title begins the information section. Center the title in the middle of the title page. If the title is longer than one line, there should be a double-space between lines. The initial letters of all words in the title should be capitalized except prepositions, conjunctions, and articles of fewer than four words.
Example: Individual Differences in Bimodal Processing and Text Recall
Note that the title summarizes the main point of the paper, not just the topic. A title should be fully explanatory when standing alone. Because titles may be used by abstracting and information services, a title that clearly reflects the content and finding of the paper is very important.
After the title line, double-space. Now center the byline information. The byline is composed of the author's first and last name with initial letter of both first and last name capitalized.
The institutional affiliation is followed one double-space after the byline. Center the institutional affiliation line.
Most papers will require fewer than the five levels of headings illustrated here. Follow these rules for heading in APA:
If you need one level of headings: use Level-1 headings.
If you need two levels of headings: Use Level-1 and Level-3. (These are the headings illustrated under the section that explains how to write an APA paper.)
If you need three levels of headings: Use Level-1, Level-3, and Level-4.
If you need four levels of headings: Use Level-1, Level-2, Level-3, and Level-4.
If you need five levels of headings: introduce
a Level-5 heading above the other four headings for sections such
as chapters.
Example of different heading levels:
Level 5:
CENTERED ALL CAPITALIZED HEADING
Level 1:
Centered Heading with Initial Letters of Words Capitalized
except Prepositions and Conjunctions
of Shorter than Four Words
Level 2:
Centered,
Italicized, Initial Letters of Words
except Prepositions and Conjunctions of Shorter
than Four Words Capitalized
Level 3:
Flush Left, Italicized, Initial Letters of Words except Prepositions and Conjunctions of Shorter than Four Words Capitalized
Level 4
Indented, italicized, lowercase, on the same
line as the text with a period. |
In APA format capitalize all words except prepositions, conjunctions and articles that are less than four words. If the preposition or conjunction is longer than four words, it should be capitalized. In titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound (Pig-Headed). For rules of capitalization in heading and subheadings, see Headings and Subheadings.
Capitalize nouns followed by numerals or letters.
Capitalize titles of exact names of tests.
Capitalize names of factors,
variables and effects.
APA Example: The Symbols and Myths Between the Pages
Prepositions are a group of words that show position or location--on, to, over, under, through, between.
Conjunctions are a group of words that link words, phrases, and sentences together--and, but, or, for, yet, nor, so.
Articles precede nouns. There are only two articles in English--"the" and "a/an."
If you are not sure whether a word should be capitalized in a title, look the word up in a dictionary. The dictionary definition should have a small italicized letter like v. or prep. that indicates which part of speech a word is. Once you know which part of speech or word type a word falls into, you will know whether to capitalize it or not.
Capitalize nouns followed by numerals or letters.
Example: On Day 3 of Experiment 2, Table 1 and Figure 2B
Do not capitalize common nouns that stand for parts of books or tables.
Example: chapter 4, page 12
Do not capitalize nouns that come before a variable.
Example: component y
Capitalize titles of exact names of tests.
Example: Connors Personality Test
Do not capitalize abbreviated or shortened titles of tests.
Example: a personality test
Capitalize names of factors, variables and effects.
Example: Bedtime Rituals (Factor 1), Factors 4 and 5