In this article, you’ll find the ultimate guide on how to write an essay in APA format.

Look:

Citation styles are many, each with its own rules to follow. Most students get confused when the time comes to format their papers according to the prescribed guidelines. With tons of details to consider, how can you remember everything and craft a stellar essay in APA?

Keep reading to grasp the APA 7th edition rules inside and out.

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What Is APA Format?

Before we learn how to write an APA essay, let’s reveal some basic information about this formatting style.

APA is the official publication style of the American Psychological Association. Often used for academic journals, it prescribes formatting specifics for every element of your paper, including the style and language, document format, in-text citations, and references.

Disciplines that use APA:

• Business
• Health Sciences
• Psychology
• Behavioral and Social Sciences 
• Education

Students often get this style assigned for essays because the APA guidelines pay much attention to citation, an essential element of academic writing.

The APA style manual (the latest one being the 7th edition from 2020) has specific rules for citing different sources in-text or in the reference list of your essay. Also, it prescribes formatting details for each section of your document: the headings, running head, paragraphs, quotes, tables and figures, etc.

APA Format Essay Basics

An APA format essay typically includes the following elements:

1. Title page
2. Abstract
3. Table of contents (optional)
4. Body (the main text with arguments, evidence, and analysis)
5. Reference list
6. Tables and figures (optional, depending on the discipline and the topic)

Below, you’ll find information on how to write an essay in APA format, element by element.

Title Page

APA essays start with a title page (or a cover page) that includes the following:

• A page number in the upper right-hand corner (It will be page 1)
• Your essay’s title (centered and bold). For example, it can be a research title about financial problem
• Author information: your name, faculty, university, course, and date (centered and double-spaced)

Sometimes, your educator may require additional information like an instructor’s name or an author’s note. The latter applies more to title pages for professional papers in the APA 7 style. Student APA essays typically include the title, the author’s name, and their institutional affiliation.

Abstract

Abstracts are more common for scholarly journal articles than for standard college papers. And yet, we’ve decided to include it here, as it’s required content according to the APA essay writing guide.

What is an abstract?

It’s a summary of the key points in your research. Abstracts are around 150-250 words specifying your research topic, questions, methods, participants, data analysis, results, and conclusions. This information lets readers understand if your paper is relevant to their expectations and decide whether they want to continue reading it.

According to the APA rules, your abstract page should include:

• A running head (more on that below)
• The page number
• The word “Abstract” (centered and bolded, without quotation marks)
• The abstract’s text itself (a single paragraph, double-spaced)

The label Keywords (italicized and indented), followed by the keywords specifying the content of your essay

Table of Contents

While it’s not required in student papers, your instructor may want you to include a table of contents in your essay.

The APA essay format doesn’t provide guidelines for it, so it’s okay to follow the general rules here:

• Place it on a separate page after the abstract
• Write the label “Contents” (centered and bolded) at the top
• List the headings and subheadings of your essay with the corresponding page numbers

Speaking of headings in APA:

They have five levels, with heading Level 1 used for the main sections and headings Level 2 to 5 for subheadings. Each heading level has a different format in your essay’s text:

Header Level	Formatting Rules to Follow
Heading 1	Title Case, Centered, and Bold(Text begins on a new line; indent it)
Subheading 2	Title Case, Left-aligned, and Bold(Text begins on a new line; indent it)
Subheading 3	Title Case, Left-aligned, Bold, and Italic(Text begins on a new line; indent it)
Subheading 4	Title Case, Bold, and Period. (Indent it; begin text on the same line.)
Subheading 5	Title Case, Bold, Italic, and Period. (Indent it; begin text on the same line.)

Important! The above rules on headings and subheadings are about formatting them in an essay text, not a table of contents! When writing a table of contents, use a standard font with no bold, italic, or other formatting specifics.

Text

The APA paragraph format rules are easy to follow:

• Use a readable font with no creative effects throughout the text
• Left-align the text and double-space the lines
• Indent the paragraph’s first line 0.5 inch.
• Follow the heading guidelines to label sections
• Use headers with running heads and page numbers

What is a running head?

A running head (a page header) is a shortened version of your essay’s title at the top left corner of every page. It’s brief (up to 50 characters) and contains the corresponding page number. The purpose of running heads is to help readers navigate through the paper’s content.

The APA style prescribes placing a running head in the header section of each page, except for the title page. Write it in capital letters and align it to the left margin.

Reference Page

A reference page is a list of all the sources that you cited in your essay. Place it after the main body and format it as follows:

• Place it on a separate page with the label “References” (centered and bold) at the top
• Write entries after the label in alphabetical order
• Left-align the first line of each reference, with all subsequent lines indented 0.5 inches
• Double-space it

Tables and Figures

An APA style essay shares a similar format for tables and figures:

• Both go after the reference page
• Use bold for the word “Table” or “Figure” with the number (Table 1, Figure 2, etc.); align left
• Place that table or figure’s title (italics and title case) on a separate line

Keep the design of tables and figures as simple as possible. Avoid vertical lines in tables, ensure that the row and column labels are concise, and use color only when necessary.

Formatting an APA Style Essay Text

Now, it’s time to reveal more detailed guidelines on how to write an essay in APA format. Below are the rules for using numbers, punctuation, and in-text citations in your paper. Style guidelines are also here for your text to look professional, organized, and compelling.

How to Write Numbers in Text

The main rule to remember:

According to the APA requirement, you should spell out numerals under 10; numbers 10 or higher are written as numerals. There are, however, several exceptions:

• Use numerals in tables and abstracts
• Write numerals when speaking about measurements (3 cm, 5 km, etc.)
• Percentages, math functions, statistics, quartiles, and ratios are written as numerals (4%, 8:1, divided by 6, and so on)
• Use numerals when representing ages, dates, times, scores, and exact sums of money ($3, 5:10 am, an 8-point scale)
• Write numerals when indicating places in books, tables, figures, etc. (picture 3, photo 2, illustration 6)

Punctuation Rules for APA Essays

Each punctuation mark has a specific use when formatting your essay in APA:

Mark:	Use for:
Comma	Detaching clauses and listed items
Colon	Lists or explanations
Semicolon	Complex sentences with commas
Period	Abbreviations and ends of sentences
Quotation marks	Direct quotes and sarcasm
Parentheses	Enclosing complementary information
Hyphens/dashes	Linking words or breaks in thought

In-text Citations

You can only write an APA essay with in-text citations. This essential component allows you to credit the author whose work you used in your paper, thus preventing copyright infringements and accusations of plagiarism.

How to cite sources within your essay in APA:

Use the author-date format, i.e., mention the author’s last name and the publishing year in parentheses right after the quote or paraphrased text. Like this:

• Parenthetical: It’s your example of an in-text citation (Smith, 2021).
• Narrative: Smith (2021) offered this example of an in-text citation.

When citing a source with several authors, list them in the citation; for works with more than three authors, write “et al.” after the first author’s name. Like this:

• (Smith et al., 2021)

When citing a direct quote that’s below 40 words, enclose it in quotation marks and mention the page number where the quote comes from. Place the citation before the period at the end of the sentence. Like this:

• Parenthetical: “This example demonstrates quote citation in APA” (Smith, 2021, p. 75).
• Narrative: According to Smith (2021), “this example demonstrates quote citation in APA” (p. 75).

Use a block quote format if your quotation is 40 words or more. Here is how to format it: Place it in a new line, indent it 0.5 inches, double space it, and do not use quotation marks.

Note: For block quotes, the period comes before the citation.

General Formatting Guidelines

So, let’s set up your document in APA essay format:

Margins	1 inch on all sides (the default setting)
Font	Common, readable; recommended:  Times New Roman (12pt.) Calibri (11pt.) Arial (11pt.)Lucida Sans (10pt.)
Spacing	Double (including the title and reference pages)
Alignment	Left
Indent	0.5 inches on a paragraph’s first line
Page numbers	The upper right-hand corner of every page
Running heads	Every page (except for the title), upper left-hand corner, capital letters

Also, consider these style guidelines when writing:

• Add one space after a period
• Use clear, concise language with no contractions or colloquialisms
• Avoid using “he” or “she” as a generic singular pronoun; use “they” or rephrase the sentence
• Use past tense verbs to refer to events that happened at a specific point in the past 
• Refrain from using biased language concerning race, gender, socio-economic status, or disability

APA Essay Writing Guide: The Process

Below, you’ll find actionable tips on how to write an essay in APA format step by step.

1. Choosing a Topic and a Thesis Statement

Start by choosing from among the various informative essay topics to write about. Consider those specific enough to let you research them and those aligned with an APA guideline: Make it relevant to disciplines like Social Studies, Psychology, or Education.

Research the topic by looking at basic books and articles on it. Decide what question you will answer in your essay and the approach you will take to it. Once you are more familiar with the topic and have a thesis statement for your paper, create a preliminary list of sources you’ll use: books, online resources, scholarly articles, studies, you name it. 

(Remember that all the sources used in your APA essay will go to the reference section.)

2. Organizing Your APA Essay: The Outline

Once you have a thesis statement, it’s time to plan out your arguments and organize your future paper; in other words: Write an outline for your APA essay.

It’s like a plan or a table of contents for your document. When outlining, consider the standard introduction-body-conclusion structure:

• Present a thesis statement in the introduction
• Place arguments and evidence in the body (breaking up long sections with clear, descriptive headings and subheadings to help readers navigate your essay.)
• Summarize your thesis and points in the conclusion

The outline will help you focus and stay on track as you write.

3. Writing

Now, let’s translate your essay outline from notes to sentences and paragraphs. Remember that it’s a rough draft, so it doesn’t have to be perfect; you’ll revise and polish it later.

As you learn how to write an APA paper, ensure that you keep track of the sources you cite in the essay:

• Use reliable sources
• Incorporate statistics and data
• Use direct quotes and paraphrase

Important: Your APA essay begins with an introduction on the third page of your document; as you already know, the first is a title page and the second is an abstract. Place the title of your essay at the top of that third page; use the title case and make it centered and bold.

Tip: Write the abstract section after your essay’s body is ready. Once you have all the information, it will be easier to summarize the core points for the abstract.

4. Formatting a Reference Page

APA essays require a reference page with all the cited sources listed alphabetically by the author’s last name. For sources that don’t have an author, consider alphabetizing them by the first word in the title (ignoring articles like “a,” “an,” and “the”).

Here’s how to format entries in your reference list:

Source	How to format in a reference list:
Book	Author. (Year of publication). The title of the work. Publisher. Ex.: Snow, J. (2004). I know nothing. Wiley.
Webpage	Author. (Year, Day). The title of the work. The title of the website. URL Ex.: Stark, N. (2003, May 9). How to die in the first season. Wikipedia. https://wikipedia.com/nedstark/time-to-die-in-movies
Journal article	Authors. (Year of publication). The title of the work. Journal name, page(s). URL Ex.: Stark N., & Snow J. (2007). The role of a father in a son’s future career. Weird Families, 17-25. https://doi.org/13/65674/0005434000011
Newspaper article	If the authors are unknown: The title of the work. (Year, Day). Newspaper name. URL Ex.: Why do Lannisters always pay their debts? (2007, July 4). The New York Times. https://nytimes.com/2007/07/04/politics/lannisters-pay-debts
Video	Contributor (Author/Publication). (Year, Day). The title of the work. [Genre]. Source. URL Ex.: The New York Times. (2007, July 4). The dragons are born [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/4u7B3AqOhMammaMia
Dictionary entry	Contributor. (Year of publication). Word. Editor, The title of the website. URL Ex.: Targaryen, D. (2020). Stormborn. E.M. Nielsen (Ed.), Merriam-Webster. https://merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stormborn

Remember to use a hanging indent when formatting your reference page: The first line of each entry is left-aligned, and subsequent lines go with a 0.5-inch indent. Use double space to separate each citation.

5. Proofreading

After you’ve prepared the draft:

1. Review it carefully and revise it for stellar formatting and flow
2. Ensure that your writing is comprehensive and mentions all the sources
3. Check your essay draft for typos, grammar errors, and stylistic mistakes

When revising, pay attention to the common APA mistakes many students make:

APA Format Example

It’s better to see once than to hear twice, right? You’ll never remember how to write an essay in APA format with no samples in your pocket. So, here it goes!

An APA format example for you to check:

1. APA 7 Student Sample Paper (Purdue OWL)
2. Writing in APA Style 7th Edition Example Paper (Antioch University)

Frequently Asked Questions on the Topic

How to cite in APA format?

Pay precise attention to citing sources: Read the APA style manual carefully and follow the guidelines. Remember to include in-text citations with proper references and organize all the elements according to the rules we’ve described in this article. (Cheat code: Try APA Citation Generators to save time, but re-check the results for accuracy.)

How is APA different from MLA?

MLA is a citation style for academic texts in the Liberal Arts and Humanities fields. Unlike APA, it doesn’t require a running head on every page, titles its reference page as “Works Cited” rather than “References”, and doesn’t mention a publication year in in-text citations.

How to format an essay in APA?

Follow the step-by-step recommendations from this article, read and learn the APA style guidelines, and refer to the APA manual while writing to ensure that you stick to all the formatting rules. The core steps to remember:

• Complete the title page
• Use descriptive headings and running heads
• Use in-text citations throughout your essay
• Include a reference list
• Proofread and seek feedback from tutors or professional editors to help identify the areas for improvement

Takeaways

So, here it goes, your guide on how to write an essay in APA format. In short:

1. Address the 7th edition of the APA style manual
2. Pay precise attention to the rules for citing and referencing sources in your essay
3. Remember formatting details like fonts, margins, indents, spacing, headings, and subheadings

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