Running head: ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS
Title of Paper: Subtitle of Paper, 12 words Maximum in Total Commented [cea1]: Unlike in the References section entries,
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: jorgemur7@gmail.edu.co.
1
the title on the title page is in “title case”.
Commented [cea2]: Note that many journals request that papers
be submitted without any title page or with the title page submitted
as a separate document from the rest of the paper. This is to help
preserve authorial anonymity when distributing the paper to peer
reviewers. You may need to delete or detach your title page before
submission. Check the requirements of your target journal.
Commented [cea3]: An author note is optional for student
course papers, though some instructors may require instructor and
course information to be placed in an author note.
Commented [cea4]: The first paragraph of the author note
provides complete departmental and institutional affiliation
information.
Commented [cea5]: A second paragraph may identify any
changes in affiliation (since initially submitting the paper, e.g.
during the revision process); this is often unnecessary.
Commented [cea6]: The next paragraph provides information
about acknowledgments, funding sources, special circumstances, etc.
Commented [cea7]: The next paragraph provides contact
information (mailing address and e-mail) for the corresponding
author.
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 Commented [cea8]: Unlike in the References section entries,
the title on the first page is in “title case”.

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 “
ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 4

Method”, “
ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 5

Results”, and “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).

ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 6

Discussion”.

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

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.
ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 7

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 8

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 “
ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 9

Method”, “
ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 10

Results”, and “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).

ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 11

Discussion” 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 12

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 13

the text in this paragraph from the preceding element (though the APA manual does not seem to

rule on this matter).

ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 14

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 15

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.

ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 16
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/
Commented [cea9]: Article titles (like book titles) are presented
in “sentence case” and followed by a period/full stop.
Commented [cea10]: Periodical titles are italicized. Capitalize
the first word of the periodical title, the last word of the title, and all
nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, subordinating
conjunctions, and a few conjunctions. Prepositions are only
capitalized if they are used adjectivally or adverbially. Periodical
titles are followed by a comma (before the volume and issue
numbers).
Commented [cea11]: Volume number is italicized (and
followed, without an intervening space, by the issue number in
parentheses).
Commented [cea12]: Issue number is not italicized, and is in
parentheses.
Commented [cea13]: Provide the page range of an article in a
periodical without prefixing “pp.” or similar.
Commented [cea14]: Include any DOI after the standard entry
format of an article. Do not place a space between “doi:” and the
numeric string, and do not follow the DOI with a period/full stop.
Commented [cea15]: For an online article, include a page
range if it is available; otherwise, omit.
Commented [cea16]: Include any URL after the standard entry
format of an article, prefixing it with the words “Retrieved from”.
Do not follow the URL with a period/full stop.
Commented [cea17]: Book titles (like article titles) are
presented in “sentence case” and followed by a period/full stop.
Commented [cea18]: After the providing the name of the city
in which the book was published, provide either the standard 2-letter
US state abbreviation (e.g. NY, MA, CA, etc.) or (for a non-US city)
the name of the country (e.g. England, Colombia).
Commented [cea19]: Give the name of the publisher in as brief
a form as is intelligible. Write out the names of associations,
corporations, and university presses, but omit superfluous terms,
such as Publishers, Co., and Inc., which are not required to identify
the publisher. Retain the words “Books” and “Press” from names of
publishers (e.g. Cambridge University Press).
Commented [cea20]: The ordinal abbreviation “th” can be
replaced with “nd”, “rd”, etc. as appropriate.
Commented [cea21]: Indicate the edition as shown, in
parentheses but not in italics, following the title without any other
intervening publication, and followed by a full stop/period.
Commented [cea22]: Prefix the page range of a book
chapter/section with “pp.”.
Commented [cea23]: “Doctoral” can be replaced with
“Master’s”, etc., as appropriate.
Commented [cea24]: There are a number of different formats
suggested in the APA manual for citing theses/dissertations. This
example seems like a reasonable version that would be appropriate
for many circumstances, but see the APA manual for details.
ALL CAPS SHORT TITLE 50 CHARACTERS OR LESS 17

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.