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Citing sources according to APA guidelines

APA Style @ TiU

5. Formatting an APA Style student paper

Please note There are no formal requirements for the nature or contents of APA Style student papers. Always follow the guidelines of your lecturers when writing course assignments.

Formatting

Font
Choose from:

  • Sans serif fonts such as 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, or 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode, or
  • Serif fonts such as 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Georgia, or Normal (10-point) Computer Modern.

Spacing

  • Double space the paper and reference list.  
  • No extra lines before or after paragraphs.

Margins

  • Use 1" margins on all pages.
  • Indent the first line of each paragraph by 1/2 inch.

Page numbers

  • Start page numbers on the title page.
  • Start with page 1.
  • Page numbers should be inserted in the top right of the header.

Sample APA Style student papers

Take a look at a sample annotated student paper, available on the APA website. The annotations contain references to relevant sections of the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2020).

Hint: download this student sample paper  (also originating from the American Psychological Association) and use it as a template to set up your paper or thesis. Just type over existing text and make it your own document while maintaining formatting.